I thought this should be seperate from the Christopher Robin thing.
CBS Chicago news is telling me that a Swiss watch company is making watches using pieces of the Titantic. I find this highly depressing and wrong. Taking part of the great ship and wearing it on your wrist seems to me to be a might disrespectful of the lives lost. I believe we should leave the ship where it is, or in museums, but not as part of ticking accessories. Not to mention it seems to be really pointless to pay that much for a watch and it sort of uh...flashy? I don't think that's the word I want, but oh well.
Also, John Green got me interested, so I went and figured out my carbon footprint on BP.com. It's 11 tons, which is 7.58 tons less than the average American. See, this figure makes me feel good, but answering some of those questions and watching the picture change did not make me feel good, in fact it made me feel like I was killing the Ozone layer...which, I kind of am, just not on my own is all.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Christopher Robin will not be ignored or forgotten!
There's going to be a lot of posts tonight, probably anyway.
I couldn't find the article on Newsweek's site, but fortunately it's a short one, so I can just type it up on here:
Oh Bother! It's Darby.
The Hundred Acre Wood had welcomed only one human: Christopher Robin. But fans who tune in to the May 12 debut of Disney's latest Pooh series, "My friends Tigger & Pooh," will find the boy has been largely replaced--by a 6-year-old girl named Darby. In the new show, Tigger and Pooh don superhero duds and solve mysteries (who's stealing Rabbit's rutabagas?). Executive producer Brian Hohlfeld thought Christopher Robin was too old for such sleuthing, so he designed Darby. She was a huge hit in the postproduction testing. But Pooh purists won't be pleased: Christopher Robin appears in only two of the 26 episodes. British journalist Hugh Fraser, who launched a "Save Christopher Robin" campaign on his blog, says Darby subverts A. A. Milne's vision. "For a girl to intrude breaks the spell of the story," he says. "They aren't her toys."-Sarina Rosenberg, Newsweek
The blog mentioned is here.
I'm really set against the idea of Darby on the show. The whole point of Winnie the Pooh is that everyone in the Hundred Acre Woods is a stuffed animal of Christopher Robin's; does this not mean they are part of his imagination? So, who is this new girl to just show up in the Woods and play with Christopher Robin's stuffed animals, steal from his imagination in a way. Of coarse, she seems to have made a few changes when imagining these timeless characters: she made them superheros, but not just that even, superhero detectives. I must admit, the whole superhero detective thing only works with Jamie Madrox, and I think I'm a little biased towards that because it's Jamie; if it were anyone else I might think this was odd like I do now with Pooh and Tigger. But, okay, sluething superhero stuffed animals...that's a little over the top. Another thing, I may be probably the biggest Tigger fan for miles (okay, am) and I love that he's getting the recognition he deserves (outside of the Tigger movie, that is), but still, even Tigger shouldn't take higher billing than Winnie the Pooh on a Pooh-themed show. It's wrong. Okay, more on Darby because I got off topic there and don't see a way I could change it and still keep the superhero/detective thing the way I want it. I think Disney's just trying to work with a different gender on the show so they don't seem sexist. Of coarse, this fails. Darby is a tomboyish girl, and it would still be sexist (if it were to begin with, which I don't think it is) because they took out Christopher Robin, so it's just switching one gender out for another. And this is a lot less important compared to the other things I just mentioned, but it's also a 3-D animated show, which I find well, odd, compared to the style everyone remembers with Winnie the Pooh.
Needless to say, I'm against the idea of this new show...but I will still watch it because I like to have means behind my madness on occassion. This is just a first impression thing you're reading.
Save Christopher Robin! (use the link above please)
"They can't get rid of Christopher Robin because there's a song about him!"-Susan W.
I couldn't find the article on Newsweek's site, but fortunately it's a short one, so I can just type it up on here:
Oh Bother! It's Darby.
The Hundred Acre Wood had welcomed only one human: Christopher Robin. But fans who tune in to the May 12 debut of Disney's latest Pooh series, "My friends Tigger & Pooh," will find the boy has been largely replaced--by a 6-year-old girl named Darby. In the new show, Tigger and Pooh don superhero duds and solve mysteries (who's stealing Rabbit's rutabagas?). Executive producer Brian Hohlfeld thought Christopher Robin was too old for such sleuthing, so he designed Darby. She was a huge hit in the postproduction testing. But Pooh purists won't be pleased: Christopher Robin appears in only two of the 26 episodes. British journalist Hugh Fraser, who launched a "Save Christopher Robin" campaign on his blog, says Darby subverts A. A. Milne's vision. "For a girl to intrude breaks the spell of the story," he says. "They aren't her toys."-Sarina Rosenberg, Newsweek
The blog mentioned is here.
I'm really set against the idea of Darby on the show. The whole point of Winnie the Pooh is that everyone in the Hundred Acre Woods is a stuffed animal of Christopher Robin's; does this not mean they are part of his imagination? So, who is this new girl to just show up in the Woods and play with Christopher Robin's stuffed animals, steal from his imagination in a way. Of coarse, she seems to have made a few changes when imagining these timeless characters: she made them superheros, but not just that even, superhero detectives. I must admit, the whole superhero detective thing only works with Jamie Madrox, and I think I'm a little biased towards that because it's Jamie; if it were anyone else I might think this was odd like I do now with Pooh and Tigger. But, okay, sluething superhero stuffed animals...that's a little over the top. Another thing, I may be probably the biggest Tigger fan for miles (okay, am) and I love that he's getting the recognition he deserves (outside of the Tigger movie, that is), but still, even Tigger shouldn't take higher billing than Winnie the Pooh on a Pooh-themed show. It's wrong. Okay, more on Darby because I got off topic there and don't see a way I could change it and still keep the superhero/detective thing the way I want it. I think Disney's just trying to work with a different gender on the show so they don't seem sexist. Of coarse, this fails. Darby is a tomboyish girl, and it would still be sexist (if it were to begin with, which I don't think it is) because they took out Christopher Robin, so it's just switching one gender out for another. And this is a lot less important compared to the other things I just mentioned, but it's also a 3-D animated show, which I find well, odd, compared to the style everyone remembers with Winnie the Pooh.
Needless to say, I'm against the idea of this new show...but I will still watch it because I like to have means behind my madness on occassion. This is just a first impression thing you're reading.
Save Christopher Robin! (use the link above please)
"They can't get rid of Christopher Robin because there's a song about him!"-Susan W.
My dream and April Musings
Okay, commenting on my own blog's last post: I'm sorry I'm late on all the stuff I said I'd do, but uh, I got really sick, I was working, and I'm just really lazy and procrastinate a lot. I appologize most of all to Justine Larbalestier to whom I promised a book review to awhile back. It's coming tomorrow, for sure this time--I promise (and I can do this because my plans were cancelled and I know I won't be crazy like I am tonight because work will steal my energy in the morning). Also, I will eventually learn to put commas between my tags so they actually work...sorry about that to anyone who actually uses them.
Okay, on to posting. I originally had this one on my LJ but I decided to cross post it because it seemed bloggish and I can, so I am.
My dream is to be interviewed about my writing. It's been my dream for awhile now, I really want someone to interview me about any of my writings...except my poetry, I'd really hate that, unless it was a rant about why I now hate poetry and how poetry fans are fickle.
Hah, I just remembered, this is actually literally my dream, I had a dream the other day where I was doing an author appearance for the Great Books Club, just as I promised Mrs. Satcher-Jones. I got up there, told them about my books and gave Mrs. SJ a signed copy of The Elemental Spell, which was my first published book (and had done rather well I might add) and was also dedicated to her and my sister. "To my sister, Kayla and Mrs. Satcher-Jones who ran the Great Books Club. Thanks for being my biggest fans and for doing the job no one else wanted to do: read those early drafts. Thanks for getting through those and for always asking for more." Then it was question and answer time. I got up there and said "Alright, you can ask me anything--go ahead, anything from writing, to publishing, to my beliefs on buffalo rights." Too bad I can't remember any farther than that because that would've been funny--especially since Kay-san, Jackie, and Dodi were all still members (which means if this comes true like all my other dreams that I'll be published by next year!)
...other posts coming up in just a little bit here tonight because I'm in a ranting mood today.
Oh, but first, check out Brotherhood 2.0 because it's awesome and hilarious and both these guys are very cool.
Okay, on to posting. I originally had this one on my LJ but I decided to cross post it because it seemed bloggish and I can, so I am.
My dream is to be interviewed about my writing. It's been my dream for awhile now, I really want someone to interview me about any of my writings...except my poetry, I'd really hate that, unless it was a rant about why I now hate poetry and how poetry fans are fickle.
Hah, I just remembered, this is actually literally my dream, I had a dream the other day where I was doing an author appearance for the Great Books Club, just as I promised Mrs. Satcher-Jones. I got up there, told them about my books and gave Mrs. SJ a signed copy of The Elemental Spell, which was my first published book (and had done rather well I might add) and was also dedicated to her and my sister. "To my sister, Kayla and Mrs. Satcher-Jones who ran the Great Books Club. Thanks for being my biggest fans and for doing the job no one else wanted to do: read those early drafts. Thanks for getting through those and for always asking for more." Then it was question and answer time. I got up there and said "Alright, you can ask me anything--go ahead, anything from writing, to publishing, to my beliefs on buffalo rights." Too bad I can't remember any farther than that because that would've been funny--especially since Kay-san, Jackie, and Dodi were all still members (which means if this comes true like all my other dreams that I'll be published by next year!)
...other posts coming up in just a little bit here tonight because I'm in a ranting mood today.
Oh, but first, check out Brotherhood 2.0 because it's awesome and hilarious and both these guys are very cool.
Monday, April 09, 2007
April Notes
Just a few things of note: (skip to the end for the short version if you like)
I have a job now! Guess that explains the lack of posting, huh? Yes, I now work at the Family Christian Bookstores, which is you know, awesome. Of coarse I may end up spending my whole paycheck on VeggieTales, Mandie books, and the Left Behind series
X-Factor #17 = yes. Buy it because it rocks. Too bad it's not Raimondi's art though
I bought Case for Christ by Lee Strobel the other day when it was a $5 members only item at work and it's really good. It's this guy writing an article where he tries to prove that Christ doesn't exist, but you know what? He finds out He does. I haven't gotten very far at all yet, but I'm certainly learning things from the interviews he has with experts--things I wasn't even informed enough before to think of asking anyone.
I owe the readers of this blog:
My reading list for March 2007 (and it's long, which is why I'm not posting it now)
A review of Magic's Child by Justine Larbalestier
A blog post on...something. Would you be interested in reading a religious post on why Matthew is my hero?
Also...
On April 19th-21st I will be at the SkillsUSA competition (that geek olympics thing I mention from time to time) and I think this year I'm going to blog about it on here to give you a feeling of what the contest is like--for me at least.
I've had one of the teachers at my school (not one of mine though oddly enough, she's the head of the Great Books Club) read the first chapter of Marshall Manor and the first four chapters of The Elemental Spell recently. She is pretty much my biggest fan now. Mrs. S has read them at least twice, the first from an editor's point of view and the second from a regular reader's perspective. She says I have a style that cannot be taught and that the only problems she saw were little typos and such--and trust me, I asked her many questions trying desperately to get her to tear it to shreds, but she assured me there was no way she could do that, even if she didn't know me. Which makes me feel really good because she was being totally sincere. I hope to finish the second chapter of Marshall Manor by Wednesday for her to read, and I just finished up the (first) revisions for The Elemental Spell, chapters 5-10 that I will be sharing with Mrs. S and my sister, the poor souls who read my first drafts...and actually ask for more. Oh, I don't think I mentioned it just yet, but I came up with the perfect ending for Elemental a few weeks back. I've been writing/plotting this book since November last year so I'm glad to finally get it all figured out in my head.
Short version: So yeah, that's the news: there's lots coming up, I have a job, I'm almost finished with the second chapter of Marshall Manor as well as the revisions for The Elemental Spell, I have a new beta reader, you all should read X-Factor #17 and I'll get up my March reading list tomorrow afternoon.
I owe the readers of this blog:
Also...
Short version: So yeah, that's the news: there's lots coming up, I have a job, I'm almost finished with the second chapter of Marshall Manor as well as the revisions for The Elemental Spell, I have a new beta reader, you all should read X-Factor #17 and I'll get up my March reading list tomorrow afternoon.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The Importance of Re-Reading
When I was in elementary school, I had to read The Giver for school. It was a good book, Lois Lowry's style is easy for a child to read, and the plot was interesting, as were the characters. Later in life my mum bought me a copy of Gathering Blue, Lowry's companion book to The Giver, which was also good. This year I found the third book in the companion series, Messenger and wanted to read it, but it had been years since I'd read The Giver, so I re-read it. Looking at this book from where I am in life, years later than when I had first read it, I find it to be completely different. It's incredibly dark, something I only got a glimpse of when I was young. The community Jonas lives in is a perfect communism, absolute mannequinism as well. When we first read this book, we had yet to be taught what a communism was, we would have never made that oh-so-clear connection.
Things change as you age, you gain more experience to draw on, more connections to be made, and even a better understanding of the vocabulary and topics in a book. Maybe you missed something when you first read a book a few years ago, something that you'll understand now. Maybe you'll love a book you didn't much care for before, maybe you'll see a classic in a new light. Rereading isn't repeating, it's a new way of looking at things, and as a reader, and certainly as a writer*, this is important.
*Why is it important for writers? Because we can get a glimpse at what our readers will think when they read our book--the different ways it can be viewed. Some people will get the message, some won't. Some will like it, some won't. It depends on the reader--but who knows, maybe they'll re-read it later in life and finally understand what you want.
Things change as you age, you gain more experience to draw on, more connections to be made, and even a better understanding of the vocabulary and topics in a book. Maybe you missed something when you first read a book a few years ago, something that you'll understand now. Maybe you'll love a book you didn't much care for before, maybe you'll see a classic in a new light. Rereading isn't repeating, it's a new way of looking at things, and as a reader, and certainly as a writer*, this is important.
*Why is it important for writers? Because we can get a glimpse at what our readers will think when they read our book--the different ways it can be viewed. Some people will get the message, some won't. Some will like it, some won't. It depends on the reader--but who knows, maybe they'll re-read it later in life and finally understand what you want.
Are We Pushing Kids Too Much?
Ronald Reagan, did you know his favorite food was jelly beans? A third grader named Joe does. For a presentation on former US President Reagan, Joe had to research everything about Reagan's life, or so it seemed; certainly this 9 year old knows more than most adults do about this man--or any past president. He needed to find out about his childhood, his time spent in the movies, and his time spent in and out of office, and then present it to his fellow third graders. Everyone in his class did this with a different president, and the really famous ones like Washington weren't allowed. Earlier this year the class did an in-depth report on national parks which included knowing the location, square footage, history, and animal habits, more even. A word on a recent spelling test was "picturesque," which Joe's 16 year old sister had a hard time even pronouncing. I must point out, this class is a "gifted" class, but that should mean they're learning at a 4th grade level, not at a 12th grade one. I know for a fact that average high school seniors do not have projects like this.
When these kids are being prepared for universities before they even make it to middle school, we have to ask ourselves: are we pushing kids too much to achieve in school? Are we expecting too much? Should 5th graders really be smarter than us--should they have a show proving it? And how much stress are we giving these children, pressuring them to get good marks and achieve now so they can do well in life later on?
Let kids be kids, because once you're grown there's no turning back time.
When these kids are being prepared for universities before they even make it to middle school, we have to ask ourselves: are we pushing kids too much to achieve in school? Are we expecting too much? Should 5th graders really be smarter than us--should they have a show proving it? And how much stress are we giving these children, pressuring them to get good marks and achieve now so they can do well in life later on?
Let kids be kids, because once you're grown there's no turning back time.
Friday, March 02, 2007
February 2007 Reading List
Title----Author----Pages----Dates----Aquired
Messenger by Lois Lowry; 169 pages; 28 Jan-13 Feb; library
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer; 498 pages; 13 Feb-18 Feb; library
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer; 576 pages; 18 Feb-21 Feb; borrowed from Jess M
Magic Knight: Rayearth I Vol 1; CLAMP; 192 pages; 22 Feb; borrowed from Noel R
Magic Knight: Rayearth I Vol 2; CLAMP; 208 pages; 22 Feb; borrowed from Noel R
5 books by 3 authors with a total of 1643 pages, not bad for February, eh?
Notes of interest:
I tied for first place in my qualifying exam for the IL state SkillsUSA photoshop competition
For those in the area, the Homer Library is hosting a digital art contest, a YouTube contest, and a free HTML class that I will be co-teaching.
I'm going to be competing in 4 contests this year: homepage design, web design, photoshop, and get this...suitcase. It's the biggest joke to our team, so we decided to enter this year
My new books, if anyone cares what I'm buying: Lady Friday by Garth Nix, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol, and Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. I also just recieved the boxed set of Harry Potter I ordered through Scholastic last month.
Lady Friday, the 5th book in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix is out! Everyone go read it, it's brilliant!
X-Factor #16 is also out, all fans of X-Factor, Multiple Man, or just comics in general should read it--my favorite series with my favorite character!
Messenger by Lois Lowry; 169 pages; 28 Jan-13 Feb; library
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer; 498 pages; 13 Feb-18 Feb; library
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer; 576 pages; 18 Feb-21 Feb; borrowed from Jess M
Magic Knight: Rayearth I Vol 1; CLAMP; 192 pages; 22 Feb; borrowed from Noel R
Magic Knight: Rayearth I Vol 2; CLAMP; 208 pages; 22 Feb; borrowed from Noel R
5 books by 3 authors with a total of 1643 pages, not bad for February, eh?
Notes of interest:
Sunday, February 25, 2007
She's Cine It (link) and an Update
She's Cine It, a blog reviewing (and probably smashing) movies that K has seen. It'll be great, trust me, I've read some of her older reviews.
Also, I've been busy lately and have gotten behind on blogs, I'm catching up now, please forgive me for my tardiness.
But my news, I had my qualifying exam for the SkillsUSA IL photoshop competition Friday night, and I think I did really good. I placed 2nd on the qualifying last year, I hope I got 1st this year! I'll have the scores back sometime this week, but I'm for sure going down state for Skills in web design and homepage design--wish me luck!
And I'm writing more with The Elemental Spell, the big news of this being that I figured out the ending! Yes, now all I have to do is write it. Now, if only I could get over my writer's block for Marshall Manor...
Also, I've been busy lately and have gotten behind on blogs, I'm catching up now, please forgive me for my tardiness.
But my news, I had my qualifying exam for the SkillsUSA IL photoshop competition Friday night, and I think I did really good. I placed 2nd on the qualifying last year, I hope I got 1st this year! I'll have the scores back sometime this week, but I'm for sure going down state for Skills in web design and homepage design--wish me luck!
And I'm writing more with The Elemental Spell, the big news of this being that I figured out the ending! Yes, now all I have to do is write it. Now, if only I could get over my writer's block for Marshall Manor...
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Book Review: The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie
In this book we meet a guy named, well, Guy. Guy and his friends Knob and Thurman, along with a warrior, are out to save Guy's little brother Seth from the most vile of villains: telemarketers. See, the boys haven't heard about the Do Not Call listing, and now their phone rings non-stop and they never answer it. That is, until Seth comes over one day and does. And the telemarketers stole his brain. Now they're on a quest to get it back. They have the essentials of the perfect questing team: Guy as the reluctant leader, Knob as the elf, Thurman as the wizard, and the warrior: a woman with two placenta--you don't cross her. They begin to track down the telemarketers, but are they after more than they bargained for?
This book is a witty and sarcastic tale with great characters that will make you literally laugh out loud. Cowie's style is very unique and makes for an easy read, but one that will hold your attention from page 1 to the very end. This is not a book I would recommend to my 13 year old sister, but I certainly recommend it to all the adults and most older teens I know. It's a funny book with real-life villains (mostly).
Also, you can read the first few chapters of this book here
This book is a witty and sarcastic tale with great characters that will make you literally laugh out loud. Cowie's style is very unique and makes for an easy read, but one that will hold your attention from page 1 to the very end. This is not a book I would recommend to my 13 year old sister, but I certainly recommend it to all the adults and most older teens I know. It's a funny book with real-life villains (mostly).
Also, you can read the first few chapters of this book here
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
January 2007 Reading List
It's the first reading list of the year! I'm doing things a little bit different this time, I'm adding more information, so now I have the title, the author, number of pages, the dates I read it, and how I aquired the book. Also, I'm including comic issues and magazines this year, as long as they have a decent amount of reading--and my magazines are devotionals, so they certainly do.
Title----Author----Pages----Dates----Aquired
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling; 734 pages; 29 Dec 2006-1 Jan 2007; owned
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling; 870 pages; 2 Jan-5 Jan; library
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling; 652 pages; 5 Jan-8 Jan; owned
Avatar: The Lost Scrolls: Fire by Tom Mason; 64 pages; 8 Jan-9 Jan; owned
Ceres Celestial Ledgend Volume 1: Aya (manga); 208 pages; 12 Jan; borrowed from Katie B
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier; 271 pages; 18 Jan-22 Jan; library
The Giver by Lois Lowry (reread); 179; 15 Jan-23 Jan; owned
X-Factor #15 by Peter David; 32 pages; 24 Jan; owned
New X-Men: Childhood's End, Volume 3 by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost; 136 pages; 24 Jan; library
(X-Men) Day of the Atom by Chuck Austen; 224 pages; 24 Jan; library
Magic Lessons by Justine Larbalestier; 275 pages; 24 Jan-28 Jan; library
This past month I have read 12 books by 9 authors with a total of 3645 pages. And because I know someone will ask, I read a lot of those over Christmas break when I had a badly twisted ankle; spent the whole day reading.
As soon as I have time (next week) I'll get back to writing reviews, starting with The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie and I'll make a post on the importance of rereading books.
Title----Author----Pages----Dates----Aquired
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling; 734 pages; 29 Dec 2006-1 Jan 2007; owned
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling; 870 pages; 2 Jan-5 Jan; library
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling; 652 pages; 5 Jan-8 Jan; owned
Avatar: The Lost Scrolls: Fire by Tom Mason; 64 pages; 8 Jan-9 Jan; owned
Ceres Celestial Ledgend Volume 1: Aya (manga); 208 pages; 12 Jan; borrowed from Katie B
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier; 271 pages; 18 Jan-22 Jan; library
The Giver by Lois Lowry (reread); 179; 15 Jan-23 Jan; owned
X-Factor #15 by Peter David; 32 pages; 24 Jan; owned
New X-Men: Childhood's End, Volume 3 by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost; 136 pages; 24 Jan; library
(X-Men) Day of the Atom by Chuck Austen; 224 pages; 24 Jan; library
Magic Lessons by Justine Larbalestier; 275 pages; 24 Jan-28 Jan; library
This past month I have read 12 books by 9 authors with a total of 3645 pages. And because I know someone will ask, I read a lot of those over Christmas break when I had a badly twisted ankle; spent the whole day reading.
As soon as I have time (next week) I'll get back to writing reviews, starting with The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie and I'll make a post on the importance of rereading books.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Chapter Length--Edit: Link
It has come to my attention in all my blog-reading today* that the great Justine Larbalestier has written lately on a similar topic to my last post. Check out her post on paragraph length.
Just check out Justine in general, she's great. By the way, she's the one with the posts about writing times. (And John Scalzi had some to say on the subject too)
*My younger brother is sick and I am staying home with him today to take care of him due to the fact that my dad is working in Chicago and my mum is at some esthetician's class in San Diego
Just check out Justine in general, she's great. By the way, she's the one with the posts about writing times. (And John Scalzi had some to say on the subject too)
*My younger brother is sick and I am staying home with him today to take care of him due to the fact that my dad is working in Chicago and my mum is at some esthetician's class in San Diego
Chapter Length/Writing Time
"And it really was the kitten after all."
"My mother is a fish."
Both of the above quotes are from well-known pieces of literature (Through the Looking Glass and As I Lay Dying respectively), and I hope you'll notice something: they're both one sentence long. They're chapters; chapters with less than ten words. Some books have chapters unbelievably long, 30 pages, more. Large sums of writers worry about their chapter lengths, if they're long enough, but should they? If these two books had chapters 5 or 8 words long, and made it better than most others, should we really worry about how many pages long our chapters are? If we get the point across how we want, the word count doesn't matter.
Also, there's a lot of buzz in the sci-fi community of authors about how much time should be spent writing a day. Some say 4 hours a day, some say more; some of us, however, agree that it depends on the writer. I myself only spend about an hour a day (usually) writing, but I'm a student with younger siblings to take care of. Sometimes I'll get in up to 5 hours a day, but that's not exactly normal, and even then it's not constant: I get snacks, mess around with the songs in iTunes, check other books for things, draw, doll how my character looks, use the bathroom, and in general, procrastinate. Again, who cares how long it takes to get done as long as it gets done?
"My mother is a fish."
Both of the above quotes are from well-known pieces of literature (Through the Looking Glass and As I Lay Dying respectively), and I hope you'll notice something: they're both one sentence long. They're chapters; chapters with less than ten words. Some books have chapters unbelievably long, 30 pages, more. Large sums of writers worry about their chapter lengths, if they're long enough, but should they? If these two books had chapters 5 or 8 words long, and made it better than most others, should we really worry about how many pages long our chapters are? If we get the point across how we want, the word count doesn't matter.
Also, there's a lot of buzz in the sci-fi community of authors about how much time should be spent writing a day. Some say 4 hours a day, some say more; some of us, however, agree that it depends on the writer. I myself only spend about an hour a day (usually) writing, but I'm a student with younger siblings to take care of. Sometimes I'll get in up to 5 hours a day, but that's not exactly normal, and even then it's not constant: I get snacks, mess around with the songs in iTunes, check other books for things, draw, doll how my character looks, use the bathroom, and in general, procrastinate. Again, who cares how long it takes to get done as long as it gets done?
Monday, January 15, 2007
December 2006 Reading List/Final
December 2006
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Avatar: The Last Airbender Cinemanga Volume 1
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Avatar: The Lost Scrolls: Water
Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
So, in 2006 I read 82 books by 19 authors. This year I will be keeping track of other things as well, such as number of pages and how I acquired the book (so far I have 5 books with a total of 2528 pages). Should be interesting, and I'm hoping to reach 100 books this year, maybe even more!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Avatar: The Last Airbender Cinemanga Volume 1
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Avatar: The Lost Scrolls: Water
Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
So, in 2006 I read 82 books by 19 authors. This year I will be keeping track of other things as well, such as number of pages and how I acquired the book (so far I have 5 books with a total of 2528 pages). Should be interesting, and I'm hoping to reach 100 books this year, maybe even more!
October/November 2006 Reading List
Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
X/1999 Volume 1 by CLAMP
X/1999 Volume 2 by CLAMP
The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
X/1999 Volume 3 CLAMP
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
X/1999 Volume 1 by CLAMP
X/1999 Volume 2 by CLAMP
The Adventures of Guy by Norm Cowie
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
X/1999 Volume 3 CLAMP
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
NaNoWriMo Day 14: Character Names
I always have a tough time with character names, and people are always asking me how I name my characters, so here's how.
Tara=I dunno, I wanted a "T" name. She was originally Tasha, but I didn't like that after the first page
Dylan=I've been promising myself to name a character Dylan for awhile now, because I like the name and it just fit for this cute 9 year old
Bartimus=I have no idea, it came as soon as I wrote "alchemist" I think
Serasai= It sounded like hissing, and I totally made it up...I think. I wanted an "S" name for sure though
Mo Wrinoan=My variation of Mr. Ian Woon (nanowrimo)
Suggestions for naming characters:
-Know the character first. If it's a regular kid, give it a regular name (remember guys like simple names girls like more unique pretty names)
-Use sites like Behind the Name and 20000 names if you get stuck
-If the character is from a different time period, open up a Bible. They have great names (the majority of my elemental council have names from the Bible). The first page of Matthew (first book of the New Testament) has a great list
-If you're really stuck, open up to a random page in the dictionary, this works really well with last names. (that's how I got Tessa Inselberg and Brian Tungstien)
Tara=I dunno, I wanted a "T" name. She was originally Tasha, but I didn't like that after the first page
Dylan=I've been promising myself to name a character Dylan for awhile now, because I like the name and it just fit for this cute 9 year old
Bartimus=I have no idea, it came as soon as I wrote "alchemist" I think
Serasai= It sounded like hissing, and I totally made it up...I think. I wanted an "S" name for sure though
Mo Wrinoan=My variation of Mr. Ian Woon (nanowrimo)
Suggestions for naming characters:
-Know the character first. If it's a regular kid, give it a regular name (remember guys like simple names girls like more unique pretty names)
-Use sites like Behind the Name and 20000 names if you get stuck
-If the character is from a different time period, open up a Bible. They have great names (the majority of my elemental council have names from the Bible). The first page of Matthew (first book of the New Testament) has a great list
-If you're really stuck, open up to a random page in the dictionary, this works really well with last names. (that's how I got Tessa Inselberg and Brian Tungstien)
Saturday, November 11, 2006
NaNoWriMo 11 Tips for Day 11
It's day 11 already! Wow, time sure flies when you're writing. I'm still a first timer keep in mind, but I've compiled a list of 11 tips for nanowrimo participants.
1. Chat. I've been in the MSN/Yahoo chats every weeknight (hosted by the great janipanda) with other wrimo writers and it has certainly helped my story! The word wars and suggestions they all make are great. And the people are very nice, they'll even offer up help. Last night I asked for help naming a character and they all jumped to help.
2. Word war. The idea is to write as much as you can in 15 minutes, some are themed some aren't. Just write in short bursts, it significantly helps your word count!
3. Steal all the time you can. Lock your door, eat your meals at your desk, write during your breaks, and realize that you don't have to answer every phone call.
4. Don't you dare give up! Avoid that week 2 wall and keep at it. Do as much as you can and if you don't get your 50000 at least you tried, and there's always next year. "The only thing you can't edit is a blank page"-WrimoRadio
5. Play some music in the background, it helps. Maybe an old movie you've seen thousands of times, just be careful not to put the plot from there into your story.
6. Manage your time wisely. Keep up with the daily quotas (1,667 words a day roughly) and try not to fall too far behind. If you can't be at your computer, bring a notebook with you and brainstorm. There's always the option of longhand too.
7. Compromise with your characters. If you made it to day 11, you've realized already they are not your's, you are their's. Allow them to make changes, but don't let them take over. Find some common ground and run with it.
8. Back up your file! I cannot stress this enough, in fact, this is the second time I wrote this post. Computers are malicious little devils, and you don't want one eating up your file. Email it to yourself, put a copy on that unused old laptop you have sitting around, or even better, on a flash drive. Just keep two copies and make sure it's always backed up!
9. Ignore how far you have to go. Lock away that calculator and don't worry about how many you have to write to reach your daily quota or until you reach 50000. Just write, write, and write, as much as you possibly can!
10. Ignore your inner editor. This is often easier said than done, I know. If you go back and read what you've got, that's fine I suppose, but don't ever cut anything out! Add things in, yes, that helps tremendously, but never take anything out--that'll take away from your word count too.
11. If all else fails, add in a cliché. Make it satirical of writing if you want, that's always fun. If you're low on plot, add in a love story, or a big battle between the good buy and the villain, a quest, a monkey, a vampire, the possibilities are endless! Don't dispare over lost plot, just keep going until you find it again. There's always the plot doctoring section of the nanoforums if you get stuck.
Above all, remember: November is for writing, December is for editing (and/or burning).
1. Chat. I've been in the MSN/Yahoo chats every weeknight (hosted by the great janipanda) with other wrimo writers and it has certainly helped my story! The word wars and suggestions they all make are great. And the people are very nice, they'll even offer up help. Last night I asked for help naming a character and they all jumped to help.
2. Word war. The idea is to write as much as you can in 15 minutes, some are themed some aren't. Just write in short bursts, it significantly helps your word count!
3. Steal all the time you can. Lock your door, eat your meals at your desk, write during your breaks, and realize that you don't have to answer every phone call.
4. Don't you dare give up! Avoid that week 2 wall and keep at it. Do as much as you can and if you don't get your 50000 at least you tried, and there's always next year. "The only thing you can't edit is a blank page"-WrimoRadio
5. Play some music in the background, it helps. Maybe an old movie you've seen thousands of times, just be careful not to put the plot from there into your story.
6. Manage your time wisely. Keep up with the daily quotas (1,667 words a day roughly) and try not to fall too far behind. If you can't be at your computer, bring a notebook with you and brainstorm. There's always the option of longhand too.
7. Compromise with your characters. If you made it to day 11, you've realized already they are not your's, you are their's. Allow them to make changes, but don't let them take over. Find some common ground and run with it.
8. Back up your file! I cannot stress this enough, in fact, this is the second time I wrote this post. Computers are malicious little devils, and you don't want one eating up your file. Email it to yourself, put a copy on that unused old laptop you have sitting around, or even better, on a flash drive. Just keep two copies and make sure it's always backed up!
9. Ignore how far you have to go. Lock away that calculator and don't worry about how many you have to write to reach your daily quota or until you reach 50000. Just write, write, and write, as much as you possibly can!
10. Ignore your inner editor. This is often easier said than done, I know. If you go back and read what you've got, that's fine I suppose, but don't ever cut anything out! Add things in, yes, that helps tremendously, but never take anything out--that'll take away from your word count too.
11. If all else fails, add in a cliché. Make it satirical of writing if you want, that's always fun. If you're low on plot, add in a love story, or a big battle between the good buy and the villain, a quest, a monkey, a vampire, the possibilities are endless! Don't dispare over lost plot, just keep going until you find it again. There's always the plot doctoring section of the nanoforums if you get stuck.
Above all, remember: November is for writing, December is for editing (and/or burning).
Saturday, November 04, 2006
October 2006 Reading List
It's very little I'm afraid, and my full year list is missing, oh dear.
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe by Douglas Adams (short story)
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
I'm almost done with Specials by Scott Westerfeld, and I started Evolution's Darling, also by Westerfeld. I must say I found it slightly disturbing and left it be for November so I could write my novel.
Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe by Douglas Adams (short story)
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams
I'm almost done with Specials by Scott Westerfeld, and I started Evolution's Darling, also by Westerfeld. I must say I found it slightly disturbing and left it be for November so I could write my novel.
NaNoWriMo Day 4
Sorry I couldn't update last night, I was on the computer without internet. So far NaNoWriMo is going pretty well, though I admit I haven't gotten much writing done for today. I've been very busy and away from my computer (either). I did however read what I have so far to my sister during a car trip and she likes it. She says I'm too wordy and that I need to use simpler terms, but my sister's not a big reader, in fact she doesn't like to read much at all.
Which reminds me, my challenge for myself during this (as if writing the novel wasn't enough of a challenge on its own) is to use as many of this semester's vocabulary words as I can. I've managed quite a few already, actually.
Just something I wanted to see when I was writing yesterday: what music I listened to while writing.
Bittersweet-Plumb; Black Horse and The Cherry Tree-KT Tunstall; Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen, It's On-Superchic[k]; Breakfast-Newsboys; Breathe Your Name-Six Pense None the Richer; Bring 'em Out-Hawk Nelson; Burn for You-Toby Mac; Burning Love-Wynonna; By Surprise-Joy Williams; California-Hawk Nelson; Candycoatedwaterdrops-Plumb; Commodity-Sarah Brendel; Concrete Angel-Martina McBride; Courage-Superchic[k]; Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen; Dancing Through Life-Wicked; Day by Day-Avalon; Diverse City-Toby Mac; Draw Me Close-Kutless; Endangered Love-Veggietales; Entertaining Angels-Newsboys; Route 66-John Mayer; As Long as You're Mine-Wicked; Our Town-James Taylor; Another One Bites the Dust-Queen; Other Side of the Radio-Chris Rice; Barlow Girls-Superchic[k]; Follow Your Leader-John Reuben.
I've learned I can listen to almost anything while writing, as long as I have something to listen to--and it can't be something I get really into singing like "Defying Gravity" because then I don't get anything done.
--
I have 3 chapters, a prologue, and 4,419 words. Tomorrow is another long trip, which means I'll be writing long hand which I'm never as good at, and possibly that my mum will read my story (depending on who's driving of coarse).
I'll also have a non-nanowrimo post coming up soon about something that's been bugging me as of late.
Which reminds me, my challenge for myself during this (as if writing the novel wasn't enough of a challenge on its own) is to use as many of this semester's vocabulary words as I can. I've managed quite a few already, actually.
Just something I wanted to see when I was writing yesterday: what music I listened to while writing.
Bittersweet-Plumb; Black Horse and The Cherry Tree-KT Tunstall; Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen, It's On-Superchic[k]; Breakfast-Newsboys; Breathe Your Name-Six Pense None the Richer; Bring 'em Out-Hawk Nelson; Burn for You-Toby Mac; Burning Love-Wynonna; By Surprise-Joy Williams; California-Hawk Nelson; Candycoatedwaterdrops-Plumb; Commodity-Sarah Brendel; Concrete Angel-Martina McBride; Courage-Superchic[k]; Crazy Little Thing Called Love-Queen; Dancing Through Life-Wicked; Day by Day-Avalon; Diverse City-Toby Mac; Draw Me Close-Kutless; Endangered Love-Veggietales; Entertaining Angels-Newsboys; Route 66-John Mayer; As Long as You're Mine-Wicked; Our Town-James Taylor; Another One Bites the Dust-Queen; Other Side of the Radio-Chris Rice; Barlow Girls-Superchic[k]; Follow Your Leader-John Reuben.
I've learned I can listen to almost anything while writing, as long as I have something to listen to--and it can't be something I get really into singing like "Defying Gravity" because then I don't get anything done.
--
I have 3 chapters, a prologue, and 4,419 words. Tomorrow is another long trip, which means I'll be writing long hand which I'm never as good at, and possibly that my mum will read my story (depending on who's driving of coarse).
I'll also have a non-nanowrimo post coming up soon about something that's been bugging me as of late.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
NaNoWriMo Day 2
It's day 2 of NaNoWriMo and I'm already behind (going by the 1667 words a day quota). I have 805 words as of the last count and I know what my book is about.
My characters so far:
Tara-16, blonde, green eyes
Dylan-7, brown hair, brown eyes, Tara's new stepbrother
Lydia-Tara's mother
George-Dylan's dad
Bartimus-amature alchemist/wizard, obsessed with knowledge of Tara and Dylan's world
Dares from fellow participants I've taken the initiative of taking:
Have a character always carrying a towel (a la Hitchhiker)--Done, it shall be Bartimus
"you learn more if you don't knock"--still working on incorporating
"I like you, you smell responsible"--I want so badly to use this one, still working on how though.
2529 words left today (to meet the day 2 quota), 49195 total. Wish me luck!
EDIT: At last count here at 6 pm CST, I have 1073 words. I'm past my 1000 word milestone! And the first chapter "The Ferris Wheel" is complete. Novel remains nameless.
My characters so far:
Tara-16, blonde, green eyes
Dylan-7, brown hair, brown eyes, Tara's new stepbrother
Lydia-Tara's mother
George-Dylan's dad
Bartimus-amature alchemist/wizard, obsessed with knowledge of Tara and Dylan's world
Dares from fellow participants I've taken the initiative of taking:
Have a character always carrying a towel (a la Hitchhiker)--Done, it shall be Bartimus
"you learn more if you don't knock"--still working on incorporating
"I like you, you smell responsible"--I want so badly to use this one, still working on how though.
2529 words left today (to meet the day 2 quota), 49195 total. Wish me luck!
EDIT: At last count here at 6 pm CST, I have 1073 words. I'm past my 1000 word milestone! And the first chapter "The Ferris Wheel" is complete. Novel remains nameless.
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