Let the festivities commence!

Guess what, everyone!? I have off for Christmas break!

Sound the trumpets, ring the bells, burst out into spontaneous song! Nothing but Christmas spirit, New Year shenanigans, and other festive activities to come! Wondering what's on my agenda? I shall tell you!

1. Eat food. Not just any food, mind you. This morning, two giant muffin/scone/bagel/cookie baskets arrived from my favorite local restaurant. One of them was delivered by a classmate, and I was conveniently still moping around in my Disney princess pajamas, so naturally I stayed in the kitchen while my mom did all the talking. Regardless, our fridge is overflowing with baked goods. AND I CAN'T EAT ANY OF IT. I gave up dessert for Advent, and I am counting down the minutes until I can feast on scones and tea.
2.  Do homework. Yes, I have it. My AP Government teacher assigned us the biggest chapter of the year to do over break. Hoping to knock that one out ASAP...
3. Watch Downton re-runs (specifically, ones with William Mason in them). My mother and sister may be in love with Matthew Crawley, Tom Branson may be Dreamy McFly, but William is where it's at. I like to pretend Season 2 never happened, we're happily engaged, and I own a horse. Cuz he's good with horses and I always wanted a horse so therefore I should have a horse. Did I mention we're engaged?

I've been in love with him since he walked on camera for all of thirty seconds in the first episode. Even though my sisters tease him relentlessly, he's still #1.
4. Watch Emma. My friend Anna got it for my sister and I for Christmas. We opened it in my car, started screaming, and called Anna on the phone and left her a message of us screaming.
5. Celebrate Christmas, of course! That means attending Mass several times over, opening gifts, rocking out to Christmas carols, having my best friends' family over, and watching the Doctor Who Christmas special. Which leads us to 6...
6. Freak out over Doctor Who. New companion. New outfit. New theme song. New TARDIS. Should I go on?

8. Have a Happy New Year. We're visiting two different sets of cousins, which means an excursion to the beautiful Longwood Gardens followed by a murder mystery dinner theater. *sigh* Holidays are great.
7. WRITE! Most of my free time is merely an illusion, even during break, but that doesn't mean I'm not fitting in time to write! In fact, I'm planning a session for this evening. I do best just before bed... Too tired to criticize myself, my mind filled with the stuff of dreams. My best work comes after midnight.

How about you? Any plans for the break?

Home is behind...

... the world, ahead. (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Be careful with those plates.

And before you ask, I haven't seen The Hobbit yet, yes, I know Martin Freeman is in it, and so is Benedict Cumberbatch, and Richard Armitage, please stop rubbing it in. Thank you.

Good song, eh? I know, I have impeccable taste. Just wait til you see what little gem I have for you at the bottom of this post. DON'T SKIP AHEAD. Ruins the surprise. Kind of like peeking at your gifts before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I love it. I have been one big bowl of Christmas spirit. I smile my face off at store employees and wish anyone and everyone a merry one. (Tongue twister?) I have baked 3 batches of snickerdoodle bars, with more to come. I've been singing, wrapping, and shopping like a sir. How are YOU getting in the Christmas spirit?

Speaking of Christmas spirits, I tried to impart my love of A Christmas Carol on my 5th grade co-op class today. I think I scared them a little with my random outburst of "MANDKIND WAS MY BUSINESS!" and the video clip of Marley's ghost.

But seriously. I'm supposed to be talking about my writing, right? Welp, I chose my title for today for a reason. Home is behind, the world is ahead. At least, it feels like it for me. I'm sticking my head out a little further of my shell and writing a good deal more now that NaNo is over. I really needed November to jumpstart my love of writing once more, and I've churned out a little over 1,000 words in the past two days.

The good news? It isn't all terrible. I mean, I really like what I've written. There was a bit about voices being snipped like thread (copyright, property of ME)... Good stuff! The bad news? I have no idea where I'm headed. That's where the world part comes in. I feel like Bilbo Baggins, leaving the comfort of the Shire and delving into the wild world. I don't know what's coming. I know what my ultimate goal is (*ahem* eventually publish something), but there are all these obstacles and side adventures, if I may call them "side adventures". Maybe I'll encounter goblins. Or Gollums. Or Rings of Power. Who knows!? I certainly don't! Until I figure it out, I will keep reading, keep researching, and keep listening to Bing Crosby Christmas songs until the cows come home.

Now, for that little present I promised you. Behold: my childhood!!!

If I ever fell ill, if I ever grew bored, the 1977 Hobbit awaited me. I had nightmares about Smaug coming to eat me, lived in perpetual terror of the goblin song, and didn't understand half of what was going on, but nonetheless I have seen this film multiple times. So yeah, Merry Christmas. Enjoy!

Just envision Sherlock and Watson saying these lines. I think I just took care of your Happy New Year too. You're welcome.

Welp, I'm beat.

I WON NANOWRIMO!

*applause*

I finished a day early, too. Now I just have to order my winner's T-shirt. My mum is letting me purchase one as a reward for my efforts. My best friend baked me a whole batch of brownies to celebrate my victory. (They were unbelievably chocolatey. It was insane.) My dear sister didn't even complain when I stayed up late on the 29th to just get the gosh darn thing over with. I've got an awesome team behind me, that's for sure.

If you're wondering why I haven't posted all month, I would think it's obvious. I've been NaNoing! That, or watching Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. Or doing homework. Basically, a cycle of stressing over NaNo, completing college apps, doing homework, and then de-stressing with some quality British television. And if anyone wants to talk Downton with me, I'd be happy to oblige. Next up is the Christmas episode, and I'm still upset over the last one. I mean... LAVINIA? WHY!? I hate writers. Oh wait, I am one. *blush*

Dude, check it.

 

You can see where life got crazy, and the insane sprint to the finish line over the last few days. Three days in a row, I came home, sat down at the computer, and did nothing but write for hours on end, taking short Facebook/food/run around the house breaks. It was intense. The writing was awful. But I DID IT. Huzzah for yours truly!

Now, for your reading pleasure, the best and worse of my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel, If and When.

Obviously, this is all copyright of yours truly. Anything plaguerized is ILLEGAL. Not that it's good enough to steal. *sigh* Forget it.

THE GOOD 

• "Try to look inconspicuous, she thought. She wished she could say the last word aloud. Inconspicuous. It tasted like chocolate; New words always did." 
• Why I like it: I used the image of words have flavor several times in the novel, and I thought it really worked well within the context of the book. Not to mention Anthony has chocolate brown eyes. Coincidence? I think NOT! 
•  Aubrey’s mouth clamped shut. Words, words! Her mouth opened up just enough to let one tumble out of her mouth.
      “Inquisitive.”
      Dimitri’s eyebrows managed to go up even higher. “Excuse me?”
      “Yes. I... I read. Books, I mean. I read books.” She gulped.
• Why I like it: I thought it was funny. You're allowed to disagree.
• Aubrey looked up and into the pale face of the sky and wondered what stars looked like. She had read so much about them… They were supposed to be bright, twinkling orbs of light. There were so many poems about them. If Aubrey remembered correctly, they were supposed to be romantic.
• Why I like it: In my story world, there are lots of factories. It occurred to me when Aubrey went outside with her friend, Anthony, that the pollution would block the sky... and the stars. Anyone who reads knows that stars come up a lot. The writing here wasn't splendirific or anything like that, but the concept was cool.

THE BAD

• Suddenly the shacks around them weren’t just unsightly, but eerily still.
• Why it stinks to high heaven: Sometimes my grammar faltered during the month. 

 

• The sky was a bruise, black and blue and bordering purple, while streaks of smog streaked across the sky like scars. 
• Why it stinks to high heaven: The concept? The sky is a combination of black, blue, and purple. Bruise! Dark clouds. Scars! Brilliant! Except... Ew, now everyone is thinking about wounds, oozing puss and nastiness. Gross.

More on NaNo later. Our football team made state play-offs for the first time in history, so I've got to get up bright and early to cheer my little heart out and play my xylophone like there ain't no tomorrow. Until then, I leave you with the most adorable thing ever. And before you ask, I didn't go looking for it. David Tennant is a pure coincidence. Although I'm certainly not complaining...

I mean, I could have played fish girl.

Soak up the adorbs. You're smiling. Admit it. No matter how cheesy that was, you're smiling. Don't hide it: EMBRACE THE SMILEY FACE. There you go. :)

* FOR AFTER YOU'VE WATCHED THE ABOVE VIDEO: Don't you love how the sign beneath the girls apartment is Juliet's Something-or-Other, and then the sign behind him switches to Romeo? Too. Cute.

     

NaNoWriMo Day No. 13

Haven't posted in 2 weeks. Deal with it.

Sorry, don't mean to get nasty. All I know is that I am positively swamped with college applications and Forensics and Drama Club and County Chorus and District Chorus and NEVER MIND YOU DON'T CARE. Really, I'm not cranky. Promise! In fact, as I write this, I'm getting my first listen to Taylor Swift's new album.

She is so my guilty pleasure. She averages about 2 non-boy songs per album, but I don't even care. Something about T-Swizzle makes me want to do cool stuff. Like write a novel.

Do you know how behind I am? Very. I was *ahead* last year. Now I am limping behind the better prepared WriMos, dragging my overly complex plot and contrary characters and wishing I could just give up and watch the rest of Downton Abbey which conveniently just arrived in the mail to tempt me. (I caught up my sister to Episode 5, and we are in mourning together.) I have a stockpile of chocolate and the nagging desire to lose weight. In other words, I've got November problems.

Now as I rush off to finish up college essays and try and bump up my NaNo word count, I leave you with some of the songs that are helping me to power through this little novel. Read the descriptions --- some of the songs seem a little "out there".

My book is noticeably lacking in the drug addict-forced-to-be-a-prostitute-to-fuel-addiction area, but this song is so positively sad, I feel like it captures the sadness that sits in my MC's heart.

What does it have to do with my plot? NOTHING! What does it have to do with getting me in the mood to write? EVERYTHING!

Realization moment!!!

Later, gators. And if I don't have a spare moment before then, Happy Turkey Day! I can hardly wait for the pumpkin pie, the family togetherness, and the post-dinner crash. :)

NaNoWriMo, Day No. 4

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I ever tell you that I have successfully dragged three people into this writing frenzy?

Well, I have. Things 1 and 2 are my two youngest sisters. I don't quite know what gave them the desire to partake in this madness, but they both signed up in October, described their plots to me over cookies, and have been dutifully typing away for four days now. Thing 1, who is 13 and qualifies for both the regular NaNoWriMo program as well as the Young Writers program, is writing a sort of fantasy adventure. Thing 2, who is 11 (I thought she was 12 until she corrected me this morning, she does act so positively grown up) is also writing a fantasy and has set a reasonable goal of 30,000 words. I am quite impressed with how responsible they have been. They are both hovering around their word goals and working hard to keep it up.

Thing 3 is my best friend, and I don't really know how she's doing. A part of me thinks she's quit already. I invited her to my mind palace for a brainstorming session (see below), which received a meager "like" on Facebook. She always comments with something witty and delightful. Particularly in matters concerning Sherlock Holmes. Even if it falls through, this is the closest I've gotten to dragging her down Novelist Lane, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Now comes the part of NaNoWriMo where my inner editor gets nasty. I had a brilliant session yesterday. Banged out almost two days worth of words, making up for the time lost on Friday, and surprised myself with my own characters. That's when the voice came for me.

Give in to the siren song of inner editorness and you turn to dust. Well, actually, it's a little more complex than that, and the siren is actually a doctor of sorts, and there's this other universe and human bacteria and I WATCHED DOCTOR WHO LAST NIGHT, OKAY? For sake of argument, let's just pretend that my inner editor is a siren waiting to lure this sailor to her doom.

So what do you do?

You write.

You keep writing until you can't write any more. There will be at least a million times where you are tempted to give up. If not, you're not doing it right. I fear for the writers who are totally in love with their work, 24/7. Because then it can never be edited. It can never be improved. It's stuck at where it's at and it can't move or breathe or grow or change. The writer will think that's it and it's all over. Writing is like being in love. Sometimes you feel it. Sometimes you don't. And if you quit on love when you're not "feelin' it", then it isn't really love at all.

Now I'm on to write another 1,667 words. Do I want to quit? Sort of. However, I would never be able to forgive myself if I gave up on Day 4. Certainly I have more stamina than that.

Had to add this. Brilliant episode. Just brill. Did I mention I am very close to having watched all of the new Who? Suppose I'll be watching some more of the ol' show then. I do love those ancient effects. They add to the charm!

NaNoWriMo 2021, Day No. 3

My posts are going to change format a bit this month. Because all I want to talk about it...

Get this Facebook timeline banner here.

The month has begun and on November 1st, I surpassed the daily 1,667 words with a grand total of 1,751 words!!! So exciting! So far, I've only botched all of my chances at good description, successfully deleted half of a chapter (I blame our funky new laptop), and made the wretched mistake of comparing the sky to a bruise. Actually, I kind of like that bit, but nonetheless! Day No. 1 went swimmingly and I was quite pleased.

Day No. 2? Not so great.

I had a very full day yesterday, with a football game in the evening and whatnot. It was SENIOR NIGHT, which meant I got walk across the loooooooooong football field with my weepy parents and hold flowers and get my picture taken. And I got chocolate! Did I mention the chocolate!? Anyways, I only got in a little over 500 words. The NaNoWriMo website wouldn't let me on at the time, so my word count today will look a little funky.

On the bright side, it looks like the Muses have taken pity on my immortal writing soul.

This is what I think when I think "muses". Yes, yes. The Disney movie is not historically accurate in the least. But you know what!? It has cool gospel music and I know the words to some of the songs and goshdarnit, I learn most of my Greek mythology from Percy Jackson anyways, so I can never be truly sure what's really true. So just accept this image.

A lot of my book has to do with books and their impact. It's a dystopia, I will remind you, one that has a plot that resembles Fahrenheit 451 a little, which I just finished, but did not read when I was plotting the book. Really, the equation for my book is like Fahrenheit 451 + 1984 + The Hunger Games + Karol, The Man Who Became Pope + This Inkpop Book (Back When Inkpop Existed) That Was Really Cool and About Concentration Camps in the Future. ANYWAYS.

I needed to pick a random book for my character to read to her sister. I wanted to pick something that was accessible to both of their age groups, was old and sort of classic-ish, I wasn't overly familiar with, and would still be somewhat familiar to a modern reader. I picked The Little Princess. It's a delightful story, although I only read the abridged version as a kid. And do you want to know what passage fit perfectly into my book?

"But you will not have to stay for a very long time, little Sara," he had always said. "You will go to a nice house where there will be a lot of little girls, and you will play together, and I will send you plenty of books, and you will grow so fast that it will seem scarcely a year before you are big enough and clever enough to come back and take care of papa."

She had liked to think of that. To keep the house for her father; to ride with him, and sit at the head of his table when he had dinner parties; to talk to him and read his books--that would be what she would like most in the world, and if one must go away to "the place" in England to attain it, she must make up her mind to go. She did not care very much for other little girls, but if she had plenty of books she could console herself. She liked books more than anything else, and was, in fact, always inventing stories of beautiful things and telling them to herself. Sometimes she had told them to her father, and he had liked them as much as she did.

It's so delightfully perfect!!!

Now, onto that dreadful word count that awaits me. Making up for lost time today...

Batten down the hatches...

MY STORY

... because the entire East Coast is about to get whammed in the face with Sandy. My family has stocked up on flashlights, fun food that can be cooked in the fireplace (Jiffypop, s'mores, hotdogs, etc.), batteries, you name it. School's out, and flooding is possible, but opportunity for fun is optimal. Because my opinion is, don't let a crazy hurricane rain on your parade when you can have an adventure! I mean, just look what adventure does for a writer:

Normal person: "Gah! Cold shower! I'm freezing!"
Writer: "I finally know how it feels to be stuck in a freezing torrential downpour!!! I've gotta write this into a scene."

Normal person: "Gah! All of our food is going bad and it smells!"
Writer: "I can now write an accurate description concerning the smell of decay!!!"

Normal person: "Gah! The power's out, technology is dead, and I have to use a flashlight!"
Writer: "No Internet to distract me from my masterpiece! I can write dramatically by candlelight like the geniuses of old, and call flashlights "torches" and lose them in Narnia! Huzzah!"

Did I mention we might have family game night?

We might have family game night. :)

PS - Sorry this post is so long overdue. But truly, I have been busy. Still working on those college applications, still haven't finished my O.O. speech, still practicing music for multiple concerts, still doing homework for AP classes, still getting distracted by the Internet and by rippingly corking books such as...

READING UPDATE

Entwined!!! I *finally* read it. I was milling about the book fair at my co-op, silently wishing they had this book. I had daydreamed that they would have it, but I figured it was impossible. I mean, I've been pining after this book for months now. It seemed so unlikely that our little tiny fair would have such a book. Yet there it was, in the middle of a pile, there it was, in all of its glory!!!

Now that I have read this darling book, I am quite determined to learn the fictional dance in it, the Entwine (see above for the dance and the corresponding adorableness of Azalea and Lord/Captain/Mr. Bradford), and the Soul's Curtsy (also fictional and amazing). Read about the Entwine here. Read the authoress' blog here. I swear on silver that Heather Dixon's blog is almost as hysterical as she is. I mean, I stayed up til 1 AM reading it once. Every. Single. Post. Finally, you can purchase the book here. Support B&N so we can prevent another Border's incident.

Those of you who know me personally, don't hate my guts, and like to have fun, contact me so we can learn this aforementioned Entwine. And the Soul's Curtsy... but only when the boys aren't looking. ;) Oh, and I've decided to incorporate some of Lord Teddie's language into my daily life. People think I'm nuts whenever I exclaim "smashing" or "ripping" or "corking". But then again, they already think I'm a little crazy.

Finished this too. AWESOME ending. Classic Riordan, to end with some mentally insane plot twist/cliff-hanger. Buy it here. You won't regret it.

 I read this all in one day, as I did with Entwined. It was wonderful. I simply could not put it down, under any circumstances. I was so happy to be back with the beloved characters of my childhood. It made me sort of sad to see Miri grow up and develop even more as a character, but it was very well done. Either I couldn't put down the book because the plot had thickened to the consistency of peanut butter, or because I was determined to make sure that Miri did the right thing.

Oh, and Peder was just as swoonworthy as ever. That silly mountain boy... I think I love him more than I did when I first read him when I was ten. *wide grin* He's just a stupid, oblivious, complete and total boy. Purchase this lovely book here. You shan't regret it. And if anyone is interested in sewing me Miri's blue crocus dress...

WRITING UPDATE

Furiously plotting my NaNoWriMo novel. Dragging others down with me. I think I may have roped in my best friend, and two of my younger sisters, who are both determined to do the 50,000 word program, even though they qualify for the Young Writers Program. November is in only a day or two, and if I'm without power, that's going to make my job a lot harder. I mean A LOT harder. So please, say a prayer or two that I can get this all done. Now excuse me while I add NaNo to my list of impossible things...

Greetings from the Depths of Despair!

MY STORY

I'm in mourning.

There would be a video here of Bunbury's funeral in The Importance of Being Earnest if the universe liked me, but alas... PS - I *finally* saw that movie, and I would *highly* recommend it. That was code for "this-is-my-new-favorite-movie-ever-and-not-just-because-Colin-Firth-is-in-it".

Have you ever seen a character and liked them right off the bat? Like, no dialogue, no action, just saw them and decided they were the best thing since sliced pumpkin bread? Well, it happens to me. (See my Doctor Who confession here). And sometimes, very rarely, you completely adore that character, and your adoration simply grows and flourishes with time. You love them in every sense of the word. And then cruel, horrible writers, not so different from yourself, decide it's a fantastic idea to KILL THEM. Blimey, they don't just kill them, they make them so blimey heroic and their death so blimey tragic and the circumstances so blimey impossible and messed up and blimey complicated that there is literally no possible way to make their death more horrible.

I'm not naming names. I don't want to ruin things for anyone else. But let's just say that there were many tears, and I can feel my soul sinking into the depths of despair. And if you think I'm using hyperbole... I'm not. This Anne is definitely in the depths of despair, and nothing but sweets and hugs can keep her from completely abandoning her duties altogether.

Really, I'm quite serious.

WRITING UPDATE

I spent the entire weekend out of the house, so I have no writing to report. I was too busy eating, drinking, making merry and whatnot. And starting BBC's Robin Hood. Marian is the best thing that ever happened to the world of TV heroines ever. Unless of course, miserable writers decide they want to tear apart another character... Why not? Why bother? To be, or not to be? The play's the thing! The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Pardon me: All of my misery has sent me on another rant.

... She dies, doesn't she? Aw man, now I've gotta buy MORE tissues.

I totally didn't choose this picture of Marian because Richard Armitage is in it. Nope. Not at all... Even if we've all come to the conclusion he would make the most swoontastic Darcy ever. NBD.

READING UPDATE

I'm supposed to be reading Fahrenheit 451, but my mum picked me up a copy of The Mark of Athena, which I naturally started. Not too far into it, but Percy and Annabeth are together, so nothing else matters. Unless they get killed too.

"Have you got a handkerchief? I never seem to have one in moments of crisis."(I'd give brownie points for that reference, but it introduces another dimension to despair. If you get the reference, you understand where my depression comes from. Understand?)

The trailer is so misleading. Just... Just go watch it. Now.

To the grindstone!

 MY STORY

Hullo there.

You might notice I'm trying to clean things up around here. Don't mind the mess... I'm working on it. I'm quite busy nowadays. Alright, I'm busy now. The past three days have been full of do-nothing bliss. We had off from school, which meant cleaning my wardrobe, thrift shopping, church, yummy baking, and lots and lots of BBC programming. The mid-season finale of Doctor Who? Cried. Two nights in a row I stayed up til 2 AM watching Sherlock. I promise it wasn't all wasted in front of the telly. There was knitting, and jogging, and apple picking (although it was more of an apple picking up kind of thing). I wish I could take a full week off and avoid school some more. I'm so relaxed now.

 

Don't ask. Just listen.

WRITING UPDATE

 I have been working up a brainstorm for my NaNo novel. I have some new concepts I'm toying with. Writing a dystopia is going to be a blast, methinks. I have so many great ideas. The question is, which ones do I use? It seems like new scientific facts keep cropping up, and I want to incorporate them all into my novel. I'm still getting to know the characters as well, but they're also very exciting. I plan to dedicate October to outlining my novel, so that November is less of a mess. NaNoWriMo 2011 was all over the place, and I don't want to relive that nightmare.

Most of my actual "writing time" has been devoted to epically failing at college essays. I need one done by Monday for English class, and I'm stumped. I can either write about my family life, or an experience that had a deep impact on my life. Easy enough, right? Except that this essay is going to be reviewed by my teacher AND my peers. Helpful, but also a chance to be really vulnerable. As if I liked the idea of a stranger reading my precious writing for the sole purpose of judging it. I'm sorry, I can't wear my heart on my sleeve all the time. Too easy to get it broken that way. So now I need to hit that perfect balance of "hullo-my-name-is-Monica-this-is-me-but-not-all-of-me-because-that-would-be-really-off-putting" and "here's-my-essay-make-it-really-good-but-please-don't-judge-me". Stressful, eh?

READING UPDATE

Finished The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan. Fantastic, as usual. Do I sense an Olympian/Egyptian cross-over coming on, Mr. Riordan? Because I would probably die of joy. Of course, I had some issues with the book. Namely how the Walt-Sadie-Anubis thing was resolved, or rather, NOT resolved in a resolving sort of way. Anyways, everybody should read all of his books because he is amazing.

What now? Probably one of the books I mentioned earlier this month. I think The Mark of Athena is due either tomorrow or the day after. Percy Jackson, here I come!

How about y'all? Any reading/writing/life stories you want to share? The comments are below. Until next time.

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT.

I don't know if you've ever run around your house screaming, but I certainly have. Because guess what?

The sequel to Princess Academy just came out.

*SQUEEEEE!*

I made a meme. Idk why, but they just seem to be able to convey my emotions better... and my facial expression.

Do you wanna see it in all of its glory? Of course you do! Here's a picture:

Miri is so grown up... and pretty... and that is totally a miri flower in her hair.

Pardon the fangirling, but Princess Academy was my FAVORITE book as a girl. I read it a trillion times. I tried to quarry-speak like Miri. I fell head over heels in love over my first literary crush, Peder (who smelled like bread and had a name based off of "Peter" before it was cool). It was one of those books that seemed so real to me. I never dreamed Shannon Hale would write a sequel. 



Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting... until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should "help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. Picking up where "Princess Academy "left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom.

New crush? Who could ever in a million years replace Peder!? Miri, darling: HE SMELLS LIKE BREAD AND CUTS STUFF OUT OF LINDER. MARRY HIM NOWWWW. I should probably be more worried about these "frightening plans", but alas... Speaking of must-have books, check out my To Read list. The following have been bumped up in terms of priority. Sorry, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It's nothing personal.

My good friend Marlene has been singing this books praises for some time now. I've been meaning to pick up a copy ever since I got hooked on the blog of the lovely Heather Dixon, called Story Monster. The night I discovered her blog, I stayed up til midnight reading old posts. She's hysterical and adorable and I can hardly wait to read this book.

Rick Riordan follows a format: realistic characters, loads of wit, plenty of plot twists, and a whole ton of randomness. I'm currently reading The Serpent's Shadow from The Kane Chronicles, his series based on Egyptian mythology. As awesome as Carter and Sadie Kane and the gang are, nothing can compare with my besties Percy Jackson and Annabeth. When the Percy Jackson series ended, I was brokenhearted. Then he wrote The Heroes of Olympus series, which was like P.J. meets a whole cast of new, awesome characters. So addictive. The cliff-hanger endings are terrible. I stayed up til the early morning hours, forced to read in the bathroom (my sister could no longer stand my reading light), and finished The Son of Neptune. MAJOR CLIFF-HANGER. I've waited a year for this book, and I'm blimey well gonna read it before my friend Kate can spoil it all... I give Jason, Frank, Piper, Leo, blahblahlbah EVERYONE permission to die, except for Percy and Annabeth. End rant.

Writing Update: College essays. I don't want to talk about it. Too painful. Another day.

What are you reading? Any sequels you're excited for? Recognize any of the titles above? The comments await you. *deep bow*



D.A.

Not Dumbledore's Army, you Potterhead! DOWNTON ABBEY.

It's so blimey good. I finally got my hands on Season 2! Well, the first disc anyways. Four more episodes to go. It's torture waiting for my family to send back The Middle so that I can get the next disc. The plot twists! The character development! The costumes! I knew I was hooked, but now I'm super hooked. My sister and I curl up right next to each other on the couch whilst giving commentary. Plus we drink tea, partially to feel more British.

Or, as the Doctor would say...

So many references. I feel so clever! Either of the above would get you about 500 brownie points, but the episodes are in the vid title, so if you peeked, NO POINTS FOR YOU (250 brownie points - and it wasn't even a British reference).

I really ought to take notes while watching D.A. On how to make you love and hate everybody all at once. The characters really are superb, and the plot twists... There are all these little ones that keep things interesting, and then there are the big whoppers that turn the whole castle upside down. That's how a good book should be too. I want to be as excited about my manuscript as I am about this goshdarn show. I love when people ask me questions or my opinion. The question now is how to transfer that excitement to my own story. I have to admit, I miss the days before my perfectionism got to my writing. I wrote with complete abandon, and even though I could have used twenty editors, it was a blast. Hence, I have taken a break from obsessive project planning and turned to complete nonsene, or "junk" as it is titled on my computer. Get the juices flowing. Rediscover my love of writing. Motivate myself. Good fun.

Writing Update: (see above) Just having fun right now. Playing with period drama, since that's what I've been gobbling up for the past few days. Plotting a book that may or may not come to be. NaNoWriMo will wake me up to the real world, I suppose. Still, I like taking a break, so to speak. Not taking myself so seriously. If I ever want to really feel proud of something, I've got to love it enough to make myself work through it. I need to feel the love again. Here goes nothing! Now, to try and convince my family to send back their Netflix DVD so I can continue with Downton...

The Curse

I can't figure out my short story or my NaNo project.

 

Reference = 500 brownie points

 

 

I understand the Whovian jokes are probably getting old. Thing is, it's a lot harder to make other references when the Who ones are so... abundant. I mean, what else can I do?

 

I can't figure out my short story or my NaNo project.

 

 

Lady Mary? Too emotional.

 

Frodo? Too... just no.

 

Wait, I found one that works!!!

 

LBD, FTW!

 

All of my precious writing time has been invested in actually figuring out where my stories are going. As in, what happens next? What's the ponit? What are all these people doing inside my head?

 

Really, though. Curse of the time lords. And the writers. I simply cannot figure out what I'm doing. I have handwritten several pages to add to my short story that now need to be copied on the computer. I usually never handwrite, but that's what my Prob & Stat course is for. I know the whole thing is going to get edited to death and I might actually have to chop out all of those pages because of kinks in the plot, but I'm writing. Still, it's bothering me to no end that I cannot seem to come up with a decent ending. The conflict is all there, but as usual, I feel the need to write a whole novel to fully delve into it. There are so many sides to what I'm writing about (which is, as a reminder, the internment of US citizens during WWII). So much emotion... so much backstory.

 

So what have I been doing?

 

Drawing up a battle plan!

 

I notoriously draw up lists before I do anything, and the includes write. I try and put my plot in a neat little box, stick a bow on it, and THEN write. None of that fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants stuff. Gross! Seriously, though, if you can do it, congrats. I used to be able to. It was a blast, even though the story needed major work. I think I need to rediscover that process. It would probably shut up my inner editor and make me take myself a little less seriously.

 

Same goes for my NaNo project. I can't seem to get a good grip on the details of my dystopian world. It's extremely complex, but I don't want it to be overly complex, because that confuses the reader. But I don't want to make it overly simple, because that isn't how the world or society work. I know that I am speaking in vague terms, but I really don't want my plot points scattered throughout the Internet. Just know that I am working on it. I have a few more weeks until November hits, so hopefully I can at least figure out my setting and then just let my characters go on a mad rampage for a month.

 

I don't have much else to report. Just know that I'm writing, I'm trying, and encouragement is more than acceptable. Wish me luck!

1, 2, 3 BREAK.

I feel gross. It's been an hour of trying to read Federalist #39 (I find it really hard to care about AP Government when all I want to do is listen to music) and feeling altogether gross. I need to go on a jog. With it getting dark so early, I come home from my after school activities, flop on the couch, and when I finally feel like I'm ready to hit the pavement, the sun has gone to bed and so must I (reference: 10 brownie points). Seriously though. In the past hour, it feels like I've gotten fatter or something. This is becoming unbearable.

Not much writing happened today. It should have, but this yucky gross feeling kept me down for most of my free time. I did transfer what I wrote in my notebook yesterday onto my Google Doc and jotted some notes on the rest of the scene. I want to write more... but the Founding Fathers... I really should be getting back to them, anyways...

This is my break. Which means it should be a break for you too. Wanna know what I do when I can't stand doing work any more? Here's a look at the latest distractions. Oh, sorry, tools to maintain my sanity.

Regina Spektor is probably my favorite solo artist. She's a genius. I don't know why, but something about her accent in this song... It's one of her stranger songs, but I like it. I keep listening to it, which is reminding me that I need to get my hands on her latest album.

Sara Bareilles is competing for the favorite solo artist award. This song perfectly describes me. Not to mention it is beautiful and inspirational and I play it on loop to try and get myself through homework (and ruts in my plot).

If you can name the episode, you get 500 reference brownie points.

 

I've got $75 worth of "momma credit" for exchanging an old Converse gift certificate for "cash". I know, I could spend it on Ten-like Converse, but that's hardly practical. Now I'm stalking RedBubble for fandom shirts, since my wardrobe is noticeably lacking in that department. What do you think? I'm torn. Here, look at the meme I made for you.

Yeah, I made this. Can you dig it?

I love T-Swift, but... What? Never mind, who cares. I have to admit, watching people dressed as woodland animals is quite entertaining. Oh, and I want to steal liiiiike all the dresses. Yeah.

Feeling inspired? Tell me in the comments. Nobody's been down there lately. I'm off to NOT read the Federalist papers. Procrastination? Methinks so.

The Tissue Predicament

There are seriously no tissues in my house. There are two major reasons for this.

1. I have the cold that is going around town. Let's put it this way... I don't have cheer practice tomorrow because we're all sick. Sneezing, hacking, popping Advils left and right. It's not fun.
2. I watched Journey's End last night, a.k.a. the most painful episode of Doctor Who ever. I was literally sobbing. I kept saying, "It's just so sad!" and giving detailed explanations of why it was, indeed, sad. I ran out of tissues and had to resort to napkins. I knew all the plot twists were coming... but actually seeing them... Wow, I haven't cried that much in months. Oh Whovians, does it need saying? (Reference = 1,000 brownie points)

You tell 'em, Doc. (Reference = 200 brownie points)

Yeah, I'm awarding references now. References are cool (reference = 25 brownie points). And you can't cheat --- you have to know exactly where they come from! By scene, page, episode, whatever. You need to be able to ENVISION IT. Maybe I'll give you a prize or something... Internet cookies? *smirks at her own joke*

Reading Update: Um, well, I should be reading The Scarlet Pimpernel. But with school and sports and band and all that rot, it's been tough. All of my reading time has been invested in The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which I am re-reading to help teach my 5th grade co-op class. I forgot how charming that book is! They're siblings who run away and stay in a museum!!! It's like a dream come true! Minus the nagging hunger and constant worry.

Writing Update: Working hard on my short story. Making good progress... I had a mini epiphany, really gonna move the conflict along. In case y'all were wondering, it's set in WWII in the internment camp at Crystal City, TX. It deals with the internment of not only the Japanese, but the Germans as well (and the Italians, but they didn't really make the character cut). My niche is essentially taking couples and throwing them into random historically based situations, usually involving lesser known pockets of history.

The Latest Hiatus

I haven't posted in a full month. Y'all probably thought I was dead! Lemme 'splain. No, there's too much. Lemme sum up. Band camp, beach, co-op, driver's license, thrifting, partying, Oswin Oswald, school, homework, football games, Macbething, dinosaurs on a spaceship, birthday celebrations, late nights, writing. I think that about covered it.

It has been an exciting and eventful four/five weeks. Band camp meant sun, sweat, and pure exhaustion. Not to mention an awesome send-off party, which included a slip n' slide, a mud fight, and The Fellowship of the Ring in the band director's office. School started. I got my driver's license. The 7th season of Doctor Who started. A bunch of after-school activities kicked off. Now I am missing late summer nights as well as the abundance of free time.

But unto more writerly things.

My dear friend Marlene posted about her muse's greatest distraction earlier this month, a post that I would highly encourage you to read (click here). Heck, just read her whole blog. Anywhoosiedoodles, she claimed that her biggest distraction was the INTERNET. Well guess what?

It's mine too. *wink*

Seriously, though. I get all pumped to go write something. Doesn't matter what... Planning for NaNoWriMo, trying to finish up my darn short story for our school's literary magazine, writing nonsense for the heck of it. I may or may not be inspired, but I am motivated. I sit down at the computer and think to myself, Hmm, haven't checked Facebook in awhile. Or Google+... or Pinterest... or those good YouTube channels... or my e-mail... or those modest fashion blogs... What about Etsy? I could use the inspiration. Motivation and time are gone before you can say "what am I gonna do about watching the second season of Downton Abbey".

I am probably the worst culprit of Internet distraction syndrome. Now mind you, some of those distractions really do keep me from going insane. Plus Pinterest can be really inspirational. But all of those lovely pins don't translate into a spiffy novel with my name on it.

So I laid off the distractions for awhile. "Awhile" meaning "the past two or three days", but nonetheless. The writing has really been coming along! I've been toiling away at my NaNo novel, or rather, preparing for it. It's pretty much an F5 brainstorm in my head. Trouble is, every time I think I have my dystopian world figured out, it starts to evolve and change. I have too many good ideas! A lovely predicament, but a predicament nonetheless. I've made some progress on my short story. I wrote a synopsis for my NaNo in probability and statistics (that class is a piece of cake, so no worries). The juices are flowing again.

It's good to be back.



(West) Side Story: We celebrated a good friend's birthday today, where I visited with his family, aka my second family. Be it Providence, fate, destiny, a horse, I was given quite the compliment today. A family member read my essay from the literary magazine and was apparently quite touched by it. He encouraged me to keep writing and was certain I would "do something" with it. Is that motivation or what!?

(Way)[S]ide Stor[y](ies from Westside School): I couldn't sleep last night. As in, I hit the sack at 3:30 AM. My sister's slumber party essentially took over the house until midnight, which was kind of scary. They stole my bed! I didn't even get a warning! It was like, "oh, sleep here, never mind getting your clothes and stuff, night". I simply could not sleep. Do you want to know what I did? I watched Lost in Austen. Well, part of it. For a laugh. A laugh which woke up my sister quite a few times. It was even worse the second time around. But it helped me to fend off peanut butter cravings! Then I read 'Happy Birthday, Samantha!', fell asleep, and woke up to mini pancakes. THE END.

PS - Hey Whovians! Did anyone notice that Arthur Weasley was Rory's dad, and Filch was the bad guy? I'm telling you, the amount of Harry Potter/Doctor Who/period drama/Titanic cross-overs is getting ridiculous.

A Writer's Guide to Fangirling

In my family, if you want to fangirl over something, it's best if you do it in private. Otherwise it will catch on and next thing you know, everyone is fangirling with you, except that they're really obnoxious about it and it goes from "oh look I really like this" to "OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS MORE THAN AIR".

My family knows for a fact that when I like something, they're going to hear about it. But I save the real freak out moments for private meditation... or Pinterest. *smug grin*

Pinterest is the one thing that got me through my online driver's test. 10 minutes of work, 5 minutes of the "Geek" section on Pinterest (alternating with "Women's Fashion", but that is way less exciting). It's as if all of the nerds converged onto Pinterest at once. Everything you could think of --- Doctor Who, Star Wars (which I still only have baseline knowledge of), Lord of the Rings, Sherlock, you name it --- lines the Pinterest boards of dorks around the world. I feel right at home.

Doctor Who, for the win. Who doesn't want a bunch of (pretty) fans who can actually follow a complex storyline?

This post is more than an excuse to further my love of geeky pins. It is to address a very serious situation that many of us writers, usually female, find ourselves in...

*shmirk*

... love with our very own characters.

My impression has been that this is more of a female writer's problem. I mean, writers are usually readers, and every female reader learns about the opposite sex primarily from reading literature. Well, maybe not primarily, but they do indeed learn from literature! So it seems only natural that when we find ourselves on the opposite side of the publication process we want to conjure up the most swoon-worthy hero ever known to all of mankind.

Swoon-worthy Gentleman, Section 2.6: Two words: Mister. Darcy.

That's wonderful! This world could use a few more swoon-worthy gents. Sometimes I feel like the world is in short supply... (Male readers are not to take offense.) Alright, so you've written up a genuine heartthrob. Congrats! You may even be in love with him just a teeny, tiny bit. And that's okay! Until...

Why settle?

... you start fangirling within the pages of your own book.

Chances are, you've done it a little before. He's such a dreamboat, so you write him in a little more often. Then a little becomes a lot. Then you sort of forget to write about his flaws. Flaws, shmaws, who needs 'em? Then the descriptions start to get a little too perfect. You've used the words "handsome", "attractive", and "supermegafoxyawesomehot" so many times that they are almost invisible in your manuscript. Before long, he's beyond dreamy and has become the epitome of all things charming. Prince Charming.

If you get this, I will love you forever.

You may not see this as a problem. After all, this character has started appearing in your dreams, and nobody minds having a handsome gent roaming around their dreamworld. Problem is, your editor might have a few bones to pick with him. Your readers too. Because, sweetie: Nobody like that exists.

Part of the reason everybody lurves a good hero is because, quite frankly, he's not quite perfect. Everybody has an Achilles heel, and your male character(s) are no exclusion. How is your character going to develop, change, or progress if he (or she) is already perfect? Oh wait: They can't.

The best characters are so real, you can essentially count them as your friends. That means flaws galore, as well as some redeeming qualities. They have secrets, uncharted territory, likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses. They have a breaking point and limits. If you're really close with a friend, you can probably rattle off a list of things about them... including their not-so-glamorous aspects. Same goes for your characters.

Even 900-some year old, handsome Time Lords can be awkward sometimes. ^_^

I am about to quote the movie version of Harry Potter. Brace yourselves. Sirius Black, take it away:

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

Heroes aren't just a big pile of good stuff. Villains aren't just born evil. A person develops their conscience and chooses to act. Now, I am going to tack on C.S. Lewis.


"Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won't last forever. We must take it or leave it."

Your character is fighting an inward battle. They will sometimes go the right way, sometimes the wrong way. What matters is what side they ultimately end up on. So please, no Prince Charmings. Let him fight like the rest of us and choose a side.

Did I mention this sort of applies to all of your characters? Well, it does. It's just way easier to fall into the pitfall of a perfect guy versus a perfect girl. It tends to be that perfect heroines aren't as perfect as we think they are... which is another post for another day. Now, I leave you with some parting advice.

* Reading and writing updates to come! 

My apologies.

I would like to apologize to all of my readers for the other day's jerk post. Yes, I wanted to share my victory. Was it appropriate to torture the blogosphere instead of calling a friend, blabbering in a family member's ear, or talking to an imaginary friend? I'm not sure. To make it up to you, here are the links to the soundtrack and the program I used to "unpack" the files. No need to thank me. It was the least I could do.

1. Go here and download the file. Save it somewhere with an obvious name, like NORTH & SOUTH SOUNDTRACK or RACCOONS ON A WILD RAMPAGE.
2. Download this.
3. Run around frantically when you can't find the program you just downloaded.
4. Go to that obvious folder I mentioned. Don't worry, I didn't copyright the raccoon one. You're welcome to it.
5. Right click. The 7zip program will dash to your assistance, like Eugene Fitzherbert at the end of Tangled or the dreaded Mr. Willoughby. Click the options until you figure out how to do whatever it was I did.
6. Smile at your now separated, now MP3 formatted files and tell God how much you love me.
7. If you have iTunes, you can go to File: Add Folder to Library. If you are OCD like me, this artwork will do nicely. (I want her dress in that picture. I want it NOW.)

That oughta do it. Now, to talk about something other than beautiful music.

 I just wanted to say to anyone and everyone who reads this darn thing, thanks for sticking around. A lot of you don't follow publicly or comment (which you should, cuz it would inflate my ego), but I love hearing randomly from people who read. Every time, I make this face and think They read that!? It's kind of cool when people surprise you.

I also want to state the purpose of this blog. For right now, it's just a bit of fun and motivation in my life. It gets my writing muscles going and lets me write freely. I'm none too worried about forming a following or "serving my readers" yet. Well, of course I want to serve my readers. However, I do a lot of talking about things in theory. I'm sorry that I can't proclaim myself an expert or give anyone "professional" help. But if you like talking about what makes a story good, I'm here. Eventually I plan to start working on what is called a platform. Authors have 'em, and it allows them to a) communicate with their readers and b) SELL PEOPLE STUFF. Right now, though, this is just some jolly good fun and I'm glad that there are at least a small faction of people who are interested.

Now, the following is solely for my own benefit. I can think about it while I'm bored at sports practices and whatnot. (Is it weird to hum the theme to yourself while everyone else is talking? Yeah, that's me. I also read books at breaks.)

Now, because it isn't a period drama unless someone gets rejected, I present...

It's just so GOOD. So, so, so good. I think I officially swooned at 2:27. His voice just makes it. Then comes the part at 3:10 and... Well, I'll marry him. He still needs some work, but I'd marry him on the spot.

WRITING UPDATE: Toying around with some unfinished short fairytales for the fun of it. Going to plan some NaNoWriMo tonight. I got a book on the general history of Ireland for my birthday, so I am going to do some research with that soon. It doesn't have much info on the time period I am interested in, but it can't hurt.

READING UPDATE: I finished Between Shades of Gray on my way to camp in VA the other week. It was really, really good. It was a relatively quick read with a lot of heart to it. Nothing particularly special, but written in earnest and good all around. I would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good read or history. Some time this week I have to start my required reading for school, so you'll be hearing about that now and again.

RANDOM: I dreamed I was at a camp on the beach and the Darcy from Lost in Austen was my awkward chauffeur. I also ate a donut for breakfast today while watching the Doomsday episode of Doctor Who with my sisters' Whovian friends. There is chemical warfare going on inside of me: The dopamine released by the intake of a sugary breakfast is at war with the general sense of depression that accompanies the departure of Rose Tyler. Meh, good thing I'm going to have to do things in the real world today.