Paint With Words

Thank you life for getting so busy all of a sudden. I don’t mind though, except for when it comes to sleep, but that’s ok. I can recuperate on the weekends.

I like being busy, to be honest. I have things to work for now. School, new job (early morning stocking at Macy’s. Not the best job, but better than the last one I had), wanting to be a volunteer translator, wanting to be a French Tutor at school, French club French table, and so on. I’m excited though. So much, and it’s all stuff I love. And all the things we want to do in the respective groups, it’s so awesome. I love it! I love feeling like I’m part of something, and I belong somewhere. The people I have class with are awesome, and the people in French club and everything are awesome. Especially now that the drama has passed along, I’m loving everything about the new school year. New friends, new faces, new things to learn (SCORE MEDIEVAL GERMAN LITERATURE! hahahaha oh how I’m ready to put my head through a wall. AND CHINESE! I LOVE CHINESE!), new things to do, everything is new and shiny and fun! Yeah there have been the bad days, and the drama, but right now I’m happy. Sleep deprived, but happy.

 Anyway I have other blogs, sites, and books to attend to. May be hanging with my stepmom today. BEtter hop off of here and take care of the rest of my cyber life.

 <3

Reading: A Southern Belle Primer or Why Paris Hilton Will Never Be A Kappa Kappa Gamma bye Marlyn Schwartz
Listening: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Playing: Left 4 Dead (Yeah I love that game )
Watching: Mirrormask (GREAT movie by Jim Henson’s estate)

You never realize how intense culture is to a person/group of people until you’re forced to write about it. Even your own culture.

I’ve had a mini bout of writer’s block for that reason. Take something you know, and try explaining it to someone who doesn’t know (or in my case, the audience may know, but I have to pretend they don’t to make the story itself seem more authentic). It can be more challenging than you’d think.

Writing about another culture has been a huge challenge. Google Earth, Wikipedia, and Google Search Engine have ALL been invaluable. haha! There are little things though I’m trying to figure out, like dialect, and whether or not there are small little restaurants remotely close to where I’m setting the story, but that also makes it fun. You learn a little something.

And, the challenge is fun, because it keeps me on my toes. Considering the story takes place in one of the most well known cities in the world (London), I think it’s a fair trade. It gets old writing about my hometown, as it’s of little significance (unless you’re a history buff, then it’s a big deal). But the flipside is it’s easy because I know it. Each situation has its plus side.

Facebook quizzes actually ARE good for something! HAHAHA! Who would’ve guessed?

I never knew that ‘amaranth’ was a shade of red. I knew it was some sort of plant, but I know more about the plant my name is related to than the amaranth plant. Well, long and short, taking this quiz, I discovered the color, and naturally went to the Wikipedia article about the plant. The Nightwish song (which if you actually TALK to me, or have actually read the story, you know that song is one of my biggest influences) now makes a TON more sense.

Caress the one, the never-fading
rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth
In a land of the daybreak

Excerpt of “Amaranth” by Nightwish

“The word comes from the Greek amarantos the “one that does not wither,” or the never-fading (flower).”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth

Considering the words “never-fading” are used in the song, that just made it even better. ^_^

A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden,
and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,
“How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favourite.”
But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice,
“Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:
my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die.
But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut;
for they are everlasting.”

An Aesop Fable found on the Wiki article

Now I could go into the symbolism and metaphors that come to mind, but I won’t ruin the story for you. But honestly this new insight into the song does also bring more metaphors and reasons the song is appropriate. Oddly enough.

And the video to the song. I think a friend and I were discussing one night just how the heck the video made sense to the song. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but a fallen angel? I never understood it. Not to mention the aura of the video to me came off as more Celtic/early 19th Century Irish-Catholic. Nothing wrong with that, but as Nightwish is Finnish, I never would’ve figured them producing and developing something with that feel. But then I read about the painting it was based off of.

The Wounded Angel (Haavoittunut enkeli…because I’m cool enough to copy the Finnish from Wiki) done in 1903 by Hugo Simberg. I guess this painting is the official painting of Finland. So knowing that, now the video makes a TON more sense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wounded_Angel

And there’s the Nightwish Video.

So yep, that’s what I’m doing with my screwed up sleep schedule. Maybe I oughta down a few cups of coffee, write a chapter, and then send it out to be critiqued. ^_^ <3

When I started this dealie-o back in September (did I really just say dealie-o? ) I was planning on this being strictly for writing tips/ideas/advice. Well that didn’t quite work out. All the ideas I had swimming in my head, I’ve written about. All within the first 2 months too.

So with me pursuing this novel, I figured that maybe I can use this blog now for both. Talk about how my work is coming, but any ideas I get, write them out here too. Make it more inclusive. Maybe that’ll help expand my content.

Hopefully I can get back to writing on here more, and make it worthwhile.

<3

So I’m awake at 3 this morning, chatting to a good friend on MSN, and trying to figure out just WHAT to write next on my story. Most agonizing part, eh? Writer’s block. I hate it. Even worse, this was building a bridge. Everything exciting that needed to happen, for now, has happened. I can’t have the story be too ‘top heavy’, or else it won’t be worth the read. So I’m trying to figure out what to do next.

I had a small idea, about what I thought could happen, just to add diversion. The more I thought about it, the more it grew, and all of a sudden, voila! There’s the moment where everything added up and the bridge between part one and part two has been made. It’s such a small, inconsequential thing, and yet it turned into my solution.

Aren’t those moments amazing?

So if you’re a Facebook junkie like me, you probably read TONS of status updates and comments. I hate to say it, but most of the grammar I read is atrocious.

Yeah, it’s only Facebook. I agree. It’s not the end of the world. Heaven’s knows my chatting on MSN isn’t the high point of my grammatical skills. But I mean, really, learn how to speak your language properly! If people are going to go on these rants about knowing English and equating it with patriotism (which irks me to no end but that’s a whole different ballpark), then understand your language. Even if you don’t think like that, it’s still a good idea to know how to use English.

What am I doing about that? Here’s a basic break down:

There. Their. They’re. One of the biggest mess ups I see. It’s not that hard! I’ve had adults (ok the instance I’m thinking of, I was 15) tell me they’ll never understand it, and then I break it down just fine. It’s not that hard.

There: Location. Simplest one to understand.
Example: I want to go over there to get a better view.

Their: Possesive pronoun. Plural. Also used to be gender neutral. Standardized English books may not state that, but in most professional writing it’s being used.
Example: The children want their mother to come home. Each student is responsible for turning in their (instead of ‘his/her’) homework each class period.

They’re: Contraction of third person plural. “They are.” While commonly accepted, it’s technically slang.
Example: They’re on the road to nowhere, fast.

Example of all 3: They’re on their way home from over there.

Get it? Got it? Good!

Your. You’re. Now, this one is easier to accept, as people make typos, and what not. It’s a lot easier to mess up than there/their/they’re, even with a comprehension of the differences. But they’re getting explained nonetheless.

Your: Second person, singular and plural, possesive pronoun.
Example: Your breakfast is waiting on the table.

You’re: Second person, singular and plural, contraction. Like They’re it’s slang, but is commonly used/accepted.
Example: You’re going to the party tonight, right?

Last, but not least: too, to, two. Now, this is even easier to mess up than your/you’re, as it’s easy to not hit the o button hard enough, or something like that. But it still deserves explanation.

To: preposition, or indicates the infinitive form of a verb. As a preposition, preceeds a location. With a verb, preceeds a non conjugated form.
Example:  I want to go to the store.

Too: used as a synonym to “also,” “aswell,” or other such words. Usually appears at the end of a sentence but can be used anywhere. Also commonly appears after a comma.
Example: I like Tokio Hotel, but I like Cinema Bizarre, too.

Two: the number (I can’t believe this one gets misused)
Example: I’d like two tickets to the concert, please.

There, it’s that simple!

I just set up a website for my story I’m writing, and I’m rather excited about it. After taking it down from the website I was using, I was really excited to get this one going. I decided online publishing isn’t the way to go, at least not for me, and a website can reach more people than a facebook group can (and I need to convert my group from a group to a page. Ugh. Silly me for deleting the customer service email >.<).

I submitted it to some search engine sites, so hopefully, soon, it’ll be up and people can find it online at random. I dunno how much that’ll help but you never know!

www.diedirigentin.webs.com is the site, if anyone really wants to check it out.

There aren’t any excerpts up from the story, though I may add a few quotes. There is a synopsis teaser typed thing on the main page, and a wiki of all the characters. I used pictures of celebrities I thought represented how the characters look. I even used my brother and a good friend as inspiration too. Though the way the character my brother portrays may change (for some reason I’m thinking emo/indie looking with slightly shaggy hair, but still with my brother’s personality, and his style of playing), it’s still largely inspired by him.

It’s getting hard to write though as I just finished a HUGE part of the story. I mean, 40-50 pages of emotional highs and floodgates breaking loose, and now all of a sudden it’s “um…huh?” I hate that. Ugh! Writing the monotonous until you get to the next emotional high. Is it just me or is that the hardest part?

I guess this is all for now, on this front. I’m hoping I can find more to write about now that time isn’t an issue.

So maybe I’ve spent a little too much time rolling this idea around in my head, and I just need to get it written out.

I just finished reading 2 subsequent books to Gone With The Wind, Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley and Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig. Now, the first one was just written as a sequel, but the second was the original story written from Rhett Butler’s point of view.

I really enjoyed it, too. There were a lot of parts in GWTW that were originally very vague, and I’m sure for a very good reason. A perfect example is Belle Watling telling Melly Wilkes she has a boy, and she hasn’t seen him since he was young. You never hear any more than that the entire story. However, Rhett Butler’s People not only explains the situation, but gives this boy a whole past, and you learn about things you would’ve never heard in the original.

And the charges the Yankees “trumped up,” those are all explained too. And in fact, Rhett was never really in the wrong in the first place.

It was interesting to hear someone else’s perspective, especially on a story that’s so well known. There’s insight and light shed on things you never would’ve thought about for, and even completely new characters are devised.

I bring it up though, as the book showed me some interesting things about writing stories like that. The plot was wonderful, but there were times when it came to dialogue that  was a little weak.

I’m trying to write one now, and it’s interesting, because when I wrote the original story…well…I never counted on the original having this many spin offs or being what it is. haha! But, the dialogue to me is the most important part. It’s got to line up.

All of it is difficult though. There are points in the story where you don’t hear from one character, so now, I have to make something entirely new up for him to do. Talk about a challenge. Oh boy! But it could be interesting. And, one of the best parts is asking my friends, who’ve read the story, what they think about it. I know some of them have ideas and theories about what they think should happen, and have been willing to share. A few even joke that when the story becomes a movie, they’d play the main character. But it should be interesting, either way.

So I haven’t been on like I’d like to be. The pity of being in school, eh? Hopefully with finals ending next week, it’ll be easier to be on more. *crosses fingers* I’ve got 3 finals, and a final paper (3 pages in German…lovely ) and then I’m free for summer.

Still looking for a new job too. Have an interview tonight, actually. Not the most ideal job for me, but it’s worth a shot. I need something to pay the bills with until I can find something even better.

So here’s to hoping I can write more this summer

I would say “books” but as they’re a series, and series is singular, I’ll stick to “book”

My mother got me into the American Girl Series all the way back in first grade. Even as a young child, I heard stories about how valuable and timeless these books and the acommpanying dolls were to girls as they grew up.

Well 16 years later, I still adore my dolls, and value the lessons I learned from those books. My 3 dolls–Kirsten, Addy, and Samantha–still sit on display, proudly in my room. My mom made me promise to never take Addy’s hair down, as her braid was so pretty. It’s still there. My mom made me all sorts of clothes for my dolls, and I still have them all. I still have my books too. I haven’t read them probably since 5th or 6th grade, but they really do hold a dear place in my heart.

Not only do these books teach about important things in American history, but they teach girls how to be strong. Every girl–even a rich girl like Samantha, or a merchant’s daughter like Felicity–has a lot to struggle through, and never lets it get her down. She always remembers to be strong, and use her head, and figures a way to get herself out of a sticky situation. Also, if said sticky situation happens due to the girl’s misjudgement in a situation, she realizes as much and owns up to it in the end, admitting her error and knowing how to fix it.

So if you hear me being extremely critical of today’s children’t literature, this series is probably a lot of why. While all these popular stories ans series are encouraging girls to be spoiled and rotten brats, here’s a series that encourages girls to be good, smart, and resourceful. And it’s also teaching important things in history. The most recent additions have been a girl living in the Great Depression and a girl whose parents were divorced in the 1970’s (when it was still taboo) and is growing up in activist era California. It’s giving girls a good start in the right direction, concerning life, and their heritage.

Hopefully, if/when I have a little girl, my books and dolls are getting passed on to her. I want to be able to give her what these books gave me, and to start opening her eyes and expanding the way she sees the world.

*Corner of my bedroom. L to R: Samantha, Addy, Kirsten*