tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47191546598809467422024-02-22T07:40:11.336-08:00Reality Is ImaginaryJanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-58623426122653663412013-06-17T20:04:00.003-07:002013-06-17T20:04:33.128-07:00Personal Parallels in my StoriesHello, hello, hello! I'm writing this post between camp and dance class, so it'll be a one-shot deal.* Forgive any typos or awkward phrasing.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“How have both the people in your life and your own personal experiences impacted your writing? Do you ever base characters off of people you know?</i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">One of my problems with writing is that I often tend to base things too closely off my own personal experiences. I tend to do this more in NaNoWriMo than I do any other times. For example, "Quick! I need to figure out the layout of Helen's school!" "Well, just use the layout of your own school." Or, more often, "Aaaah, I need a new background character!" "Just take this trait from your little brother and make her a more subdued version of friend B, then give her the first name of that one girl you dance with and the last name of that boy in your Honors English class."**</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">When I actually plan major characters, at least one is always inspired by someone in my real life. Now, the biggest mistake I ever made with this was with my 2012 NaNo. My main character, Helen, (who I will say now, is nothing like me) had a best friend, Adi, that was inspired by one of my very best friends in the world. Now, personality-wise, Adi is nothing like my friend. What they share, though, is that they both have a twin brother and Adi struggles with depression. Now, Adi quickly became disconnected with my friend in my head as I was planning. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">Of course, one of the major plot points was Adi committing suicide. I didn't associate it with my friend until I got to writing that scene, but I sat there at the computer typing by feel because my eyes were streaming with tears. Not only because of connection to the character, but because I was scared. I was writing in first person from Helen's perspective, and it all just felt too real. It's a terribly written scene, because I was too overwhelmed to write it well. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">I actually think that this specific scene is why I haven't been working on novels as much this winter and spring.*** It scared me so much that I'm having a hard time writing more stories like that. I've continued blogging and writing poetry, but I need to muster up the courage to give noveling another try, and not be frightened. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">But, dear reader, consider yourself warned. Don't base characters who die off your friends, even very vaguely, or you will be scared away from writing for a good six months. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">~~~~~</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">Wow, what started off as a trivial post turned into something... deep.**** I hope you aren't too scared of me now. :)*****</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">Farewell, lovely readers! Take a cookie for the road. </span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">~Jane</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">NOTES:</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">*Actually, I ended up finishing this after dance class, but I need to go take a shower and go to bed, so it's still not getting edited. Sorry <strike>I'm not sorry</strike></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">**And yes, I really do talk to myself like this. Actually, it's often more condescending. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">***Wait, is spring over already? Isn't it still the end of April?</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">****This sentence is really awkward. Actually, this whole post is really awkward. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 21px;">*****Ugh, did I really just use a smiley-face in my blog post? And now these notes look like I'm swearing. Better end them soon.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 21px;">June Blog Chain Participants:</span><br />
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5th – <a href="http://alifeonmission.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://alifeonmission.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6th – <a href="http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7th – <a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8th – <a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9th – <a href="http://katiathewritergirl.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://katiathewritergirl.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10th – <a href="http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11th – <a href="http://fida-islaih.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://fida-islaih.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12th – <a href="http://www.indianawriterblog.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.indianawriterblog.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">13th – <a href="http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">14th – <a href="http://notebooksisters.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://notebooksisters.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">15th – <a href="http://dearsaul.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://dearsaul.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">16th – <a href="http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">17th – <a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">18th – <a href="http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">19th – <a href="http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20th – <a href="http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">21st – <a href="http://myswordandpen.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://myswordandpen.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">22nd – <a href="http://dreamerheadquarters.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://dreamerheadquarters.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">23rd – <a href="http://www.documentaryofateenagewriter.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.documentaryofateenagewriter.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">24th – <a href="http://www.brookeharrison.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.brookeharrison.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">25th – <a href="http://themagicviolinist.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://themagicviolinist.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">26th – <a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/</a> (We’ll be announcing the topic for next month’s chain.)</span></span></div>
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<br />Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-2748074693651762612013-04-16T15:55:00.000-07:002013-04-16T15:55:01.961-07:00Storytelling, Or Something Like ThatHello, everyone! Welcome to my stop on the blog chain! Now, if I were a gracious host, I would offer you all some lemonade and freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, but alas, this is the internet, and any cookies I could offer you are some form of browser download that I don't fully understand, not being a web developer like my father. Also, I'm sure at least one of you is allergic to gluten or dairy or eggs or something in said hypothetical cookies, and I would hate to make you ill. That is, shall we say, <i>rude</i>. <div>
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Forgive me if this post is a little shorter or less eloquent than usual. Today I took my state's standardized writing test, and I'm also finalizing my credo for Coming of Age at church, so I'm a little worded-out. (Ha! As if that's even possible!) We'll see how this goes.</div>
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<br /><b>Prompt:<br /><br />“What is your ultimate goal as a writer?”</b><br /><br />I have always been a little baffled as to why I love to write. They say that writers tend to be people who like to be behind-the-scenes and generally dread the spotlight. ("They", of course, being other authors with somewhat influential powers.) They say that authors and performers are about as different as any two people can be. Apparently I break the rules: I love writing, and I love the stage. The reason I don't get to spend more time with my characters is because I spend so much time at dance and theatre. Next year, I'm taking both Choir and Orchestra at school, along with Honors English. <div>
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This prompt is actually very closely related to something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Over the past year or so, I've been struggling to figure out the common theme between all the things that I love to do. I guess I had some sort of epiphany a month or so ago (if epiphanies can occur while sitting on the couch in sweaty dance warm-ups, eating double chocolate brownie ice cream and watching Worst Cooks in America*) when I realized that what I love is storytelling. I love being passionate about things and being able to portray that in a way that other people can share my excitement, whether it be through writing, singing, dancing, acting, or playing violin, or any other strange method you can think of. And when I'm not doing one of these things, it consumes me. I believe it was Ashley Clements who said something like, "Once you discover that you love storytelling, you never want to do anything else."** (That's definitely not a direct quote. Seriously. I mean it. Don't look it up because you won't find anything.)</div>
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So I guess my ultimate goal as a writer is to tell stories. (Duh.) I want to make people hold back tears while reading in class, or laugh out loud while curled up on the couch at home, momentarily startling their sleepy cat.*** I want to make people feel emotions so fervently that they have no idea what to do with themselves, so they obsess over it until it takes over every fiber of their beings, and then they finally realize what the entire purpose of the story is and are able to tell it better than I ever could, so they tell it in their own way that makes it start all over again.</div>
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You see, it's a cycle of creativity and of sharing and of storytelling, and my goal as a writer (and a dancer, actress, singer...) is to be a fully functioning part of this cycle. If that makes any sense whatsoever.</div>
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~~~~~</div>
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I apologize for the lack of cookies. As I mentioned, I've been busy! </div>
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...I know, I know. Still no cookies. Next time. </div>
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So, thanks for reading this. I'd really love to hear your comments on the topic, or critiques for my writing. Keep being the supercool person that you are. :)</div>
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~Jane<div>
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Notes:</div>
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*I'm not sure it was actually Worst Cooks in America. It could have also been The Amazing Race or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. </div>
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**Actually, I just discovered that it was a Reddit user on Ashley's AMA from the other weekend. But she has also said a lot of things pretty close to that, so.</div>
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***Don't worry, I don't wish any harm to any cats. Ever. I mean, have you SEEN my tumblr dashboard?</div>
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Follow the April TCWT Blog Chain!<br /><br />5th – <a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />6th – <a href="http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/">http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />7th – <a href="http://www.paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/">http://www.paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />8th – <a href="http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/">http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />9th – <a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />10th – <a href="http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/">http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />11th – <a href="http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/">http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />12th – <a href="http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/">http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />13th – <a href="http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/">http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />14th – <a href="http://creatingtherenaissance.wordpress.com/">http://creatingtherenaissance.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />15th – <a href="http://charactercentral.wordpress.com/">http://charactercentral.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />16th – <a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />17th – <a href="http://www.novelexemplar.wordpress.com/">http://www.novelexemplar.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />18th – <a href="http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/">http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/</a><br /><br />19th – <a href="http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/">http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/</a><br /><br />20th – <a href="http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/">http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />21st – <a href="http://theangelicauburn.wordpress.com/">http://theangelicauburn.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />22nd – <a href="http://eatwritedie.blogspot.com/">http://eatwritedie.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />23rd – <a href="http://writerbewildered.blogspot.com/">http://writerbewildered.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />24th – <a href="http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/">http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />25th – <a href="http://www.alwaysweavingwords.blogspot.com/">http://www.alwaysweavingwords.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />26th – <a href="http://anqiyu.wordpress.com/">http://anqiyu.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />27th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/ <br /><br />28th - <a href="http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/">http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />29th – <a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/</a> (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)</div>
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Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-39807112803443091582013-04-01T19:52:00.002-07:002013-04-01T19:53:20.183-07:00Spring, Or So We Call It: A PoemHello, everyone!<br />
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It's that time of year again. The endless drifts of snow are slowly melting into sludge. The calendar says it's spring, and yet, Minnesota weather forecasts insist otherwise. Oh well.<br />
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Regardless, I thought I would share a poem that I wrote around this time of year in 2011. It could be my single favorite piece of poetry that I have written. (Yet!) Enjoy!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Spring, Or So We Call It </i></span><br />
<i>By Jane</i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The bare-boned woodlands of frozen wasteland</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><i>Glinting, evilly, in the near-darkness</i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Where drops have dared step, then iced inside</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Without the pureness of a fairy-dust white.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Instead, the matted, browning fur of the Earth</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Is littered with parting gifts from trees,</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Paul Bunyan’s footsteps brimming with sludge</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">An indecisive slop of a thing.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Ghastly gray heavens show no hint of a smile</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">While whispers weave cruelly through branches</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Tracing bare skin with merciless claws</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Herding all beings into traps of despair.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Defying the very name it received so long ago</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">There is no spring in the trudging step of pedestrians.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">There is no spring in the nonexistent growth of dead shrubbery.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">There is no spring in this depression of depression.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~~~</span><br />
So yeah. Um, feedback is cooler than a can of pop that has been sitting on the deck for an hour in February. Just saying. :)<br />
<br />
~Jane<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /></span>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-65248889441711724902013-03-25T19:44:00.002-07:002013-03-25T19:44:16.964-07:00A Letter to CarolineAll right, it's blog chain time again. (Actually, this really should be essay-writing time or math-homework-completing time, or even getting-ready-for-dance time, but PROCRASTINATION.) I need to preface this post with a little explanation. As some of you might be aware, there is this genius creation currently on the internet that is known as the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I've been following this brilliant web series from the time the first episode was released last April, and my emotions have become completely attached to it. (Come on, Jane. You can think of something better than "attached". How about "E-6000ed"?) The last episode of this consumer of time, thought, love, and pain is going to be released this Thursday. Therefore, I have been thinking about little else, and now that it is time to write this post, I can think of little else. My instinct for the prompt, "write a letter to an antagonist", was to write to Caroline Lee, the lesser of the two antagonists of this lovely little web-series. Of course, the goody-two-shoes inside of me was screaming, "That's not a book!" But alas, as writers, we are, above all else, storytellers. Whatever format stories come in, we can learn from their strengths and weaknesses and use that to improve our own masterpieces in progress, be it a book, poem, movie, TV show, web series, or comic. (Yeah, I know there's way more, but I don't want to spend time thinking of them.) And so, without further ado, I present to you my letter.<br />
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Also, there's some spoilers. Consider yourself warned.<br />
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Dear Caroline,<br />
<br />
Allow me to take a moment to admire the brilliance that you possess as a character. The depth to which the writers of this web-series create personalities, including your own, is unparalleled to the point where I connect with you like I would a real person. You motivations are believable, your disposition exquisitely detailed, and, I must say, you strongly resemble a certain beautiful lady known as Jessica Jade Andres.*<br />
<br />
Moment over. Now, I offer you something which I guarantee your pride will prohibit you from accepting: my sympathy. This is not to be confused with pity; I do not pity you in the least. But you and I share one very real and terrifying fear: losing the ones we love. I need only slip on your shoes to see overwhelming reason for why you dislike Lizzie so much. You moved into a new town with your brother, and instead of spending time with you, all his attention was focused on the poor girl he had fallen in love with. Sure, Jane was nice enough, and her sister, Lizzie, seemed to be someone you could get along with well--a little wit and sarcasm are always good bonding tools. But then Darcy fell in love with Lizzie instead of you. You were overtaken with jealousy as his eyes followed her every move. I get it, it sucks to have your crush like someone else.<br />
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So, you took it upon yourself to get your brother and his best friend away from that family, working up a convoluted web of lies that would make Mrs. Bennet proud. In the meantime, you broke the heart of "The kindest soul on the planet." Really? Low move, Caroline. But this isn't my place to tell you just how very wrong you were; I'm pretty sure you heard all of that from Lizzie, who did end up falling in love with Darcy after all you tried to do. It hurts right now, I'm sure, but remember what's important. There will be other men for you to fall in love with, mark my words.<br />
<br />
And Caroline, may I please impress upon you two very important lessons for you to have learned in this process:<br />
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1. Taking care of the people you care about entails putting what they want first, not what you want. Even if it means that they're going to get married and have 2.5 children and live in a house with a white picket fence.<br />
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2. Don't mess with the Bennet family. Seriously. They're tougher than they look.<br />
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So, honey, don't lose hope. You'll be successful, I know you will. Also, Bing is your brother and he really cares about you, so even if he does go off and marry Jane, he'll always want to spend time with you--this is from the perspective of an older sibling.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Jane<br />
<br />
~~~~~<br />
All right, folks. That's that. Here is the only note for this piece--I think I put all the others in parentheses in the intro. :P<br />
<br />
*...who I just found out is from my state. MINNESOTANS REPRESENT!<br />
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Check out all the other people in the blog chain this month because they are fabulous! (Almost as fabulous as you, if you read this far!) As always, I really value any constructive criticism--it can only help me get better. So yeah. You're cool.<br />
<br />
~Jane<br />
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<br />
<br />
TCWT blog chain March 2013<br />
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<br />
Prompt:<br />
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“Write a letter to an antagonist.”<br />
<br />
Participants:<br />
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March 5th – http://letsgetwriteral.blogspot.com <br />
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March 6th – http://themysteriousscribblingbook.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 7th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 8th – http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/<br />
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March 9th – http://kkazulwolf.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 10th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 11th – http://fida-islaih.blogspot.com/<br />
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March 12th – http://sarahhudsonscribbles.blogspot.ca<br />
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March 13th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 14th – http://aprilmayjay.blogspot.com/<br />
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March 15th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 16th – http://oliviasopinions.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 17th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 18th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 19th – http://paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 20th – http://notebooksisters.blogspot.com/<br />
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March 21st – http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 22nd – http://myswordandpen.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 23rd – http://mirrormadeofwords.com/<br />
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March 24th – http://eatwritedie.blogspot.com/<br />
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March 25th – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/<br />
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March 26th – http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 27th – http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/<br />
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March 28th http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)<br />
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-5412727584348381432013-02-09T16:18:00.001-08:002013-02-09T16:18:02.588-08:00In Which I Share Some PoetryHello!<div>
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I have recently come to two conclusions concerning my blog. The first one is, I would like to blog more than once every month or two, which will mean that I actually have to post things that aren't related to the TCWT blog chain, as lovely as it happens to be. The second is that I would like to post some more of my writing, as I think that this is a good place to share poetry and short stories, the former of which I like to think I'm actually decent at. </div>
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But before the actual presentation of poetry, a little bit about my writing. I am a person who does not stay focused very well, and my writing happens in phases of intense creative binges. I'll go for two or three months without writing a single story or poem and then spit out five in a matter of two days. It just depends. Part of why I like poetry is that I absolutely love descriptive language. I also like writing in free verse, because I like the way I can take the rhythm of the piece and just let it flow the way it wants to.</div>
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And so, without further ado, I present to you... a poem.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>The Dark Rain</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The rain brushes the rooftop </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Clouds paint the sky a deep gray </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The sky cracks </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Showing the light beyond </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">As lightning forks down </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The tapping of the rain </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The pounding of the thunder </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The darkness of the storm </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The light bulbs flicker and darken </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The wind washes through leaves </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Forcing trees to touch their toes </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Visibility is faltering </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Rain coats the window </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">The candles are lit </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">And they glow on the table </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">As I read by the burning light </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Like the sun that’s hiding </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Behind all the clouds </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">In a rush hour traffic jam </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Until the roads clear </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">And the beams slide around </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Through the leaves </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Reflected in my blue eyes </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Looking out the window for a heartbeat </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">Before dimming the candles </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">And placing them on the shelf </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;">To sit patiently for the next dark rain</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I would really appreciate it if you would let me know your thoughts in the comments; a writer will only improve with feedback!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Before I sign off, I'd like to mention what I hope the next few months will have in store for my blog. I decided to opt out of the blog chain for February, but I'll be back for March. I also hope to start writing monthly blog posts prompted by Wonderly's monthly theme. I won't be posting too much writing--I get annoyed when people spam their blogs with poem after poem if that's not the intention of the blog--but I'll probably share a handful more.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I really don't know how to end this blog post, so... au revoir?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">~~~~~</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">My apologies for how confusing this post is. I'm currently running on less than four hours of sleep. When this happens, my language gets... garbled? I suppose it's a side effect of being delirious. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">-Jane</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #181818;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-76586432411571518242013-01-20T18:24:00.005-08:002013-01-20T18:28:10.549-08:00On Harry Potter and Stuff<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Is there one particular book that changed your life? If so, why did you originally choose to read it? What impact has it had on you?”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">My instinctive answer, like at least half of the other nerds my age, is the Harry Potter series. Now, usually, I would try to find another answer that isn't so... obvious? Mainstream? </span></span><span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">But this time, I'm actually going to go with my first idea. Because the Harry Potter books really DID change my life. They helped me discover the communities that I am a part of on the Internet--Goodreads led to Nerdfighteria, then to TCWT. The friendships that I've made and the role models I have found have been paralleled by none in my non-virtual life. (I choose not to say "real life" because these friendships are very real.)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">As for why I chose to read it, well... we've reached confession time, my friends. The first time I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone, I... didn't like it. I KNOW! I'M SORRY! I was a third grader at the time. I think it was just too scary for me. I was always the kind of kid with a huge imagination. (I remember being seven and having to fast-forward through the part of The Little Mermaid where Ursula comes out of the sea because it absolutely terrified me.) By the time I read the first HP book, it wasn't so much my waking mind as it was my dreaming one. At night, when I was about to fall asleep, the things I had read about or watched prowled into my head and gave me nightmares. (But, of course, this overactive imagination has led me to be a writer, so no complaints here.)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">So for the next three years, I went around telling people that I didn't like Harry Potter. I still wince at the thought of that.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Then, the summer when I was eleven, my family and I went on a road trip. We were driving to Yellowstone, I think. My parents convinced us (meaning my little brother Sam and me) to listen to the first Harry Potter book on audiobook. It took some convincing, but I was finally willing to give it a second try. About three hours into the trip, we were hooked. We listened to the first two books and the first half of the third on that trip, and once we got home, Sam and I read the rest of them. I got to read them first, because I was older and read faster. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">When I was in seventh grade, my friend told me about a group on Goodreads*, where I first connected to other writers and nerds my age through discussion of Harry Potter. Some of the people I met then, three years ago, are still some of my best friends now. Then I was introduced to the YouTube community through Kristina Horner's vlogs (of which I am still an avid fan,) then to wizard rock** and fiveawesomegirls and then to the Vlogbrothers***. The people I've met through the nerdfighter*** community and those who I've become a fan of have really helped me view my life in a way I was never able to before. I have gained so much self-confidence and pride in who I am. I've discovered what I love and have had the courage to pursue it. I hate to generalize, but I really do think I've become a better person overall than I was before.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">And all this wouldn't have happened without Harry Potter.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">A few notes:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">*If you're interested in joining the writers' group on Goodreads that I mentioned, please feel free! The group is called Writers Who Are Children, and we're always welcoming new members. Be warned that one of our former traditions was to try and scare off (read: weird out) newbies for about a month. If they made it through that, we considered it their initiation. I think that practice has since died off a bit, but... anyways, here's a link: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/7196">Writers Who Are Children</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;">**Wizard rock is fan music written about Harry Potter. It is frankly quite wonderful. You may have heard of Harry and the Potters. My favorite wizard rock artist is Lauren Fairweather (who was also Tuesday on Fiveawesomegirls and is a really beautiful and inspiring person in general.) Here's a song of hers that pretty much sums up my experience with the Harry Potter/Nerdfighter/Goodreads community that I've been writing about:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gk3D1hCbDQg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4e4e4e;">***John and Hank Green (Yes, that's John Green as in author of The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, etc.) have this awesome vlog called vlogbrothers. And they've created this awesome community called Nerdfighteria. (Note: Nerdfighters don't fight nerds. They are nerds who fight to decrease the overall suckishness of the world. Did I really just put a note within a note? Why yes, I think I did.) If you've never seen any of their videos, go watch. Now. You'll be glad I sent you. :)</span><br />
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">~~~~~</strong></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post! As always, I'd love any feedback you have to offer. I'm hoping to start updating this blog a little more, too, so I'm always looking for people who will read my stuff. Also, that notes section pretty much turned into a mini novel. Sorry 'bout that. :3</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">~Jane</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January Blog Chain Participants:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 5th – <a href="http://fida-islaih.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://fida-islaih.blogspot.co.uk</a> – Muslim Spirit by Fida</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 6th – <a href="http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Teenage Writer</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 7th – <a href="http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com</a> – Miss Alexandrina</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 8th – <a href="http://cinderscoria.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://cinderscoria.blogspot.co.uk</a> – Between The Lines</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 9th – <a href="http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com</a> – Avon’s Babbles</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 10th – <a href="http://www.nonconformistwriter.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.nonconformistwriter.blogspot.co.uk</a> – Life.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 11th – <a href="http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com</a> – Inside The Junk Drawer</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 12th – <a href="http://notebooksisters.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://notebooksisters.blogspot.co.uk</a> – Notebook Sisters</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 13th – <a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com</a> – Musings From Neville’s Navel</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 14th – <a href="http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Loony Teen Writer</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 15th – <a href="http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com</a> – A Mirror Made Of Words</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 16th – <a href="http://epistolarygirl.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://epistolarygirl.wordpress.com</a> – Epistolary Girl</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 17th – <a href="http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.co.uk</a> – Inklined</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 18th – <a href="http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com</a> – Zara Hoffman’s Blog</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 19th – <a href="http://sydneyjoto.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://sydneyjoto.wordpress.com</a> – SydneyJoTo</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 20th – <a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com</a> – Reality Is Imaginary</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 21st – <a href="http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com</a> – The Little Engine That Couldn’t</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 22nd – <a href="http://www.katrinakennedy3.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.katrinakennedy3.wordpress.com</a> – Writers Response</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 23rd –<a href="http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com</a> – John Hansen Writes</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">January 24th – <a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com</a> – Miriam Joy Writes</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">January 25th –</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">– Teens Can Write, Too! (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)</span>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-24922062471042094842012-11-14T19:35:00.003-08:002012-11-14T19:35:47.337-08:00Is This Real Fantasy?<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i>“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” --Madeline L'Engle</i></span><br />
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Among the many side effects of NaNoWriMo is a distinct lack of free time to be used for writing a blog post for the TCWT blog chain. This is why I currently sit in my third-period AP Human Geography class on Wednesday morning, writing this post on a piece of loose leaf paper. So, with my pen at the ready, here I go.<br />
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YA literature (or Young Adult Literature) is a topic that is highly relevant to me. When your'e fifteen years old, you read YA and write YA. But that's the thing. My stories fall in the YA genre, according to some people, simply because they are aimed at teenagers. As a teen myself, though, I don't think of these books as "YA". To me, they are still fantasy and realistic fiction and the ever-dreaded nonfiction.<br />
<br />
My NaNo novel this year is called <i>The Time-Weaver</i>. NaNoWriMo asked me to define the genre of my book, and I was left for the third year in a row to decide between "Fantasy" and "Young Adult". While I finally chose Fantasy, I was left a little miffed. Young Adult literature, like Children's or Adults', deserves its own set of genres. 'Young Adult' should be a descriptive phrase used to distinguish its subjects from books aimed at other ages, not to create a genre of its own. I find it rather insulting hear it called a genre, as if YA fantasy is somehow not "real" fantasy, or as though all the books aimed at adolescents are the same. That's saying that Harry Potter and The Fault in Our Stars belong in the same genre. In other words: utterly preposterous.<br />
<br />
Let's put it this way: When I say "doctor", the first image most people see is (or at some point was) likely a man. This stereotype isn't true for me; my mom is a doctor. Does being a woman make her a worse doctor, or any less qualified? Of course not! The idea of YA lit being its own genre is, simply put, a prejudice. It is a prejudice against the idea that novels written for teens can be thought-provoking, or complicated, or more than, as we call them in my house, 'fluff'. John Green's books definitely aren't fluff, that's for sure!<br />
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Now, I agree that YA lit should be shelved separate from Adult books and Children's books, but YA lit varies as greatly as Adult literature and should be treated the same.<br />
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And now, if you'll excuse my past self, I must get back to my NaNo notebook.<br />
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~~~~<br />
Sorry for the short post. I know it's far below my usual standards, but I'll be back to normal next month. Oh NaNo, the things you make me post on my blog! :)<br />
<br />
--Jane<br />
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Blog Chain:<br />
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<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 5<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com</a> – Musings From Neville’s Navel</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 6<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com</a> – This Page Intentionally Left Blank</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 7<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://amandafoody.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://amandafoody.blogspot.com</a> – It’s All In My Head</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 8<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com</a> – Miriam Joy Writes</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 9<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Loony Teen Writer</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 10<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://yourresidentwordbender.tumblr.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://yourresidentwordbender.tumblr.com</a> – Ink Spilled = Pages Filled</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 11<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com</a> – Inside the Junk Door</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 12<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com</a> – A Mirror Made of Words</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 13<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://homestuckandwriting.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://homestuckandwriting.blogspot.com</a> – Life.</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 14<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> –<a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com</a> – Reality Is Imaginary</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 15<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> –<a href="http://booksarebetterthandiamonds.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://booksarebetterthandiamonds.wordpress.com</a> – Books Are Better Than Diamonds</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 16<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> –<a href="http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 17<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com</a> – Kirsten Writes!</strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: 'Myriad Pro', 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November 18<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com</a> – Teens Can Write, Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)</strong></div>
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-43576394919603809192012-10-06T16:36:00.003-07:002012-10-06T16:36:28.084-07:00Warming up for NovemberSorry for the three-month hiatus! I've been insanely busy with starting High School, dance, and theater rehearsals. Enough of that.<br />
<br />
While checking twitter this morning, I saw that TCWT had retweeted Lily Jenness' tweet about her blog post for yesterday (Click <a href="http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com/2012/10/tcwt-october-blog-chain-nanowrimo.html?spref=tw">here</a> to read her post!) I remembered signing up, but I didn't know what day I was. By chance, I happened to check on my assigned day!<br />
<br />
Luckily, I have a two-hour break between dance and theater when I can type this up. But enough of the back story.<br />
<br />
NaNoWriMo will be an adventure for me this year. I have participated and won the last two years, but I have an added complication this year: the show I'm in goes up on November 2nd, and we have eight shows between then and the 10th. I'll pretty much be writing very little for the first third of the month. I told my mom I might consider starting on the 15th and going until December 15th, or going for only 30,00 words instead, but I know myself, and I know that I will be kicking myself for a long time if I don't go for the full 50,000. I haven't decided for sure yet, so don't hold me to that, but I'm pretty certain.<br />
<br />
My story this year will be--you guessed it--another fantasy. It's still very much in the planning stages, but it will be called The Time-Weaver's Apprentice. It centers around the idea that there is a factory where people's lives are created. Each person has a piece of yarn--the color of your strand reflects your personality. The strands are woven together; some strands weave closely together (like friends or family) and sometimes they suddenly veer away from each other (when there is a falling-out.) When your strand ends, you die. The "time-weaver", who is in charge of all this mess, is roughly 2,000 years old. (I'm toying with the idea of having her be Jesus' cousin or something.) She's really crabby and not very nice--sitting at a massive loom for two thousand years will do that to you. Over time, as the population has grown, she's had to hire more and more additional workers, whenever the current population is too much for the current staff to handle. Now, though, the Time-Weaver is getting too old to manage things, and she's looking for an apprentice to train to be the next Time-Weaver for the next 2,000 years.<br />
<br />
The main character is a 14-year-old (?) girl named Helen. (I'm still looking for a last name.) She somehow meets the Time-Weaver and learns about her. Meanwhile, Helen's best friend dies. (I'm not sure if it will be suicide or a car accident.) Helen becomes obsessed with the idea of fixing the tapestry and getting her friend back.<br />
<br />
(I'm running out of time, so I'll just write a sample opening paragraph or two.)<br />
<br />
SAMPLE:<br />
<br />
Helen is a practical name. There is nothing extravagant about it. Even the best crooner in the world could not make it sound melodic. It is plain, like the girl it indicates. It has next to no nicknames. It is short, perfect for yelling up the stairs when she is in trouble.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this is the name to which I belong. I wish it was a frivolous tagline, something that rolled off your tongue instead of choking in the back of your throat.<br />
<br />
<br />
~~~<br />
That will be all for today! Thanks for reading! As always, I would love any comments/critiques.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The theme for this month’s blog chain is…</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“What are you writing for NaNoWriMo? Briefly explain how this book idea come about. Then write a mock first page for the novel.”</em></span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Participants:</span>Want to follow our blog chain? Here are the participating parties, day by day:<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 5<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com</a> – Lily’s Notes in the Margins</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 6<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com</a> – Reality Is Imaginary</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 7<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://onelifeglory.blogspot.ca/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://onelifeglory.blogspot.ca</a> – One Life Story</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 8<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://gabrielletheauthoress.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://gabrielletheauthoress.wordpress.com</a> – Of a Writerly Sort</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 9<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://towerofplot.blogspot.co.uk/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://towerofplot.blogspot.co.uk</a> – The Leaning Tower of Plot</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 10<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com</a> – This Page Intentionally Left Blank</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 11<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://whatupdates.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://whatupdates.blogspot.com</a> – What Updates?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 12<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com</a> – Miriam Joy Writes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 13<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://cinderscoria.blogspot.com</a> – Between the Lines</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 14<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://weirdalocity.wordpress.com</a> – Inside the Junk Door</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 15<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com</a> – Musings From Neville’s Navel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 16<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com</a> – Kirsten Writes!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 17<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://mirrormadeofwords.wordpress.com</a> – A Mirror Made of Words</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 18<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://theteenagewriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Teenage Writer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 19<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://platonicpencil.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://platonicpencil.wordpress.com</a> – Platonic Pencil</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 20<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> – <a href="http://markobrienwrites.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://markobrienwrites.blogspot.com</a> – Mark O’Brien Writes</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 21<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">st</sup> – <a href="http://amandafoody.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://amandafoody.blogspot.com</a> – It’s All In My Head</span><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 22<sup style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">nd</sup> –<a href="http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com</a> – The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer</span><br />
October 23<sup style="border: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">rd</sup> – <a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0071bb; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com</a> – Teens Can Write, Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)<br />
Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-88378542751418789102012-07-15T11:56:00.003-07:002012-07-15T12:12:16.131-07:00A Writer's World<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Friday night, my friends and I were watching “Life as we Know It”. We were trying to figure out which one of us would be the girl who dies, and which one would be the best friend who inherits the child. “The stork of death will bring you your baby”, commented my friend Maria, who also happens to be a teen writer. My friends all laughed, but I turned and said, “The stork of death. That would make an interesting story idea.” </span></b><br />
<br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3113272306509316" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stork of death, who has taken up residence inside my crazy mind sometime in the last 48 hours, is just one example of how writing has changed my perspective on life. </span></span></b> <br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure if this is true for most writers or just me, but writing has helped me improve my interpretation of individuals. Out of a single conversation with someone, I can usually get a pretty accurate observation of who they are. There’s a trick to reading people. I can usually tell if they’re being a genuine person, or if there’s something more to them, a different side that they don’t let people see. It’s fascinating how much more you can learn about people who you’ve known your entire life if you just pay attention to the little subtleties that clue you in to their world. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m pretty sure that working on character building has improved this the most. The idea that each person you talk to--your brother, your best friend, that boy who always chews his gum too loud in math class, the girl who always watches your dance practice for fifteen minutes on Mondays, all of them--are just as complex, complete characters as you are. When you drive to church on Sundays, every single person you pass on the highway is going somewhere, is coming from somewhere, has a family, a job, a life story as long and detailed as your own. It makes your mind spin if you think about it too long.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I wrap up this post, I’d also like to mention that I think in descriptions. I LOVE descriptions. My friends are about ready to start calling me “hyperbole girl.” (See what I did there?) But truly, I always come up with stray similes and metaphors at random times. Most of them are bland, but occasionally I’ll come across a really good one. For example, yesterday I got a pedicure with my mom. When I looked down at my pale blue toes decked with little white flowers, all I could think of were daisy-chain crowns.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From floral wreaths to the stork of death, my world is definitely a little bizarre, but it’s a writer’s world and I love it. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">~~~~~</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want to follow the blog chain (even though I’m almost at the end,) here’s a list of where to go for each day’s post:</span></span><br />
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 7–</span><a href="http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Miriam Joy Writes</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 8–</span><a href="http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Musings From Neville’s Navel</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 9–</span><a href="http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–This Page Intentionally Left Blank</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 10–</span><a href="http://maybeteenauthor.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://maybeteenauthor.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Blog of a (Maybe) Teen Author</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 11–</span><a href="http://scribblingbeyondthemargins.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://scribblingbeyondthemargins.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Scribbling Beyond the Margins</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 12–</span><a href="http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Lily’s Notes In The Margins</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 13–</span><a href="http://correctingpenswelcome.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://correctingpenswelcome.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Comfy Sweaters, Writing and Fish</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 14–</span><a href="http://laughablog.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://laughablog.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–The Zebra Clan</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 15–</span><a href="http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–Reality Is Imaginary</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 16–</span><a href="http://a-myriad-of-colors.blogspot.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://a-myriad-of-colors.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–A Myriad of Colors</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 17–</span><a href="http://anmksmeanderingmind.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://anmksmeanderingmind.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–An MK’s Meandering Mind</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 18–</span><a href="http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 19–</span><a href="http://allegradavis.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://allegradavis.wordpress.com</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">–All I Need Is A Keyboard</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">July 20–</span><a href="http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com-</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-Teens Can Write Too! (We will be announcing the topic for next month’s chain)</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope everyone is having a great summer! I'm off to eat some lunch--I wouldn't let myself take a break from my blog post. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As always, I would really, really appreciate it if you would take the time to help me improve as a writer. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks!</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.9694738569669425"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">~Jane</span></span></div></div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-54527164746488243982012-06-19T09:20:00.000-07:002012-06-19T09:20:14.159-07:00First Impressions in a Literary SenseWhenever I hear the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover", the first thing I hear is a song from Thomas the Tank Engine that I last heard when I was probably about six. If that phrase turns up in a TV show about trains intended for preschoolers, it's probably worth listening to, right?<div><br />
<div>However, I disagree. Covers and titles of books are pretty much the first impression a book makes on its reader. Think about it this way: When a girl goes to a job interview, she doesn't show up in sweats with her hair unbrushed and smelling like she hasn't taken a shower in three days. She makes herself look nice, wears clean clothes, and makes sure to present herself in a way that is sure to impress the interviewer. In the end, is whether or not she gets the job based on which sweater she wore? No, mostly. Whether or not she gets the job is based on her qualifications, personality, and experience. Her first impression, however, can make or break it the moment she steps in the room. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I see book covers and titles as job interviews for books. If a boy walks into a book store, he will likely first pick up a book that has an interesting cover or a catchy title. He'll probably read the back or the inside cover or even the first few pages to see if it is something he would like to read. If it's not, he'll put it back on the shelf. But if a book is sitting just one shelf away with a dismal cover and a lame title that might actually become his new favorite, it never gets a chance. Like the girl who came in dressed as a slob, the book's first impression is too unappealing to the boy to get a chance for a second. </div></div><div><br />
</div><div>And then there's the difficulty of finding what cover styles and titles make certain groups of people interested. For me, I'm often automatically drawn to something that is weird and unique. Covers of a style that I've never seen before quickly jump into my hands.</div><div>Some examples of my favorite book covers:</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328875650l/1161535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328875650l/1161535.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div><i>Each Little Bird that Sings</i> by Deborah Wiles (Incidentally, one of my favorite books as well.)</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317792687l/1024275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317792687l/1024275.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div><i>The Beekeepers's Apprentice</i> by Laurie R. King</div><div><br />
</div><div>As far as titles go, I prefer short titles that you won't forget. That way, I can remember BOTH the title and the author's name when I recommend it to a friend.</div><div>Some examples of titles that I like AND authors that I can remember (and their covers, just for kicks.):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291867045l/9862827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1291867045l/9862827.jpg" /></a></div><div><i>The Reading Promise</i> by Alice Ozma (Highly recommended!)</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175395009l/511341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175395009l/511341.jpg" /></a></div><div><i>Zazoo </i>by Richard Mosher</div><div><br />
</div><div>(Also: All of the books I've shared as examples are some of my favorites that I would definitely recommend.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>People are told not to judge others by first impressions, but they definitely make a pretty big impact. The same is definitely true for books. I'm not going to advise you to fight against this inevitable aspect of marketing, because it is just that--an aspect of marketing that is unavoidable. Publishers know that people will only buy their book if it has an interesting cover and/or title. The problem is just in the execution.</div><div><br />
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</div><div>First of all, my sincerest apologies for not getting this up until today. I was out of town all last week and didn't remember about my Monday deadline until I was going to bed on Sunday night. I was then gone until late on Monday, and when I tried to get on the computer, my mom shooed me off to bed. I'm not trying to excuse my lateness, merely explaining it. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Secondly, please comment on this if you are so willing. I try to do the same for you, and it really helps me improve my writing and blog. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Thanks!</div><div>~Jane</div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-2269749574546072952012-06-18T06:06:00.001-07:002012-06-18T06:06:38.082-07:00PlaceholderFirst of all, I'm so sorry about this!<div>
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I don't have a blog post ready yet. I was out of town all last week. I'll be gone during the day today, but I'll get one up this evening--so if I'm not on time for you, please look back later this evening or tomorrow!</div>
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Thanks!</div>
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Jane</div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-64072198362814870552012-05-15T04:15:00.001-07:002012-05-15T04:15:41.471-07:00Why do you Write?I'm pretty novice when it comes to the art of writing a blog post for others to read. My thoughts rarely string together to form coherent sentences that are pleasing to the figurative ear, and I struggle to stay on one topic for more than a few awkward phrases. My posts are overstuffed with metaphors, painstakingly waver between colloquial and formal writing, and are about as interesting as... well... something that really isn't interesting. Frankly, most of my attempts at the next great masterpiece of the English language generally result in such a mash-up. Why, then, do I continue? Why do I pound relentlessly at the black keys on my keyboard?<div>
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That, my friends, is a very good question.</div>
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The answer, however, has to come in a rather roundabout way.</div>
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On September 6th, 2011, my first day of 8th grade, I began keeping a daily journal. Every night, before I go to sleep, I write. I lean up against my Dumbledore's Army poster on the wall and brace my feet against the opposite site of my bed, resting the fourth small red book on top of my knees. On Sunday, I reached the 250th entry. I plan to continue until I reach at least entry #366, which should occur on September 5, 2012, if my math is correct. </div>
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Once an entry is written, it just gets buried under more pages screaming with my thoughts. Once a journal is filled up, these pages get pressed together, the elastic band slips around them, and I re-cap the pen for one final time. Then, I climb down from my five-foot-tall loft bed, cross the room, and place the little book next to the others on my bookshelf, ready to start another one the following day.</div>
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Why do I bother with this?</div>
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When I write, I write for myself. Journaling every night, no matter how frustrating it can be when I have to stay up until 2 in the morning to finish homework, is a way of me channeling my thoughts. I used to always be kept awake at night by the thoughts chasing each other around in my head. Now that I think about it, the last time that really happened was several months ago, and even that was a rare instance. </div>
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Almost every form of writing helps me reach myself, if that makes any sense. Sometimes I as a person make more sense if I'm an outsider, looking in--an outsider who knows everything about me, that is. Even writing that doesn't involve me directly--say, one of my two NaNoWriMo novels--helps me in this way. I often identify accidental traits in my characters that come from me. Often, these traits are flaws or things that maybe aren't so good. By writing their stories, I discover how Cori or Iris solve their problems, and, through that, I discover how I can be a more pleasant person for my friends to be around. </div>
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One of the things that most outsiders don't understand about writing is that it is about milestones. I keep track of my journal entries to have some sort of reward for my endless determination. NaNoWriMo sets the winning word goal at 50,000 to give us something to strive for, because motivation is based on having an attainable goal. </div>
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Of course, many writers' sense of "attainable" is more than slightly distorted, but that's what makes us such a determined bunch. When we have goals that seem easy, such as finishing a math assignment, we tend to forget that we actually have to work to get those done, and procrastinate more than any other group of people I know. </div>
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So, why do I write? I write to teach myself that I CAN do it. I write to get in touch with what is important to me. I write to make myself a better person. I write for me.</div>
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And so ends my first blog post for the Teens Can Write, Too! blog chain.</div>
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Please tell me what you think! I know this blog as a whole is really empty right now, but it won't stay that way for long, I promise. :)</div>
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Love,</div>
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Jane</div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719154659880946742.post-48674062320740250622012-05-12T07:58:00.001-07:002012-05-12T07:58:27.809-07:00New BeginningsRecently, I've been thinking a lot about beginnings and endings, and for good reason, too. In a matter of 20-something days, I will be completing my time in Middle School. Next fall, I'll start High School, delving into a world yet unknown to me. I'll be starting driver's ed, beginning a new year of dance, and turning over a new page in my life. I recently went through and got rid of all my old blog posts, hoping to turn this into something that resembles a more composed, thoughtful collection of writing than my daily journal. There have also been a lot of changes in my personal life, too. I've found new friends and have drifted away from older friends, even outright fighting with people I've been really close to forever, which is always stressful, no matter who you are or how long you've been living life. <div>
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Some people compare life to a book. I find fault with this analogy--our life is more like a river. There is no definite chapter. Things happen all the time around us that we can't understand, we can't control, we can't tell are happening when they did until long after. Most things aren't as simple as black print standing soldier-like on white paper, just waiting in rows to be pursued. The chapters of our lives aren't definite. Sure, I'll be leaving one place and starting at a new one, my daily schedule (which has remained the same for the majority of the last three years) will be completely rewritten, but that doesn't mean I'm starting over. I still have my friends, my passions, and my talents. It's like taking a piece of candy and rewrapping it in a new skin. It's labeled differently, but it's still the same person. The chapter isn't ending, merely transitioning. And most importantly, you can't flip to the back and find out how it ends until you've lived the whole story through.</div>
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These beginnings and endings are normal, typical, expected. They will hopefully not be very difficult for me beyond the usual stress that comes with any transition. It just got me thinking about how you can't control time, just make the most of it. Sometimes, things hurt in life, but you just have to roll with the punches and remember that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. You have to leap at the opportunities that arise, because good things in life won't be handed to you on a silver platter. And remember: whenever one door closes, two more open. </div>
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Love,</div>
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Jane</div>Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05022918939054869498noreply@blogger.com0