Well, I haven't posted in a while so I considered I owed you something. Not that anyone really reads this blog anyway. Though that's part of the reason I'm writing it, right?
One of the things I have to say about a few stories I've read in the past few years is that they're a little bit too close to life. For example, read a total fantasy book, engrossed in a different world far away from yourself. But then, right in the middle, the female main character decides to start talking to herself about her period. Now, of course I know it's a part of real life. But one of the reasons I read, I don't know about the rest of you, is to escape from all the things I hate about my life. Of course, the author is just trying to make a realistic heroine. But, can you say too much information? I have enough aggravation with my own I don't need to hear some girl in a story sob about her's, too. It must be hard to have to deal with feminine issues and be a heroine to your whole fantastical kingdom, slaying dragons and pursuing villains, but why don't we keep that a tacit agreement between the two of us, hmm? I respect the character enough for being a girl and doing the things she does despite her physical issues, but I don't need it to be shoved in my face. Aside from the fact that if you want to have as many readers as possible and are writing on a semi-neutral topic as far as the sexes go, talking about periods is definitely going to be a turn off for guys. Because, surprisingly enough, they don't have one and they really don't wanna hear about it. Just a tip.
Finally, Im so despicable, I'm still only on page twenty in my editting. So yeah, by Thanksgiving definitely didn't happen. But I'm adding more scenes to flesh out the plot a little and now have a grand total of 96 pages. Wow, I procrastinate way too much. How exactly do I expect myself to be a really cool child author if I can't even edit the stupid rough draft once through after being finished with the story for a year and a half? Now I'm just making myself depressed. I'll do it somehow.
And that's the Written Word
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
A Song and Some Editting
I'm going to go a little outside of my boundaries of reading and writing literature and talk about a song. Bear with me.
A while ago, my beloved friend Tina said while she was at Youth Group one night they made her fill otu a survey. One of the questions was 'what song do you listen to when you're happy?' At the time i thought, wow that's really weird. I could never think of jsut one song that I listen to when I'm happy and only happy. What a hard question. I wouldn't have been able to answer it.
Then, about a month ago, I was listening to my iPod (which I promptly lost and just found again this morning!!!) and for some reason the thought popped into my head 'wow I'm REALLY happy.' Now, that emotion isn't really uncoomon for me. I tend to be in a good mood unless I'm otherwise influenced. I wake up in a good mood and usually ten minutes after anything else I return to a good mood. I'm just a naturally happy person. That was when I remembered that ocnversation Tina and I had. So just for kicks I looked at my iPod to see what song was playing. Not that I didn't KNOW the song just by hearing it. But I have a habit of looking at my iPod automatically even if I could figure it out myself. The song happened to be "Everybody Loves" by Constantine.
Now, I don't think it's a very popular song. I hadn't even heard of Constantine or the song before my older brother Joey made me listen to it one day. Constantine was on American Idol a few seasons back, before I watched it. But he's actually a pretty good, regardless of that fact that he's not wildly famous.
Then whenever I was listening to the song I realized I was always happy. And then whenever I decided to go listen to the song I noticed I was happy. And when I feel the urge to listen to the song I think 'I must be happy' (yeah I know that's weird, but this is my blog, not yours) and I always am. So pass the surveys this way because I officially have a song I always listen to when I'm happy and it's 'Everybody Loves'.
In unrelated news, I'm finally getting some editting done on one of my few finished stories. It's the pathetic length of 93 pages, but that's on Word. So I'm think if it was in a book it would probably be a little longer. Also, I wrote and finished it like a year and a half ago so that's not too bad.
As I edit, it's obvious that I wrote it a while ago. It's funny, while you're writing it, it seems to entertaining, witty and insightful. But as I go back and write it, it seems a little contrived, and I dive write into developent before I've even set up what I'm developing. Now, that isn't a thing that can really be done. Also, I do a little too much telling and not enough showing. People don't like to be told what to think. And still, if you're writing a novel you can't SAY "they were best friends and hung out all the time" but never SHOW by not writing any scenes of them hanging out at all, much less hanging out frequently.
So, I will continue with my tedious editting and hopefully get something accomplished. I WANTED to get it editted once through over the summer but that didn't happen. If I can bear to admit my shame, I'm only up to page twelve. Despicable, I know. But, I'll try to edit at least a little each day, and maybe I'll have it done once through my Christmas. Or even better, Thanksgiving. Then, after I patch up the main story and fix plot wholes, character issues etc., I'll have a few people look over it, suggest parts that don't fit and help me with grammar, spelling and so on. Then maybe I'll be brave enough to show it to Mom and Dad. Wouldn't that be a cool Christmas present for them?
And that's the Written Word
A while ago, my beloved friend Tina said while she was at Youth Group one night they made her fill otu a survey. One of the questions was 'what song do you listen to when you're happy?' At the time i thought, wow that's really weird. I could never think of jsut one song that I listen to when I'm happy and only happy. What a hard question. I wouldn't have been able to answer it.
Then, about a month ago, I was listening to my iPod (which I promptly lost and just found again this morning!!!) and for some reason the thought popped into my head 'wow I'm REALLY happy.' Now, that emotion isn't really uncoomon for me. I tend to be in a good mood unless I'm otherwise influenced. I wake up in a good mood and usually ten minutes after anything else I return to a good mood. I'm just a naturally happy person. That was when I remembered that ocnversation Tina and I had. So just for kicks I looked at my iPod to see what song was playing. Not that I didn't KNOW the song just by hearing it. But I have a habit of looking at my iPod automatically even if I could figure it out myself. The song happened to be "Everybody Loves" by Constantine.
Now, I don't think it's a very popular song. I hadn't even heard of Constantine or the song before my older brother Joey made me listen to it one day. Constantine was on American Idol a few seasons back, before I watched it. But he's actually a pretty good, regardless of that fact that he's not wildly famous.
Then whenever I was listening to the song I realized I was always happy. And then whenever I decided to go listen to the song I noticed I was happy. And when I feel the urge to listen to the song I think 'I must be happy' (yeah I know that's weird, but this is my blog, not yours) and I always am. So pass the surveys this way because I officially have a song I always listen to when I'm happy and it's 'Everybody Loves'.
In unrelated news, I'm finally getting some editting done on one of my few finished stories. It's the pathetic length of 93 pages, but that's on Word. So I'm think if it was in a book it would probably be a little longer. Also, I wrote and finished it like a year and a half ago so that's not too bad.
As I edit, it's obvious that I wrote it a while ago. It's funny, while you're writing it, it seems to entertaining, witty and insightful. But as I go back and write it, it seems a little contrived, and I dive write into developent before I've even set up what I'm developing. Now, that isn't a thing that can really be done. Also, I do a little too much telling and not enough showing. People don't like to be told what to think. And still, if you're writing a novel you can't SAY "they were best friends and hung out all the time" but never SHOW by not writing any scenes of them hanging out at all, much less hanging out frequently.
So, I will continue with my tedious editting and hopefully get something accomplished. I WANTED to get it editted once through over the summer but that didn't happen. If I can bear to admit my shame, I'm only up to page twelve. Despicable, I know. But, I'll try to edit at least a little each day, and maybe I'll have it done once through my Christmas. Or even better, Thanksgiving. Then, after I patch up the main story and fix plot wholes, character issues etc., I'll have a few people look over it, suggest parts that don't fit and help me with grammar, spelling and so on. Then maybe I'll be brave enough to show it to Mom and Dad. Wouldn't that be a cool Christmas present for them?
And that's the Written Word
Monday, September 1, 2008
A Brief History
So now, because I enjoy bragging whenever possible, iIll give a quick history of my reading and writing career.
My reading history is simple. My mom obsessively read to us, my siblings and I, when we were young, forming what was to become an obsession with reading that has lasted over a decade. No, I'm not a geek, even though it sounds like it. I learned to read when I was about four, and was reading simple chapter books by the time I was five. I progressed to books like A Little Princess and The Secret Garden in first grade, and finally in second Little Women and the level of reading hasn't gotten much harded except for maybe a minor graduation to Jules Verne when I was about nine. Now I just read like I have no life, which I do, have one that is.
For writing I wrote my first story when I was five for a present for my dad on Fathers' Day. It was called The Big, and I mean Big Pumpkin and it starred my best friend/cousin Amy who just so happened to grow pumpkins. It was about five pages long, with letters three inches high and plenty of scribble illustrations. The works. Then when I was in second and third grade I wrote an easy reader series revolving around a girl named Mary. Several of the titles were Mary and the New Friend and Mary and the Big Hill. One of them was sent into a children's authors contest but didn't pass through because there weren't enough illustrations. Since then I've written many many stories, including a few short ones, and finished a few that I'm proud of and even several I'm in the midst of editting. I'm hoping to get them published someday but until then, my career as a writing prodigy (aren't I funny?) remains unrealized.
And that's the Written Word
My reading history is simple. My mom obsessively read to us, my siblings and I, when we were young, forming what was to become an obsession with reading that has lasted over a decade. No, I'm not a geek, even though it sounds like it. I learned to read when I was about four, and was reading simple chapter books by the time I was five. I progressed to books like A Little Princess and The Secret Garden in first grade, and finally in second Little Women and the level of reading hasn't gotten much harded except for maybe a minor graduation to Jules Verne when I was about nine. Now I just read like I have no life, which I do, have one that is.
For writing I wrote my first story when I was five for a present for my dad on Fathers' Day. It was called The Big, and I mean Big Pumpkin and it starred my best friend/cousin Amy who just so happened to grow pumpkins. It was about five pages long, with letters three inches high and plenty of scribble illustrations. The works. Then when I was in second and third grade I wrote an easy reader series revolving around a girl named Mary. Several of the titles were Mary and the New Friend and Mary and the Big Hill. One of them was sent into a children's authors contest but didn't pass through because there weren't enough illustrations. Since then I've written many many stories, including a few short ones, and finished a few that I'm proud of and even several I'm in the midst of editting. I'm hoping to get them published someday but until then, my career as a writing prodigy (aren't I funny?) remains unrealized.
And that's the Written Word
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Ugh, again, my life is ruined
Okay, it's time for a rant.
It never ceases to amaze me how an author can take a great subject, storyline, plot and inspire it with amazing characters, realistic situations and engaging converastion. But then, just to settle some sort of complex they harbor within themselves, they have to make the main characters sex-crazed lunatics (which is perhaps a slight exaggeration). Now, I'm no prude, in my own mind anyway. I don't think there's anything wrong with kissing, or passionate kissing. Then they feel the need to press it further into some disgusting R-rated crap instead of just letting the story speak for itself. Because, God forbid they paint a realistic view of a teenage girl who DOESN'T go out and get laid. That would be too unrealistic. Besides, EVERYONE wants to get laid, don't they? It just makes me sick. I wonder if they realize how many people, because I hope there are quite a few, who put down the book once their characters get out of control. Every time I have to put down a book I'm sad, because I wanted to find out what happened. But I'm more angry, that the author had to do something so retarded and ruin the whole thing for me. So for all you young adult authors out there who just can't bear the thought of any teenagers remaining virgins, thanks a whole flipping lot because I just wasted two hours reading the first hundred pages of your book. Thanks for taking my valuable time and making me think I might respect and enjoy your work only to find out, no, this author is a sex-crazed maniac who just can't get over themselves. Maybe next time you write a book about a fifteen-year-old girl, you should think hmmm, maybe there are some fifteen-year-old girls who don't compromise themselves and hmmm maybe there are some teenagers who are CRAZY enough to not really want to read your wild sex scenes. So kudos to you and your retarded accomplishment. You've just torn down the morals of the next generation a little more and helped assure one more teenager that adults encourage animalistic behavior, and this one is completely disgusted by it.
So tell me, you're the adult and I'm the teenager, but I'm not the one who is controlled entirely by my wild raging hormones, I'm civilized, I know what's really important. I'm a mature human being. What're you?
You've pushed at least one kid on their way down the slippery slope so they can rot in hell forever. I hope you freaking proud of yourself.
And that's the Written Word.
It never ceases to amaze me how an author can take a great subject, storyline, plot and inspire it with amazing characters, realistic situations and engaging converastion. But then, just to settle some sort of complex they harbor within themselves, they have to make the main characters sex-crazed lunatics (which is perhaps a slight exaggeration). Now, I'm no prude, in my own mind anyway. I don't think there's anything wrong with kissing, or passionate kissing. Then they feel the need to press it further into some disgusting R-rated crap instead of just letting the story speak for itself. Because, God forbid they paint a realistic view of a teenage girl who DOESN'T go out and get laid. That would be too unrealistic. Besides, EVERYONE wants to get laid, don't they? It just makes me sick. I wonder if they realize how many people, because I hope there are quite a few, who put down the book once their characters get out of control. Every time I have to put down a book I'm sad, because I wanted to find out what happened. But I'm more angry, that the author had to do something so retarded and ruin the whole thing for me. So for all you young adult authors out there who just can't bear the thought of any teenagers remaining virgins, thanks a whole flipping lot because I just wasted two hours reading the first hundred pages of your book. Thanks for taking my valuable time and making me think I might respect and enjoy your work only to find out, no, this author is a sex-crazed maniac who just can't get over themselves. Maybe next time you write a book about a fifteen-year-old girl, you should think hmmm, maybe there are some fifteen-year-old girls who don't compromise themselves and hmmm maybe there are some teenagers who are CRAZY enough to not really want to read your wild sex scenes. So kudos to you and your retarded accomplishment. You've just torn down the morals of the next generation a little more and helped assure one more teenager that adults encourage animalistic behavior, and this one is completely disgusted by it.
So tell me, you're the adult and I'm the teenager, but I'm not the one who is controlled entirely by my wild raging hormones, I'm civilized, I know what's really important. I'm a mature human being. What're you?
You've pushed at least one kid on their way down the slippery slope so they can rot in hell forever. I hope you freaking proud of yourself.
And that's the Written Word.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
First Post
Wow, it's been forever since I had a blog. I barely even remember why exactly I deleted my old one, but I guess that doesn't really matter anymore.
I created this blog mainly to complain and/or exclaim about the various books I've read and the novels I've written, though I guess they're more along the lines of novella since most aren't that long. Oh well. I'm assuming no one is really going to read this because, why would you? Not like I'll be saying anything interesting, but I love to talk plots and character development so if I'm talking aobut a particular book I'll put a spoiler alert at the top so nobody who wants to read the book but hasn't had the chance yet will stumble upon things that will ruin the story for them.
Also, I will be groaning about how it's already August and I'm twenty books away from my goal for the summer (35, to be exact) so I have to get a-readin! My most recent reads were Pendragon: Raven Rise by D. J. MacHale (a great book, i love the Pendragon series and highly recommend it for teenagers) and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, though I'm assuming everyone has heard of that one. It was also very good, but I have to admit after a really good book I usually mope for a couple days because I'm so depressed. Let the moping begin.
Finally, I'm made this to make myself feel like i was doing osmething useful even though I only have a month of summer left and stil have twenty books to read and 97% of a manuscript to edit. Procrastination is the bane of my existence.
That about wraps it up for my first post. This will probably just make it even harder for me to reach all of my goals, but whenever I hit a minor milestone I'll post, I suppose, and make myself feel better about it.
And that's the Written Word
I created this blog mainly to complain and/or exclaim about the various books I've read and the novels I've written, though I guess they're more along the lines of novella since most aren't that long. Oh well. I'm assuming no one is really going to read this because, why would you? Not like I'll be saying anything interesting, but I love to talk plots and character development so if I'm talking aobut a particular book I'll put a spoiler alert at the top so nobody who wants to read the book but hasn't had the chance yet will stumble upon things that will ruin the story for them.
Also, I will be groaning about how it's already August and I'm twenty books away from my goal for the summer (35, to be exact) so I have to get a-readin! My most recent reads were Pendragon: Raven Rise by D. J. MacHale (a great book, i love the Pendragon series and highly recommend it for teenagers) and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, though I'm assuming everyone has heard of that one. It was also very good, but I have to admit after a really good book I usually mope for a couple days because I'm so depressed. Let the moping begin.
Finally, I'm made this to make myself feel like i was doing osmething useful even though I only have a month of summer left and stil have twenty books to read and 97% of a manuscript to edit. Procrastination is the bane of my existence.
That about wraps it up for my first post. This will probably just make it even harder for me to reach all of my goals, but whenever I hit a minor milestone I'll post, I suppose, and make myself feel better about it.
And that's the Written Word
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