Forgetting to Fly

Carrie Underwood - There's A Place For Us (Narnia Soundtrack)

2010-12-13T16:01:00.000-06:00

A Shameless Rant--and a half

2010-12-09T20:53:00.002-06:00

So, I vented in the heat of the moment a couple days ago. But I am feeling “venty” again.

It has to do with parking. Specifically parking when the parking lot is PACKED. And I was lucky to get a good spot. And it was cold outside.

Alright, I’ve set up the situation.

Now. Just because I walk out to my car, start my car, get into my car, and buckle up, that does NOT mean that I am necessarily going to leave right away. Maybe I want the car heater to warm up a bit. Maybe my fingers will freeze to the steering wheel if I don’t hang out for a bit. Or, maybe, I’m a college student living off campus, and my car is like my locker. When I go out to it, I might just be trying to get away from the crowds.

So, if I’m not leaving fast enough for you, move on. Don’t sit behind me, slamming your fist into your steering wheel and glaring at me with creepy, dagger-eyes. MOVE ON.

I was here first.

/rant off

How Can I Keep From Singing?

2010-11-14T19:09:00.003-06:00

What would we do if we could hear

the spaces between the stars?

How would we listen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRMLvgjPd60

"Soul of the World!

Inspir'd by Thee,

The jarring Seeds of Matter did agree,

Thou didst the scattered Atoms bind,

Which, by the Laws of true proportion join'd,

Made up of various Parts on perfect Harmony."

~ (Ode to St. Cecelia, Henry Purcell)

The Heavens are telling the glory of God ~ Hayden

"There is a geometry in the humming of the strings.
There is music in the spacing of the spheres."
~ Pythagoras

Tumblr Alert!

2010-11-06T19:09:00.000-05:00

So, upon the recommendation of my friend, Matt, I joined Tumblr...just out of curiosity.

It's an interesting place--very different from what I'm used to, so I'm enjoying the finding my way. It's a different style, a pretty look, a flexible atmosphere.

I've decided to start posting there as well, but I'll be keeping up this blog at the same time (that's the plan for now, at least). If you want to stop by and visit me there, here's the link:

http://forgettingtofly.tumblr.com/

Letter to Young Writers--from a Young Writer

2010-11-06T19:04:00.004-05:00

Inspired by: Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke

(I thoroughly enjoyed writing this, and since I don't have many young writers in my life, I thought I would send this letter to all of you.)

Dear Friend,

It seems impossible sometimes for me to put things into words the way that I have them in my head. The way that I see things, believe things. I have it all ready, somewhere, waiting to come out onto the page, but I can tell you right now it isn’t going to sound right. And, inadvertently, I’ve just made one of my first points about writing—about being a writer. I think that, more often than not, what you want to say won’t come easily. That doesn’t mean that attempting to say it won’t at least hit on a piece of the truth, if not the whole.

Try not to be discouraged when the words won’t come. This is something I am constantly needing to remind myself. I need to remember that the words aren’t adequate regardless of whether I even get them out. The things we want to write about, want to be poetic about, want to tell stories about—those things are the most important things anyone can say, and it only stands to reason that they wouldn’t be something we can describe or explain. So, acknowledge right off the bat that it won’t be sufficient, but that it might be the best that can be done at the time.

And remember that writing is a conversation, one we’re constantly having with people from hundreds and thousands of years ago to people we live with on a daily basis. We can’t write out of a vacuum. So, soak yourself in other people—in their thoughts, in their words, in what they believe (even if you disagree). Make yourself aware of the world, and then don’t be afraid to stick your voice into it. I think that fear can be one of the most detrimental things any writer can face, especially a beginning writer. I don’t remember where I heard it (though I know it was recently), but someone said that it is often the starting of a thing that stops us. Some people would call this laziness. I don’t doubt that’s the case sometimes, but I also think that fear could be the more common reason. We are afraid of what people will think, afraid of how we’ll be “taken” by the world. So, we tear down our talents in favor of everyone else’s and remain silent. And this will effectually stop the conversation the world is in the middle of.

Don’t be afraid of having some silences, too. There are some people who thrive on speaking, on responding and responding quickly. Voices quick to jump in with a new idea or thought to add to the conversation, sometimes without taking time to dwell. This inspiration is definitely a valuable thing. Don’t squelch it entirely (or all the time). I think that if we let loose some of the things we are thinking, the talking through them makes them clearer, makes them clearer and more coherent. I can work through most of my thoughts about a story or a poem if I just start to write, ignoring the editor barking orders in my head. But there should also be some room for silence. For dwelling on something. Don’t be afraid to let something sit in your brain (though, for goodness sake, write down some of the basics so that you don’t forget them). By dwelling, I don’t mean absolutely no writing (because sometimes writing is how we figure things out, how we dwell). But I do think that there is a place for a searching kind of writing, the kind with no pressure of being read by anyone else, instead of a completely confident writing that assumes knowledge. Assumes wisdom. Take time to understand what you want to say, what you are responding to in the conversation and why. I think this will make your writing better in the long run.

I don’t want this letter to be a bunch of dos and don’ts. I’m mostly just thinking of things as I go...things I wish I had thought of or been told about before I had to figure some of them out for myself. But maybe these things are all things that need to be figured out rather than just taught. I don’t know if I would have understood any of this unless I had actually gone through the process of learning it. And, I haven’t really learned all of this fully anyway.

A few closing thoughts.

Be a friend. People are your best inspiration, best encouragement, and will stay with you long after your written word has betrayed you for fame and fortune (or, heaven forbid, the opposite).

Live in the world. Don’t just observe it. I think whenever I hear people saying that they go to a place—the mall, a coffee shop, the state fair—to watch people, to observe the world: how sad. Please, don’t just observe things. Living them is another way of observing them.

Write for fun. And, if you’re a freshman, a student of any kind really, you might think that this is impossible and ridiculous. And, as someone who is finishing up four years in an English major, I understand you completely. But I also know that if I didn’t write for fun, I would go off of it completely. I need an occasional time for writing something silly, something I like that I don’t care too much about. Or something I like that I do care about, but don’t need to worry about anyone else seeing. If you lose the ability to have fun with writing, it will eventually become a chore.

I am afraid this letter sounds sort of “know-y”…as if I’m saying something I am totally sure about, or completely set on. Things I have some kind of right to say. I don’t want to retract any of it, but I do want to point out that I am a learner of all of these things still, and I might not have all of them completely right yet. I think there is some sort of comfort in being fellow learners together.

The Future

2010-10-20T21:39:00.000-05:00

Okay. Not the "FUTURE" in a general, end of the world sense. More like the future of this blog.

I have, for a while, been debating whether or not to keep it up. I don't know if I have much of anything interesting to say...especially not with so many amazing blogs out there with people who have so much time to dedicate to them. And I most definitely do NOT have time. But I could not bring myself to abandon this blog. I like the conversation that is the blogging community. Even if I'm not actively participating other than reading, I still want to feel like I could step in to add my voice to the discussion at any time.

Which leads me to the main point here.

I'm starting a very interesting time in my college career. This is my senior year, the last year of school I will have for quite some time. Additionally, I am in probably some of the most difficult classes I have been in a while (all English courses save one).

So, this blog has had very little direction. The tagline is: "A Blog about Inspiration and Being Inspired." And, to be honest, being inspired is exactly what I'm going to be searching for in the next several months.

You'll be hearing from me, then, when I get swamped with writing assignments, projects, and terrible poems that just won't become what I imagine they can be.

Be warned, then. This may get "ranty"...I may vent more than I inspire or interest you. But I think that this journey I am about to tumble into is going to be worth it for me. Maybe by sharing pieces of it with you, it will be worth something to someone else.

Thanks for sticking with me.

P.S. I am currently taking these relevant classes: Writing Theory and Ethics, Advanced Writing of Poetry, Advanced Writer's Workshop, and Editing and Proofreading. I'm also in an Anthropology class, which may come into play on occasion.

Party in the Camp Chalet

2010-09-14T22:28:00.001-05:00

Words....sometimes I have too few of them.

2010-08-26T15:38:00.001-05:00

As is evidenced by my lack of posting.

However, the school year has come upon me with full force--therefore, more posting may be in the future of this pitiful little blog.

Until then, feast your eyes, ears, minds on this:

found here: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=1912

*

2010-05-04T14:13:00.001-05:00

~ * ~ May the 4th be with you! ~ * ~

Broken Glass - Add Life to Your Descriptions

2010-04-11T20:18:00.001-05:00

Don't tell me the moon is shining;
show me the glint of light on broken glass.
~Anton Chekhov

I'm going to be honest. There have only been a few times where I think that I've legitimately gotten this right. Honestly, writing about setting is something that seems almost impossible for me to grasp. I either end up feeling that the description is too "cheesy" and cliched, or I just can't seem to find the right words to describe the things that I'm seeing in my head.

The funny thing is, I think that I'm fairly adept at picking out good description versus bad description in other people's writing. I know when I've spotted a good metaphor or a vivid simile. I'm not an expert, but in terms of reading, I feel like I can have a good grasp of what's good and what isn't.

The problem, though, is that I can't always figure out how to improve something. I may be able to see how it is lacking, or how it doesn't quite make me "see" the setting...but I have yet to reach a point where I can give a definitive answer to what exactly can "fix" a description. Usually I can only offer up vague suggestions: "I can't hear this sound...make me hear it!" or "I can't really see what is going on in the scene here...more description."

Like I said, I can see the problem, but I have trouble knowing how to fix it.

This is something I'd like to improve on, however.

For me, a page of good prose is where
one hears the rain [and] the noise of battle.
~John Cheever

I've thought of a few things that could possibly help with descriptions--and making them real.

Look at a picture and spend a few pages in just describing what is going on in the picture visually. Try to describe it in a way that would make it clear to someone who had never seen the picture before. I'm sure you don't want most descriptions to be several pages long, but my thought is that this exercise could help you find one or two key descriptions in those many pages that would suffice. Just like in a rough draft, most of it will be crap, but some of it is literary gold waiting to be shined up.
Practice metaphor and simile. This can be fun. Find something...visualize it...and then compare it to something. Make the metaphor as elaborate or as simple as possible. Keep working on it until you think that it sounds just right.
Cover all of the senses...not just sight and sound. Now, I personally have a lot of trouble with this area. I tend to be a very visual writer--I see something and I describe how it looks. But I think that something becomes more "3-D" when you add touch, taste, and smell. These are probably the more difficult, sometimes, to describe. So I guess an exercise that I have wanted to try is to come up with a description and focus on just one of those three things. Take a few pages and freewrite until you can describe the way something feels when it's being touched. Or the way something smells (seriously, try to describe a smell without just saying that it "smells like fish"). Or how it tastes (this might not come up as often, but it's nice to practice it).

So, these are just a few that I have thought of as I sit here and as I write my own fiction. I'm sure this all isn't new to any of you who have read anything about writing.

Do you struggle with description? Setting? What, specifically, is hard for you?
Do you have any ideas or tips on how to improve in these areas?

Happy Writing!

Anti-Heroes: Pirates, Vampires, and Human Beings...

2010-03-24T22:22:00.002-05:00

An anti-hero is a protagonist who typically lacks the traditional traits and qualities of a hero, such as trustworthiness, courage, and honesty. If he were assigned a color, it would be gray.
~ Jessica Page Morell

We love 'em, don't we? Captain Jack Sparrow and his snarky charm; Don Quixote and his loveable madness; George Costanza and his...slimy-ness...

I have to admit, I'm a big fan of anti-heroes. I appreciate them for being dirty, slimy, sarcastic, and unconventional. I even like them for their gray-area morals.

I think it's because it makes them human. Exceptionally human. Human in a way that some "conventional" or "traditional" heroes can fail to be...

I'd like to know exactly what it is that draws us to them though? What makes us cheer for Captain Sparrow and a band of pirates to win in the end? What makes us fall in love with a blood-sucking, dazzling, sparkly vampire named Edward Cullen? What about a multi-billionaire vigilante in a bat-suit? Or Scarlett O'Hara...who deserves an entire post of her own, probably? Jack Bauer, Benjamin Linus, Robin Hood, Snape, and Macbeth...the list goes on.

What makes them so likeable? I sometimes wonder if their faults themselves make them more appealing to us...because we feel like we can relate to them more than we can relate to the nearly-faultless Hercules or Achilles or Superman...

You see, Hollywood movies have greatly influenced audience expectations to such a degree that bad people are expected to become good, endings are expected to be tidy and hopeful, and outcomes are expected to be laced with sunshine. Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes and discomfort and disquiet. Fiction should also prove just how complicated and troubled many people are.
~Jessica Page Morell

So, who is your favorite anti-hero? Why?
Do you write about anti-heroes? What do YOU think makes them so appealing?

Related Links (quoted):

Defining and Developing Your Anti-Hero

Some Musical Inspiration

2010-03-21T23:06:00.000-05:00

For those of you who love to write while listening to music, or who find yourself inspired to write by a great piece of music, I thought I would share some of my favorites. Enjoy, please.

Write What You Know...right?

2010-03-17T23:51:00.002-05:00

"Write about what your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember."
~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

I'm taking a fiction writing class again, mostly just for the challenge of getting creative and needing to force myself to write every day. In fact, we are required to write 4 hours a week. That might be a challenge, but it will definitely be a good thing for me. Good practice.

Our first discussion was about What We Know.

Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern, has much to say about this.

First, the author talks about you as the writer. What you know can be much broader than it first appears, and I love this quote because it really expands the idea of what it is possible for a writer to know. We don't only know ourselves and our own expriences, though we are certainly best versed in those areas.

What I gathered from this was encouragement. I can know quite a bit just from observing life around me. I don't need to travel around looking for amazing experiences. My own experiences, the experiences of my closest friends and family, the world around me and the things I observe--all of these belong to me and are the things that I know.

"A still broader notion of write what you know would recognize that you know in many ways. In fiction you can be your younger sister, your college roommate, your nervous boss, or your unhappy neighbor. Fiction based not on your own experience, but on experience you've observed is also writing about what you know. You know by empathy. You know by living."
~Stern (62) -- bold mine

Rilke goes on to emphasize this point:

"If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not not enough of a poet [or writer] to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place. And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world's sounds - wouldn't you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories?" (bold and brackets mine)

What do you think about the common advice to "write what you know?" How do you qualify "what you know?"

Or, how about a writing prompt!

What Do You Know? (an assignment from my advanced writing of fiction class...slightly paraphrased)

Write 500+ words on the places, people, activities, etc. with which you are the most familiar--where did you grow up? how do you spend your time? what are you particularly expert at? what are you most interested in? what are your friends like? what about your family, extended and immediate? where do you spend most of your time? Be honest. "[D]on't sentimentalize or sugarcoat, but don't miss the beauty in the all-too-familiar, either" (Advanced Writing of Fiction syllabus).

The Return...ashamed

2010-03-14T22:40:00.000-05:00

So, I really have absolutely no excuse. But I'm going to give you one, anyway, just because it'll make me feel better.

I haven't been writing in this blog for a while.

Life happens.
Professors cancel upcoming classes a few days before spring break.
Students run around campus like chickens with their heads cut off to try and salvage the situation.
Last minute assigments are assigned.
Tests are studied for and passed (mostly).
Housing is figured out (huzzah!).
Spring break begins.
Driver's tests are taken (yes, I know, I'm late...).
Alice in Wonderland is seen.
Sundays are slept in.
Last minute spring break homework is worked on (or not so much).
Half of the the Lord of the Rings is watched.
Twilight is re-read.
2 hour ride back to school is made.
Long sigh of relief is had.

Blog is started back up again.

That is the very long and very short of it. Like I said, not much of an excuse, but at least it gave me something to post about.

Posts with more substance will probably follow. Stay tuned.

Happy Spring, by the by!

:)

I have a question, Someone must have an answer...

2010-02-20T11:29:00.000-06:00

I tweeted this, but no one seemed to have a response. So I thought I would ask what is probably a terribly silly question here.

What is a blog chain? How do they work?

I keep running across this term in different blogs I am following ("I'm starting a blog chain, everyone," usually followed by a question for people to answer). My question is how one goes about joining a blog chain? Is it just a free-for-all or is there some kind of organization that goes on?

Didn't want to step on any proverbial toes, so I thought I'd throw my question out into the void that is cyberspace and see if I get any bytes...

Haha.

Thanks.

Common Histories - check out my guest post!

2010-02-14T18:13:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

I recently wrote a guest post for the blog Common Histories, "a community devoted to human stories & the art of telling them." I'm a huge fan of their collaborative work, so I think you should most definitely check it out!

Links:

My Post

Common Histories

A Good Kind of Sad

2010-02-11T13:57:00.001-06:00

Check out these beautiful photographs. They make my heart ache a little bit, but I love it.

HERE

Losing a Laptop, but Gaining a Life?

2010-02-03T00:38:00.001-06:00

So, big news, my laptop decided to go absent-without-leave on me this past weekend.

I didn't panic. I had been scared into saving most of my important files onto a jump drive after my roommate lost a 15 page paper when her computer crashed. No, I didn't panic. I just muttered, kicked things, and grumbled around with a sour face until the weekend was over and I could take it over to the tech labs.

And they did basically diddly-squat.

Sure, they fixed it. Twice. Three times. Every time it failed on me again. Life began to feel like it had lost some of its meaning and purpose. I couldn't watch the new episode of Castle or Heroes! I couldn't aimlessly browse my facebook newsfeed. I couldn't listen to my new favorite YouTube video over and over and over again...

What was I to do?

Oh, that's right. I have a pile of unfinished books waiting for me. Pining away for me, even. "We're right here!" they whimper, trying to look appealing in this age of sleek screens and flashy buttons and scroll bars.

I looked at them for a bit. Considered.

The top one looked sort of interesting. When was the last time I had opened up a book and READ it.

For fun.

I had all the time in the world now. Homework completed (it's a wonder what one can accomplish without facebook and youtube to distract). Everything that could possibly be tidied in my dorm room was tidied. All of my desk drawers had been organized to the limit.

Maybe reading for fun is actually an option again.

So I picked up The Book Thief and finished it.

Then I picked up The Lightning Thief. I'm half-way through, and quite enjoying it.

My mind feels alive. I feel like maybe, just maybe, I've rediscovered something precious that my shiny speedy little laptop had distracted me from remembering. Not that I've never read books since I got my laptop three years ago. I've read plenty. Usually not during the school year, though. I usually say that I just can't justify reading for fun when I have oodles of homework piled up on my desk.

BUT, would I have those oodles if I had been playing around with facebook for a solid hour?

Probably not.

Let's face it. I'm writing this to make myself feel better as I get over the loss of what is almost another appendage. Of course, I'll get my laptop back eventually. Either fixed or new. I need a laptop. It's a reality of life for me, and I'm not saying they aren't awesome. Heck, I wouldn't probably have a blog or write nearly as often as I do without a laptop.

I guess I'm saying that I've realized I am without excuse. Absolutely, remarkably, inescapably without excuse. I DO have time for reading.

So, I guess I'll take advantage of potentially two or three weeks without a working laptop and brush up on my fun reading.

It's about time my mind came alive again.

For the Lost fans ---- LOST - Answers?! (Song parody)

2010-01-28T20:48:00.001-06:00

What are some questions that you need to be answered in this show?

The End of the World as We Know It...or something like that.

2010-01-26T22:47:00.002-06:00

What do you think about the lack of Classical Literature study, and the loss of historical knowledge in our world today? Why are schools teaching Social Studies instead of History...why are works like the Iliad, Dante's Inferno, or Beowulf losing their value in the eyes of educators? And what effect is that going to have on us in the future?

These are questions I am only beginning to consider. However, I do know that things which used to be considered "common knowledge" have begun to be lost to the general public.

Suddenly, it is no longer common for people to know a quote from a famous Shakespeare play.

Suddenly, classes are more focused on skill development than knowledge and wisdom development.

Suddenly, the value of the windows opened to us by ancient literature is being questioned.

I'm not trying to be fatalist. After all, I'm sure the world as we know it is not going to end based on these few discrepancies. Nevertheless, I do think this is something akin to the loss of physical writing (letters replaced by email, books replaced by computerized readers).

As soon as knowledge of the past begins to disappear, as soon as we lose our connection to things that can be touched, held, felt, and remembered forever...that is when we forget how to grow from them.

That's when history repeats itself.

Related Posts:

Could Books Ever Become Obsolete?

What a Beautiful Name

2010-01-24T17:16:00.001-06:00

We'll always sing Your name; forever and today...
Yahweh, Yahweh!
Great is Your glory, when You go before me!
Oh, we sing, Holy, Holy!
Your ways are lovely; so high above me,
Yahweh!

We were singing this song all weekend at Camp, and I was reminded of how beautiful God's name is.

It is said that, when scribes were copying down passages with God's name, they would use a new quill to write 'Yahweh,' and then would throw away the quill. So holy is His name.

When passing by a scrap of paper on the street, no one would throw it away, in the belief that it might have God's name or something of His Word inscribed there. So holy is His name.

I've often been challenged in my own reverence for the name of God. Why don't I take similar measures to give glory and honor to the holy name of God?

Something to ponder.

The Last and Dreadful Hour...

2010-01-21T14:35:00.000-06:00

I find this inspiring. Please, enjoy. :)

The last stanza of the poem "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" by John Dryden:

As from the power of sacred lays
The spheres began to move,
And sung the great Creator's praise
To all the blest above;
So, when the last and dreadful hour
This crumbling pageant shall devour,
The trumpet shall be heard on high,
The dead shall live, the living die,
And Music shall untune the sky.

If Nature Thundered...

2010-01-19T21:09:00.005-06:00

If nature thundered in his opening ears,
And stunned him with the music of the spheres,
How would he wish that Heaven had left him still
The whispering zephyr, and the purling rill?

~ (Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man).

A collection of a few things that give me some wonder and inspiration, with the hope that they will light something inside you as well. Enjoy, and look for more later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiVCM1e3HIM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6LGJ7evrAg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwzxVdA2F48

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0JDomv8ac&feature=related

Reflections on Ten

2010-01-16T11:19:00.005-06:00

((A Reflection on Doctor Who...possible spoilerish thoughts, if you care...))

I had an interesting experience last night, and it was the kind of experience I'm having trouble putting into words. I was an emotional mess after seeing the closure of a story and a character that I had been following for a few years. I had expected the sadness, I had even predicted the tears that would surely follow the last moments of the story. What I had not expected, and what I can still not entirely explain, was the feeling that accompanied my weeping. It was a strange mixture of aching sadness for the loss of that story in my life, but also a bittersweet joy for a good end. For a story well-told, regardless of how the ending hurt.

I know I've never had that same emotional reaction to a story and a character before, so I felt it was an important thing to note in my life. I don't know quite what to make of it yet, apart from the fact that I'm still in a strange place of grieving, wondering if I'm ridiculous, and hoping that the next story that will be told can somehow live up to the greatness of the one that just ended.

I talked about it briefly with my roommates, who experienced the loss along with me. I wondered aloud if it was okay for me to feeling this kind of grief over a fictional character. My roommate assured me that of course it was. We had just lost a friend.

And I wondered for a moment if any of my characters are the kind that would be a friend to their audience. Whether I put my audience through the same sort of emotional roller-coaster that this character did, I would like to create characters that are so real and so alive and so tragic and beautifully human that my audience feels as if they aren't reading just about a fictional character. I'd like them to be reading about a friend.

So, this is my attempt at being philosophical. You can laugh at my ridiculousness if you feel like it, or you could even tell me about a story that has given you similar feelings as mine (it would be lovely to know I'm not alone in this...)

I'm going to brush up on my knowledge of the 5 stages of grief, now...

Farewell, Ten. You will always be my Doctor.

A Writing Prompt...

2010-01-11T18:22:00.003-06:00

I just was thinking about this, and wondered if it would make a good writing prompt. Especially when trying to come up with ways to mess with your characters.

Imagine the thing that you are most irrationally afraid of. Get it in your head. Then, think, if you can, about all of the reasons that you have that fear. The more ridiculous the better, because that's why it's irrational. Then, write a story or scene in which all of those reasons suddenly become a reality...but sic the fear on a character in the project your working on, or from something new. See what happens.

I, for example, have a terribly irrational fear of sleeptalkers and sleepwalkers. And I am suddenly inspired to write my own personal horror story...haha. And, hey, maybe it will set me on the road to recovery!

What is your irrational fear? Do you think it would make a good dillema for a fictional character?

A Christmas Break, Remembered

2010-01-10T22:20:00.001-06:00

I have returned after nearly a month-long hiatus from blogging. Before I get back into the swing of things, a brief synopsized list of events that took up my Christmas break.

Wisdom tooth removal and the interesting effects of laughing gas and anesthesia.
Round table discussions with family about religion and politics.
Doctor Who: Season 4
Writing the beginnings of my new novel.
Holding a baby.
The Sims 3
Reading The Book Thief and The Guernsy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society...books that everyone should read at some point in their life.
Standing in the snow and listening to the snowflakes fall.
My dog's sock fetish.
Studying up on the science of space-time, and having my father help me design a time machine on paper.

All in all, a very exciting break.

New posts will be forthcoming within the next week or so. I hope everyone had a beautiful time spent during Christmas with family!

Blessings.

Anna

Judging by the Cover: Thoughts on Old Children's Books

2009-12-15T22:59:00.002-06:00

Staring at the rows of faded children's books down in the bowels of the library, some of them stuck together with the old paste from their stripped barcode tags and call numbers, I can't help but be skeptical. There are a few so old and so bland that I can hardly imagine every wanting to open them.

Pencil drawings, colorless, grace old yellow covers. Some of the book jackets are torn here and there, with the drawings in pastel blues and greens dying away. Occasionally standing out from the crowd of has-beens, a bright, flaming red cover with glossy finish and bold italic lettering, beautiful painted artwork inside and out, and new, slick, shiny pages.

That is the book I pull down and admire. Opening and closing the pages, eyeing the pleasing script on the inside-flap. Enjoying the way that the letters pop out from the matte-finish of the book jacket.

The new books can't even begin to be compared to the old, can they? Ancient line drawings in black and white, cheap grainy paper, simple Times New Roman type. They all seem to look the same, cut from the same piece of paper and sent out to line the shelves.

Nothing about them draws me in to read them. I skip over them and their titles. I even ignore the description of the story on the outside jacket. The cover is just too soiled and too old and too bland.

Then I stop. And I think.

I remember once when my favorite book was an old, used one that my mom had purchased in a booksale at the local library. The book jacket had been so fragile that the library had covered it with a clear plastic cover for protection. This was ripping too. The front picture was very faded. Pastel coloring, the drawings were pencil and simple. Little round-headed children, soft lines, quiet images. More text, maybe, than most children's books would have now.

I adored that book. I wanted it read to me over and over. There was nothing remarkable about the cover. There was, in fact, nothing terribly remarkable about the story inside. But part of my life was tied into that one little story.

So I think again. All of these books had a friend of their own once. Maybe even these same books on these shelves in the library. Maybe a child who came in week after week and turned the pages again and again.

Somewhere, at some time, each and every one of these books has put a child to sleep at night.

Each and every one has been begged for. "Again, again!"

I might not find these books appealing, but someone somewhere did sometime. Maybe that should be enough of a reason for me to take one down from the shelf and open it. Go back to the words on the page, the simplicity of the pictures, and the heart of the story.

Because someone else loved it once, and that makes it beautiful.

* * * *

A Few of My Favorite Things, with a Theme.

2009-12-07T16:52:00.005-06:00

~*~

Textured paper - the kind that invites you to run your hand across it while you read.
The sound of someone typing on a particularly noisy keyboard.
Old books, falling apart.
Book covers that have more image than words, and the image is intriguing.

Haikus.
Writing prompts that themselves are almost as enjoyable to read as they are to write.
A well-placed metaphor.
Kenning.
Someone offering to lend you a book when they are finished, and you didn't even need to ask.
Flipping to the front of an old book to find the date of publishing, only to discover that the book is much more ancient than you thought.

So, if you couldn't guess the theme, of course it is reading and writing: the theme of this blog as well. Hope this list inspired you to make one of your own, or to take a moment to think about your favorite things along those lines.

More blog posts to come. Finals is a rough time, but tends to fuel the creativity.

Blessings!

10 Reasons I Will NOT Read Your FanFiction

2009-11-23T18:49:00.011-06:00

As a reader, I was thrilled by my discovery of FanFiction. I was about 12 when I realized that people were posting their own stories online, all to pay homage to their favorite stories. My particular favorite at the time happened to be Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, starring Deanne Bray.

My love of FanFiction developed over the course of my life and continues even now. However, with time constraints on many of us, we learn how to be incredibly picky to the stories that we allow to suck up our valuable time.

The following list explores a few of the reasons that I will not even open up a piece of FanFiction, or if I do open it up, why I won't read past the first few paragraphs.

Keep in mind that these are all only the opinions of a fairly seasoned FanFiction reader. Take them as you will.

10 Reason I Will Not Read Your FanFiction:

1. If your plot summary tells me that you are writing for the first time, so please be nice and please R&R and don't be too hard on me because I suk a writing summaries...

This is an absolute no-no. Don't tell me how much trouble you had writing this story, or how much it is not very good at all...I just might believe you and I most definitely won't waste my time trying to read it.

2. If your title or summary has a word misspelled, or not properly capitalized, I'll scroll right past you.

Again, if I can't see you doing it right in your title or summary, how can I trust you to be doing it on the actual story?

3. You tell me that you wrote it in a few minutes and that it's not really that great, but you just had to "get it out there."

This tells me right off the bat that you did not put any effort into your story, either on the editing end of things or the storytelling end. People who churn out fanfiction without paying attention to quality won't gain a substantial readership.

4. Updates chapter by chapter in the summary, instead of one over-arching plot summary.
This tells me that you have no idea what your story is about and that you are flying by the seat of your pants. This is fine to do, but don't TELL me you are doing it. I'll lose all faith in you.

5. Within the first paragraph of your story, at least five words are misspelled and your punctuation is practically non-existent.

First impressions are sometimes the difference between gaining readers and losing them. Impress me with your basic understanding of spelling and grammar, and maybe I'll actually take the time to read your story.

6. If I can't figure out who is speaking in your dialogue, or where your story is going, or what your characters are needing in less than one chapter, I will stop reading.

Enough said.

7. Excessive exclamation points in your summary or the story itself. Especially if there are more than two in a row... (or consecutively!!!!!!!!).

Talk about annoying. The same can be said, too, of almost any over-used kind of punctuation, including dashes and ellipsis. If you have something to say that you think requires these, first see if you can say it better without them.

8. Mary-Sue.

If you don't know who this is, most likely you have written about one at some point in your life. Maybe I'll do a post about them sometime. Until then, avoid characters that are too perfect. That would be a good start.

9. Blocks of text that have absolutely no logical paragraph breaks and no organization.

Dialogue being smooshed together into one large heaping paragraph with multiple speakers will completely turn me off of your story. I'll end up with a headache and an undeniable urge to cross entire sections of your story out with a bright red marker. Divide and conquer. Keep your different characters speaking their dialogue in separate paragraphs, and never give me a block of text so big I have scroll through it - especially not in online FanFiction.

10. If you don't care about being true to the fandom you are writing for.

If it is evident to me that you are writing purely from a desire to write your fantasy, without consideration of being true to characters or the circumstances in which they find themselves, I will more than likely give up on the story. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule: stories that are purposely alternative universe, or that are humorous or ironic takes on characters we know and love. But I still I want you to be true to the story at the essence of it, remaining respectful of the story that I love. That's why I'm attempting to read your FanFiction in the first place.

Related Links:

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Summary-for-a-Fanfiction
http://forum.fanfiction.net/topic/2872/18094256/1/
http://www.wikihow.com/Name-Your-Fanfiction

Stay Tuned:

Follow up post: 10 Reasons I WILL Read Your FanFiction ... (coming soon)

Writing to Music

2009-11-17T21:15:00.003-06:00

It has become one of my missions in life to find the perfect music to write to. Usually, it needs to be a soundtrack, or at least something that is not entirely distracting with lyrics. Occasionally, however, I have found an inspiring piece of music with powerful or thought-provoking words that automatically puts me in the mood to write.

Lyrics like,

What a beautiful mess this is,
It's like picking up trash in dresses

or Music like,

A few examples of the things that I love to write to:

"A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack
A few of the softer, quieter John Williams or Howard Shore pieces, for when I'm trying to focus on some key description or dialogue.
Some of John Williams' brasher material (as well as anything from Hans Zimmer) when I'm writing an action sequence or something that needs to keep up a busy pace.
Josh Groban (especially anything in Italian or Spanish...I don't think about the words, but I can focus on the musicality of the sounds).
Almost anything classical - particularly anything from the Romantic period.

Those are, as I said, just a few. Usually, it varies a great deal in what inspires me.

What about you? Is there a particular kind of music that you like to listen to when you write? Or do you need complete silence? What inspires you best, and why?

On Hamlet, Inspiration, and Any Dream Will Do...

2009-11-15T00:47:00.002-06:00

Mid-way through Shakespeare class and we are tackling my favorite play of all--Hamlet! I was finally able to read it through without the help of Sparknotes. Of all of the plays of Shakespeare I have read, this one is the one that inspires me the most. I read the lines over and over sometimes, just to hear them again. The language is beautiful, and so is the imagery. The ideas are so complex, the characters ambiguous and yet connected, the world so mysterious and beautiful. My scholarly question for this was the most fun to imagine. Now I hope to write my thesis paper based off of the question I pose.

In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, many of the characters seem to be caught up in performances – either performing them or exposing them. Hamlet attempts to expose the lie that King Claudius is living, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern act (very poorly) as spies for the King and Queen on Hamlet (33), and even Hamlet claims that he is only acting insane (28). Based on these and any other performances that you can see in the play itself, what is the significance of the play within a play, performed to “catch the conscience of the king” (57)? How is their performance connected to Hamlet’s own performance?

In Act III, Scene II, Hamlet instructs the players in how they will perform the upcoming play. His instructions seem to come from someone who knows quite a bit about performing on stage (or who believes that he knows much). What is the significance of the things Hamlet tells the players? How is this a commentary on the characters of Hamlet as a play, and how is a commentary by Hamlet on the performances in his own life? What does his instruction indicate about his own actions? How much of Hamlet’s madness is truly performance and how much is reality? Is he mad only in pretense to serve his purpose, or is he fully unaware of the fact that he has truly gone mad? Analyze the instructions to the players in light of this, as well as the performance of the play later on (61-65) and the audience response (including Hamlet). Is Hamlet aware of the irony, or is the play within the play simply Shakespeare’s way of showing self-reflexivity through one of his characters?

On another note, I would like to begin sharing with you certain things that also inspire me, in the hopes that it can inspire you as well. Whether you are inspired to write, think, dream, or do something based on these is entirely up to you, I suppose.

Sometimes it is impossible for me to explain just what it is about something that causes me to be inspired. However, I will make a short attempt. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has always been a favorite of mine. The song "Any Dream Will Do" always makes me think not only of the musical itself, but of the way that the story is told. The story of Joseph is beautiful - betrayal, forgivness, redemption all rolled into one. This song has just enough ambiguity to make me think and ponder the lyrics, while at the same time I can see how it ties in to the story. It is well-written and well-performed songs such as this that inspire me.

Could Books Ever Become Obsolete?

2009-11-10T17:54:00.002-06:00

I have been doing research on the Kindle (both versions 1 and 2), because I was trying to think of a topic for a persuasive presentation I had to give. I've always felt rather strongly about the Kindle, perhaps because I am so in love with books that I automatically jump to their defense at any sign of a threat. The Kindle proved to be just that kind of a threat.

I read articles which described it as a revolutionary piece of technology, one that would one day make hard-copy books obsolete. And, with a device about the size and weight of a paperback (only 1/3 inches thick) that can hold up to 1,500 books at a time, it isn't hard to see why people might come to this conclusion.

My findings, however, were that, while the Kindle is "revolutionary" and exciting and extremely convenient, there are some things that it can never achieve.

A piece of battery-operated machinery can never replicate the feeling of holding an 800 page book in your hand and knowing that you have conquered it (or knowing that you will, very soon, conquer it). The Kindle can't replicate the surge of joy at re-reading, for the 50th time, a novel that you have been in love with since you were a child. And the Kindle can never replicate the feeling of an old, used book in your hands as you turn the brittle pages to see the faded outlines of someone's doodles from 100 years before, or the careful marginal notes kept by a fascinated reader, or the angry highlighting and scratch marks from someone who was responding dramatically to whatever the author had to say.

The Kindle would eliminate all of these moments, and more. All for convenience.

So, while the Kindle might be beneficial for travellers, or as a way to make reading more accessible for some people, I in no way believe that the Kindle can ever replace books. There is something about that form of communication that just requires no improvement.

* * *

But let me know what you think! The Kindle, yes or no?

Related Links:

A New Page by Nicholson Baker - The New York Times
10 Reasons to Buy a Kindle...and 10 Reasons Not To by John Biggs - CrunchGear
Amazon's Kindle Detail Page

Facebook Group + Shameless self-promotion = joy.

2009-11-05T11:57:00.004-06:00

I created a group for my blog on Facebook.

More members = love.

HERE

Richard III - Justice and the Winter of Our Discontent

2009-11-04T20:02:00.001-06:00

I am reading Richard III for my Shakespeare class. This is the Scholarly Question I am going to submit this evening.

____

Throughout Richard III, Shakespeare seems to be resting his narrative on two underlying themes: that of the just and unjust, as well as the presence and purpose of God within the unfolding story. God holds a very distant and abstract role in the play. He is portrayed as a benefactor and a vengeful, vindictive God who can be controlled merely by the calling down of a curse. This is seen most often in the character of Queen Margaret, who is constantly cursing her enemies and hoping that the curses will "pierce the clouds and enter heaven" (18). Curses take on an interesting role in the play as well, since they can be spoken, it seems, by any character if they have the proper technique (79). But since each character can call down curses on the other characters, would it not follow that God is on everyone's side individually? What does this say about the opinion of God held by the characters in the play? What about the opinion of God held by Shakespeare's audience at the time?

Is Shakespeare expanding on this idea with the concept of justice spread throughout the play? The characters calling down their revenge on others are seeking justice for themselves or their loved ones. Even the character of Clarence, admitting his many wrongful deeds, shows that he believes God is tied closely to justice when he pleads with Him to "execute thy wrath in me alone," rather than on his family (25). Is Clarence truly repentant here, and if so, what would his opinion of the justice of his situation be? What role does God's law have in Richard III, apart from its mention in the murders' discussion (28)? And what, too, is the idea surrounding mercy? Is mercy indeed seen as unjust in the play, and what does that mean for the character of Richard (see 33, 52, 36-37)?

_______

What are your thoughts? Have you read Richard III? Do you have any opinions about the play in regards to this question or others? Do you have a question of your own?

9 days...

2009-10-23T15:33:00.002-05:00

until National Novel Writing Month begins.

I have signed up.

I have started a writing journal.

I am on my way to meeting a 50,000 word count in 30 days.

If you don't hear from me again, it's because I am buried beneath a pile of discarded writing attempts.

October Snow

2009-10-12T12:32:00.004-05:00

There is something really magical about this snow in the middle of October.

Snow in October isn't normal. It is by no means impossible, and it certainly isn't out of the question for a state like Minnesota. It wasn't a huge surprise when the forecast said we'd have 5" of snow during the week - we all just roll our eyes and chalk one up to good ol' Minnesota weather.

But there is soething magical about it, when you think about it. It's not something to be grumpy about...at least, not if you can look at it from a different perspective...

When an abstract artist paints a still life of something, they usually exaggerate one or two things specifically, making those the emphasis. That's why those kinds of paintings can be so much fun, because we are seeing something in a different way than we usually do. But when it is emphasized by something else, or put in an entirely different setting than we are used to, it stands out. The same goes for good literature, or a good movie, or any form of communication, really. As soon as something is not where it is expected to be, we look at it in a new way.

So, I'm talking about snow. And the beautiful green trees just beginning to turn a little bit orange, yellow, red. The little baby trees along the walkway to Riley, with bright red berries frosted over with white. The grass - green grass, mind you - that is dusted over by clumps of pure white snow.

Entirely not normal. Entirely possible. Entirely beautiful.

Instead of being grumpy about it, look at it as the unique and precious surprise that it is. What is the weather saying to us about looking at things from a different perspective and seeing something newly beautiful and valuable?

Just some thoughts on this snowy October afternoon. :)

Snow.

2009-10-12T08:37:00.003-05:00

In October.

What could be a better surprise to wake up to?

That is all.

A Must-See

2009-10-12T00:22:00.002-05:00

Monkey Taunts Tigers

This has inspired me. I don't know how, but it has.

Not Where We're Going

2009-10-09T00:21:00.004-05:00

I've never before wanted so badly to go back in time and change everything. All of the things I would do differently. Certain things I would enjoy, things I would say, things I WOULDN'T say. People I would talk to, hug, open up to, cry in front of, ask tough questions, be ready with my own answers.

But we live in the present. And I can't be living for the past mistakes, or the possible future ones. Someone in class today said something that really impacted me--"It's not where we are going, it is Who we are with."

It's true. And, prayerfully, I am hoping it will begin to feel true.

I Want this Dog

2009-10-06T16:11:00.003-05:00

An Intimidating and Impenetrable Fog

2009-10-05T21:28:00.003-05:00

This sums up writing college-level papers perfectly.

I might be just slightly bitter.

In other news, I am considering participating in NaNoWriMo this year. It starts in November and spans the entire month. Basically, the gist of the project is to write a 50,000 word "novel" (or the beginnings of one) within a month. That would be approximately 1,700 words a day. As a college student, I don't know how that is going to work. But, if I were to just freewrite the entire thing, it might work. I could just set aside an hour or so each day and pound out 1,700 words without editing and without thinking too hard about anything. The basic idea, at least in my case, would just to be finishing a rough rough rough rough draft of something.

If I actually take on this task, I'll probably do a bit of venting here.

Some Highlights from this Summer

2009-08-31T19:57:00.007-05:00

Caffeine.

2009-08-30T08:13:00.003-05:00

So, I took some Excedrin this morning to try to cure a throbbing tension headache.

A full dose. That's two tablets. No big deal. I rarely take it - only when absolutely necessary...

I had forgotten the way that caffeine affects me.

It is 8 am on a Sunday and my body refuses to go back to sleep. I can't seem to concentrate on anything, and my fingers are trembling as I type this.

THIS is why I don't drink coffee.

The Search Begins

2009-08-29T11:33:00.003-05:00

It's hard coming from a place like Camp Lebanon, with a close community of believers, to a place like Northwestern College, with a large community of believers. The dynamics, of course, and entirely different. At Camp, it is easy to feel supported, loved, needed, and full of purpose - you're serving God's kids together. At school, it is easy to feel on the outside. Chapel feels like obligatory fellowship. Missing is the closeness, the comraderie, and the togetherness in service.

I didn't feel this way nearly so much last year when I came back into the school year. But I have been confronted with it head on this semester. I'm wondering when I can start to feel that purposefulness again. Though I doubt very much that I could ever find a community as close-knit as the one we had at Camp Lebanon, I know that I do need a community like that.

This is just a long, and somewhat redundant way of saying that I'm looking for a sort of "home-base"...a church that I can feel involved in, purposeful in, and supported in. So far in my college career, I've been unable to find that place. My prayer is that this year will be different.

Happiness

2009-08-27T22:07:00.003-05:00

It doesn't come easy.

Sometimes, you have to pretend.

Then it starts to show up on its own.

Reluctantly.

But at least it's something.

:)

The Random in My Life

2009-08-26T19:35:00.004-05:00

Bangs.

Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for work.

"I've got a couple dents in my fender, got a couple rips in my jeans...
try to fit the peices together, but perfection is my enemy..."

Quiet library.

Interesting last names. Like "Pollack" and "Katz" and "Corntassel."

I love my job.

Green eggs and ham.

Gas masks. "Are you my mommy?"

Posters are on the walls now. Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean...random other things.

AND. Bed.

Can I Have This Dance

2009-05-10T15:14:00.005-05:00

((I think this song is beautiful. Maybe I'm just a sap. Who knows?))

Take my hand, take a breath
Pull me close and take one step
Keep your eyes locked on mine,
And let the music be your guide.

Won't you promise me
(Now won't you promise me,
that you'll never forget)
We'll keep dancing
(to keep dancing)
wherever we go next...

It's like catching lightning
the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million,
the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together,
we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance
Can I have this dance

Take my hand, I'll take the lead
And every turn will be safe with me
Don't be afraid, afraid to fall
You know I'll catch you through it all

And you can't keep us apart
(even a thousand miles,
can't keep us apart)
'Cause my heart is
wherever you are

It's like catching lightning
the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million,
the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together,
we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance
Can I have this dance

Oh, no mountain's too high,
and no ocean's too wide
'Cause together or not,
our dance won't stop
Let it rain, let it pour
What we have is worth fighting for
You know I believe,
that we were meant to be

It's like catching lightning
the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million,
the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together,
we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance
Can I have this dance

Can I have this dance
Can I have this dance

Wet Hair

2009-05-07T17:14:00.004-05:00

I'm sitting by the window, with the sun streaming in,
trying to dry my wet hair without using a blow dryer,
and I'm watching the reflection of clouds
floating by on my computer screen and
coming to the conclusion that today
is a beautiful day.

Pomegranate Limeade and Apple Cinnamon Cheerios

2009-05-06T15:40:00.004-05:00

That is all I have been able to eat today.

Went to the nurse this morning, right after my Pentateuch class. Had not been feeling very well all day or the day before.

The receptionist wasn't there yet, so I sat down and tried to read through the four short stories that I had to finish before class tomorrow. She finally arrived, though, and started flicking on the lamps in the corners and the fountain sitting on the end table near the door and the cd player that played hymns and sounds of nature. I suppose that was meant to calm everyone down.

I eventually was called back into the room, where a nurse patiently told me that I do NOT, in fact, have swine flu.

What a relief.

Of course, she has no idea what is wrong with me. Maybe a virus. Maybe strep. Or, perish the thought, maybe my appendix is about to burst?

But not swine flu.

I think I can live with that.

So now I am cautiously nibbling Cheerios and Pomegranate Limeade, feeling a little bit of my energy returning.

Just in time for me to start up on making the powerpoint for my 15 minute presentation on India tomorrow morning.

Then I'm homefree! Exams and then...SUMMER.

And that, my friends, is life as of now.

Plus a few other things that, suffice it to say, have made the last few days quite nice altogether... :)

:)

2009-05-05T10:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a very good day.

"Blink, and You Are There" - my writing

2009-05-03T21:21:00.004-05:00

I wanted a separate place to put all of my creative writing.

Here it is.

Enjoy. Comment, if you feel so led. I love constructive criticism. And even some confirmation...that would be lovely.

P.S. The poem that the blog is named for is a one-off, totally NOT preconceived piece of free-writing.

Read it for the First Time.

2009-05-03T14:32:00.006-05:00

I had never read Death of a Salesman before this past week. Can you believe it? I mean, I've heard about it up and down and backwards, but I never read it.

I was pretty disappointed in myself when I realized this.

And, as the title would suggest, it's a very depressing play. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. Plays read very quickly - and a playwright writes in a way that needs to grab attention. Very little description, lots of dialogue (obviously), and fluid pacing. Plays require the reader to act out the play in their imaginations much more readily than other forms of writing will.

Shakespeare, beautiful as it is, may be the exception to this....

Give it Away

2009-04-27T12:17:00.003-05:00

Give it Away

Good song.

What to Get Me for Christmas. Birthday. New Years. St. Patrick's Day.

2009-02-20T23:54:00.001-06:00

"Buy hardback fiction and poetry. Request hardback fiction and poetry as
gifts from everyone you know. Give hardback fiction and poetry as gifts to
everyone. No shirt or sweater ever changed a life. Never complain about
publishing if you don't buy hardcover fiction and poetry regularly."

~ Annie Dillard, "Introduction: Notes for Young Writers," In Fact: The Best of Creative Non-Fiction (p. XI-XVII)

Say No to Paranoia

2009-02-17T16:14:00.001-06:00

Have you ever had one of those days? One of those moments? One of those lifetimes? Where all you can seem to think about is all of the possible ways that everyone in your life is NOT your biggest fan? You imagine all of the thing that they must be thinking about you. All of the things that they want to say but don't. At least, they don't until you're not in the room.

You start to think it as soon as you leave them. Everything was great. They were smiling at you, they were friendly, seemed genuinely interested in everything that you had to say. Then, as soon as you close the door behind you, standing there, you wonder if maybe they regret ever getting to know you. Maybe they wish you would just leave them alone. They probably roll their eyes as soon as you shut the door. They probably look at all of their friends and laugh at how completely and totally lame you are. After all, you're lucky that they are your friends in the first place, so why shouldn't they be allowed to be completely derogatory behind your back?

The truth is, this is very, very rarely the case. I mean, I'm sure there are exceptions. Obviously. There are plenty of annoying people out there, and we've all felt or done one of those things listed above at some point about some human being. And, no doubt, someone has felt or done those same things in regards to you.

But standing outside of that door, walking back home, kicking the rocks and mumbling about how utterly worthless you are because of what some people MIGHT be thinking about you is entirely not worth your while. In fact, I would advise against it. All it ends up doing is filling your head up with doubts and fears and self-conscious, monotone critics. And they have nothing useful to say. And they only tear up your relationships with your friends.

Rather than assuming the phony-ness of the people that you come into contact with, maybe you can extend them the same grace you extend yourself in these situations. When you quietly roll your eyes after meeting that certain someone, you don't usually sit there and berate yourself for it. You assume that you have perfectly good reasons to feel that way, so why should you feel bad about expressing that emotion? You were, after all, perfectly aimiable to their face. And it's not as if you DESPISE them (I'm assuming that you don't, anyway). You still love them on a certain level of your being.

So, grant others the same courtesy you extend to yourself. If you suspect that your friends ARE saying unfriendly things behind your back, or rolling their eyes, or regretting any and all association with you, give them the liberty of having those feelings. Or, you could circumvent the whole issue and just assume that they do none of those things and that your friends ARE perfectly sincere when they tell you how much they like you, how glad they are to be your friend, how adorable you look today, and have you been working out, because you look amazing.

Save yourself the aggravation and stress and ulcers that paranoia brings around, and you'll find that you are much better off in the long run.

How to Successfully Word Vomit Your Way through a Plot Summary for a Book

2009-02-13T15:19:00.001-06:00

In my Survey of American Literature class, we needed to pick a book by an American author. That would be our text to work with for the rest of the semester. I chose Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, one of her two novels ever published. She is better known for her short stories (A Good Man is Hard to Find, The Artificial Nigger, Revelation, etc), but I figured that her novels would have some of the same interesting qualities. Not to mention that her writing has always been easy pickings in terms of analyzation, so I decided that I wouldn't thirst for something to write about.

Unfortunately, along with taking another semester-long Literature class which involves reading several full-length novels within a few days each, I am also taking a writing class and a Bible class - both of these require excessive amounts of reading. I picked up Wise Blood a few times, but could never justify reading in it when I had boat-loads of more immediate reading to do. It languished in the bottom of my drawer.

Our teacher assigned us a two page paper that would give a basic plot summary of our chosen novel. I avoided reading the book, until the day before the assignment was due.

Hence, here is how one can successfully BS their way through a plot summary on a book they have not read:

Read the first chapter or three. Get a general idea of the books beginning.
Take up as much space as you can introducing the main character(s). Two paragraphs is acceptable, if necessary.
Use excessive words. No, really. Excessive words that don't really actually need to be used, but that give you a sense of knowing exactly what you are talking about without being too obvious about it. It is really, really easy to insert double adjectives or to do something entirely different, like ramble on and on about the same thing, restating one sentence in five different ways...

Finally, search wikipedia for the plot summary.
Read the final pages of the book.
Skim the middle section and find all of the character's names.
Go into very general, vague detail about all of them.
And then say how it ends.

Voila! Successfully written plot summary with little or no actual reading required. :) Happy writing!

NBC rejects pro-life Super Bowl ad :: Media :: ProLifeBlogs

2009-01-30T15:31:00.002-06:00

NBC rejects pro-life Super Bowl ad :: Media :: ProLifeBlogs

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Beautiful Mess

2009-01-19T15:16:00.001-06:00

What a beautiful mess this is...
It's like picking up trash in dresses

Ever since my poetry class this past semester (and probably before that), I have been strangely drawn to words. Not that I wasn't drawn to them before, but it has increased to an ache somewhere inside whenever I read a set of words that seem to go together perfectly. I'm more aware of how beautiful words are, and how, if read in a certain tone and rhythm, they can sound like music, though no instruments are playing.

That being said, songs do tend to resound with me - sometimes more than poetry does, because the lyrics of a song are given their full attention when they are being sung to music. Unless someone who really cares about the poem is reading it out loud, poetry can often sound unfriendly and un-musical. Lyrics to a song catch my attention right away, because I can hear the way that the words were meant to be read (or sung). And it's a beautiful thing.

A few months ago, I went to a poetry reading that was organized by the English department. Scott Cairns, an amazing poet, stood behind a podium, in dim lighting, and quietly read some of the favorite poems - ones he had written himself. There was no particular flare in how he presented the poems. But there was something in his rough, low voice and his gentle lisping. Like he was telling a story to one person, using the least amount of words that he possibly could. I knew that the impact would not have been as deep had the poems been read by anyone else.

Not to say we can't read poems out loud if we haven't written them. I think that there is something beautiful that can come of that. But I think that the poem (or song) being read (or sung) by the person who wrote it is a pleasure that needs to be experienced before you can fully understand just how beautiful it truly is.

With that said, here is the entirety of one of my favorite songs of all time, written by Jason Mraz. One of the reasons I like it so much is that I love to pour over the words, listen to how they make each other sound, and try to understand what they all mean as a whole.

You've got the best of both worlds
You're the kind of girl who can take down a man,
And lift him back up again
You are strong, but you're needy,
Humble, but you're greedy
Based on your body language,your shoddy cursive I've been reading
You're style is quite selective,though your mind is rather reckless
Well, I guess it just suggests that this is just what happiness is

Hey, what a beautiful mess this is
It's like picking up trash in dresses

Well, it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write
Kind of turn themselves into knives
And don't mind my nerve, you can call it fiction
'Cause I like being submerged in your contradictions, dear
'Cause here we are, here we are

Although you were biased, I love your advice
Your comebacks they're quick
And probably have to do with your insecurities
There's no shame in being crazy,
Depending on how you take these
Words that are paraphrasing this relationship we're staging
And it's a beautiful mess, yes it is
It's like, we are picking up trash in dresses

Well, it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say
Kind of turn themselves into blades
And the kind and courteous is a life I've heard
But it's nice to say that we played in the dirt
Cause here, here we are,
Here we are
Here we are