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.