Concerning "Writerly Duties"

I just told my mother that I had writerly duties to attend to. "Writerly duties?" she responded. "Is that a club or something?" "No, Mom," I said, then launched an explanation of all the writer-ish things I have on my plate. The articles, the blog posts, the essays... I am a busy woman!

Equipped with a cup of Earl Grey in my Anne Shirley mug (courtesy of my dear friend Abby), I take to my laptop, eager to get some words on the page/screen. I was totally psyched to write yesterday --- Ally and I were supposed to have a writing retreat in a ski lodge --- but a snowstorm interfered. I'm looking at you, Elsa.

She does what she wants.

Instead of having an at home writing retreat, my cold decided to knock out any and all motivation so that all I could bring myself to do was watch The Legend of Korra and Sherlock. All. Day. Long. I wouldn't call it an unproductive day, though. I did character analysis on the cast of Korra and found out that Molly Hooper and I both do the same giggle thing. Also, the first episode of Season 3 of Sherlock is brilliant. #feels

An example of le giggle.

Now I am back on track, thanks to cough drops and a hot shower. (And Sherlock hair ruffling.) Before I return to the world of More Serious Writerly Duties, I thought I would tell you a little bit about my recent trip to Barnes & Noble and show you some cool stuff.

First up, this blanket. I had to snap a picture because it was so darn awesome, would totally match my future house decor, and I recognized all the quotes.

Isn't it practically perfect in every way!?

I can't find a link for the product online, but I can personally assure you that this blanket was for realsies. If they have one at your local B&N and you have $40 just begging to be spent, purchase it in my stead. I entreat you.

I also read some Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales, which I thoroughly I enjoyed. I have a few of his fairy tales upstairs (the more popular ones) which my sister bought but never read (!?), so I might try and read some today. Reading from the H.C.A. collection stirred my memory and made me realize that after years of doubting its existence and dubbing it a figure of my imagination, the Hans Christian Andersen movie DOES exist, and it has Danny Kaye. My mind was blown.

See! It's real!

I spent the rest of the trip sitting on the floor, reading The Art of Frozen, a $40 book that I desperately want but don't have the means to buy. I love reading the story behind the story, and the Norwegian influence on the movie is so fascinating, I found myself wishing I could have been a part of the production. I've spent weeks drooling over Frozen concept art now. Is that weird?

You can purchase the book here. I think I'll wait for someone to sell a used copy!

I didn't buy anything on our B&N trip, but it was really fun. It was also quite rewarding: My sister bought her own copy of Macbeth! No new books for me until I can read all the ones I bought this summer. It's a new year, and time for some new stories. I can hardly wait!!!

Tenzin and I are both pretty excited about new books and Macbeth.

Now, back to those writerly duties. Later, gators.

* Confirmed: Writerly is, in fact, a word. I give you solid proof.

The cold never bothered me anyways.

I guess it's high time I gave you folks an update on my NaNoWriMo experience this year. In case you weren't already aware, I didn't win this year. In fact, I didn't come anywhere close. I still have to update my word count. I think I hit somewhere in the 10,000 to 15,000 word range. November ended up being an awfully stressful month for school, and I couldn't exactly stay up late to get ahead on my word count like in high school. Truth is, I'm not that disappointed. I started writing a trio of wonderful fairy-tales that have so much promise, I could care less if they won me NaNo bragging rights!

For the past two months, I've been falling in love with fairytale writing all over again. It relieves my stress instead of adding to it, even when I hit roadblocks. Fairy-tales provide such a wonderful opportunity to communicate a meaningful message, tie in themes and symbolism, throw in some quirky characters, while also maintaining a sense of humor. To top off my fairy-tale love affair, I had the pleasure of watching Frozen this past weekend. That movie reminded me why I love story-telling so much. It was beautiful. I would highly encourage you all to see it. Don't listen to the music until after you've watched it, even though it's awesome. Oh, and prepare to laugh hysterically. I'd recommend checking out your sense of decorum at the door.

Let it be known that I write this post while rocking out to the Frozen soundtrack. Gosh, it's so good, it makes me want to write for Disney or something.

Look, Anna has freckles! Makes me feel a lot better after this post. Also, Hans has SIDEBURNS and a CRAVAT. Who designed these characters? Can I write them a thank you note? And would they kindly send me an exact replica of Anna's outfit, right down to the boots? Pleaseandthankyou.

In other news, it snowed today. It was the first real snow here at school, and Ally and I were naturally ecstatic. It was the kind of snow that made your hair sparkly and crunched under your feet. Combined with all of our Frozen references, I daresay it was a pretty good morning.

Until next time!