What You Want vs. What You Need

So I'm just sitting here, watching The Princess and the Frog for probably the 30th time, singing to myself and shopping for graduation gifts for my best friend. I keep eating, even though I didn't get to go on my walk today, but I just love peanuts and peanut butter and food in general so much. (You would never believe it, but I was a picky eater two years ago.) I'm also sitting and waiting for Daniel Vincent Gordh to respond to my tweet.

No activity so far. I'll keep you all posted.

In this wonderful movie, there is this spiffy little ditty called "Dig a Little Deeper". And right in the beginning, Naveen is all: "What we want, what we need, it is the same thing, yes?" And Mama Odie is all: "Is it the same thing!? NO!"

Back to that song. Here it is if you haven't had the pleasure of watching TP&TF.

Besides the fact that this is totally in true in life (desire of the flesh vs. desire of the spirit), this rule totally applies to characters. Every character has something they want, and something they need. The best cases are the ones where they aren't the same thing. Some examples...

The Princess and the Frog: Naveen wants his rich lifestyle, Tiana wants her restaraunt, and they both want to turn human. What they need is love --- which they find in each other! Naveen also needs to become less spoiled, and Tiana needs to see the big picture.

Tangled: Flynn Rider wants a life of luxury. Rapunzel just wants to see the lights that she sees every year on her birthday. What they need is love (it is a Disney movie, after all)! I would also say that Flynn has to learn how to think about someone other than himself (love) and Rapunzel needs to learn how to be independent.

See? They've all got dreams! Desires! Wants! Needs!

Emma: Emma doesn't want to get married. She wants to play a role in other people's love lives and flatter herself. What she needs is a dose of humility... and to see that Knightley is destined to be her man!

"She's right, you know. I'm your man!"

Ella Enchanted: SPOILER ALERT! The ending is such a perfect example of want vs. need. Ella wants to marry Char more than anything, but she knows she needs to keep him (and the country) safe, so she says no. Which, of course, breaks the curse so that she can have what she wants too. ;)

"I was almost as bad in this terrible adaptation of a great book as I was in Daniel Deronda!"

Not every story will have such an explicit contrast between wants and needs. Still, your character MUST have a goal of their own, however small. They may even have multiple goals, or conflicting goals! Either way, every character is after something. (Unless you're Holden Caulfield and would rather wander aimlessly about New York. But I believe he's after love, too.)

What might your character(s) be after? How might different characters' desires and needs conflict with others' desires and needs? Here are some suggestions:

• love
• pleasure
• money
• prestige
• notoriety
• reputation
• popularity
• favor from a particular person
• attention from the opposite gender
• attention, period
• peace and quiet
• change
• peace of heart/mind
• revenge

Guess I'm not handsome enough to tempt him.

You may or may not remember this post, where I talked about an encounter with this guy who looks like Daniel Vincent Gordh (from "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries") and sort of acts like Darcy (although the question of Darcy-caliber-character remains unresolved).

I play good Darcy. Hehe.

Well, there was another encounter. It goes a little something like this...

So, I'm walking into my AP Exam, lookin' like a boss. I wore a dress and everything. Everyone else is wearing sweatpants and I'm all:

I'm gonna be one fly companion, ladies n' gents. I can't save the world unless I feel confident, and there is nothing like a dress to make me feel kick-butt. I'll probably have to pair it with sensible shoes, biker shorts, and wear 20 hair ties on my wrist, but I'll be ready to defeat evil across the galaxy.

ANYWAYS. I walk up to the door and said Darcy character is on the other side. He's just chilling with like 1 or 2 people, like usual. (*cough*BingleyandCaroline*cough*) So this is what I see in my brain:

And I walk in all like:

I'm heeeeeeeeeeeeere.

And he reaches over and pushes open the door. Not a full-out "I'm opening the door for you in a gentlemanly fashion", but it indicated knowledge of my existence and at least some degree of chivalry.

So after my exam, I go to Panera's with mah BFF and I'm all:

HE SORT OF HELD OPEN THE DOOR FOR ME!

Derp derp derp, we eat our food, I file it away in the cabinet titled "Monica Will Not Be Perpetually Single and Sometimes People Are Nice" folder.

Now, fast forward to my second AP Exam this morning.

This time, I wear sweatpants like everyone else cuz I overslept my alarm. First one there anyways. Guidance counselor shows up. She unlocks the door, I come inside, bunches of people arrive. Put my social skills of an agoraphobic lobster to work. Then, as I'm about to head back to the back room to stalk the other people, guidance counselor is all like:

"Can you hold open the door to let people in? Otherwise it stays locked."

Everyone deserts me, and I'm left standing there, waiting for the late kids, with the realization that the closest thing I've ever had to a Darcy moment was a fluke. He held the door because otherwise, me and the three people behind me wouldn't have been able to get in.

My initial reaction:

Followed by:

forever alone.

Oh well.

Wheel of Fortune

Sometimes, I feel pretty unlucky. Like when I find myself falling asleep during prom because I had an allergic reaction to a walnut in the chicken salad (?) and I'm drugged up on Benadryl. Or when my prom date gets a flat tire. Or when I finally get home at nine o'clock at night and literally fall out of my the driver's seat of my dad's truck while balancing a book, a laptop, and a large pizza, muttering to myself, "Ah, the irony of being called Grace" (my middle name), only to be caught in the act by a large dog and accompanying gentleman. To whom I proceeded to say "good evening" in the friendly tone that, according to my sister, is "really weird".

Fortune? She is a strumpet.

Fortune has not smiled down upon me.

I have bruised my back by walking into the chimes in the pit band. I cut my thumb making a milkshake. I ran into an incredibly intimidating girl on the only occasion I have ever in my high school career made the decision to run to class. And yet...

Fortune has smiled down upon me! Because I, ladies and gentleman, have had a flurry of writing activity. Not to mention a lovely day. After my AP English Exam (which was full of little happy surprises for me, which I may not disclose... curse you College Board), I got to eat at Panera's. Mmmmm... My best friend and I then went to Wal-Mart and bought BFF necklaces, a Captain American cup, and a cheese grater. (Long story.) Then, we went to Goodwill and browsed the used books section, which resulted in some dramatic readings of romance novels and Pride and Prejudice in my very best Ricky Collins voice... Like so.

Oh Ricky. *grin*

If you thought I just wanted to tell the world about my life... you're partially right. But there's a moral to the story! Just like the early episodes of Hannah Montana!

"Wow, I learned so much about respecting my family and friends, humility, and how to be a good person. I certainly how this show doesn't become about a materialistic diva that reflects the behavior of the actress who portrays me!"

My point is, I would highly recommend adding little bits of luck in your characters' lives... and short moments of misfortune as well. Good days and bad days are part of life. If your story doesn't balance the two...

Well, it won't be good.

*le Gatsby*

Pardon my recent absence from the blogosphere. I've been swirling ice cream cones, making prom arrangements, and oh just taking the best band trip ever in the history of the universe. Yeah, my band sort of won our division... and became grand champs at our festival. Not to mention I conquered several rollercoasters. They were intense. Gloriously, wonderfully, beautifully intense!

'Dis one be mah favorite. I think...? They were all good!

In more literary news, Invisible Man has permanently altered the way I view books and writing. It now feels like unless there isn't symbolism in every word on the page, the book is worthless. In all seriousness, though, it's been fascinating reading something that operates on so many levels. I'm very close to the end and I'm eager to finish and see how the novel resolves (or fails to resolve, for that matter). Once we finish Invisible Man, we're rereading The Great Gatsby for fun, and to prepare for our class trip to see a special viewing of the new movie in theaters! I can see why Leonardo DiCaprio was cast as Gatsby, but nothing can replace Robert Redford in my mind. He was perfect in the role.

*le then*

*le now*

 And in case y'all were wondering, this is what I will be wearing to the showing:

*le cool shirt*

Getting dressed that day, I'm half tempted to throw my shirts around the room, Gatsby-style. What do you think? Should I go for it?

The Idea of the Century

When you're feeling down, I would highly recommend you look up people's stories concerning their interactions with characters at Disney. Too cute for words.

I could go on for hours about every second of the interactions I had when my family went on our first and only trip to Disney World two summers ago, but I will just sum it up: It was awesome. I spazzed over Belle and I might have shouted on accident. I gushed to Naveen and Tiana that I had seen their movie over twenty times. I got a picture with the adorable Flynn Rider. My sister and I chased after Peter Pan, who we missed, unfortunately. (I plan to go back to Disney, walk right up to him, declare my intentions to become a lost girl, and show him my best crow.) I'm telling you, meeting the characters at Disney is one of the most fun things I've ever done.

*smolder* My hair was so short 2 years ago. Wow.

I have lots more pictures but you probably don't want to see all of them, Plus, I look like I'm 10. Flynn/Eugene is enough.

So basically, I've had the idea of the century. We make Literature World... and we populate it with literature themed rides and GREAT CHARACTERS OF LITERATURE INTERACTIONS.

Picture this.

Big Brothers posters, everywhere.

The Huck Finn Log Flume. Instead of logs, you're on rafts.

The Gatsby Rollercoaster. In that flashy yellow car with Daisy at the wheel.

Fahrenheit 451 Ride. Your car is chased by the mechanical hound!

Meet-and-greet with Darcy and Elizabeth. Push Lizzy out of the way, and flirt with the gent.

The Haunted House. Featuring the ghosts of King Hamlet and Catherine Earnshaw.

Narnia Train Ride. You start in a train station in England, then you're in Narnia, summoned by Susan's horn!

Now let's add more books.

Attend a ball at the pavilion! Beware Keeper; If you're lucky, Bradford will ask you for a spin.

Play paintball Hunger Games!

Come to the bonfire! Tell mountain stories. Dance with ribbons. Learn to quarryspeak.

What do y'all think? Any ideas for this amusement park? The above are only the tip of iceberg!

It's just been one of those days...

... when you scream "but his good opinion once lost is lost forever!" across the table at your best friend.

... that requires old Taylor Swift.

... that makes you want to work out, all day long, because just jogging to pick up a Frisbee feels like the world is coming to an end.

... that involves a lot of unexpected junk food.

... that makes you regret ever taking AP courses.

... that tempts you to quit your job, simply because you are so hung up on not screwing up.

... that makes you realize how incredibly blessed you are.

Believe it or not, today was a lovely day. I'm fending off some serious bouts of stress, though. Can I say DEADLINES? But hey, what can I say? It's just been one of those days.

PS - Wish me luck on the two essays and short story I need to complete ASAP. Hoping I can still call myself a writer after all of this insanity!

Here, read this.

I had this whole post written, involving Toy Story 3, giving away my stuffed animals, and the catchy songs in The Lorax, but I guess the Internet didn't like it because it got deleted. Fortune abounds.

Concerning Camp NaNoWriMo, I am way behind. As in, I've only written for two days. Before you shoot me, hear me out. I really do need to do the historical research before I delve into this thing. I feel guilty making things up and I'm going to pay for it in the long run if I have a deeply flawed plot. (On the bright side, I'm about to get my hands on a great reference book in a few days!) I also need to work on a short story for our literary magazine - a short story that conveniently does NOT want to happen. I might pull a rebellion and switch my Camp topic and word count goal. I must consult the forums to see if this is legal...

In other news... I saw a good friend in Meet Me in St. Louis, and I'm hooked. The girl who played Esther had the most beautiful voice. The costumes were stunning. It was just good, clean, wonderful fun! We're having our first taste of summer here, and I've officially laid under the stars for the first time this year. Finally, I quoted Shakespeare today in awesome context today. No one on my gym class wiffle ball team could agree on what qualified as a foul, and without missing a beat, I recited, "Fair is foul and foul is fair!" It. Was. Epic.

I'm afraid I must cut this post short. I have to read more of Invisible Man for AP English. I'm not even past the Introduction yet! Whoops. Until then, enjoy this new song by The Civil Wars. If anyone knows Joy or John Paul, could you get them off their hiatus and into the studio? I'm dying for a new album. Until then, I'll take what I can get.