June Confessional....

Uh I'm not so sure what I'm going to do. That's confession one.

I have college coming up and I have NO idea what I'm doing. I pride myself on having a sense of direction and you know purpose...but college is scary and big (alright well mine isn't that big but not the point...) and I'm going in blind. Big life transitions aren't my strong suit. I fight change. I understand its purpose, and that nothing can stay the same or the world would cease to be but that doesn't mean I have to like change.

Confession two...I a terrified of snakes. I bring this up because the other night my dad was watching some show and there were snakes. Like these people were catching them, for fun. And it freaked me out. So badly, it made me make him change the channel.

Confession three... Parker and Hardison! I don't even know what their relationship is yet, because I'm pretty sure they don't know but the point is they are together and it made me really happy. Like flail around jump up and down with the clicker in my hand happy. That is sad. I know but it is what it is.

Four, I maybe haven't woken up before noon for two weeks in a row now...don't judge but I've been working and then get home and have stuff to do so I'm up late. And then I sleep.

I think that is it. June was kind of uneventful. Uh how did I do?

Oh the Search...

In life we search for a lot of things. Some things we are not ashamed to share others...not so much. Following Bethany R's lead I've decided to open up my history and take a gander at what I've been searching via Google and other lovely search engines. If the FBI is following up on me they may be a slight bit concerned.

First and foremost I had Fred Weasley Fanfic, okay don't judge me but with the final coming up I've been focusing in on my favorite character and his inevitable tragedy. This is a SPOILER. If you haven't read the books by now well then, you missed the train by four years. Fred is killed by a WALL. Not okay. And so I have been conducting what I am calling the "Epic Reread" in which I reread every single Harry Potter book. Including all the little companions JKR came out with, such as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Though the Ages, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. So I have been dabbling into the imaginations of others--Just for the record I do not read HP fanfic that is AU (it just annoys me because more likely than not the writing is not too mind blowing, occasionally I will find one that is beautifully written and therefore I do indulge), or where it is Character X and OC, I don't know I just prefer things to be a little closer to the original -- with a special focus on Fred, George, Draco, Snape etc. all my favorites. But especially Fred.

Then there is POTTERMORE. I tried to make this page my homepage but it wouldn't take, so I've left the window open for the past week, along with the countdown clock that was available on youtube, waiting for it to come online. I got my butt up super early this morning to watch the countdown tick to zero and enjoy the launch of the site. I love JKR have I mentioned that yet because that woman is my hero, and I'm pretty sure I'd spontaneously combust if I ever met her.

Next up are the things that may have placed me onto the FBI watch list...I've been looking up how to hot wire cars, pick locks, make a potato gun, forge Ids, etc...all for a new story about criminal life and things, I'm still just in the beginning stages so I'm not sharing anymore details than that with anyone but my critique group, (I love you girls!) and my besties whom I see every day--we write during school together so yeah they are my trampoline I bounce ideas off of them, and sentences sometimes I just can't form sentences without them.

Then there was the Amazon pages. I've been living on Amazon forever, and recently it seems like I spend even more time browsing pages looking up new books I've heard of and searching for books that might catch my eye or help me to improve my writing (you can always find room for improvement!). So there is like at least two hundred items on my Amazon recently searched/viewed list, and I'm pretty sure that was just from like the last few days.

That is my search engine confession...what's yours?

Confessions? Have I EVER!

May has been nothing but a pain in the butt month. With the exception of this idea thing that happened. Other than that it has been a dud. I got into a huge fight with my sisters, have been at the throats of my best friends, and humiliated myself more than once struggling to get work done.

Here are my confessions.

-My bestie Olya and I basically did the yearbook by ourselves (Oh and this nice boy did the Sports pages) but between the two of us, out of say (and I'm ball-parking here because I do not know off the top of my head, and no longer care to) 13 sections, we did nine. NINE. Our editors did jack shit. They were supposed to organize and scan photos. We did that. THEY were supposed to set up the page designs for the other sections. We did that. They were supposed to get everything finished on time, and when they didn't Olya and I took it upon ourselves to finish the supplement. I am so pissed about this.

-My boss hasn't given me a weekend off in two months, and by weekend off I mean I've been working for at least a three hour shift EVERY Saturday and Sunday for six freaking weeks.

-I'm tired. Like could curl up where I sit tired and sleep, forever.

-My bestie, whom I will refer to as Callian is maybe getting on my nerves a little. I'm not allowed to complain about my job because it irks her, cause she doesn't have one. I'm not allowed to slack off and enjoy my senioritis because it bothers her. She gets to get all snappy and bossy with me but I don't get to do anything like that with her. I'm sick of it.

-I had to ask five people to my prom before someone said yes. It was embarassing, skin thickening and mostly frustrating. But it only gets more frustrating when you hear people takling about their prom dates. For example, while trying on dresses one girl was bemoaning the fact that she got asked out eight times. While scrambling to pull together a budget for my dress, transportation and tickets, etc., one of my sisters classmates got a prom dress for EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS!!! And just yesterday one of my classmates was complaining about how he didn't have a date, and when someone (not me) inquired if he'd asked anyone the answer was no. And it pissed me off because you don't get to complain if you didn't even try. UGH.

Was that enough confessions for today? I can't think of anymore at the moment but if I do I'll add them in later. Please forgive me for that rant, I do apologize.

imprint on a page

Here's the deal, I believe--whether it is a conscious action or not--every writer pens themselves into their work. And not just themselves, their environment, friends, families, enemies etc.

I favor my environment, there are a few places in my world that I love--small little towns I retreat to when I have the chance, high up in the mountains on the edges of the East Coast. I love writing about the places I feel comfortable in, and therefore I favor placing my characters into those kinds of places, quaint towns full of vibrant color, granted they aren't always filled with the nicest people (not my experience btw, just how it works out not every town is filled with all nice people) but they are just like the places I consider to be my other homes.

I write myself into my characters in different ways. I want tattoos and piercings. But I don't have them, something that permanent terrifies me and I will not tattoo my body unless my tattoo will mean something, something that will stay with me and mean something forever. So all those of the cuff whim tattoos I'd like well they get bestowed upon my characters, and all those pieceings that a to-be teacher can't have, well those are the piercings that end up all over the bodies of my characters.

But physical aspects aren't just how I incorperate myself into my characters. I am not perfect, far far far far far far far from it, and I write my flaws into my characters, my horrible streak of not knowing when to shut the hell up, rash decisions, nasty hateful thoughts, even sometimes violent urges (which for the record I do NOT act upon, but sometimes people are bitchy and you just want to punch them in the face. I cannot be the only person on the face of the planet who feels this way sometimes.) And the good, or at least the pieces of my personality that I think are positive.

My characters also have a lot more freedom than I do, or if they don't they make it for themselves. not that I don't have a lot of freedom in general just I can't take off whenever I want, or do shit on a whim, I have a job, friends, a family, and even though I'm tempted to--I cannot just take off and do whatever. They also have the courage to do things that sometimes make me feel nervous or things that I'm too afraid to do myself.

I also write other people into my stories, people I people watch, people I actually know, not like verbatim but I take things about them that I like and add it in, or things that I don't like. So please do not walk away from this post with the idea that I write actually live people into my stories. Every character I write is purely FICTIONAL, however I steal aspects of personalities from real live people I know/encounter.

People watching is fun, and leaves room for a shitload of inspiration, just saying.

Uh I think I've covered all my bases about writing reality into fiction. Or at least I hope I have.

Sorry this is a day late, Blogger wouldn't let me on yesterday. Have a nice weekend peoples!!

The Stigma of Being a Writer in High School.

Alright so it isn't so much a stigma as it is a stereotype I automatically get cast into by my lovely immature peers. A lot of people look at me and immediately think that I'm the teen who hangs around coffee shops with alternative music, black clothes and a somber expression waiting to get up on stage and read my poem about a scuff in the middle of my hardwood floor, and how sucky life is. Because yes they believe I, in fact I think they assume most writers, have the emotional rang of a teaspoon. And that rang only has one setting: emo.

Now I am taking it on good faith that all you lovely readers are aware that is not true, in the slightest sense. We all know that what qualifies someone as a writer can be a three sentence fan-fiction that rocks your world, to a twenty seven book series chronically the life of a fruit fly. Because to be a writer, you have to pick up a pen and let your mind wander to wherever you please.

The reactions I receive when politely attempting to dispel the stereotype they have cast upon me vary, from the rare "Oh me too!" to the "Wow, what do you write like Twilight Fan-Fic or something? Because that isn't writing." (See people suck. Or at least people who don't really know you.) And once I explain it to them most people are just like, "yep okay whatever don't really care..." anyways, so some days it is just not worth it.

So as a high school writer I tend to keep to myself about my life's passion, unless someone else brings it up or asks and then I feel free to share.

I am lucky. I can say this a thousand times over and I fear still most people just wont understand. My parents have never been anything less than supportive when it comes to my writing. Granted that does not make them the best analysts or anything but it makes them the best cheerleaders ever. Never once have they told me they don't have faith in my writing. They talk about it to their friends like they're proud. My siblings get introduced based on what sports they play or which dance they love, I am introduced as the writer. They have no shame in it, and because of that I never have either.

My siblings are just as great if not better, they are the ones I can always count on to be brutally honest and tell me when what I'm writing is shit. And I know, unless we are fighting, they say it because they care. They have gone with me to Writers Club at school, even though they could care less about it. They get me copies of writing magazines on my birthday, they pick out cute journals they think I will love.

My family is my writing rock.

However, my family is not the norm. My best friend Kathryn is an amazing writer, but she doesn't see it because her mother has never encouraged it. Despite how much I reassure her a piece is good, and how many times our teachers confirm what I have already said she doubts herself, and that breaks my heart.

I believe every writer will come in contact with at least one person over the course of their life who does not react in the most appropriate or nice way, in regards to their passion. Kids in high school are the best example I can give you of this. Kids in Middle school were even worse. I was made fun of for it, and two of my journals, that I had written my first real "novel" in (though remembering about that I cringe because it sucked) were stolen, and I later learned disposed of because they thought I was weird.

I guess my point is that you can never let the haters get you down. Because lets face it, they are probably jealous you found your calling in life, and that you are not afraid to seize the bull by the horns while dressed in red, while they are. People react differently, sometimes for the better or worse. When they accept you, keep them close those are the people who will be with you through it all, when they don't just let it be. Your writing life and your personal life do not have to intermingle, it would be nice if they could but that isn't always possible. (I can write my novel while I'm working, no matter how much I want to.) Breathe, and move on, it is the best thing you can do for yourself, your ego, and most of all your writer's state of mind.

Block Party: Mean Peoples.

The mean people of the world can bring everybody down. K.M. Walton (who's debut novel CRACKED--about two boys, a bully and his victim, whose very different circumstances at home have led them to become roommates in the same psych ward-- will be released in Spring of 2012 by Simon Pulse!!!) has agreed to grace us with her presence and so a post about crafting the perfect meanie. She is represented by the epic Sarah LaPolla from Curtis Brown Ltd.

It’s hard to be around mean people. I'm not kidding when I say mean people suck. You know the kind: pot-stirrers, nasty thinkers, back-stabbers, hateful meanies, talk-behind-your-backers. And phony-baloneys are the worst of the mean people.

Well now that we’ve established that mean people suck let me tantalize you with this thought: The actions and characteristics of mean people make captivating characters. Don't they? We writers love drama and tension in our writing. Without the jerky characters we'd be left with Barney and rainbows.

Ka-phooey.

While reading through the first draft of my first-ever-novel, complete with a really bad, bad guy, I thought – hey, why is this dude so bad? He can’t just be bad for badness sake. That would be so hollow of him. So un-interesting. The poor guy needed motivation and distinct character traits and some dang good reasons for his evilness. I went back to the drawing board and carefully crafted his personality. His quirks. Him. I gave the bad guy just as much attention as my main character. When I read the manuscript now he feels alive to me, and deep and rich with development, and not at all “Oh, he’s just a bad guy’ish.”

I mean, bad guys captivate. The dark characters draw you in. Imagine a world that cruelly hawked Star Wars without Darth, or Harry without Voldemort, or Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle) without her idiot parents, or Jack & Rose without Cal, or Austin without Dr. Evil...

I don't want to live in that world. No way.

I want my evil dude to be interesting and a little complicated. You know, like a real human being - even though he’s actually not a human being, but, whatever, you get my point.

But, REAL mean people still totally and completely suck rotten eggs.

~Kate Walton

K.M. Walton

CRACKED~Simon Pulse/Simon&Schuster~Spring 2012

TEACHING NUMERACY: 9 Critical Habits to Ignite Mathematical Thinking (co-author) ~Corwin Press~April 2011

Blog: http://skateorbate.blogspot.com

Twitter: KMWalton1

Thank you so very much Kate!! And to all our readers I advise you go follow her, her posts are always interesting and to be frank she rocks. So the only logical thing to do is go and read all her posts from here on out!! ~ Hayley

The Hopeless Romantic Takes The Stage!!

So this week it is favorite fictional couples.

I am warning you now. I am probably one of the biggest hopeless romantics in the world. I'm that girl in the movie theater who freaks out at the littlest motions and actions on the screen and you roll your eyes and think "Jeeze could she just shut the F up?" I apologize now if you have ever been in a theater with me, and I have been that girl. Recently I have been able to control myself more, however the bruises on the arms of my friends from where I grab hold and squeeze or whack to emphasize that something was important.

I take everything and when I say everything I mean EVERYTHING over analyze it, break it down and somehow manage to warp whatever it was into some deeper meaning about the characters suppressed sexual feelings...I sound crazy right? Yes, I do I know and hat is okay because I came to terms with it long ago.

BTW I am usually right. Just sayin'.

Alright. Lets get going then shall we?

First up, my first true ship, one I did not realized existed until I understood what a ship was. (For those of you who do not speak 'Fandom', and ship is shortened from relationship it means that you want a pair to be together.)

So first up...Ron and Hermione.

Now I will not lie, when I first read the first book I wanted it to be Harry and Hermione. Now please bear in mind I had a best friend who I maybe had a crush on, and well I placed my group of friends into characters shoes. What kid doesn't? Anywho so when I saw the second movie there was this moment, right at the end where Ron goes to hug Hermione then hesitates. And BAM! That was the moment. I just got it. Now there is a beauty to the dynamic of these two, they are always at each others throats, bating each other and forming a friendship that lasts through traumatic events and death. I have had a bond like that before in my lifetime, and she is still my best friend to this day, I would do anything for her. Their bond is one of those that is built on a complete understanding of the other person the good, the bad, and the annoying.

Now though I will not discuss them, Harry and Ginny, hello they rock. Enough said.

Second up, Will and Lyra, from His Dark Materials. Okay I am a sucker for tortured souls (yes I am a Romeo and Juliet fan, thank you very much), so when these two kids, who had become best friends, and sacrificed parts of themselves for each other, had to say goodbye, a permanent unchangeable goodbye. I cried. I cried long and hard and well was just sad. Their stories had crossed universes to unite two children who had basically no one else and they became the world to each other. And then by choice for the greater good, let the other go. If that is not love I do not know what is.

Wesley and Buttercup, The Princess Bride, I had to have watched this movie a billion times when I was little, there was a time where I could quote it word for word. And when I read the book, I was just completely blown away, the writing was amazing captivating, and the couple who I thought were just soul mates became so much more. I saw their relationship and understood, it was more than just a pretty story it was a love tale for the ages.

Julie and Luke from Don't Die, My Love, I read this when I was just twelve in Florida, sitting out by the pool, I had just suffered a big loss and this book caught me. Yes the title is a tell for the ending. Do not judge me I was going through a phase. The point is it was just a story about how two people even in the face of death stuck by each other and did everything they could to help the other, to make life easier for the other, despite the fact that both were dying on the inside (physically and figuratively). Safe to say they won my heart and took my breath away. Also really pissed off my family because I ended up crying in my sleep after finishing so...

Now I am just going to list, because I can. Listing is fun, and then I also have to go to bed soon so...

Shane and Claire, Morganville Vampires.
Remy and Dexter, This Lullaby.
Zoe and Chard, Aimee.
Fiona and Reed, The Safe-Keepers Secret.
Annika and Steve, Just One Wish.
Morgead and Jez, Night World; Huntress.
Brittany and Alex, Perfect Chemistry.
Landon and Jamie, A Walk to Remember.
Noah and Allie, The Notebook.
Aislinn and Seth, Wicked Lovely.
Jordan and Courtney, Two-way Street.
Jessica and Jonathan, The Midnighters.
Simon and Zoe, The Silver Kiss.
Ian and Cassie, Wild Roses.
Vivian and Gabriel, Blood and Chocolate.

Uh yes, bedtime now, and I need to go to sleep, school tomorrow, unfortunately.

I will see you next week yeah? And look I posted on time too, whoo whoo!!

It has been too long since my last confessional.

The last time I did this post, was well way to long ago.

Here goes.

1. I have not been writing regularly.

2. I have been letting my senioritis take complete control of my life.

3. I'm job hunting because my current job is making me miserable.

4. I have been being a horrible blog poster. HORRIBLE. I have no idea why my Critique group is even still talking to me.

5. I hate school.

6. I haven't read a book for fun in over two months.

7. I haven't had a full week of school since before Christmas break, thank you Snow Days and my
"personal" days.

8. I miss Florida where I would have been last week if my vacation had not been taken away. I am saying this now, if my spring break is so much as looked at by the school board I make no guarantees about what I may do. I will revolt. I will put up a fight. I will not miss my vacation. NOT happening.

9. I am sick of picking up yearbook slack. Our editors are editors for a f***ing reason. And they're getting graded on this. They need to be pulling their own weight and not "altering" the superlatives.

10.Prom is two months away and I'm already thinking a lot about it, and about how I'm dateless. What does that say about me?

11. I haven't been doing my homework.

12. I really need to clean my room.

13. I cannot wait for my, eighty dollars worth of girl scout cookies to come in. Don't judge me! I buy enough to last a year, and this year I have to accommodate for an eventual college roommate! There is logic behind it!

So that should cover it for the February Confessional. Please do not think less of me...my mind is not in its right place at the moment.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet;

I am SO picky about names.

In fact I will change names if I find ones that I feel fit more.

I have babynames.com favorited on my computer. And sometimes bounce around there during the day at school to see if I can find any that catch my eye. I have had a couple teachers who have asked me if there is anything I need to tell my guidance counselor, or if I'd like a pass to the nurse. Funny in retrospect but not in the moment.

That is not the point though, my love for names is insane. In fact I want to name my first born daughter Caesura, as in a pause in a poem because I think it would be a pretty name. My sister thinks it will scar her for life and I'm sure it will but that is what therapy is for after all.

The search. I tend to develop the character before I pic their name. I decide about traits I like, and then go to the advanced search bar and plug in the requirements I want. Like origin, gender, number of sylabls what I want the name to end or start with etc. And the proceed to scour the lists of proposed names to find the one.

Sometimes a name just appears. One that I can't help but fall in love with, I then build a character around that name. Like Zane, it means beloved and I can't help but put it into the occasional short story or essay for school, just because it is pretty. Another name I love is Aurelia, it means golden and well I really want to incorporate it into a novel one day.

I am a picky when it comes to deciding on names. Sometimes I can be found in the baby section on the ground surrounded by a thousand baby names books and a notebook scribbling names down left and right. I can't really give you solid advice on how to find it, it just happens. BAM! And you have a name.

But you always have to keep in mind that a character I could name Alice, you could name Jeane and it would be the same character. It's not about how other people feel about the name, it's about how you feel about it. If you are iffy about it, it will show through your writing. If you are unsure about how it fits, the reader will think it doesn't match up.

I guess what I'm trying to say is a name makes us who we are, or who our characters are. It shapes them, and as long as the name fits for you than nothing else matters.

Late late goals.

Here is the full post, but I'm in a rush so I wanted to say SORRY x INFINITY for the late-ness. I am going to imporve on this in the new year, though my start has not been good. Here is a summarized list of my goals.

Do MORE research for Glass Heart
-Finish Glass Heart
-Edit
-Read, over 100 books
-Pass AP exams (with flying colors)
-Give Kittens baths
-Continue to work on stepping out of my comfort zone.
-Query until my fingers bleed (after finishing
And editing obviously)
-Choose a school(for those who are wondering I have been accepted to 6 for 6, out of 14 applications so it will be tough. What was I thinking?)
-Buy(and read) EVERY book that is written by one of my buddies on the blogsphere
-Go to THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HARRY POTTER
-Buy a Wand from Olivanders at TMWOHP.
-Figure out some of the Bestie angst I've been dealing with.
-Clean my room
-Categorize my entire book collection before departing for college
-Organize my life (hehe not happening, but I can hope)
-Help out my crit. groups as much as I can.
-Oh and most important, be at the Midnight Showing for HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 in full HP garb. Yes I am that kind of nerd!
-Alright, I lied, this is the most important, begin posting regularly again, on this blog and my personal blog.

Here is my complete ramble filled post over on my personal blog, if you want to read it otherwise, sorry again, I PROMISE I am going to do better.

:)

Gifts for Writers.

I wont lie, every Christmas my entire family asks me what I want. And every year my response is the same. I will give you a second to guess...

....

Ready? Well you guessed it. Or at least I hope you did. BOOKS!! Hehe, that's all I ever want, I compile a huge list of books, deliver it to my parental units and they distribute it through the rest of my family. They both are from large broods so it gets spread out pretty well.

Any-who so I had to think of some things that writers, like my lovely partners and hopefully our commendable readers (especially those who put up with my scatterbrain syndrome and inconsistent posting), would appreciate.

1) A snuggie. (I know, what a loser, no wonder she doesn't go out Friday nights, she has a snuggie, all the mysteries of the universe have been solved!) But seriously, they are warm. You don't even have to get a real snuggie, just get a knock off. I know that late at night, when my parents are under the impression I am in bed, I like to curl up with my snuggie, a mug of tea, a bar of chocolate, my outline and my laptop or a book, and lose myself to another world. It is especially good for the New England Winters I tolerate so that may be why.

2) A cute personal mug. I won a mug from my friend K.M., it is this cute mug with a bunch of stripes and I LOVE it. It is MY mug my personal mug, I use it for my coffee, tea, hot chocolate. And let me tell you, those all nighters I sometimes pull, that mug is by my side providing me with encouragement and nourishment, not to mention tasty goodness, all night long. It also would go well with that mug warmer, that Emery suggested (BTW Em, I totally saw your post and asked for it, with the tag line "It will be SO helpful in college...":).

3)Chocolate. Okay so I work in a chocolate store, and so I kind of am a chocolate know-it-all, not a snob, or anything I just know a lot about it. Like that an allergy to actually chocolate, as in the cocoa bean, is really quite rare and normally people are just allergic to the ingredients in chocolate, and dark chocolate stimulates creativity. So I always appreciate a nice big bar of dark chocolate, or a box of assorted dark chocolates. Or even milk or white chocolate, I do not discriminate, dark just holds a special place in my heart (an organ that it is subsequently GOOD for. Seriously it's true. I'm not lying!).

4) iTunes gift card. I listen to music a lot. If it be on CDs, or cassettes (YES I still own those. Back off my geekiness is not here for your gawking pleasure.) or my iPod, it is still something that is just nice. And they can get movies with it too, and TV shows and a load of other things as well. So yeah.

5)Notebooks. Tiny notebooks, big notebooks, notebooks with no lines...etc. I get a load of them every year, (for example today, literally today in school, one of my friends gave me a HARRY POTTER DESIRABLE NO. 1 notebook!!!! I flailed.) and every year they do not get old. They get used. Even if it isn't right away, eventually a writer will crack open that spine and cover the page in pretty, and sometimes not pretty, words. Obviously I shouldn't have to say this but pens should be attached to this as well, not pencils, those get dull and make obnoxious noises, multi-color pens, fancy-smancy pens, no matter the design it will eventually be utilized.

6) Writer related reading material. Not just books, but magazines, articles, anything that could help a writer improve their craft, hone their skills and take one more step towards publication. They will be used and appreciated, because it shows that you have faith in what they're doing, and that you are going to do nothing but encourage them and help them along the way.

7) Love and understanding. Honestly I have friends whose parents do not respect their love of writing, I am blessed that my parents and my family do support me. I believe that the one thing you can give an author, the BEST thing, Is your love, understanding and respect of their craft. I can say that if my parents didn't support me, I would not be where I am today. And just taking a moment to read something they've written and give them feedback, or just tell them you love them, or show them you love them and support them, is the best gift in the world.

So there we go. Happy Christmas, I hope everyone has a good winter break, for those of you who get it, and a nice writer-ly Christmas. :)

Belated/Overdue

I needed to do a post on my favorite book that I read in September. It was Frankenstein.

Yes. I'm odd, I LOVE classic novels. Love them. And let's just be frank here, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was 18!! And then it was published when she was 20!!

Take a moment to appreciate Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, and the brilliance that was Mrs. Shelley.

Oh and BTW it has NEVER been out of print. Never.

Yeah, think about that!

So I know this is short, and kind of uninformative, but I'm going on the college hunt tomorrow, have three essays to finish and need to sleep eventually tonight. So this is short, very short. My apologies but I needed to do a post, because well I've been slacking. Sorry everybody.

My Writing Process

So it's my week to choose a topic. And couldn't remember if I was supposed to post today or on my normal Thursday, so Em if I stole your day I'm sorry. You hadn't posted and then I freaked out and was like "oh goodness was I supposed to post first?" so I'm so sorry if that is the case, please feel free to steal Thursday this week. But not forever, please, because I love Thursdays.

Now to the point, I am in the throws of a project for school, I'm writing a novel for credit as in I'm being graded on writing for fun!! Sweetness! So I've been approaching new ways to plan out my story.

The approach that I normally take is simple. I write the story as it comes to me. i.e. on the palm of my hand, my tiny notepad at work, in my notebooks at school instead of paying attention in class. It has always worked for me. Granted, I don't always produce massive amounts. But what I produce tends to have a significant importance to my novel, scenes that pull it together you know?

Of course then there is the brief outline. Scenes and ideas, whatever flutters across my thoughts. This special little sheet of paper has no rhyme, nor reason, it is just a list. It is, in my opinion, the most basic of any outlining that I do.

Next up is the note cards. I tend to take the ideas from my brief, expand on them on note cards and then shuffle it all around until I like the way it plays out. I don't like this way all that much because it takes a lot of time, and we all know how precious that time is. Not that it isn't worth it, but sometimes I just think it makes more sense to write every scene out, beginning to end, and then shuffle it all around. Of course that gets messy and can take up just as much, if not more, time you never really know.

Now I'm approaching a new type of planning, as referenced in paragraph one, because of my Independent Study aka the class I designed so I'm being graded on what I love. I'm throwing caution to the wind and approaching outlining with a whole new outlook. I'm starting small, a list of ideas (in chronological order this time), then expanding that into scene summaries. I'm then going to organize those scenes into chapters (so it's a chapter by chapter break up) and eventually give the scenes dates. As in stuff like Oct. 17th or something like that.

So normally my writing process mimics my life, it is all over the place organizational wise. However, now I am trying out something new and going to see if I can pull off organization. Wish me luck.

My Turn: Confessions if a Teenage Slacker

So it's confessional time. This is going to be short and sweet cause I've got homework, the joys of senior year. *sarcasm*

I confess I almost forgot about this post.

I have only had eight hours of sleep in the past forty eight hours.

I am already behind in my assignments for school, am dropping one of my extra English classes, and am not ready for this again. Can we rewind to the beginning of August? Please?

I am having problems at work. Not that I don't love working in retail, seriously I love the chocolate store where I'm currently employed. But recent complications have lead to lots of extra, unnecessary stress. I don't even want to think about what's going to go down once I start applying to colleges. *gulp*

Am sleepy.

Avoiding my homework by writing this post.

Didn't write anything during the months of July, and August, talk about a break. You can throw bricks at me now. No it was not my intention I just couldn't write.

Am tired of being single and seeing all the happy couples walking around school/town center. Also the coupled off friends don't make it any easier, especially when one half is talking to you and then the other half comes over and the halves make a whole as they start to make out. Uh EW. I do not appreciate your PDA and hello I was just having a conversation here. Rude.

Am SO behind on betas. Like I'm surprised these guys are still talking to me, okay that far behind. I feel super guilty, it's on my mind all the time.

Am super tired.

Goodnight, I've got psych work to go finish, have a nice evening and well next month there will be some great juicy tidbits.

inspiration....

What inspires me…I don’t really know my compulsion to write is just that--a compulsion. I don’t know how not to. This post is a little late tonight, I was supposed to do it earlier but it kind of slipped my mind—I’ve been having some trouble at work.

So what inspires me? Well it can range from a number of things, something someone says, a gesture of some sort, it can be anything.

I have to stress that point, the thing of it is that I am not able to completely pin down what triggers my--I dunno what you call it “idea button” or something—creativity I think will fit the bill for now. In fact just the other day, (I don’t remember what I was doing) someone said something that I immediately scribbled down onto my hand, then into my notebook, and then texted myself. About seven simple words that have since spurred my latest story idea, no I will not share them with you for fear you may have the same brilliant idea and beat me to the punch. Kidding, I’m not going to share because it’s personal and I haven’t decided in what direction I want to take my story. Maybe then I’ll share.

The general things that inspire me have since been mentioned on the posts by my buddies here. I have an amazing family, who’ve not only supported me in all my choices but who also are just inspiring human beings. I’ve been lucky enough to have two aunts whom have both had serious forms of advanced stage four cancer and defied the odds, only one is still with us now but the way they’ve dealt with it was just mind boggling, I admire them for it every single day.

Of course then there is the media. (No not moronic newscasters, I avoid them—they are a pet peeve of mine). Music, sometimes you’ll be in a writing funk and a song you’ve never heard before pops onto the radio and BAM! An idea is there. Or you’re watching TV and an interaction between two characters has your heart racing and all of the sudden you can’t breath and BAM! You’ve figured out this scene that has been bothering you. And my favorite, by far, you are reading a book and you are so taken with the eloquence of the writing you feel the need to go back and rewrite entire scenes in your novel (not to mimic the other authors eloquence or style, no). To try to condense as best you can and prefect your voice, the flow of your story, to give someone reading your story the sense of elation.

That is the kind of inspiration I long for, the kind that drops out into your lap and just takes your breath away. It happens--it does, not always often (though sometimes it’s just like BAM! BAM! BAM! And you can’t stop the inspiration flow.) But it happens and those are the moments that matter the ones you have to hold close to your heart and nurture.

But inspiration isn’t just that “ah-ha” moment when the seed of an idea is planted, it has to do with the support and nourishment for that idea too. And that support can be found in all sorts of places. From your family, your friends, and I am lucky enough to have the strongest support system in the world. To find your true inspiration and help it grow, you have to surround yourself with people who care, who are honest and will tell it to you as it is—like a bangin’ critique group, a best friend, a mouthy baby sister or two. Those are the people who matter and they are there for the inspiration, whither they are doing the inspiring or nurturing, they are the ones to hold close and cherish.

Oh Goodness!

I'm sorry it's late I didn't get home until a few minutes ago I was at a church function.

But I DIDN'T forget, I'm here see? See?

Okay, I'm Hayley Potter.

Kidding, kidding, I was just playing off of the Houdini comment--I have no magic skills and to my great sadness I do not attend Hogwarts, nor am I related to Harry Potter. Let's all take a moment to mourn.

I'm Hayley, plain old Hayley. But my nickname in third grade was Hayley Potter because I was that in love with the book series, it is the reason I can read and why I love books, it is also why I write.

One of the reasons I'm so late in posting is 1)I was working today 2) I was at a church function, with my parents 3) I'm in the throws of typing my edits for one of my buddies into the computer and I'm gonna be up late finishing, but then I will send her my completed beta.

Here's the deal. I work at a chocolate store, yes tempting, but you'd be surprised I've barely sampled anything and after being around the smell all day you are not as tempted to stuff your face with their goodies as you'd think. When I tell people where I work they always assume I'm an unhealthy eater/have bad habits--which is not the case I am a conscious eater but do allow myself to splurge on occasion.

Okay now that I've awkwardly talked about my food habits lets move onto another topic. I am going to be a senior in high school, a "rising" senior as the college peoples say it. I am planning on, in college, majoring in English and Creative Writing eventually and then getting a teaching degree and teaching high school/middle school students. That is my plan, but plans change of course. I have two cats, McAllister and Finnegan, they're brothers but you'd never guess it. Because Finn looks like a tiger, and is a short hair whilst Mac is a rare tri-color male (white, black and brown) with long hair, but they're brothers from the same litter. Oh and Super-Ninja-Midnight-Cat, as my friend Kathryn calls her, she is my twelve year old all back, except for one white toe, cat; whom I named Midnight because as a kitten her toe reminded me of "a full moon at midnight" hence the name. I was also four, so cut me some slack for the creativity, or lack thereof, please.

I love photography, art, writing (duh), and sleep. Lots and lots of beautiful sleep. I love my critique partners--you guys rock! And well books, I have a library in my room, alphabetized by author. And yes on my computer I do have a catalog of all the books, and a chart on the side of my bookshelf for when people barrow from me, so I know who has what. I'm only a little CDO, that's OCD in the right order, if you're wondering.

What else...I don't really know what else to tell you. Umm I'm your average seventeen year old, I've got lots of drama--not mine I am a drama avoider, my friends however tend to be drama magnets-- in my life, a HUGE family. Trust me lots of relatives. And a bull mastiff named Seamus he is a runt, and my kitties think that he is their mommy and they suckle on the ends of his ears. It is very cute, and I have it on camera.

I want to cut my hair and dye it bubble gum pink, like Tonks from Harry Potter but 1)my job wont allow it 2)I do not have the guts. 3)There is NO way I could pull it off, it would clash with my face.

Uh I believe Bethany is up next, she's a great girl. You're going to love her!

Oh and the title is basically my catch phrase, I say "Oh goodness" all the time, for lots of different things.