So, I am doing yet another teaser for you guys! I think I'll do this every Tuesday, simply for motivation to actually write. I haven't sat down and written a few K in soo long. I am a hideous author. *cowers from good-author judgement*
So, here you go. Yet another piece of CRAVED...
Her life had always seemed like it was drowning in injustice; she often compared herself to Nannerl Mozart, the one who was always more talented, yet because of her standing in life, her gender, she received less recognition. No one seemed to truly appreciate her for her genius. Her younger sisters, the Wolfgangs, were appreciated for things she had already done and rewarded five times over.
She was not just the elder Mozart, she had suffered the unending trials of most every angst-ridden pianist and composer.
She was Beethoven’s childhood piano-based abuse, under the unmerciful stare of his father, she had walked through a harsh road to reach her education like Bach, and, not known to her at that heated moment in the cafeteria, she would face a troublesome affair, like Debussy, though no one else would refer to it as such.
The plate, which had been filled with nothing but a small tong-ful of French fries was emptied and she dropped the tray off, and watched it go through the little flaps towards the dishwasher. As Mallory walked out, she thought, God, why didn’t you put me with the angels, where I actually belong? I am a martyr, as misunderstood as human life comes, I’ll just end up dying for the piano…Too bad it can’t be a friend to me.
Later, she would realize, it was always her only one.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Little Things
Yesterday a surprise party was thrown for my good friend Dine Dine. (MWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHA) And just seeing how excited she was made me so ridiculously happy. So I decided to do a post on the little things in life that make me smile.
1) A hug. But not just any hug. The RIGHT kind of hug. I'd tell you how that works, but then someone *AHEM, AHEM* would take it as a hint to someone else. (And yes, Dini, I know what you're thinking.)
2)A comment: Yes, we bloggers love a comment once in a while. No. We ALWAYS want a comment. It makes us feel like people care about what we are thinking. And, honestly, I'd leave more comments if I was signed in when I read other people's blogs.
3) A good picture of myself: These are few and far in between. I almost always manage to look like crap in pictures. THIS IS WHY I TRY TO NOT SMILE IN PICTURES! I'M PRETTIER WITH A POUTY FACE!!!
4) A good dream: These are also rare. I'm one of those people who, since early childhood could never have/remember a dream. But lately, as my mind is very focused on one thing at a time, I have dreams about stuff. For example, I recently had a dream about Nadine's surprise party. Of course, that dream was interrupted by something else, but I shan't go into that.
5) A good outfit: The kind that isn't just "cute." The kind that makes you strut out of the house feeling like a million bucks. Your hair looks great and your makeup is flattering, fresh and dewy. Basically, a gorgeous day where you're grinning from ear to ear, rather than going, OKAYIMACCEPTABLEGOTTAGOBYEE. You don't look in the mirror to criticize, but to admire your lovely self. Because a confident morning is an awesome morning.
So, those are a few little pleasures. I hope you find something little that makes you smile today. :)
1) A hug. But not just any hug. The RIGHT kind of hug. I'd tell you how that works, but then someone *AHEM, AHEM* would take it as a hint to someone else. (And yes, Dini, I know what you're thinking.)
2)A comment: Yes, we bloggers love a comment once in a while. No. We ALWAYS want a comment. It makes us feel like people care about what we are thinking. And, honestly, I'd leave more comments if I was signed in when I read other people's blogs.
3) A good picture of myself: These are few and far in between. I almost always manage to look like crap in pictures. THIS IS WHY I TRY TO NOT SMILE IN PICTURES! I'M PRETTIER WITH A POUTY FACE!!!
4) A good dream: These are also rare. I'm one of those people who, since early childhood could never have/remember a dream. But lately, as my mind is very focused on one thing at a time, I have dreams about stuff. For example, I recently had a dream about Nadine's surprise party. Of course, that dream was interrupted by something else, but I shan't go into that.
5) A good outfit: The kind that isn't just "cute." The kind that makes you strut out of the house feeling like a million bucks. Your hair looks great and your makeup is flattering, fresh and dewy. Basically, a gorgeous day where you're grinning from ear to ear, rather than going, OKAYIMACCEPTABLEGOTTAGOBYEE. You don't look in the mirror to criticize, but to admire your lovely self. Because a confident morning is an awesome morning.
So, those are a few little pleasures. I hope you find something little that makes you smile today. :)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Speak Loudly...For Everyone Who Needs You To
I thought, when I made this blog, that I would be able to avoid anything having to due with my own, umm, intimate life... But, right now, I don't care. Yes, I'm a fourteen year old girl, a MINOR, and if any adult wants to get creepy with this, then shove your ass right into prison.
A professor, Wesley Scroggins, from MO, wanted to ban the book SPEAK, along with two others in a public school. His argument was that SPEAK, with it's two rapes scenes. was "soft pornography."
One word: EW. Pron, by definition, is meant to, well, turn you on. If, as a grown man, a young girl turns you on, you need help. If, at any age, rape turns you on, you need help. To put them both together is horrifying.
He is, no offense intended, an uber-Christian. That's great, that he expresses what he believes religiously, but he's working to ban SPEAK in a PUBLIC SCHOOL. I don't care if you;re Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheistic, agnostic, polytheistic or Scientologist. You have no right to voice your opinion about religion in a public school. That's why it's public; it's for EVERYONE.
Now, this man is saying that sexual exploitation is something to be ashamed of. To feel dirty and keep hushed, alone. I'm freaked out to type this, but when I was little something happened to me. Not what a few people are thinking. While it wasn't rape, or anything like that, it's not...good.
It's been repressed almost completely; I didn't even remember when I first saw this hype. THAT repressed. But I never had the courage to speak up; and no one will listen anyway. I've decided it's too late for me. I can deal on my own. I think I've done pretty well. So, don't worry about me, but just keep Speaking Loudly.
♥
A professor, Wesley Scroggins, from MO, wanted to ban the book SPEAK, along with two others in a public school. His argument was that SPEAK, with it's two rapes scenes. was "soft pornography."
One word: EW. Pron, by definition, is meant to, well, turn you on. If, as a grown man, a young girl turns you on, you need help. If, at any age, rape turns you on, you need help. To put them both together is horrifying.
He is, no offense intended, an uber-Christian. That's great, that he expresses what he believes religiously, but he's working to ban SPEAK in a PUBLIC SCHOOL. I don't care if you;re Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheistic, agnostic, polytheistic or Scientologist. You have no right to voice your opinion about religion in a public school. That's why it's public; it's for EVERYONE.
Now, this man is saying that sexual exploitation is something to be ashamed of. To feel dirty and keep hushed, alone. I'm freaked out to type this, but when I was little something happened to me. Not what a few people are thinking. While it wasn't rape, or anything like that, it's not...good.
It's been repressed almost completely; I didn't even remember when I first saw this hype. THAT repressed. But I never had the courage to speak up; and no one will listen anyway. I've decided it's too late for me. I can deal on my own. I think I've done pretty well. So, don't worry about me, but just keep Speaking Loudly.
♥
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Day 3!!!
Today is a picture of you and your friends. I have a good amount of close friends that I can turn to, but for different things. Some are school, some are home/neighborhood...So, I'll just give you a brief look...
These were my Hollins girls this summer. In the tie-dye is Tina. Next to that is me. Punching the air is Charlotte, and Kim is eating her fist. Hidden by Kim's head is Elizabeth, WHO MIGHT COME AND VISIT!! Then there's Sarah, Haley, Katelyn, Molly, Sam (PHANTOM BUDDY!), Erin, Maria, and Nicole!
This is Ricky, one of my best guy friends. He looks better than me in this picture, which bothers me. But I will let it go because I love him.
This is VINTAGE. T'is Nicholas, the brother. And, indeed, I am the girl he is giving a piggy-back. Because we're cool like that. Is it weird that I count my brother as a friend? Probably...
Katie, the sweetest girl ever, Aneta, the most FUN person ever, me, Elise. It was wet, and rainy. And we are on a playground. PWN
That's me and Sofia, on a scooter. I love Sofia because she's ridiculously fun...She's the one I go to for girl time, and for a reality check. Really, she can manage teenage-girl reality checks. She's only 12, but she can really handle herself better than me. Meaning, she's more likely to get a boyfriend after two weeks than I am after pining for six months. FML. I love you, Sofia.
This is my best friend, Morgen, of over ten years. I love her because she's everything I need her to be. She can listen, laugh, and be tolerant of very weird things. She's been making me dinner for half of my life, and I couldn't imagine growing up without her. She the first person I call when I'm upset in the middle of the night, and is the only one I'll listen to for...a lot.
These were my Hollins girls this summer. In the tie-dye is Tina. Next to that is me. Punching the air is Charlotte, and Kim is eating her fist. Hidden by Kim's head is Elizabeth, WHO MIGHT COME AND VISIT!! Then there's Sarah, Haley, Katelyn, Molly, Sam (PHANTOM BUDDY!), Erin, Maria, and Nicole!
This is Ricky, one of my best guy friends. He looks better than me in this picture, which bothers me. But I will let it go because I love him.
This is VINTAGE. T'is Nicholas, the brother. And, indeed, I am the girl he is giving a piggy-back. Because we're cool like that. Is it weird that I count my brother as a friend? Probably...
Katie, the sweetest girl ever, Aneta, the most FUN person ever, me, Elise. It was wet, and rainy. And we are on a playground. PWN
That's me and Sofia, on a scooter. I love Sofia because she's ridiculously fun...She's the one I go to for girl time, and for a reality check. Really, she can manage teenage-girl reality checks. She's only 12, but she can really handle herself better than me. Meaning, she's more likely to get a boyfriend after two weeks than I am after pining for six months. FML. I love you, Sofia.
This is my best friend, Morgen, of over ten years. I love her because she's everything I need her to be. She can listen, laugh, and be tolerant of very weird things. She's been making me dinner for half of my life, and I couldn't imagine growing up without her. She the first person I call when I'm upset in the middle of the night, and is the only one I'll listen to for...a lot.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
"Secret Dream Tag"
So, after I was actually RESPONDED TO on Twitter, it has been confirmed that I will NOT be doing a Challenge today. I decided I'd try something special. This is a tag. In this tag the person is to say what their one ridiculous dream is. Or maybe not RIDICULOUS, but something that seems entirely out of reach. Maybe you want to be as successful an author as J. K. Rowling, or you want to be a world-famous actress. Maybe you want to be an astrophysicist but you suck at math. I'm starting this tag, and it isn't meant to make anyone feel bad, or not good enough. It's meant to really look at your dreams, analyze them, see why they're "impossible," and if you can do anything to make the chances of them becoming reality, how you would do it.
That was a hell of a run-on sentence...
Now, my secret dream is to be a model.
I'd love to do modeling because it's the nice, pretty, conclusion that matters. One of the things that frustrates me about school is that you have to have every step of the way done nice, neat, and perfect, too. I think that isn't practical, and if you get the end result impeccable, it doesn't matter if you did it another way. I know it doesn't work that way, yes, yes... I'm just saying that you just need to be able to execute only the most crucial part at the end of the day.
I love luxurious photos and that amazing thing called photo editing. I love the glamour of the clothes people wear, just to do weird things in them, and the elaborate makeup. If you didn't know, I'm an utter romantic and all things, well, dark, lush and romantic are 'ight with me.
I think I speak for most people in this world when I say, I just want to feel beautiful.
Now, being the lucky girl I am, I have wonderful, supportive friends who, not even knowing this about me, tell me I'm beautiful. I COULD model. Now, I'm not saying I am or I'm not beautiful. I just always, very patiently say I can't. No, I don't hate my appearance, or my body, hair, face, whatever. I just couldn't. I don't have the background in photography, or taken a modeling class. I am destined to live the rest of my life shopping in petites when only women 5"9 and above can strut down a runway in any fashion show. Oh, and sizes MALNOURISHED, BULIMIC, AND ANOREXIC. (Maybe I shouldn't be so blunt, but the lifestyles go hand-in-hand...)
Besides, that world isn't totally glamorous, the way the photos seem to make it. It's eating (and puking up) mostly airline food, and having damaged nails from constant manicuring. The reality isn't the pretty little picture I have in my mind when I think, oh-wouldn't-that-be-nice. A runway model is simply a ridiculous toy used to show off the worst makeup of all time, and bizarre outfits no one would ever wear. I like the black-and-white/sepia modeling with a theme, a meaning, a person who can act only through still poses. That's acting.
It's silly, but it's my secret dream.
Now, all of you, I am tagging you in this. Take it and put it on your blogs, Flickrs, Tumblrs, websites, put it on FB or even bring it to YouTube. I'd love to see what you guys have to say about your highest aspirations. Especially because you sat down and read mine.
Peace, love, LUCKY!
(Anyone get the reference to the fashion world, LOL?)
That was a hell of a run-on sentence...
Now, my secret dream is to be a model.
I'd love to do modeling because it's the nice, pretty, conclusion that matters. One of the things that frustrates me about school is that you have to have every step of the way done nice, neat, and perfect, too. I think that isn't practical, and if you get the end result impeccable, it doesn't matter if you did it another way. I know it doesn't work that way, yes, yes... I'm just saying that you just need to be able to execute only the most crucial part at the end of the day.
I love luxurious photos and that amazing thing called photo editing. I love the glamour of the clothes people wear, just to do weird things in them, and the elaborate makeup. If you didn't know, I'm an utter romantic and all things, well, dark, lush and romantic are 'ight with me.
I think I speak for most people in this world when I say, I just want to feel beautiful.
Now, being the lucky girl I am, I have wonderful, supportive friends who, not even knowing this about me, tell me I'm beautiful. I COULD model. Now, I'm not saying I am or I'm not beautiful. I just always, very patiently say I can't. No, I don't hate my appearance, or my body, hair, face, whatever. I just couldn't. I don't have the background in photography, or taken a modeling class. I am destined to live the rest of my life shopping in petites when only women 5"9 and above can strut down a runway in any fashion show. Oh, and sizes MALNOURISHED, BULIMIC, AND ANOREXIC. (Maybe I shouldn't be so blunt, but the lifestyles go hand-in-hand...)
Besides, that world isn't totally glamorous, the way the photos seem to make it. It's eating (and puking up) mostly airline food, and having damaged nails from constant manicuring. The reality isn't the pretty little picture I have in my mind when I think, oh-wouldn't-that-be-nice. A runway model is simply a ridiculous toy used to show off the worst makeup of all time, and bizarre outfits no one would ever wear. I like the black-and-white/sepia modeling with a theme, a meaning, a person who can act only through still poses. That's acting.
It's silly, but it's my secret dream.
Now, all of you, I am tagging you in this. Take it and put it on your blogs, Flickrs, Tumblrs, websites, put it on FB or even bring it to YouTube. I'd love to see what you guys have to say about your highest aspirations. Especially because you sat down and read mine.
Peace, love, LUCKY!
(Anyone get the reference to the fashion world, LOL?)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Day 2, and a Random WTF Post!
Sorry, loves. Illnesses and loss of wiFi have made me break my promise.
However, Day 2 is the name of your blog and why!
WOOHOO
Well, my URL is kimjatheinkslinger.blogspot.com... The Kimja came from a nickname I had recently gotten in school due to my ninja-ness in Social Studies. >:) I was obsessed, yes, and I still love when people call me that. For my "Ink Slinger," I had just gone into a thesaurus website and typed in "writer." You know me, having to be unique with word choice. Ink Slinger was an epic win there. My lovely Nerdy Sam told me, so HA. Unless you have your own Nerdy Sam, SHUDDUP!
The actual title of my blog is Kimja By Day. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. (I mean, really, look to previous paragraph about how lamely ninja I am.)
Now, onto a real blog post, I guess.
Can anyone tell me why, when I walked into CVS today, did I see a magazine covered entirely devoted to a teenage couple who had a baby? Yes, it's a baby. Babies are wonderfully cute, warm creatures, when they aren't hungry, crying soiling themselves, yes...
But what gives these kids (BTW, they ARE kids, they're really not much older than me...) the right to show off a baby they no longer have rights to, to the world? Every child deserves the right to a secure home, which is very clearly being violated for this baby.
Is adoption the right thing? I don't know. I am NOT pregnant, I don't WANT to be pregnant, but if I did get pregnant I would keep my baby. I'm not one for wondering; it makes me depressed.
I know that was random, but I was really wondering. If someone could help me understand MTV, you are amazing.
And kinda stoopid.
However, Day 2 is the name of your blog and why!
WOOHOO
Well, my URL is kimjatheinkslinger.blogspot.com... The Kimja came from a nickname I had recently gotten in school due to my ninja-ness in Social Studies. >:) I was obsessed, yes, and I still love when people call me that. For my "Ink Slinger," I had just gone into a thesaurus website and typed in "writer." You know me, having to be unique with word choice. Ink Slinger was an epic win there. My lovely Nerdy Sam told me, so HA. Unless you have your own Nerdy Sam, SHUDDUP!
The actual title of my blog is Kimja By Day. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. (I mean, really, look to previous paragraph about how lamely ninja I am.)
Now, onto a real blog post, I guess.
Can anyone tell me why, when I walked into CVS today, did I see a magazine covered entirely devoted to a teenage couple who had a baby? Yes, it's a baby. Babies are wonderfully cute, warm creatures, when they aren't hungry, crying soiling themselves, yes...
But what gives these kids (BTW, they ARE kids, they're really not much older than me...) the right to show off a baby they no longer have rights to, to the world? Every child deserves the right to a secure home, which is very clearly being violated for this baby.
Is adoption the right thing? I don't know. I am NOT pregnant, I don't WANT to be pregnant, but if I did get pregnant I would keep my baby. I'm not one for wondering; it makes me depressed.
I know that was random, but I was really wondering. If someone could help me understand MTV, you are amazing.
And kinda stoopid.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Day 1 Challenge
Day 1 is a recent picture of yourself, and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Isn't it gooowwwgiss?
1) I hate people. They're just so... empty headed. And I don't like that. But, once I love somebody, I love them fiercely.
2)I am an utter romantic. I don't need romance itself, but I love the idea of unrequited love...just not now.
3)I'm afraid that none of my friends actually like me, and only put up with me because they feel bad for me.I get this feeling on a daily basis, with many of my friends.
4) As shown above, I am very low on the whole self-esteem thing. I hate my body, my nose, my eyes. I hate my chipmunk-y cheeks, and I never think I'm good enough for people to like. I feel like a real nuisance in this world, sometimes.
5) I love houses, inside and out. I know just about every style home, I could pinpoint a price on a house by looking at it. I love interior design, and if it was more practical, I would consider it as a career.
6)I try to spend all of my free time at the pond down the street. It's the best in the fall when the air has just a bit of bite in it, and no one else is there. It's really pretty there, with the water shining, and it's just a great place for pictures, and for sitting down, and, well, everything.
7) I believe that the best place to get in touch with your inner self is at the bow of a speedboat. It fats, and the wind blows through your hair as you bump over another boat's wake. And you can talk to yourself and no one will notice.
8)I want to become fluent in Farsi, a language used throughout the Middle East, but primarily in Iran, because I think their writing is really beautiful. ♥
9) I hate when people mispronounce my last name. It's how it's spelled people! Gi-An-Cas-Pro!
10)I talk to God when I'm scared or lonely, or I just want some good advice. To me, it's important knowng someone is there. I can't believe that no one is responsible for life.
11) I want to be beautiful. ALWAYS. I hate feeling like less than my best.
12) A guy with a Harley Davidson is cooler than a guy who can play guitar, have blonde hair,(that's usually my preferance)or is an utter ninja. Because ninjas are awesome. But motorcycles...CLASSIC motorcycles are cooler.
13) I actually watch that wedding dress show. *COWERS FROM JUDGEMENT!*
14)My goldfish, rather cruelly named Filet-O-Fish (yes, like the McDonald's sandwich) has lived over a year and a half, depsite being left alone about seven times, each time 4-7 days. :P
15) The person I love more than anyone is the one who hurts me the most.
Isn't it gooowwwgiss?
1) I hate people. They're just so... empty headed. And I don't like that. But, once I love somebody, I love them fiercely.
2)I am an utter romantic. I don't need romance itself, but I love the idea of unrequited love...just not now.
3)I'm afraid that none of my friends actually like me, and only put up with me because they feel bad for me.I get this feeling on a daily basis, with many of my friends.
4) As shown above, I am very low on the whole self-esteem thing. I hate my body, my nose, my eyes. I hate my chipmunk-y cheeks, and I never think I'm good enough for people to like. I feel like a real nuisance in this world, sometimes.
5) I love houses, inside and out. I know just about every style home, I could pinpoint a price on a house by looking at it. I love interior design, and if it was more practical, I would consider it as a career.
6)I try to spend all of my free time at the pond down the street. It's the best in the fall when the air has just a bit of bite in it, and no one else is there. It's really pretty there, with the water shining, and it's just a great place for pictures, and for sitting down, and, well, everything.
7) I believe that the best place to get in touch with your inner self is at the bow of a speedboat. It fats, and the wind blows through your hair as you bump over another boat's wake. And you can talk to yourself and no one will notice.
8)I want to become fluent in Farsi, a language used throughout the Middle East, but primarily in Iran, because I think their writing is really beautiful. ♥
9) I hate when people mispronounce my last name. It's how it's spelled people! Gi-An-Cas-Pro!
10)I talk to God when I'm scared or lonely, or I just want some good advice. To me, it's important knowng someone is there. I can't believe that no one is responsible for life.
11) I want to be beautiful. ALWAYS. I hate feeling like less than my best.
12) A guy with a Harley Davidson is cooler than a guy who can play guitar, have blonde hair,(that's usually my preferance)or is an utter ninja. Because ninjas are awesome. But motorcycles...CLASSIC motorcycles are cooler.
13) I actually watch that wedding dress show. *COWERS FROM JUDGEMENT!*
14)My goldfish, rather cruelly named Filet-O-Fish (yes, like the McDonald's sandwich) has lived over a year and a half, depsite being left alone about seven times, each time 4-7 days. :P
15) The person I love more than anyone is the one who hurts me the most.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
WHAT KIM READ THIS SUMMER AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD READ IT AS WELL
Tomorrow I am going to start a 30-Day Challenge I found on my friends Nadine's blog. It sounds like alot of fun and I really want to try something new. However, today is WHAT KIM READ THIS SUMMER AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD READ IT TOO, as shown in the title.
This will be done by alphabetical order of the author.
Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451. I had to read this for summer reading. Otherwise I would have tossed it over my shoulder and gave it the finger. It had the potential to be an amazing book, but it wasn't executed, towards the end as well as it should've been. Too bad. :/
Capote, Truman: Breakfast at Tiffany's. I liked this novella a lot. It had a surprisingly surprising story, a quite eccentric-yet-lovable main character. The narrator, too, being unnamed, is also quite fascinating. OHMAIGAWD I DIDN'T SEE THE END COMING.
In Cold Blood. This modern classic has everything a murder story needs. A murder, the murders trails, the reason, the sentence, their lives in solitary confinement, their backgrounds. You know all of these facts and history isn't boring. This, for mah SHS buddies, is also, for now, a 10 EngH summer reading book.
Collins, Suzanne: Mockingjay. This is the final installment of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy and it is INTENSE. Seriously, the hijacking, and new twists, the change of almost EVERY chracter's personality. And I almost started crying.
Yeah, that intense. THE HUNGER GAMES is amazing and everyone should read all of the books and LOVE THEM.
Smith, Betty: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Honestly, this wasn't a bad book. Many of my peers, as this, too, was a summer reading book, hated it. I liked it. I thought it was a real story that was written very well. There were, despite the book taking place nearly a century ago, things to relate to. The things that piss the narrator off pissed me off too. And I think that that's very important in a book.
Steifvater, Maggie: Shiver and Linger. They're right next to each other in the series they are in, so I figured I'd do them together. Imagine the supernatural sexiness of werewolves without the suckiness of vampires. (It's a PUN, get it?!) But, for serial, this intense real-deal teenage love people. AND I LOVE IT!
I didn't read alot this summer. FORGIVE ME, GIANT FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
And tomorrow you shall see the 30-Day Challenge thing. :)
Dude, I have a crudload of blog lined up for you guys. The challeneg, a couple of promos, maybe another sneak peek...
:D
This will be done by alphabetical order of the author.
Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451. I had to read this for summer reading. Otherwise I would have tossed it over my shoulder and gave it the finger. It had the potential to be an amazing book, but it wasn't executed, towards the end as well as it should've been. Too bad. :/
Capote, Truman: Breakfast at Tiffany's. I liked this novella a lot. It had a surprisingly surprising story, a quite eccentric-yet-lovable main character. The narrator, too, being unnamed, is also quite fascinating. OHMAIGAWD I DIDN'T SEE THE END COMING.
In Cold Blood. This modern classic has everything a murder story needs. A murder, the murders trails, the reason, the sentence, their lives in solitary confinement, their backgrounds. You know all of these facts and history isn't boring. This, for mah SHS buddies, is also, for now, a 10 EngH summer reading book.
Collins, Suzanne: Mockingjay. This is the final installment of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy and it is INTENSE. Seriously, the hijacking, and new twists, the change of almost EVERY chracter's personality. And I almost started crying.
Yeah, that intense. THE HUNGER GAMES is amazing and everyone should read all of the books and LOVE THEM.
Smith, Betty: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Honestly, this wasn't a bad book. Many of my peers, as this, too, was a summer reading book, hated it. I liked it. I thought it was a real story that was written very well. There were, despite the book taking place nearly a century ago, things to relate to. The things that piss the narrator off pissed me off too. And I think that that's very important in a book.
Steifvater, Maggie: Shiver and Linger. They're right next to each other in the series they are in, so I figured I'd do them together. Imagine the supernatural sexiness of werewolves without the suckiness of vampires. (It's a PUN, get it?!) But, for serial, this intense real-deal teenage love people. AND I LOVE IT!
I didn't read alot this summer. FORGIVE ME, GIANT FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!
And tomorrow you shall see the 30-Day Challenge thing. :)
Dude, I have a crudload of blog lined up for you guys. The challeneg, a couple of promos, maybe another sneak peek...
:D
Monday, September 6, 2010
What is Summer?
T'is the end of summertime. T'is. T'was a lovely summer, though. Not the best of my life, but very nice.
Now, what's summer to you guys?
To me, summer is burning my tongue on the most amazing clam chowder in the world. It's bothering the lifeguards at the ponds, and scratching at the bug bites around my ankles until I get my hands on some Witch hazel. (I like using witch hazel more than any other kind of itch-relief because of the name!)It's also leaning over the bow of a speedboat and feeling the wind knocl my ponytail holder out as we bump over wake-induced waves.
Summer is knowing I suck at water skiing and doing it anyway, because it's a rite of passage in my family. It's flipping over when I go tubing and lake water being warmer than the air at 7 AM. It's failed all-nighters and watching Supernatural.
It's experimenting with my clothing taste and having the time to spend an hour on my makeup. It's avoiding the sun because I've never liked the look of a tan. If pale skin was prized before, it should be prized even more as we now know it's healthier to not fry in the sun.
It's walking everywhere, and sleeping over my best friends house and going from there directly to the pond. It's writing more, and better than I ever did in school. It's adding raps to my poetry.
It's jamming to Justin Timberlake and not caring what my friends think. It's jamming to EA and not caring what my brother thinks. It's not having enough books. It's going shopping because I feel like being in air conditioning, and rolling around when I do go to bed 'cause it's SO EFFING HOT!
It's cursing 'til I'm blue in the face because today's the last day of pure nothingness.
Now, what's summer to you guys?
To me, summer is burning my tongue on the most amazing clam chowder in the world. It's bothering the lifeguards at the ponds, and scratching at the bug bites around my ankles until I get my hands on some Witch hazel. (I like using witch hazel more than any other kind of itch-relief because of the name!)It's also leaning over the bow of a speedboat and feeling the wind knocl my ponytail holder out as we bump over wake-induced waves.
Summer is knowing I suck at water skiing and doing it anyway, because it's a rite of passage in my family. It's flipping over when I go tubing and lake water being warmer than the air at 7 AM. It's failed all-nighters and watching Supernatural.
It's experimenting with my clothing taste and having the time to spend an hour on my makeup. It's avoiding the sun because I've never liked the look of a tan. If pale skin was prized before, it should be prized even more as we now know it's healthier to not fry in the sun.
It's walking everywhere, and sleeping over my best friends house and going from there directly to the pond. It's writing more, and better than I ever did in school. It's adding raps to my poetry.
It's jamming to Justin Timberlake and not caring what my friends think. It's jamming to EA and not caring what my brother thinks. It's not having enough books. It's going shopping because I feel like being in air conditioning, and rolling around when I do go to bed 'cause it's SO EFFING HOT!
It's cursing 'til I'm blue in the face because today's the last day of pure nothingness.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Why I Love to Write: A Lesson in Expandation
I like to stretch out sentences. I discovered this in sixth grade when my English teacher said that for homework we had to expand on the sentence "The princess walked."
There's a million ways to expand that sentence. The princess walked in a meadow; she walked into her room, lonely in her tower. Maybe she didn't walk, she ran into the arms of her prince. Mine became a story of a knight waiting for her as she walked a drawbridge. She was going to be his bride because he had saved the whole kingdom from some kind of horror. Maybe it was a dragon. or an evil sorcerer. I don't know. It's not saved on my computer anymore. That one is gone now.
The point is, I made something pretty with a tiny idea. I crafted these gorgeous sentences that I can't even remember anymore. I realized that I could really write, and maybe even well. This quality was honed in seventh, and pursued in several different ways in eighth grade. Over the summer I took a writing class, which, despite being mostly worthless, I saw how people could write better than me. Which, of course, motivated me to write better than them.
For a very rare exmaple of this whole "expanding" technique: Truman Capote, the dude who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's (Yes, it was a book firts!) write the American classic, In Cold Blood, based on a 300-word article on the murder of a Kansas family. That book was a mulit-million dollar project, and is now important enough to be required reading for the tenth graders at my school. That's expandation to the extreme, though.
Basically, to do expandation you just gotta have the drive to rework and rewrite what already exists. A novel's idea doesn't pop in at 50,000+ words. A novel starts at no more than the size of a blurb on the front flap of a dust cover. A plot will never stay exactly the same, so I wouldn't say it is the blurb itself.
Baby, it freaking works. For any writer who can't find the real motivation, (none of my friends, of course.) just try to add big words to what you have just floating around your mind. And some dialogue.
Best of luck to you all. :)
There's a million ways to expand that sentence. The princess walked in a meadow; she walked into her room, lonely in her tower. Maybe she didn't walk, she ran into the arms of her prince. Mine became a story of a knight waiting for her as she walked a drawbridge. She was going to be his bride because he had saved the whole kingdom from some kind of horror. Maybe it was a dragon. or an evil sorcerer. I don't know. It's not saved on my computer anymore. That one is gone now.
The point is, I made something pretty with a tiny idea. I crafted these gorgeous sentences that I can't even remember anymore. I realized that I could really write, and maybe even well. This quality was honed in seventh, and pursued in several different ways in eighth grade. Over the summer I took a writing class, which, despite being mostly worthless, I saw how people could write better than me. Which, of course, motivated me to write better than them.
For a very rare exmaple of this whole "expanding" technique: Truman Capote, the dude who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany's (Yes, it was a book firts!) write the American classic, In Cold Blood, based on a 300-word article on the murder of a Kansas family. That book was a mulit-million dollar project, and is now important enough to be required reading for the tenth graders at my school. That's expandation to the extreme, though.
Basically, to do expandation you just gotta have the drive to rework and rewrite what already exists. A novel's idea doesn't pop in at 50,000+ words. A novel starts at no more than the size of a blurb on the front flap of a dust cover. A plot will never stay exactly the same, so I wouldn't say it is the blurb itself.
Baby, it freaking works. For any writer who can't find the real motivation, (none of my friends, of course.) just try to add big words to what you have just floating around your mind. And some dialogue.
Best of luck to you all. :)
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