tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41307286488072098412024-02-21T00:02:13.722-08:00A True WriterTrue Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-41900158331001752892018-07-10T16:00:00.000-07:002018-07-10T16:00:07.886-07:00Book Review: Olivia Twist by Laurie Langdon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I read <i>Oliver Twist</i> when I was in sixth grade, but haven't read it since (because, let's be honest, it may be an exciting story, but it's rather a dull read). But I still love the story Dickens created, and was over the moon when I heard that Laurie Langdon was writing a retelling - one where Oliver was a girl. And now that I've read it, I'm pleased to say that it didn't disappoint.<br />
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<i> Olivia Brownlow is no damsel in distress. Born in a workhouse and raised as a boy among thieving London street gangs, she is as tough and cunning as they come. When she is taken in by her uncle after a caper gone wrong, her life goes from fighting and stealing on the streets to lavish dinners and soirees as a debutante in high society. But she can’t seem to escape her past … or forget the teeming slums where children just like her still scrabble to survive.<br /></i><br />
<i> Jack MacCarron rose from his place in London’s East End to become the adopted “nephew” of a society matron. Little does society know that MacCarron is a false name for a boy once known among London gangs as the Artful Dodger, and that he and his “aunt” are robbing them blind every chance they get. When Jack encounters Olivia Brownlow in places he least expects, his curiosity is piqued. Why is a society girl helping a bunch of homeless orphan thieves? Even more intriguing, why does she remind him so much of someone he once knew? Jack finds himself wondering if going legit and risking it all might be worth it for love.<br /><br /> Olivia Twist is an innovative reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic tale Oliver Twist, in which Olivia was forced to live as a boy for her own safety until she was rescued from the streets. Now eighteen, Olivia finds herself at a crossroads: revealed secrets threaten to destroy the “proper” life she has built for herself, while newfound feelings for an arrogant young man she shouldn’t like could derail her carefully laid plans for the future.</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34817232-olivia-twist" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> ~ <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Olivia-Twist-Blink-Lorie-Langdon/dp/031076341X" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="http://www.lorielangdon.com/" target="_blank">Langdon's website</a></span> </div>
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I first read <i>Oliver Twist</i> for sixth grade literature. It was long, dense, and filled with half-page long sentences in nineteenth century English that rambled on about details that did bring out character but that I could are less about. I enjoyed it (enough that I was the Artful Dodger for Halloween twice), but it took me about a semester to finish it.<br />
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<i>Olivia Twist</i> took me one and a half days of reading as much as I could because I just didn't want to put the book down. It was gripping, and kept me wanting to find out what happened next. I've been anticipating getting to read this book for almost six months now and have had to wait an agonizing two months since it was published before I could get my hands on it. But it was well worth the wait.<br />
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I was a little disappointed at first, because I wasn't expecting a primary plot to be romance - I thought it would be more like a thirteen-year-old Olivia learning to navigate the world of upper-class society. But after I got over that fact, I enjoyed this book so much. I don't read romance that often, but this one I enjoyed.<br />
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<b> Olivia.</b> Langdon's characters jumped off the page and really came to life for me and I really cared about their struggles and what they were going through. Olivia was relatable and a likable character, and I liked how she was headstrong and opinionated even after all she'd been through. I loved the little orphans - Archie and Brit and all of them.<br />
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<b> Jack</b>. I think Jack was the one who completely stole my heart. Like I mentioned before, Dodger was one of my favorite characters when I was younger, and I was really looking forward to how Langdon would write him. And I wasn't disappointed. Jack had the wit and the charm of Dicken's Dodger, but was a character who could stand on his own. He was clever, but he often made questionable choices. Despite that, I cared for him and wanted him to come out alright - and in the end, he does have a great character arc.<br />
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<b> The retelling. </b>I loved how Langdon took the original story and added her own twist (pun not intended). The story is similar and yet it's not. It takes place after what we think of as the end of Oliver Twist, when the kids are about eighteen years old. However, certain parts of the plot occur in this timeframe, like the appearance and conflict with the character Monks. These sort of changes helped make this story more than just a retelling, but make it a story in its own right, and kept me guessing about what elements of the original would come to play here.<br />
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<b><i> Oliver!</i> </b>The references to the musical thrilled my thespian-self, even though I know very little of the songs.<br />
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<b> The emotions that came with it.</b> I think this book made me laugh out loud at least five times, and there are some really witty lines or scenarios that made me crack up. At the same times, there were times I was on the edge of my seat, heart pounding. Langdon made me care about what happened and how it it happened.<br />
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<b> The romance. . . </b>I got used to the idea of love triangles, but it still kind of aggravated me that not only did a love triangle play out here, but there was some secondary character pairing. I supposed this is a genre convention that I've just never come to like, but the way it plays out just <i>right</i> annoys me because it barely ever does play out like that. And the "falling in love at just about first sight" cliche.<br />
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<b> The fast ending. </b>Most of the pacing was satisfactory, and the story had enough time to develop well without dragging. But the ending - maybe the last fifth of the book - felt a bit rushed, and I kind of wished that there was a little more time for the final conflict and the resolution to play out.<br />
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<b> A bit of content. </b>This book was a lot cleaner than it could be, I'll give it that. But at the same time, there were some romantic actions that were morally questionable, and it did go past gentle kissing.<br />
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I had to wait for a while to get my hands on Olivia Twist, but the book was so worth the wait. It was an exciting read, but at the same time, it was well-written and it has more merit to it than just thrill. I loved the characters and how Langdon brought together old and new details to create this new work. It was one of the best books I read last month - and one that I would definitely read again! Four stars.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What about you? Have you read Olivia Twist? What about Dickens' original story? Talk to me - I'd love to hear from you!</span></div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-92104319136878658902018-07-03T06:00:00.000-07:002018-07-03T09:09:37.629-07:00Looking Back: June <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've seen a lot of other bloggers do this kind of wrap-up post, and have thought that it would be a neat thing to do, but never </span>write<span style="font-family: inherit;"> tried it - until now. Hopefully, I'll be </span>able to<span style="font-family: inherit;"> get one up in the first few days of every month - but lets see. ;) For now, though, here is a wrap-up of the highlights of my June. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> With summer started and school gone, my days are a lot less structured but only a tad less busy. Still, June was not a slow month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> At the beginning of the month, my family had our annual end of school celebration - just a little thing with family. And then we put some mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke (just "to see what would happen") and went bowling. A great way to wrap up our school year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Throughout June, we've been involved in a local theater production that is opening <i>soon</i>! I'm running the spotlight for the show, and have also been covering for our lighting operator while he was gone, so I've finally learned how to operate a light board. (I've been having way too much fun with that!) This is my eighth production, and west's been so much fun to be a part of this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> My family went camping in the 103 degree weather one weekend. (Technically, we cheated and got a screened shelter, but shhh.) It was a lot of fun, despite the heat, and we went hiking, swimming, geocaching, and just had a good time together away from home for a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Overall, June was a great month for family and friends (and a lot of theater). Watching movies with my sisters, just having fun during rehearsals and at the playwriting conference, and getting together to sing with friends (there may have been plans for a flash mob included in this . . .). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> June was a good month for reading - there were, in particular, a few hot, lazy days when I had no plans so spent them writing and reading. By my count, I've finished 11 books this month, which is a little above my recent average. I've also been reading (but haven't finished) a few other books in addition to those eleven, including the monster of a book known as <i>It.</i> Not as creepy as I thought it would be, and I'm enjoying it so far) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34817232-olivia-twist?from_search=true" target="_blank">Olivia Twist</a></i> by Laurie Langdon. I've been wanting to read this book ever since it came out back in May, and finally got to two weeks ago. I think I read it all in one day, and it was such a good story. My first book by Langdon, and I wasn't disappointed, even though it wasn't exactly what I expected. (There may or may not be a book review coming up for this soon.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33123849-tess-of-the-road?from_search=true" target="_blank">Tess of the Road</a></i> by Rachel Hartman. I read and enjoyed <i>Serephina</i> about two years ago now, and when I saw another book by Hartman, I picked it up. It surprised me that it was set in the same world, a few years after Shadow Scale. I enjoyed the story, but Hartman's writing sometimes seems overly complex or wordy in a way that makes my head hurt from trying to keep up with it. Still, I liked the characters and how Hartman tackled some present-day issues in a fantasy setting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The Genie's Bone by <a href="https://savannahgracewrites.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Savannah Grace</a> of Inspiring Writes. This novella was admittedly one that I read a beta-reader this month - but let me tell you, it was gorgeous. I had so much fun reading it, and it was such a beautiful story and definitely one of the reading highlights of the month. (And if you haven't checked out Savannah's blog yet, you should. She has so many amazing posts and is one of the sweetest people in existence.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I completed a flash fiction piece for Rosalie Valentine's flash fiction dash, which you can read<a href="https://atruewriter.blogspot.com/2018/06/all-for-sip-of-hot-chocolate-penprints.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. This was my first time to really write flash, and I loved it! I'm already going back and experimenting with this style and genre some more, and I'm having so much fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Participated in the 100 for 100 Challenge. It's been harder than I thought it would be, but writing every day is something that I've found helped me a lot. About twenty days in, I realized I really needed a better outline, so now I have a chapter-by-chapter outline that's really helping to condense my seat of the pants rambling. My 100 for 100 project is a (year old) work that I've been rehauling - June was spent fixing the plot and starting out on the second version and writing it again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I've also been working on outlining and planning another novel. This is probably the first time I've tried writing something that's not pure fantasy in four years or so, and I'm realize just how different it can be to write different genres - or even plot them! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Like I mentioned above, Rosalie Valentine did her annual flash fiction dash, and the stories that came in were so good! Her <a href="https://rosalievalentine.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/the-2018-penprints-flash-fiction-dash-wrap-up/" target="_blank">wrap-up post</a> links to all of the stories - so if you have time for some light reading, you should really check it out! I'm still working my way through the stories, and am so impressed by the talent and creativity in these pieces!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://thisinkwell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Lisa</a> is celebrating her blogoversary! (If you haven't checked out her blog before, let me tell you that it is amazing and you really don't know what you're missing out on.) <i>And</i> she's <a href="https://thisinkwell.blogspot.com/2018/06/look-its-my-blog-birthday.html" target="_blank">hosting a writing contest</a> to celebrate, so if you like writing - or really cute GIFs - you should go check it out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://juliandaventrymemories.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Julian</a> also celebrated a one-year blogoversary! (And again - if you haven't checked out<i> Saver of Memories</i> before, you really should because it's a great blog and Julian makes awesome posts.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I'm also very excited to announce that A.M. Frisby, a writing acquaintance of mine, is starting a writer/beta reader matching service, where you can send in requests for betas for your story or to be a beta for someone else's work. She's really looking for people to submit stories to help get this project going and to spread the word. So if you're looking for someone to edit or beta your story, you should definitely check out <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qh3hf0OKszAm64nP4VEqB7QB9AgWfxhW-KPyUVUQCMI/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">this form</a> and contact her at ampfrisby@gmail.com to get matched with a beta (or become a beta)! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> June was a good month - a lot of writing, reading, and having fun with friends and family. It also meant I wasn't as diligent in putting up blog posts this month (*winces*) - something I'm hoping to make up for in the coming month. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"> How was your summer so far? Anything exciting? Fun? Have you read any good books this month? </span></div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-34014962937158918882018-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:002018-06-16T05:00:09.519-07:00Encouraging Your Fellow Creatives: Why Your Words Matter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last week, I was in a large conference room with about seventy other writers, actors, and creatives. We had come together as a part of a local playwriting conference, and were getting ready to be assigned into groups to write and produce ten-minute play in the next three days. This was my third year, and it was as amazing as ever. The conference is especially special to me because it was the thing that lead me to the theater. But looking back, I realize that this conference is also a significant mark in my writing journey. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first year, the playwright who came to speak to us encouraged me to keep to writing. Her encouragement came at a time when I needed it, and I left the conference with something important. She’s remembered me each year, and each year, I’ve come away from the conference with some advice or encouragement to consider. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This year, I went up and talked to her after the conference and thanked her for her encouragement and told her how much it meant to me. We talked for a bit, and one of the things that she said resonated with me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That as writers, artists, actors, musicians, and creators, it is our purpose not only to create, but to encourage others to create. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Because we know the struggles. </b>We know the feelings of imperfection and the toiling hours of trying to get this one line or this one chord just right. We know the joy of seeing your character or your poem stand up on its own or the fear that it will never be good enough. We know how the ideas come at crazy times and waking up in the middle of the night groping for a piece of paper or a recorder. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We know it all. We’ve been there, and we’ve felt that. <b>And these experiences make our encouragement invaluable. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As their brother and sister creatives, we can speak from experience - because we’ve been there and we got through it - or just from relating to them - because we know their pain and we can sympathize. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><b>Praise and encouragement from you can be so meaningful because you have authority in the creative world, </b>believe it or not. You have a journey behind you that tells a story. You have the authority to tell the young little hobbits “I think you have the pluck to succeed on an adventure.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You, my little Bilbo telling stories around the campfire - can’t you remember being a wide-eyed little hobbit-ling and having someone give you that piece of encouragement? Praise about your music might be more valuable when a music teacher or artist gives it compared to your little sister. And praise from you, the hobbit who has been on <i>real adventures</i> can mean so much to a person who needs it. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You as a creative can remember that piece of encouragement that helped you on your journey. You know how powerful your words can be - why can’t you use them to help others? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Encouragement can come in so many forms.</b> It can be talking to a person, pulling them aside and telling them how much you liked their work. Leaving a comment, or a review of their book. Constructive criticism. It can be a “Great job” or a like on Facebook. Anything that says “Hey, you. I see you - and I like something of what I see. Keep it up.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You don’t have to like everything about their work. <b>You don’t have to like anything except for the fact that they tried, sometimes. </b>Because it costs you so little - and it can build the community so much. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So today, I repeat what this playwright told me, and I encourage you:<b> when you see a creative struggling, stop if only for a moment and pass on some of the encouragement that you have received. </b>Because as creatives, we need to help one another, because we are the ones who can understand and who can pass it on. </span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-14882950005333605052018-06-07T05:00:00.000-07:002018-06-07T05:00:07.442-07:00All for a Sip of Hot Chocolate // The Penprints Flash Fiction Dash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Flash fiction has always intrigued me. Being able to make an audience <i>feel</i> or being able to capture them in your words seems to be ten times harder when you have so few of them. So when I saw that Rosalie Valentine was hosting a <a href="https://rosalievalentine.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/the-2018-penprints-flash-fiction-dash-sign-ups-are-open/" target="_blank">Flash Fiction Dash</a>, I was intrigued.<div>
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The Flash Fiction Dash is a challenge where Rosalie gives you either a picture prompt or a words prompt (I can't remember if I chose a words prompt or picture prompt, but since I got an image file with words on it, I'm guessing it was a words prompt), and you write a story from that prompt in under 1,000 words. Here's my prompt:</div>
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When I saw the prompt, I was so excited because - guys, it mentions Shakespeare. The theater geek in me was over the moon. I wasn't originally going to make the story actually about theater, but this little <i>sprite</i> got ahold of me a few months ago and has been begging to actually being put down on paper. The prompt had his personality written all over it, so after a lot of resisting I let him run with it. And here's the product. </div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"> “Hello?” <br /><br /> As I walked onto the middle of the stage, grasping my thermos of hot chocolate, it felt like invisible eyes were scrutinizing my every move. When an actress is alone onstage, she is meant to be stared at. Now, with no one there to watch me, it felt as if I was defying the rules of theater - or like some unseen person was watching me after all.<br /><br /> When Uncle Alex said to let myself in through the stage door if Max was late picking me up, I’d thought it would be simple. Stay out of the cold, wait for my chronically-late cousin, and leave. I just didn’t expect my uncle to be serious when he warned me about ghosts. <br /><br /> Three minutes after I’d settled myself at the edge of the stage and opened my thermos to warm up, the first crash came. I jumped, almost spilling the hot chocolate on myself. Something had fallen, somewhere backstage. <br /><br /> I got more unsettled as three more things crashed in the next three minutes. When the speakers above me unexpectedly screeched with feedback, I let out a small scream, and looked around wildly. <br /><br /> “Who’s there?” I tried to sound brave; but no one answered. I took a deep breath, then took a sip of chocolate to calm my nerves. Max couldn’t be much later, and I could leave. <br /><br /> My heart was still pounding when the speakers screamed again and something landed at my feet with a clatter. One of the whiteboards that Uncle Alex liked to use, with writing on it. <i>Can I have some chocolate?</i><br /><br /> Someone was watching me. My nerves, the shivering, building mass of them that were threatening to overflow, snapped a second later when another whiteboard came flying from nowhere -<i> Pretty please? </i><br /><br /> “No!” the words escaped me before I could think. “No, you sneaking, wide-eyed, cowardly sprite - I’d let you turn to ice cream before you’d get some!” <br /><br /> The echo hung over the auditorium, which seemed to scream its silence back at me. And then - <br /><br /> “Shakespeare would be proud.” The voice came from above me, and I froze. <br /><br /> It continued. “Maybe. I mean, I don’t know him personally.” I inched my head up, and almost screamed again. <br /><br /> Sitting on a beam high above was a boy hardly older than me. As I watched, he stood - and hovered roughly twenty feet in the air. I could almost see through him. <br /><br /> “But I mean - poisonous bunch-backed toads, cream-faced loon - the guy’s a master of insults. I think yours fits right in.” <br /><br /> He floated between the rafters, not even looking at me. He spied a board on the scaffold across the stage, and a wicked grin appeared on his face.<br /><br /> The crash the board made when it hit the ground was only half as loud as the beating of my heart. <br /><br /> The thing turned around, laughing. “Did that scare you, little g-” Blue eyes met mine and his smile faltered. The theater must have gone silent again, but my heartbeat could have been magnified in the hall for all I knew. <br /><br /> Then it spoke again, a slow smirk forming on its face. “You can see me.” When I didn’t move, it floated towards me. “You can see me, can’t you?” <br /><br /> Eyes wide, I nodded. <br /><br /> It let out sudden whoop that made me flinch, and did a flip in the air. “I knew it! Finally - someone new to talk to. You have no idea what a bore Alex can be-” <br /><br /> “What are you?” Again, the words tumbled out unplanned. <br /><br /> It - he - cocked an eyebrow at me, unfazed. “Well, every good theater needs a ghost, wouldn’t you say?” <br /><br /> I stared at him, unable to connect the dots. “You’re a ghost.” <br /><br /> “Spirit, haunt, spook, monster, devil, handsome - whatever you want to call me. But yes, I’ve been called ghost most often in the past ten years.” <br /><br /> I remembered my uncle’s warning. I’d thought he was joking. “Ten years?” <br /><br /> He glided over to me and sat down, cross-legged. “July 14th. Car crash. Screech of tires, metal and - boom - end of Theo Lancaster. I wake up here and barely anyone can see me.” <br /><br /> “I’m sorry.” My heartbeat was starting to return to normal, and I relaxed a little. <br /><br /> He waved his hand. “There’s worse that could have happened - and apparently I don’t age, so I’ll stay handsome forever!”<br /><br /> I laughed, then cocked my head, studying him. “Were you an actor here?”<br /><br /> Theo nodded. “Nine shows in a row. But I’ve learned to do pretty much everything backstage now. Too much free time.” <br /><br /> “Do you still act?” I motioned at the empty stage. “I mean, you have the whole theater to yourself.” <br /><br /> He shrugged. “Not really. What’s the point of acting if no one can see you?” <br /><br /> I didn’t know what to say to that, and sipped my hot chocolate. Then I glanced up at him. “Well, you have an audience now.” <br /><br /> He stared at me. “You want me to act?” <br /><br /> “Why not? It’s not everyday I get to see a theater ghost perform.” <br /><br /> Theo eyed the thermos in my hands. “I was serious when I asked for hot chocolate, you know.” <br /><br /> I laughed. “Alright, you can have some. But I get to see you act first.” <br /><br /> “You’re bribing me?” <br /><br /> I grinned, and held thermos in front of him. “It’s working, isn’t it?” <br /><br /> He glared, but grinned as he floated to his feet. “You’ve known me for less than an hour and you’ve already found my weakness.” He took a position in the middle of the stage. “My performance is dedicated to the hostage hot chocolate.” <br /><br /> Anyone else would have thought I was alone in the theater. They wouldn’t be been able to see the performance of a lifetime. </span></div>
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Overall, I had so much fun writing this, and I think that it was a great exercise. I'm generally a rambler and struggle to stop myself from writing <i>just a little more. </i>This story was no exception: at 951 words, I'm <i>just</i> there at the 1,000 word limit. But the challenge was so much fun, and it definitely made me want to explore flash fiction some more. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What do you think? Have you ever written flash fiction before? Are you interested in writing some now?</span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-5635387573414135272018-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:002018-05-31T14:00:03.515-07:00The Get to Know Me Tag - Writer's Edition <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://savannahgracewrites.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Savannah</a> tagged me for this ages ago, and I've been dying to do it because it looked like so much fun! And - finally - I did! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Get to Know Me Tag, Writer's Edition. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">Savannah, thank you so much for this awesome tag - and to those of you who haven't seen her blog before, it is gorgeous and inspiring and you must go explore it. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(pen)Name:</i> True. Sometimes I go by Vera, when I’m not 100% comfortable with using my real name, or when my real name isn’t an option (the joys and horror of having a word as a name - I love it, but some people or algorithms can’t recognize it as a name) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Nicknames:</i> None? Most people call me True - I can’t really recall answering to much else. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Birthday: </i>Sometime near Thanksgiving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Hair color and length:</i> Brown and should length!! (I finally cut it after 2 1/2 years of not cutting it, and I am still excited about it.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Eye color:</i> Brown. Deep, dark brown. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Braces/piercings/tattoos: </i>Earrings, one in each ear. No inked art other than the ball-point pen I scribble on my hands or legs when I’m bored. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Righty or lefty: </i>Righty! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Ethnicity:</i> Half fairy, half book dragon. Seriously, I’m half Japanese and half “American” (which I’ve traced back to England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia, to start). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>First novel written:</i> I was 10. It started from this long, made-up story that I was telling my younger sister and ended in this small white and red notebook, complete with maps and character sketches.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>First novel completed:</i> I was 11. It was my Nano for the year, and I finished the “last draft” in June. It was kind of a mixture of Magic Tree House and . . . general fantasy? Yeah, it was *heavily based* off of Magic Tree House, though I didn't realize it then. It was as cringe-worthy as it sounds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Award for writing:</i> First place and then tying for first in a minuscule one-minute one-act playwriting competition. Second place in a Cricket poetry contest when I was 12. A few other little things like that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>First publication: </i>The first time I was published for something I had written was the poem for <i>Cricket </i>(see above). The first time I published something of my own was the first Nano novel that only got three drafts (but that was completely self-published and spur of the moment, and a story all on its own). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Conference:</i> None - but I would love to try one sometime soon! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Query/Pitch: </i>Ditto that - nothing yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Novel (that you wrote):</i> My current 100 for 100 project, or the rough draft that sparked it, probably. It's the one that I'm working on most, that I am most excited about. A fantasy, either YA or middle grade, that's kind of an Inkheart/Coraline feel to it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Genre:</i> Fantasy. That’s my favorite genre to write, and my favorite genre to read. But I also love historical, mystery, and some contemporary/realistic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Author: </i>No. This question should be banned from existence because how could anyone ever choose a favorite author? I’ll compromise and give a few different authors who have <i>inspired</i> me. Gal Carson Levine. J.K. Rowling. Shannon Messenger. Patricia MacLachlan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Writing Music:</i> Usually instrumental, so something like The Piano Guys or some Celtic music. I've also enjoyed writing to soundtracks from movies such as Your Name and The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Time To Write:</i> Anytime I can get to a paper, pen, or pencil, or computer. I’ve learned not to be that picky - but I think if I had a preference, I would choose early mornings or late evenings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Writing Snack/Drink:</i> I actually don’t often eat or drink when I’m writing - when I’m handwriting, it’s just that I normally don’t snack between meals. When I’m on a laptop it’s because I’m afraid of getting my fingers messy or don’t want to break the rhythm of typing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Movie:</i> I actually don't watch a ton of movies, but that doesn't make it easier for me to choose a favorite! Maybe <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, the first movie. And if we're talking Disney movies (like my sisters and I were talking about the other day), then <i>Zootopia</i>, which is adorable and I swear I could watch it a hundred times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Writing Memory:</i> Oooh, favorite writing memory. Hmm . . . telling stories to my younger sister late at night? We had “serials” that we would make up, that could continue for weeks. Whispering under the warm blankets in the darkness of our bedroom, and creating improbable but highly entertaining scenarios that included inside jokes that we still might reference from time to time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Childhood Book:</i> Depends on what point of childhood. One from my early childhood was <i>Little Pea</i> by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. A little older, and Little Hose on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Reading:</i> In between “main” books. I just finished <i>Fangirl </i>by Rainbow Rowell, and my family is going through <i>Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH</i> together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Writing:</i> Summer is letting me spread my wings a little. I’m polishing a one-minute script for the small contest I mentioned above, as well as an entry for the Penprints Flash Fiction Dash (read: trimming words for the flash fiction dash). I’m also working on my 100for100 project, but have been sidetracked </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by another little plot bunny that won’t leave me alone </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(and who am I to refuse it?). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Listening to: </i>This very second, I'm listening to "The Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera because I just discovered it and it's ben stuck in my head. In general, I'm mostly listening to various musical soundtracks again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Watching:</i> I think the last thing I watched was <i>Tangled</i> with my sisters the other day (I was slightly underwhelmed). And in the next few days, we’ll watch <i>Moana</i> for the first time, and <i>The King’s Speech</i> with all of my family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Learning:</i> So much about my own writing style and about scheduling and pacing. Also, in general, that I have to take action and </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">work in order to make things happen - sitting passively won’t do me any favors. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Want To Be Published:</i> Yes - eventually. Not right now, but I’m steadily working towards getting some of my WIPs ready for publication. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Indie or Traditional:</i> Probably traditional - but I’m learning a lot about indie publishing that you wouldn’t know at first glance, and it’s not off the table yet. But for now, my main focus is the manuscript. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Wildest Goal:</i> World-famous bestseller? Haha - a bit past the stars right there. But the wildest short-term goal would be to try editing or beta-ing some more and learn more about that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I'm going to cheat just a little and leave this tag open to anyone who wants to. Or anyone who can't chose a favorite author - consider yourself tagged. ;) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Who is your favorite author? What is your wildest goal? And what was your first novel (started or completed)? </span></span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-22648025786496737312018-05-23T06:00:00.000-07:002018-05-23T06:00:10.521-07:003.5 Things You Learn from Writing Scripts<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Summer is a great opportunity to further your writing and experiment a bit off the beaten path. It's a little less structured, and (I, at least) have a little more free time that I can devote to trying new things. One of these new things is <a href="http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2018/05/register-for-100-for-100-writing.html" target="_blank">Go Teen Writer’s 100-for-100 challenge</a> and the <a href="https://rosalievalentine.wordpress.com/2018/04/30/the-2018-penprints-flash-fiction-dash-sign-ups-are-open/" target="_blank">Penprints Flash Fiction Dash </a>is another that I am super excited for. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Another upcoming event I am super excited about is a local youth conference where participants write and perform ten-minute plays over three days. The conference also allows us to individually write</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> one minute, one act plays for a small contest. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> W</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">hen I participated in this two years ago, it was the first time I'd ever even tried to write a play. But writing a </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">script is something that I’ve come to enjoy, and I've found that it's a great exercise. As fiction writers, there are so many things that we can learn from playwriting - and today I'm going to share three and a half reasons why. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6ZCoeKNUJwxVZUVdlO8nCPxx-ZpSMvT1q3PGIc9jR2PutI377P7jCjVIveTlr9_cnmzz2XvFp3t1duU9heAtREQ2Ikeh4OuJSlb4y63vuz9kXesa4wbK9dq2J9jOiE8tfR3p3XfPIUp8/s1600/1.+Plot+and+Prose_+Make+it+concise.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="40" data-original-width="775" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG6ZCoeKNUJwxVZUVdlO8nCPxx-ZpSMvT1q3PGIc9jR2PutI377P7jCjVIveTlr9_cnmzz2XvFp3t1duU9heAtREQ2Ikeh4OuJSlb4y63vuz9kXesa4wbK9dq2J9jOiE8tfR3p3XfPIUp8/s1600/1.+Plot+and+Prose_+Make+it+concise.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you look at a script, you might notice that there is a </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lot</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of white space. Formatting rules have come to mean that a “cluttered” script is equivalent to an ancient, technical medical textbook: few people enjoy reading it. Scripts remind you that “good” doesn’t necessarily mean “full,” a concept that is important in the fiction world as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Scripts are made to be read aloud, and to be performed. And that means that<b> they need to be concise.</b> Every word needs to move the scene along because if it doesn’t, it’s going to stick out and/or bore your audience to death. A ninety-minute play doesn’t have time to talk about the weather or how the main character hate gummy worms -<i> unless it’s important to the plot</i>. Instead, it’s going to have to spend that time furthering the plot. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Omitting these unnecessary details applies to fiction writing, too. When writing novels or short </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">stories might allow more</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> leeway with “unnecessary” description, but you still don’t want to devote too much of your time to it. The plot can’t be jumping every which way with fifteen bajillion little side plots. <b>You need to know what needs to happen and how to make it happen,</b> and what things are necessary to make them come alive, and you get a lot of practice with it in scripts. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Another thing you'll notice </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">about scripts is that</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> 95% of a script is dialogue.</b> There is virtually no description: it is up to the actor and director to decide if a specific line is going to be “said happily” or “shouted as Max bangs his fist on the table.” Stage direction is used sparingly - about two or three times a page - and is generally short and technical as possible.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> This lack of description means that <b>your ability to write dialogue will improve</b> a lot. Scripts are made to be read aloud, so you will be able to tell if your dialogue is unnatural. Scripts allow you to focus on your dialogue and improve it - and this will do so much for your fiction writing. Likewise, the dialogue is going to have to do its job without description or prose to move it along -<b> it has to be strong on its own. </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This reason applies to so many other types of art, too, but completely works for scripts. Writing a script after only writing prose for so long takes a little bit of mental gymnastics, as you try to understand what works and what doesn’t.<b> It makes you study what you’re doing as a fiction writer </b>and then apply that or change it when you write in this new form - and that by itself is a valuable experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> While writing a play is a unique art form in itself, there are so many things in is that carry over to fiction writing.</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b> Script-writing is a fun diversion from "usual" writing, and it's a great exercise in general. </b>And scripts can be so much fun to read, to write, and to perform. One thing about a script is that while it's an expression of the writer's inner vision, <b>scripts are really "bridge works,"</b> and are meant to be interpreted not just by the reader, but also by directors, actors, and crew members, to bring the story in a different form to a new audience. And that's one reason why I find scripts so neat. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Have you ever written a script, or would you be interested in writing one? What are your summer writing plans? </i></span></span></div>
<br />True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-6412471842063349922018-05-15T09:40:00.000-07:002018-05-31T10:37:26.801-07:008 Books of my Childhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Guess what's coming out this week? If you guessed the final book in the Penderwicks series, you're right! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Guys, I am so excited to read this last book. The Penderwicks is one of the series I grew up on, and now it's going to be over. Batty and Jane and Skye and Rosalind were all like sisters I didn't have, and I could see so much of myself in all of them. This series was one of the series that I'll go back and reread when I'm old and sitting in a rocking chair because it holds so many memories - of the story, and of me reading them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">After rereading this series (in anticipation of getting back into the Penderwicks' world), I thought of the other books that were important parts of - let's call it my childhood. Books I'd read over and over, and that I would still go back and read. </span></div>
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I read Storybound during the November of my first Nano - November of 2012 (wait . . . that long ago?!). It's a sweet tale about a girl who is "Written In" to the world of Story, the world behind every book. Marrissa Burt's writing is very sweet, and reading it over again brings me back to my first forays in writing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Little Women </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Very similar to the Penderwicks (in fact, I'd say the Penderwicks in a modern Little Women), Little Women has been a special series to me since I was about ten years old. I devoured all of Alcott's books that I could get my hands on, and loved them all. Now, I cringe a little at how preachy Alcott can get, but when I was ten, twelve years old, Alcott's writing style was </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">home</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> to me. </span></div>
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This book was required reading in 5th grade, but I fell in love with it. This book is about Widge, a young apprentice who is ordered to infiltrate the company of actors that Shakespeare worked with and steal the script of Hamlet. Blackwood's writing in general is amazing (two of his other great books are Around the World in 100 Days and Curiosity), and this was an intriguing story.</span></div>
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Ah, Ramona. I had a love/hate relationship with this series. Reading one of the books again recently, I was hit with a huge wave of nostalgia. But Ramona was always a bit bratty for me - couldn't the girl understand that <i>stopping and thinking</i> was ever a good idea? But she was also relatable - don't we all make innocent mistakes? But this was a series I read a lot when I was in third or fourth grade. </span></div>
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When I was in second grade or so, I started getting an obsession with the country of Sweden when I did a project over it. And, naturally, that lead to me reading Pippi Longstockings and the other two books in the trilogy. The books tell about a young girl who lives in an old house in Sweden with her monkey, Mr. Nielsen, and the mischief that she and the neighbor children get up to. I think I read this book a dozen times, and the stories never got old to me. Now, the book reminds me about little nine-year-old True who loved the silly story and the country it came from. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The book is one of the rattiest on my shelf, because it's been read so many times. Most people know this series by it's first book, Sarah Plain and Tall. But for me, the first and dearest book is the third book, Caleb's Story. When I was maybe four, I received four "big kid books" from some summer reading club deal at the library and this book was one of them. My dad read me it so many times. When my dad reads, he does voices for each character and can make a story come alive. <i>Caleb's Story</i> was one of the books he worked his magic on - and it's one of those books that I'll never forget. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Charlotte's Web </span></span></span></div>
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Another book that I got that summer was Charlotte's Web. My dad read my this one, too: and it also became a favorite of mine. Now, the book is almost as ratty as Caleb's Story. We watched the movie several times (not the newer version - I'm talking about the old animated one), and while it was one of my favorites, the book has a special place in my heart that no movie can ever do justice. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Little House on the Prarie </span></span></span></div>
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Little House was one of my first escapes. I remember my mom finding the first book at a library book sale and giving it to me. I thought the cover could have been prettier (I didn't like the red color), and hated the Indians (reading that part made my stomach curl from second-hand terror, and I'd usually skip it). But I loved the books. I'd read the Long Winter every summer, to try and imagine that it was anywhere close to cold. I remember measuring my age compared to Laura and Mary (and it's slightly frightening to think that I'm as old as Laura is in the last two books). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There we are. Eight books of my childhood - bound pages of stories, but also of unprinted memories. These books definitely shaped my reading preferences, but they also influenced other parts of my life. And I am so glad that I have them all in my mental shelves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want to hear from you! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Are there any books here that you have read? </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What are the books from when you were younger that you remember fondly? </span></span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-28819961738936174222018-05-05T06:00:00.000-07:002018-05-05T07:24:42.630-07:00Facing the Dragon<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, look who’s back from an unexpected hiatus! Honestly, I really wasn’t planning to take a break - when life got absolutely crazy one week, I decided to just skip one day, and that snowballed into almost a month and a half. But now with school wrapping up, I’m hoping to be able to take a breather and stick to a consistent posting schedule again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But let’s back up a little. When I said that craziness in life stopped me from writing on this blog, that was only half accurate. I really needed to focus on school and life in the beginning, yes. But after a few weeks, I was caught up (mostly) and in a better position. I know that if I had tried a little harder, I would have been able to post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>So what was stopping me? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As usual, there was an element of fear. Little demons whispered in my mind, reminding me that this was for others to see. And soon, getting back to my writing schedule was like a dragon in my path - something that I was letting get in the way of my goals. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">There are so many types of dragons in our lives - things that we don't do because it's hard or not fun or scary. </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">They're all actions </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I n</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">eed or want to take but just . . . put them off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes there are dragons in our paths that are big and scary and you are pretty sure that you’ll get burned because - </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">eep look at those flames!</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> But these dragons might be in our paths for a reason. And the treasure that they guard could make you so much richer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The book <i>The Hobbit</i> illustrates this pretty well. <b>In <i>The Hobbit, </i>Bilbo had two dragons. </b>Smaug was the literal fire breathing one that did try to kill him a few times. But Smaug kind of represented the other dragon, the main obstacle that Bilbo overcame: the challenge of leaving the Shire and becoming more than just a hobbit who likes to make smoke rings in his front yard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Bilbo learned different things from these dragons:</b> he took “classes," if you will. “Extreme Thievery 101,” “How Not to Get Killed By a Creature that Wants Dearly to Kill You” and “Intro to Coming Back from the Dead” were key things that he learned. <b>He also learned in the abstract.</b> “Bravery for the Fainthearted,” “Cultivating a Sense of Adventure,” and “Thinking Quickly in a Tight Spot” were only a few of these lessons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And after Bilbo faced his dragons, he grew. The dragons challenged him and forced him to change, to learn, and to grow. <b>He changed as a person -er, hobbit - and became <i>more.</i> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We all have Smaugs in our paths, dragons that guard things in our lives. That prevent us from just walking up and plucking the things we want off the shelf. There may be the, easier paths available to us - but if we take them, we won’t get to the treasure that the dragon guards. We have to work to get this treasure - and best of all, we get to learn from them.<b> These dragons may be obstacles, yes, but they are also opportunities, if only we will take them. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Because only by challenging our dragons will we move and will be able to grow.<b> It’s all right if the dragons scare you, but don’t let them stop you from taking the path you want to take. </b>You have a sword and you have an amazing mind and you can use those weapons to get past any dragon if only you try. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a lesson I'm learning over and over, something I have to remind myself more and more often now. Change is scary. The </span>adulating<span style="font-family: inherit;"> world is scary, and it's easy enough to sit in comfort. But I'm not </span>pushing myself, <b>and I'm not doing the best I can when I let my dragons keep me from pursuing the treasure I want. </b><br />
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Whatever the dragons are that you may face<span style="font-family: inherit;">, I encourage you to take the first step and raise your sword. Because while I know that you can overcome these dragons,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">you </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">will never know until you try. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Let's talk! What are the dragons you face? Do you know why they're dragons? And do you have any plans for the summer (with, oh my goodness, is almost here)? </span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-69394193363526517582018-03-21T12:00:00.000-07:002018-03-21T12:00:03.154-07:00Liebster Award 2018<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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Both Ivie and Audrey tagged me for this on the same day almost a month ago (I know, I take forever to do tags!), and I am so looking forward to doing this! Thank you both for giving me the opportunity do participate in this! </div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">-<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span>Thank the person who nominated you. (I've said it once but I'll say it again - thank you Ivie and Audrey!) </span></div>
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- <span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Answer the eleven questions they gave you.</span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">- Name eleven facts about yourself. </span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">- Nominate eleven bloggers for this and let them know. (Aaaand . . . let's see how that goes.) </span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">- Give them eleven questions.</span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Chocolate. I'm not very picky about candy, but I will always accept something with chocolate in it. White, milk, dark - I don't really have a preference beyond that. It's all chocolate! </span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ivie, you evil, evil person. You mean I actually have to chose <i>one</i> book!? Inconceivable. Fine . . . I'll chose <i>some</i> favorites. <i>Lord of the Rings</i> and <i>The Hobbit</i>. <i>The Outsider </i>by S.E. Hinton. <i>The Memory of Light </i>by Fransisco X. Stork. And <i>The Penderwicks</i> by Jeanne Birdsall. </span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Iviieee. Whyyyy? All right, to be fair, I've probably asked this question more than I should have. So I suppose I'll say . . . J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and Gail Carson Levine. They've all influenced my writing in different ways. </span></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Would you rather have to publish your first draft or publish your third draft?</span></b></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Easy - third draft. I've already gone through the horror of publishing a first draft and once was more than enough. (That's a story for a later date, though.)</span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I actually don't watch a lot of movies (and am working on correcting that!) but I'd say that that Howl's Moving Castle (and other Studio Ghibli films) is one that I really like, off the top of my head. The Greatest Showman is also really great. ;) </span></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Favorite Gif?</span></b></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">How long have you been blogging?</span></b></div>
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Less than two months! I started in very late January and now it's mid-March - it's been a neat journey so far.<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Yes, though I rarely ever get the chance to use them! A friend gave me a really neat scented candle that I keep by my desk to light during special occasions, and I love the smell it gives off. </span><br />
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rainy day or sunshine?</span></b></div>
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Bright sunshine and crisp wind. But if it's a muggy, hot sunny day, then I'll take the rain in a heartbeat.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I've been writing seriously (which I'll define as "with the goal to finish a long project") since I was nine or ten . . . has it really been seven years? Wow. </span></div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Reading or writing? </span></b></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Both. </span>Consuming and creating stories are two necessities of life. I don't think I could give up one or the other . . . even if you forbade me from writing or from reading, I'll get my stories through audio and would make them up in my head and record them or tell them to whoever would listen.<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">Hmmm . . . I would love to go zip lining some day, or skydiving. I mean - that's as close as I'll ever get to flying, so . . . ;) </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">Confession: I watched my first Marvel movie a few weeks ago. (And I mean "watched" in the literal sense - I only heard about 15% of the movie because only a few of the people I watched it with were interested in hearing the movie. I need to go back and really watch it, considering I don't know any of the characters' names.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">But the movie was The First Avenger - so if I have to chose, I suppose Team Cap, considering I've never seen anything of Iron Man? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">And it may be corny, but I think it might be "yet." So much possibility and hope live in those three letters. Other words that I like because they're pretty or fun - "precocious," "iridescent," and "tintinnabulation." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If it could only be one season for an entire year, which would you choose?</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">Spring. It has bright, crisp sunny days and cool rainy ones at the same time. The trees and plants aren't dead yet, but they're blooming and beautiful. And it's not scorching hot or freezing cold. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Laptop or desktop?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">Laptop. It's portable, and I can use it anywhere. (And, it's so sleek and fast.) But I do still use desktops when I need to. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What’s your favorite joke?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">I enjoy wordplay a lot, so the two that I can think of are puns. Highlight the text inside the parentheses to see the answers. What do you do with a dead chemist? (<span style="color: white;">You Barium</span>) And: What is Beethoven dong now? (<span style="color: white;">Decomposing</span>)<span style="color: white;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">What’s your favorite book of the Bible?</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">When I was younger, it was Ruth and Esther because those were the only ones where a girl was the "main character" of the story. Now, I like the poetry and wisdom in Psalms. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What were your favorite novels in middle school?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">Louisa May Alcott's works were some of my favorites (and still are). Percy Jackson and the Olympians. <i>Angel in my Pocket</i> by Ilene Cooper is another one - I haven't read it in a long time, but I remember reading it so many times. <i>Caleb's Story</i> and the other books in the <i>Sarah Plain and Tall</i> series. And <i>Storybound</i> and <i>Story's End</i> by Marrissa Burt.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-weight: bold;">f you could learn any language, what would it be?</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">It's hard for me to chose just one! I think I'd chose Japanese for a few different reasons. The main reason is because of my Japanese side of the family that I can't communicate with without a translator. And because the culture is amazing. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Which do you like better: thunderstorms or blizzards?</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">I've never been in a blizzard (that I can remember), but I do like thunderstorms. Thunder's kind of comforting at times - <i>unless</i> it sounds like Zeus is trying to shatter the sky. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">What’s someplace you’ve always wanted to visit?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">France. But I would love to go to London, or to Sweden! </span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">1. </span></span><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">I can speak some French, and know bits and pieces of Esperanto, Spanish and Japanese. </span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">2. I consider myself a literature/language person, but at school I have the most fun in math classes and the least fun in English classes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">3. I've donated my hair twice before. My hair is super thick, and I might donate it again soon. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">4. I love the smell of campfire smoke - it reminds me of camping with my family and thick woods. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">5. I've done martial arts for almost four years now. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">6. I'm an introvert - I adore being with people, but when my "people battery" dies, I'm sitting at the sidelines, happily watching. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">7. I've sliced my thumb three times - the same thumb, the same way. Twice peeling apples for a pie, once with a peach for a cobbler. (I'm a menace in the kitchen. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">8. I've been to Japan a three times - and think it's one of the best places in the world. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">9. Playing chess is one thing that I really like to do but barely ever can. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">10. I can't stand sweet tea - it's way too sweet for me. Because I live in the South, some people call me a traitor for not liking the "standard" beverage. ;) </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">11. I've never been public schooled - I've been homeschooled my entire life. Now, I guess I'm in a "school system" because I'm a dual credit student, but I still consider myself homeschooled. </span></span><br />
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<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "lato" , serif; font-size: 16px;">1. What's your favorite flower? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">2. If you could be any character for a day, who would you chose? (And what would you do in that day?) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">3. Favorite part about blogging? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">4. Cats or dogs?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">5. What song always puts you in a good mood? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">6. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">7. Favorite ice cream flavor?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">8. What's your favorite quote? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">9. What is one achievement that you are really proud of but might seem weird to other people? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">10. What book would you always recommend? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">11. Who is your biggest source of inspiration? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;">In advance - if I tag a person who's already been tagged, I'm sorry! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Lila @ <a href="https://lilakimswriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Red-Hooded Writer</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Savannah @<a href="http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Scattered Scribblings </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Lisa @ <a href="http://thisinkwell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Inkwell</a> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Brianna @ <a href="https://noendofbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">No End of Books</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Faith @ <a href="http://thefloridsword.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Writer's Song</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Nicole @ <a href="http://wildpennings.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Wild Pennings</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Catherine @ <a href="http://catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rebellious Muse</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Sarah @ <a href="http://the-introverted-extrovert.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Introverted Extrovert</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Julian @ <a href="http://juliandaventrymemories.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Saver of Memories</a> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Hannah @ <a href="https://iamawriterandthisismyblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Inkblots and Coffee Stains </a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lato" , serif;"><b>Sarah @ <a href="http://sarah-plainandaverage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Plain and Average </a></b></span><br />
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Wow - that was long - if you made it to the end, I'm impressed! Tell me - what is <i>your </i>favorite word? Favorite joke? What song always puts you in a good mood?</div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-32967302561026356692018-03-15T00:30:00.000-07:002018-03-15T00:30:35.027-07:00Little Gifts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've just turned the clocks forward by an hour, and the evenings are sunnier and more and more like spring. The weather (where I am) still can't decide if it wants to freeze us or roast us, and tries to blow us away in the mean time.<br />
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And in all of this changing of the seasons, I want to take a moment to step back and just marvel at the beauty of it.<br />
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Spring isn't my favorite season, but looking out at the crisp sunny day ahead of me, I think that spring is an amazing gift.<br />
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The world around us - the man-made world that's called society - is full of so many dark, depressing tings. We hear about the stressors of adult life, and all we can see in the news is death and horror. We see people shaking their heads and sighing about how they're leaving so much trouble for our generation when we inherit the world.<br />
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It makes me wonder why I would want to inherit that world. </div>
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Not a few weeks ago, it was cold and dreary (and - oh the horror - icy). Clouds hung low in the sky, and dead leaves and dull grass was all that you could see on the ground. Stark, bare trees stood still, only shaking their branches when the cold wind comes around.<br />
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But in a few short weeks, the world is all so changed. The sky is high and blue. There are colors - everywhere. Lush greens, and bright pinks and whites and yellows. I see crepe myrtles and dogwood in bloom everywhere, and the wind is playful instead of biting.<br />
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And these change in the weather reminds me to look out for the little things we might take for granted, because those things are marvelous.<br />
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Sometimes, we need to be reminded that there is beauty in the world. We take so much for granted that it's so easy to overlook the amazing things in life and bombard ourselves with the negative things. But when we start looking, there are so many things out there that make life worth living - and the world something that we might want to inherit.<br />
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And in the few days that I've been stepping back to really think about these little blessings, I've found so much that makes my life worth living. Sharing a family night with my family. Inside jokes. Flowers, warmth, and color. Sleeping in an extra hour. Blueberry pie. Books. Watching a sunset, or a flock of birds take off from the ground. Small, precious things, that might make up a "normal" day, but that can be so extraordinary. </div>
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So go outside. Take a walk. Go to the store, to the library, to school. And stop, and look around, and listen. <b>How many beautiful things can you see when you look for them? </b><br />
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(I know this wasn't a normal post in a few different senses - and I know that it was late! It's been a hectic week, and I won't deny that I've been feeling lazy and antisocial recently. I apologize for not sticking to schedule!)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Talk to me! Can you think of small, beautiful things you take for granted? Are you on spring break right now? If so, how is it going? </span></div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-8695401387382313562018-03-05T12:00:00.000-08:002018-03-05T12:00:00.188-08:00Comp Title Challenge <a href="https://madelinejrose.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Madeline</a> at Short and Snappy created this tag over a month ago, and when I saw it on some other blogs, I had so much fun doing some mental gymnastics to figure out comp titles for some of my own WIPs. Then <a href="http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Savannah</a> over at Scattered Scribblings tagged me for this and now I actually get to complete it - and you guys get to see my "creations" - and some of my WIPs!<br />
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So, without further ado, I present -<br />
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For those of you not familiar with the term, a comp title is short for "comparison title." When you make a comp title, you chose a few different titles of other, already published (and probably well-known) works that you think your book is similar to. And these works don't have to be limited to books - TV series and movies work well as comp titles, too. Basically, you're trying to bring together the feel of the novel by comparing it to other works.<br />
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I'm picking four of my WIPs to craft comp titles for. Some of these I've edited, some of them I haven't even finished the first draft of. But here they are. (All the links lead to Goodreads pages for the books).<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Soul Snatcher // <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17061.Coraline?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Coraline</a> meets <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28194.Inkheart?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Inkheart</a> meets <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">The Hobbit</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PQJVMt_JHAurBFjAPuRXrErsPBAcstSD_IO3Hxy_gBhybxMe-2z6NtFXmqi2FfBiTdND4MaIj0zOmjCeH8RR1eldp9vFK-EnnwpAEOUVJ2WRo3KUl_4UOdv9FVfZlTyxaUBSWOTz4hJm/s1600/amaury-salas-324504-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PQJVMt_JHAurBFjAPuRXrErsPBAcstSD_IO3Hxy_gBhybxMe-2z6NtFXmqi2FfBiTdND4MaIj0zOmjCeH8RR1eldp9vFK-EnnwpAEOUVJ2WRo3KUl_4UOdv9FVfZlTyxaUBSWOTz4hJm/s320/amaury-salas-324504-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soul Snatcher</td></tr>
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So . . . confession: I haven't actually <i>read</i> Coraline. I watched the movie when I was ten and it scarred me for life. But the <i>feel </i>of the movie, the horror and pacing and thrill of it, is what's pertinent to this book.<br />
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As for Inkheart - the characters and the style and maybe just a teensy bit of the storyworld? Storyworld is really why I picked Hobbit - the setting is supposed to be comforting and cozy even when it's trying to kill you, and the Hobbit is pretty much the epitome of that in my opinion.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Smarts, Hearts, and Courage // <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236093.The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz?from_search=true" target="_blank">Wizard of Oz</a> meets <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19549841-seraphina?from_search=true" target="_blank">Seraphina</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb7SL8A7h0RTKSNx44vy-_wlVWr8gjWJnFcYRBzY1clfQpM2EUiIpkMf_DNXUFESPQ8gPkatNF3eksWhTpjug-GGca-mzwjJFPfkJp1DGEpFoCesuHnyhP4cDbcNyGF67OX1_DMKCddjk/s1600/Smarts%252C+Hearts%252C+and+Courage.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb7SL8A7h0RTKSNx44vy-_wlVWr8gjWJnFcYRBzY1clfQpM2EUiIpkMf_DNXUFESPQ8gPkatNF3eksWhTpjug-GGca-mzwjJFPfkJp1DGEpFoCesuHnyhP4cDbcNyGF67OX1_DMKCddjk/s320/Smarts%252C+Hearts%252C+and+Courage.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smarts, Hearts, and Courage</td></tr>
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In case the title wasn't a tip-off - this is kind of a Wizard of Oz retelling. (You know - the brain, the heart, and the courage.) I'm in the writing-the-first-draft-as-I-plot stage, and I'm not 100% sure if this project is going to succeed, but it's so much fun to write that I'm sticking with it for now.<br />
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So I chose Wizard of Oz for obvious reasons, but Seraphina was a bit more of a struggle. In the end, I chose it because of the storyworld - it's not quite a steampunk fantasy, but it's getting there. That's what I'm (currently) planning my Oz to be - a lot of jewelers and clockmakers and Victorian era-esque stuff (And yes, Victorian-esque is totally a world. Absolutely.) The idea of dragons morphing into humans also has a few parallels with certain things in my book.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Theater Ghost // <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23009402-saint-anything?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Saint Anything</a> meets <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1420.Hamlet?ac=1&from_search=true" target="_blank">Hamlet</a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Theater Ghost</td></tr>
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In a nutshell, this is "modern theater ghost." This is the idea that's been rattling around in my head for a long time and has been dying to be written. Right now, the idea is "What if an actor died and came back to haunt their small-town theater?" Honestly, I think this one was the hardest comp title for me to come up with, and it's one of my weakest.<br />
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I chose Saint Anything because of the style and the tone of the book - it's a modern book, about characters grappling with coming of age questions, and it's tone is just slightly darker than a "gumdrops and beaches" book. (You know what I mean. One of those light and fluffy modern YAs.)<br />
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I chose Hamlet because one, it's a ghost story and two because it's a play (that counts for something, right?), since this does take place in the theater.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Shattered // <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36381037-cinder?ac=1&from_search=true">Lunar Chronicles</a> meets <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842828-keeper-of-the-lost-cities?ac=1&from_search=true">Keeper of the Lost Cities</a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shattered</td></tr>
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This is an older project of mine that badly needs a rehaul and almost got it pretty recently. I've pulled up this little one and started working on rewriting the plot and fixing potholes that little twelve-year-old me thought weren't a problem at all. Basically, shapeshifters live in a world connected to this one by portals that humans call mirrors. mirrors. They're always guarding these portals, and when we try to go through the mirrors, their cold hands press back, to keep us out.<br />
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I'm choosing Lunar Chronicles because of the characters and the cool, slickness of Meyer's writing. Keeper of the Lost Cities is a little bit more light-hearted, which is one reason I chose it. The other reason is because it has a "group of people hides from humans but influences the humans without them knowing" thing going on.<br />
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And there we are! And I tag: </div>
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Catherine @ <a href="http://catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rebellious Muse</a></div>
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Danielle @ <a href="http://silverphoenixwriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Snapper </a></div>
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Ivie @ <a href="http://silverphoenixwriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ivie Writes</a></div>
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And anyone else who thinks they want to give this a shot. ;)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">So what do you think? And do you have comp titles for your WIPs? </span><br />
<br />True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-72347802035128741892018-02-26T11:30:00.000-08:002018-02-26T12:15:09.899-08:00The Power of "Once Upon a Time" <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlG7WQvr_ZobHpYqhSaV9vNR3fS2X0CtyBskrRsnQWBUKHBYdnzU6CsJ_MdjUVzhygwtIyj3Dn_AVNTW80Ve69UCSOJW1T1JsGIrH-Npzr7y761u9aM7sgtGI00PPYiyID0D7Oy4tzooMw/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlG7WQvr_ZobHpYqhSaV9vNR3fS2X0CtyBskrRsnQWBUKHBYdnzU6CsJ_MdjUVzhygwtIyj3Dn_AVNTW80Ve69UCSOJW1T1JsGIrH-Npzr7y761u9aM7sgtGI00PPYiyID0D7Oy4tzooMw/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png" /></a><br />
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Guess what this month is? It's February and that means . . . Fantasy Month! <a href="http://jenelleschmidt.com/" target="_blank">Jenelle Schmidt</a> started <a href="http://jenelleschmidt.com/fantasy-month-returns/" target="_blank">this lovely link-up</a> where bloggers come together to talk and rave about fantasy for all of February! Because fantasy is an amazing, magical genre and deserves an entire month to itself. ;)<br />
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So you know what month it is now. But let's go a bit deeper - can you tell what day it is? Today, according to my calendar, is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. And so, in honor of this month and this most esteemed holiday, I want to tell you a story. <br />
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<i>Once upon a time,</i> there was an ordinary little girl who lived in an ordinary house with an (extra)ordinary family. This girl loved to read and always had a book in her hand. She read many books, and some of the stories that she read the most were fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Anderson, and Andrew Lang. She had read them all, and reread them again and again.<br />
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Her reading was useful - she knew how to battle dragons and trick bridge trolls and had followed so many princes to save the princess that she knew how to save herself. And one day, this little girl decided that she was going create her own story. <br />
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"Once upon a time," she wrote (because she knew the best stories start that way) "there was an ordinary girl who went on an adventure."<br />
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And so she became a writer. And (big surprise) this girl was me.<b> It was fairy tales that brought me into writing, that ensnared me in reading. </b>Simple fairy tales have played a large role in my life, and I know many of these stories like the back of my hand. Or - at least one version of the story. </div>
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When they hear "fairy tale," some people first think of dancing candlesticks singing about French cuisine. But let's be clear - as enchanting and sweet as they may be, we're not talking about Disney stories. In fact, <b>did you know that the original fairy tales weren't made for children? </b>They were originally written for adults, and when they were watered down to be told to children, they were still the "be-good-or-else-you'll-die-a-horrible-death" kind.<br />
<b><br />Why did these silly, plot-holed filled stories survive the test of time? What was it about them that captured the hearts of so many people? </b><br />
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We hear fairy tales and associate them with possibility. No one says "Little Red Riding Hood should have been <i>dead</i> you idiots, not <i>pulled out</i> of the wolf's <i>stomach</i> and ready to<i> conquer the world</i>." Or, if they do, they're quickly silenced.<br />
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These stories give us hope. It's comforting when the wicked stepmother is foiled because it shows that when it comes to good vs. evil, good will triumph in the end. We see the hero (or heroine) fight for their destiny, no matter what opposes them. <br />
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<b>As readers, "Once upon a time" teaches us that anything is possible. </b>And when we come out of fairy tales and back to real life, we can look at our own future knowing that we can fight our own evils. We can can conquer our destiny. (*Cough*Or we'll be like the little mermaid and turn into sea foam.*Cough*) <br />
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<b>And as writers, "Once upon a time" teaches us that words are powerful. </b>Fairy tales taught me that I could make magic - and "Once upon a time" was my magic spell. I saw that after those words, anything could happen, and realized that also meant <i>I </i>could make anything happen. <br />
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And so, today I leave you with a reminder about the power of words. Fairy tales are beloved stories that have weathered ages of telling and retelling, but they do more than just entertain us. They teach us to dream - and remind us that anything is possible when we do cross this gate of "Once upon a time." </div>
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Happy Tell a Fairy Tale Day! What are your favorite fairy tales? Or tell me a story - I would love to hear your stories and your thoughts. </div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-26518164999391224542018-02-19T06:00:00.000-08:002018-02-19T06:00:57.872-08:00Typing vs. Writing by Hand <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUopDCFlnZiWiPf2srhihiUn2jEkVcUYjaKGpuN5-j1jh0S2jN_tkIKVu-A0XXhNOUz_rzvJT9liKV9ySJaLAkjfVdbkczLxqrULVubu8RBqdnEXB3y24mZkV6AMPC6GQj8XSMu8Lo3o8/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUopDCFlnZiWiPf2srhihiUn2jEkVcUYjaKGpuN5-j1jh0S2jN_tkIKVu-A0XXhNOUz_rzvJT9liKV9ySJaLAkjfVdbkczLxqrULVubu8RBqdnEXB3y24mZkV6AMPC6GQj8XSMu8Lo3o8/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png" /></a><br />
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What is the sound of writing and creativity to you? Is it the clicking of keys on a keyboard? Or the scratch of a pen or pencil on paper? Do any of you ever handwrite any of your stories anymore?<br />
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Writing by hand and typing are two different processes you can take when you write a story. Both are writing, yes, but both are so different from each other. I've done a fair share of creative writing using both methods, and today, I'm going to talk about the pros and cons of each of them.<br />
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<b>It's faster. </b>I know people who can type faster than they can think, especially faster than they can think of words to write down. So when you type, your hands don't have any problem keeping up with your thoughts. (Especially if you compare it to writing everything out by hand!)<br />
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<b>It's easier to change things.</b> If I just misspelled a word at the beginning of this sentence (like I actually did, haha), I can fix it and no one would know. If I was handwriting? Well, I could erase the mistake - if I was using a pencil. Or I could cross it out, leaving an ugly disfigurement to the paper. Or I could let it be and pray no one minds too much. Typing gives me the freedom to make mistakes and fix them, and lets me stay focused on what's right for the story.<br />
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<b>It's so much easier to share.</b> Beta-reading, critiquing, or just showing others your work is hard when the only copy out there is in a notebook. But a typed document can be copied and shared in a few seconds. This can also work to the author's advantage in other times. Recently, I was at the library without my laptop, and had time to kill. I was able to log online and go to Google Docs, and work on my novel from there.<br />
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But typing does have its downsides. I think the biggest one is that<b> </b>it's so easy <b>to get disconnected to your story</b>. I find it similar to digital books and print books; for me, it's harder to feel emotion and connection to the story when it's separated from me by a screen. Typing can feel so clinical, so mind-numbing and receptive, that it's harder to focus on the content that you're writing.<br />
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<b>You feel productive, like a millionaire tech boss. </b>Alright, not as serious, but surely I'm not the only one that feels like an important, productive company owner or tech guru when my fingers are flying over the keys like crazy? The sound of clickety-clackity busy-ness? Come on guys, you know you feel it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvTapf1ig6qa9v3EWN5FyE2ohZavwGK4dcAhJinbIz2kxPdQI7FgPQfb9Ub8cTLGHtDPage_n8y5YpsQ5h1dbNI5zNiXgaTU3lNVyN4hYScQxiXYYDASUIKVV_omjKzC5WGAbteRIZyju/s1600/Writing+by+Hand.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvTapf1ig6qa9v3EWN5FyE2ohZavwGK4dcAhJinbIz2kxPdQI7FgPQfb9Ub8cTLGHtDPage_n8y5YpsQ5h1dbNI5zNiXgaTU3lNVyN4hYScQxiXYYDASUIKVV_omjKzC5WGAbteRIZyju/s1600/Writing+by+Hand.png" /></a><br />
As our technology advanced, typing becomes more and more viable. However, there are some things that I think technology can never perfect, and writing by hand also has its merits.<br />
<br />
<b>It helps focus.</b> Writing by hand takes time - your hand literally cannot keep up with your brain. And that means that for every word that you write, you have time to think about it. You have a few extra seconds to decide if you really want to chose that word or follow that little plot bunny.<br />
<br />
<b>It improves creativity. </b>According to multiple studies, writing improves creativity, and allows you to think of more options. From personal experience, I can vouch for this. There's so much freedom when you have a pen in hand that can glide down a page. That sense of freedom kind lets me relax and <i>breathe</i> - sets my mind free, you could say.<br />
<br />
<b>It's portable. </b>When I didn't have a laptop, this meant I could write from any room in the house instead of the family's desktop. Once I got my first (clunky, heavy) laptop, writing in a notebook meant I could write on the go. With my second (oh-so-much-lighter) laptop, writing by hand means that I don't need to carry my laptop around in a large backpack or purse, and I can pull out a small notebook in just a few seconds.<br />
<br />
<b>It's slow.</b> Like typing, writing by hand does have its fair share of cons. I know that I discussed how great writing slowly is, but there's also a negative side to it. You can start to <i>over-</i>think things, and start to entertain doubts about your project and your writing in general. when you go slow, you can plan and that's great, but there comes a time when you may be constantly questioning whether this word or that word really works there.<br />
<br />
<b>You feel like an author.</b> A steaming mug of tea or coffee (or your drink of choice), a cozy sweater, holed up at your desk as rain drums on the roof. You know - the picture-perfect author? (That is actually barely ever accurate) The pen glides across the page and you think "This is how Shakespeare wrote his plays." (Except Shakespeare probably didn't use a gel pen. Hmm.)<br />
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Until the past year, <b>most of my writing was by hand.</b> I didn't have a laptop and handwriting was the easiest option there was. Even my Nanos were done by hand - and you could tell what season it was based on the size of my writing. My letters would get <span style="font-size: x-small;">tiny </span>in November and December, around March it would start to get a little bigger, and by August it would be maybe normal size. And then it would start over.<br />
<br />
When I got a laptop for school use, it took some time to actually move my writing to it. I didn't - don't - like the idea of spending all my time staring at a screen. But soon, the<b> speed and flexibility won out</b>, and I was doing most of my writing on the computer. That was definitely cemented this past Nano, when I typed my novel through the entire month.<br />
<br />
<b>And when I changed it up, I noticed a shift in my writing. </b>Typing helped me when it came to speed and getting words down on a page or editing and making frequent changes. But when it came to planning, plotting, brainstorming and writing short pieces to help me solidify character and world building, writing by hand helped me think in new ways.<br />
<br />
In the end, both typing and writing by hand has their strengths. Both of them work, and it's up to personal preference. Each of them has something to offer. But the difference between them might surprise you.<br />
<br />
So try changing up your writing sometimes. Use a laptop or a pen and notebook or a typewriter. Does it change how you write or think?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you like to type your stories, write by hand, or some combination of the two? What do you think about writing by hand vs. typing? </span></div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-59606697766725620952018-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-12T12:35:01.439-08:00A Procrastinator's Battle: What if You Fly? Last week, we talked about one thing that drives procrastination: fear. Today, we're going to expand upon that a little more, and talk about how we can use that knowledge to procrastinate less. Because it's all well and good to know what causes us to procrastinate, but that doesn't necessarily stop it.<br />
<br />
Also - I'm sharing some of my writing! Savannah, over at <a href="http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Scattered Scribblings</a>, is featuring a<a href="http://scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-soul-snatcher-short-story-by-true.html" target="_blank"> short story</a> I wrote last fall for a writing contest she hosted. She is such a sweet, amazing person and has a gorgeous blog, so you should totally go check it out!<br />
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We've talked about fear that keeps you from acting, and there's a poem I found a while ago that I think describes this quite well. The poet "e.h.," or Erin Hansen, has a way with words - her works are breathtaking, and they can really make you think. And this one goes:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>There is freedom waiting for you</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>On the breezes of the sky</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>And you ask "What if I fall?" </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Oh but my darling, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>What if you fly? </i></div>
<br />
<i>What if I fall? </i>That is a question I ask myself so many times, in so many ways. It's one of the many disguises that the monster Self-Doubt wears. "What if I can't?" "It looks too hard." "I'm not ready." "What will they think of me?" <i>"What if I fail?" </i><br />
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<br />
This
fear is so powerful that it leaves me paralyzed.
I’m on the edge of a cliff, and I can’t decide if I want to
commit to jumping into the wind. Instead, I just let the
minutes tick away, let time pass until it won’t matter anymore. I'm putting off a decision. I'm procrastinating.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;">Because in the end, even not closing to act has its consequences, and<b> I have to make a decision one way or another. </b>Action
or inaction. Now or later. </span>
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<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b> I
can stay still.</b> I can watch the wind, and wonder, and put off jumping
for another few days. And do exactly nothing.
Because staying paralyzed means taking no chances. It’s playing it
safe, but safe means never changing, not doing anything.
</div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b> Or I can
jump. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">And I know that<b> there’s
always the chance I might fall</b>, my</span>body plummeting towards the bottom of the chasm and hitting the ground with a sick crash. Maybe I’ll float, slowly sinking lower and lower until I stumble onto the ground and collapse. But if I do fall, I’ll pick myself off and I'll climb up the cliff and start over, having learned a few
things. <b>Because the fall won't kill me.</b></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">But maybe I'll fly, spreading wings I didn't know I had. Soaring in the air and looking down at the land below like a bird. <b>But if I
don’t jump, I’ll never know</b> that I even had
wings to fly with. I’d never give myself the chance to try. And I’d
never be able to know how wonderful it to soar in the sky.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">With that being said, how do you battle procrastination? Knowing your adversary is all well and good, but how do you overcome it? </span></div>
<br />
<b style="font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal;">Confront your fear.</b> Why are you procrastinating - what specifically are you afraid of? And once you answer that question, ask yourself what is the absolute worst that can happen? Often, it's something that you can deal with, or something that you deep down know will not be so bad. Defining your fear can have </div>
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<b>Get others to hold you accountable.</b> It's not uncommon for my sister and I ask each other "Hey, are you working?" during the day. Sometimes, we'll hold things captive - such as books or tablets - so that certain distractions are out of the way. Other times, I'll ask her to check up on me every so often, just to ask "What are you doing?" Knowing that someone is watching me helps to stay on track. </div>
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<div style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
On a similar note - <b>work with someone else. </b>Recently, I went to the library to work and unexpectedly saw a friend. We talked, and I sat down across from them. And even though they couldn't seen what was on my screen, I noticed a huge change in my work. I was able to get the rest of my schoolwork for the day done in an hour because I was motivated to be serious, because someone else was there. </div>
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<b>Change your environment. </b>Move from the couch in the living room to table in the kitchen. Go to a cafe or the library and set up shop there. The same distractions are available when you stick to the same areas - and changing it up can send a signal to your brain that "Oh - it's time to get serious." </div>
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<div style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Get the hard things out of the way first. </b>That way, you can't drag your feet at the end of the day because <i>It's late I need to sleep I can do it tomorrow right? </i>Wrong. Plan that hard phone call in the morning, before anything else. Work on that tough outline first, and then you can move on to your other, easier work. Which brings me to - </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Reward yourself.</b> Finish one more difficult government questions, and you get a chapter of <i>Harry Potter</i>. Write five hundred new words, and you can goof off for five minutes. Sometimes, I'll have a cycle - fifteen minutes of writing, fifteen minutes of school, one chapter of a book - that keeps me refreshed enough to keep going through a few different tasks. Feel free to reward yourself for getting hard work done! </div>
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<div style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And lastly, most importantly, <b>forgive yourself</b>. Don't beat yourself up for failing to do a few tasks. Take a few deep breaths, smile, and say to yourself "Hey, it's all right." Being angry because you couldn't get it done will only stress you out even more. Sometimes we don't get everything done - and that's fine. Your worth is not defined by what you did or what you can do.<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I hope that this post helped you to fight procrastination. I would love to hear your opinion on all of this. How do you battle procrastination? Let me know in the comments!</span>True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-28150175103859895962018-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:002018-02-05T12:00:45.177-08:00A Procrastinator's Battle - The Fear that Keeps us from Writing<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What keeps you from writing? <i>Nothing, </i>you may tell me. <i>I'm always writing. </i>All right, fine. Let me rephrase that. What makes it hard for you to write? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unless you're some super amazing writer god and writing is <i>never</i> hard for you (in which case, I want all your secrets), you should have an answer to that question. Time. Writer's block. Procrastination. Insecurity. Sometimes, although some writers don't like to admit it, it's like you're battling for the pen. Writer vs. Big Scary Forces. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And that's what this series is going to look at. Those big scary forces that try to discourage you from writing. (Because
no, this completely wasn't going to be only one post until I
actually wrote it out and realized I was both rambling and wanted to
add some more points. No, not at all.)
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One of my biggest struggles against work in general is procrastination. There are times when I can procrastinate an entire day of school away (I'm ashamed to say that's happened more than once).</div>
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A
few months ago, I heard someone say that<b> procrastination is a product
of fear, and that the reason we repeatedly put off actions is because
we are afraid of something that might happen as a cause of those
actions. </b>When I first heard that<span style="font-style: normal;">, I
scoffed, unconvinced.<i>
I’m not afraid.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>Reading a book is </i><i>just </i><i>more fun than
finishing that essay. </i></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> But
when I started to examine those times that I put off answering emails
or turn away from whatever I was working on, I began to realize that
the person was right. </span><i>What are you afraid of? </i><span style="font-style: normal;">I
asked myself when I took the tenth break in half an hour. </span><i>What’s
holding you back? </i><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>And once I
searched for it, there was always an answer buried somewhere.</b> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Each
fear might not have been obvious – but it was there. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> A
fear of failure. A fear of what </span><span style="font-style: normal;">someone
else </span><span style="font-style: normal;">would think. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">A
fear of the unknown.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Each
one would appear in simple costumes. </span><i>I’ll be better
rested tomorrow. Just one more chapter. I can work on math now. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">All
together, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">they work to </span><span style="font-style: normal;">push
away whatever action I need to complete that I don’t want to. That
I’m afraid to.</span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> Once
I began to notice</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> procrastination in my general life</span><span style="font-style: normal;">,
it only took a few weeks to notice when I was procrastinating
in my writing. I</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> didn’t notice it at first; <b>procrastination is sneaky
like that</b>, giving you so many </span><i>good reasons</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
why you can’t focus just yet. But it was there, and it was only a
matter of time before I noticed that my writing sessions were
becoming less and less productive.
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">Opening a new tab every few
minutes. Spending half an hour deciding on fun but unnecessary
world-building details. </span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>A
little fear and a little doubt is common in writing. </b>Little fishhook
questions poke at authors all the time, waiting to sink their barbs
into them and reel them in. In all the projects I procrastinated on, I let myself listen to the l</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ittle
doubts that came wriggling into my mind.</span><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>But what if this plot is too weak?
</i><i>This </i><i>was stupid. Who would want to read this? </i><i>What
if </i><i>no one likes it?</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>What
if </i><i>the </i><i>plot is cliché and overused and way too
complex? </i><span style="font-style: normal;">What if, what if, what
if</span><i>.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span>
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<span span="" style="font-style: normal;"> I
recognized the symptoms, but when I tried to diagnose the fear, it wasn’t
staring me in the face. I had to dig for it.As
a writer, I’ve learned that what if questions are some of the most
powerful and amazing questions there are. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">A</span><span style="font-style: normal;">lso
as a writer, I’ve learned that they can be some of the most
terrifying. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">And when I
started to look under all of those doubts, I saw
one question that underlied them all: </span><i>What if
I’m just wasting my time here?</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>I was afraid that I was </b></span><b><span style="font-style: normal;">wasting time on any
one project.</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">Right
now, </span><span style="font-style: normal;">I see people my age
working internships </span><span style="font-style: normal;">and at
</span><span style="font-style: normal;">jobs. </span><span style="font-style: normal;">I
hear them talk</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ing about their
majors in college or their plans to go into the military </span><span style="font-style: normal;">or
their plans at </span><i>life</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. I
see </span><span style="font-style: normal;">teens</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
I knew when I was </span><span style="font-style: normal;">a kid</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
getting married and having children. And I see me, trying to decide
if my race of shapeshifters should </span><span style="font-style: normal;">be
able to naturally fly or not. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">And
a little demon sits on my shoulder and asks me, i</span><span style="font-style: normal;">f
this isn’t </span><i>the </i><span style="font-style: normal;">story,
if this is some two hundred thousands words that will never see the
light of day again, then why should I waste my time writing it </span><span style="font-style: normal;">right
now? </span><i>Couldn't I be doing
something more productive?</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><span style="font-style: normal;">he
hisses at me. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That's my fear that holds me back. But there are others, too. The fear that you'll never be good enough. The fear that no one will like what you've written. The fear that nothing matters. You have to find your own fears; I can't do that for you. But there might be a deeper cause of your procrastination than you think. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we've learned what's hiding under procrastination. Next time, we'll take a look at your options in the face of of this fear and in the face or procrastination in general. Until then, I wish you all the best, dear reader. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<div style="color: black; font-family: 'times new roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What do you think? Do you have things that keep you from writing? Do you see procrastination as a form of fear? </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></div>
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True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-22739504914457875672018-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:002018-01-29T00:00:07.800-08:00What I Learned from my Sixth NaNoWriMoRight now, somewhere in the depths of my laptop, is a document I haven't opened it since sometime last month. I'm dying to open it and play with it, even though I've made myself not touch it since early December. But I know exactly what's in it - 55,484 words of a story that I wrote in November. Waiting for the dust to settle on it, and then for me to come and clean it up.<br />
<br />
I am so eager to sweep in and save my little gem from the depths of my file system. But even though I'm chomping on the bit to get my hands on it again, I'm forcing myself to wait until at least six weeks have passed before opening it up again. And that deadline is drawing closer! I am so excited to get to work with my characters and make my plot, story world, and writing <i>better</i>.<br />
<br />
I've done Nano for six years now - and this Nano was different from the rest in a few ways. I learned things from this crazy month of writing. Some of these were things that I "relearned, and some were more serious and some were flippant. And I think I'll remember them for a while.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhwqWlSyzthIGzbfcFVG8KOI4D3w1Efqtdgfi3H5pHM5NoaU2Ihiv1zgrWiFx_SlCFoqAaaKIUjfnQZ3iuuq6IMj4IPBEgRXPHkTyFTPryVzy6wcOLyfhKQVe_OjFkJTKQVyM0rMiz1G0/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="What I learned from my sixth NanoWrimo" border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="766" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhwqWlSyzthIGzbfcFVG8KOI4D3w1Efqtdgfi3H5pHM5NoaU2Ihiv1zgrWiFx_SlCFoqAaaKIUjfnQZ3iuuq6IMj4IPBEgRXPHkTyFTPryVzy6wcOLyfhKQVe_OjFkJTKQVyM0rMiz1G0/s1600/In+Which+I+Step+into+the+Blogosphere.png" title="What I Learned from my Sixth NaNoWriMo" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">1. Typing a novel is <i>amazing</i>.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<b><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b>This was my first year to actually type a novel. </b>I know, I know - a bit late to the party. But before this, all of my Nano were handwritten in notebooks. And hand-counted.<br />
<br />
But when I woke up on November 1, I wanted to try typing it. It was a split second decision, but within a few minutes, I had pulled up a Google Docs file and was agonizing over what the first line should be.<br />
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And it was glorious. I could delete sentences! I could skip ahead and work backwards! I could get a word count in a few seconds! I could even remove a piece of dialogue from the last page and base my entire next scene on it! </div>
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<div>
To many of you, this may be something simple - but I hadn't had this freedom of typing a novel before. And there were times that I remembered my reasons for sticking to notebooks and pens. I was on the computer for a lot longer, and couldn't write on the go as easily. My eyes and wrists got sore. My laptop was out of commission over Thanksgiving break and I got distracted . . . way too easily.<br />
<br />
But despite those minor difficulties, <b>typing gave me so much more freedom. </b>I definitely am glad I decided to type my novel this year, and I know that my story was able to grow because of this. <br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">2. Breaks are <i>good</i> thing</span></h2>
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<div>
I've always seen Nano as the ultimate writing season. Even if it was only the one thing that I wrote in the entire year (and for some years, I'm ashamed to say, it was), it was time to push everything not important out of the way and get some writing done. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I felt like I had to devote every spare minute to writing. And when I did take a break from writing to read a book or watch that movie, I would feel guilty. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Spending time with family on Thanksgiving? <i>Maybe - I have words to write.</i> Decorate the Christmas tree? <i>But I have only four more days and I'm a thousand words behind! </i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>This Nano, I made a point to put away the novel and spend time with family. </b>And you know what? My wordcount didn't slip. I felt more refreshed and energized when I came back.<i> And I had a great time with my family during Nano. </i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
I may be able to write when I'm twenty or thirty. I may even be able to write some version of <i>this</i> story then. But I would have lost the chance to make meaningful relationships with my family - and to me, that's more important than anything I could ever write.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">3. It's alright to be clueless about what should happen next. </span></h2>
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<div>
<b>Normally, I am not a pantser</b>. I need to know what the next scene is, what the characters' motivations are, what kind of climax I'm building up to, etc. </div>
<div>
<br />
But . . . October of last year was crazy - and I didn't have time to seriously think about Nano. So I took one of the louder ideas in my head, and ran with it. And on November 1, I started with a vague idea about the setting and one character and no idea about how the story would end.<br />
<br />
I added a few characters on the second day, because I could. I fell in love with my characters. I created conflict. But I still didn't know how I was going to wrap that conflict up.<br />
<br />
And you know what? <b>That was okay</b><i><b>.</b> </i>This was a first draft - I was still getting to know these barely-one-month-old characters. And if it took me a while to find out where the story was going, it's fine. I could spend the time understanding what was going on in my characters' minds, and why they're driven towards this finish line. I didn't know what I was doing at times, but I was writing. And that's what matters.<br />
<br />
My novel has holes. It has plotlines that look like a bunch of scrap yarn- tangled and knotted and messy. <b>But that's what editing is for.</b> Just so long as you keep writing, and you keep creating, you can make something from it.</div>
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<h2>
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">4. First draft are made to be messy</span></h2>
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</h2>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Right now, my novel is a fragile, small origami piece. The paper is folded here and there, but it's wrinkled and bent in the wrong places. There are extra wings or horns growing on it. Its words are tangled together in little shreds - and some of those are barely hanging on to each other. A puff of wind a </span><i style="font-weight: normal;">poof!</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> it could be gone.</span><br />
<br />
This book will have to go over a lot of editing. My plotlines need to be strengthened. I need to decide what are subplots and what are abandoned rabbit trails. My characters could use some more fleshing out, and some could use some trimming. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A lot of this is because I didn't now about my plotline while I was writing. I was experimenting, really. <b>But what <i>does</i> matter is that I wrote it down, and that I want to keep on going. </b>My story may need a lot of editing and revising, but it's 55,484 words more than I had originally. I have something can work with now - and it's something that I <i>want</i> to work with, too. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Even when your first draft feels like a waste of time because it's not "perfect," remember - it's not supposed to be perfect. What matters in the first draft is that you write and keep writing. </div>
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And that - in my humble opinion - is what Nano is all about. </div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">Some other things I learned and relearned this Nano: </span></h2>
</div>
</span></h4>
<div>
<ul>
<li>There is such a thing as an ankle holster for your gun. </li>
<li>Wrist sheaths for knives look cool, but they aren't practical. </li>
<li>There are different types of drunk people. Writing them is hard. </li>
<li>A hickory tree grows about 80 feet tall, on average. </li>
<li>The Internet is a demon. Especially when you absolutely need to focus at all costs. </li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: normal;">and, most importantly, I relearned that writing is amazing and I love it.</span></h2>
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What about you - did you do Nano last year? What kind of things have you learned about writing recently? </div>
True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130728648807209841.post-45812340306481085542018-01-25T00:00:00.000-08:002018-01-25T00:00:13.256-08:00In Which I Step into the Blogosphere<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think, once upon a time, I had a vague idea about a fancy introduction post. Like starting with an allusion to one of my favorite books. Or with some very wise advice. Or with sparkles and glitter and pizza. But that plan went out the window, and now we have a <em>simpler</em> beginning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm horrible with introductions, but I'll do my best. If you want a more in-depth introduction, you can check out the "Who am I?" page, or you can just stick around to find out more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm True. I'm a writer. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I started writing when I was about nine, and finished my first "novel" when I was about ten. (And that book is a work best left forgotten. And maybe fed to a dragon. *shudders*) <i>But</i> since then, I've grown more serious about my writing. I do dabble in short stories and maybe some poetry once in a while, but usually, my work in progress is a longer work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A few other things about me: </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm a reader, and have been devouring books since I was young. I'm a dreamer. I'm a thespian - as in a theater person - and am often working on a show, be it on stage or backstage. I'm just a tad bit crazy (all the best people are - wouldn't you agree?). I'm a homeschooled student, and am currently in my junior year in high school. I like candy corn. And ice cream. I never got my Hogwarts letter, but I'm pretty sure it got lost in the mail. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been <strike>stalking</strike> exploring the blogosphere for a few years now, and am finally taking the leap and starting my own blog. A lot of this will be trial, error, and experimentation, but most of all, I hope that it will be fun for both me and you, dear reader. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'll mostly focus on writer-ly or reader-ly things on this blog (because those are both fun and are both totally words - shh!), but since I have trouble sticking to schedules I set myself and rules I set myself, this may change or get switched up every once in a while. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But <span style="color: #222222;">voilà - this is me, and I'm going on an adventure. </span>I hope that you will join me as we journey to, discover, and conquer the unknown! </span><br />
<br />
<br />True Shawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13040336998083343748noreply@blogger.com20