Another Hobbit Poster

As a tag-along to my last post, I also found this poster. It's probably my favorite so far of the Desolation of Smaug posters. (And it's now on my Christmas list...) Enjoy!

Isn't it awesome? Anyway, that's it. I'm done (for now).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Just a heads up, this isn't really a review. It's just some of my thoughts, what I liked or didn't like, and hopefully no big spoilers (similar to what I did with the first Hobbit movie). Now...

I just found this new poster. :) I showed you the other one before, but I think I'll still put it here because it's epic.

Anyway, now for my thoughts on the movie. Like the first one, I really liked it over all. There were some (ok, several) discrepancies from the book which was a bit disappointing, but I try not to have too high of an expectation so it's harder to be disappointed. Usually works pretty well.

I'll start out with what I didn't like as much just to get it over with. First, there were times (especially at the beginning) where I felt like they were speeding over the stuff that was actually in the book so they had time for the extra stuff they added. Seems kind of backwards. But it was some of the extra stuff that wasn't my favorite. Like Tauriel. (Just for background, Tauriel is a female elf they made up and added because they felt like there were too many male characters... or something.) She's interesting on her own, and helps create some conflict, but other than that... you can just tell she doesn't really fit in the story. At least, that's how I feel. And the whole thing with her and Kili... *shudder*. Not sure why they did that.

Well, that about covers what I didn't like. This movie was kind of the opposite of the first in closeness to the book--the first one was closer at the beginning, but I think this one was closer at the end (kind of...) So more of my favorite stuff was later in the movie. Anyway, I liked the part with Gandalf in Dol Guldur, which, although it isn't in the book, is still consistent with the story over all (as in it actually happened). Also, I did like how they extended Bard the Bowman's character so you have a chance to get to know him a little better before... well, I can't spoil that for you! Read the book.

Probably my very favorite part of the movie was when Bilbo and the dwarves are at the mountain. And SMAUG! Oh my goodness. He was incredible. And gigantic. It was amazing. He's such an intelligent villain (and unlike the Pale Orc and his helpers, Smaug actually speaks English). I can't even describe it, and certainly not without giving spoilers.

Kind of along with that part, I really liked how they showed Thorin starting to change. He starts to think more about the treasure and especially the Arkenstone, which would give him the right to be king. And he demonstrates how valuable it is to him, kind of. I'm sorry, I'm really trying not to spoil anything, but it's hard to describe without that... but they really did fantastic with that, I thought.

And then Bilbo. He is probably my favorite character in both Hobbit movies, but definitely in this one. You can see him kind of 'coming into himself' so to speak. You see he's gotten a lot braver over this journey. And maybe a little smarter too. His conversation with Smaug... wow. Probably my favorite part of the movie. Oh, and something a little interesting they did in this movie: in the first one (and in the book) he found the Ring in the goblin tunnels. He doesn't know what it is, and it's not super important to the story other than that he can now turn invisible. But in this movie, they show a little bit of how protective he is of the ring already and how he can hardly keep his eyes off it. It's not in the book, but I really like it. It kind of foreshadows what's to come (many years later in the Lord of the Rings, but still.) Well done.

One thing I'm not sure how to feel about is Thranduil, the king of the elves in Mirkwood (and Legolas' father). He wasn't what I expected, but at the same time I'm not sure what I expected. I think he's a little more... reckless or temperamental than Elrond, and it's good that he's different, but I'm not sure what to think. Also, the fact that there's supposed to be a bit of enmity between the dwarves and the elves (and the movie is focused more on the dwarves) gives him a kind of sinister feeling. (Actually, I'm not sure if that's really there or if I just imagined it in because for some reason he reminds me of Lucius Malfoy.) He is certainly not wanting to get involved in anything that doesn't concern him, but most elves are like that to some degree. Maybe it is just the slight recklessness and that I don't know how to handle a reckless elf. Anyway, didn't mean to confuse you or anything there, just something I was thinking about.

To sum that all up, I feel kind of similar to how I did about the first movie. I love seeing the characters on screen and I really love the parts of the movie that are close to the book or just really well done. I still like the book better and wish they could have stuck closer to it, but I'm content to think of them as similar but separate stories and continue liking both book and movie. I'd certainly recommend the Desolation of Smaug, but only if you've read the book ;).

More Pinterest Fun

Let's do another 'cool things from Pinterest' post! I had fun with the last one, but I've found some more fun stuff since then.

She's so cute. I really like different colored hair (sometimes), and bright red is so fun. I think it's actually supposed to be a costume of a real-life Ariel (The Little Mermaid), but I still like it as any other character.

I really like this picture. It's a cool setting, and the dragon really fits in with the snowy place. And he's feathery. Then we have all these greys and blacks and muted colors, and then the dragon's holding something reddish and glowing. Now that doesn't fit with what we expected. And it's interesting. It makes me wonder, what is the dragon doing? What is that thing? I kind of get the idea that he's sacrificing something of himself in order to help... something or someone. Fire and ice don't mix too well.

This is just plain cool. I mean, a city made to look like a desert from the top. I have no idea what I'd use it for, but it's a fascinating setting.

This is a fantastic drawing, not to mention really cute. But it's also from the Pixar short 'The Blue Umbrella' that plays before Monsters University. It is an adorable short. And incredible animation. I can't find the video anywhere online, but you should still watch it. Oh, and Monsters University is good too. :)

YES. I would watch that. You know, we should do this. Like just get together and nominate books for different 'awards' and then vote/have people vote. Wouldn't that be fun? And we could make special labels and put them in our copies of the winning/nominated books: 'Winner of the Best Antagonist Award 2013' '2013 Runner-Up Best Plot Twist' 'Nominated for 2013 Hardest Thrown Across the Room Award'. Maybe I'll just do this with all my books anyway. It is fun!

This compass. I love it. It looks so cool! It has kind of an old-fashioned look, but in a different way. It's unusual, but still has some 'classic compass' to it. Anyway...

This is the last one. It just makes me laugh. I hadn't really thought about it until I saw this, but it's true. The recent Disney (princess) movies are all just named with adjectives! Anyway, just thought it was cool.

Thoughts on Writing

I've been thinking a lot about writing today. Partially because it's always in the back of my mind and partially because I was trying to formulate my thoughts into something to blog about. Whether or not this attempted formulation was productive remains to be seen.

I don't have any updates to share on my Other Worlds novel. I've updated stuff, of course, but I don't feel like any of it's clear enough to share here. It's all incredibly complicated. I knew that already, but it became super obvious when I tried to explain things about the story goal to my mom at lunch. I think she got the basic picture, but... I guess I hadn't realized how many details I'd put into just the small things even! One thing I did recognize in that conversation was that my hero and my villain have very distinct goals. Part of the problem I still have is that they don't seem to connect super well, but it's good that they're distinct characters and not just there to oppose each other.

Probably the reason I realized that was because I'd just been reading this blog's posts about villainy (which is what the link should go to). Not only are they super fun and creative, they're also informative on how to make (or be) a better villain. It's also where these came from:

This one accompanied my post on villains

I like this one. A lot. :)

This is what I was talking about with my characters.

Anyway, great stuff.

I've also been reading the OYAN blog, which has a bunch of excellent posts from Mr. S, other OYAN staff, and some older OYANers. The latest one:

Which I also just read today. It's about how writing hurts a ton because you're putting a part of yourself into it. Your story won't mean as much if you don't have to give something up, I guess. It's a wonderful part of writing (and makes reading better too!) but it's so, so hard. I think it's probably the biggest reason I avoid writing. It feels unnatural to make myself vulnerable through my writing, not to mention it's not easy. In the end, I suppose it comes down to whether or not I think it's worth it. Giving up is a whole lot easier, but it doesn't have as much reward. Deep down I think I realize that, which is why I still keep trying to write. And keep thinking about the other stories I've worked on.

Like Aubrinn's story. My first OYAN. Which I've never finished. I still think about it a ton, way more than I think about Bryllen's. It kind of surprises me, since the first had (has) WAY more problems, but maybe that's just because I was willing to risk not getting it right the first time. Or I just had no idea how wrong it could go. Ah, the innocence of inexperience. Maybe I just think about it more because I know it better. I never really got too far into Bryllen's story (although I do know the characters pretty well!) I'd really like to work on and finish both of those stories someday. And finish the one I'm working on now. I just have to be willing to take the risk of it hurting. I haven't given up yet!

Michigan Trip (plus, More Senior Pictures)

I feel like I should post something about Thanksgiving. But I'm not really sure what. We've had a great time in Michigan so far! It's fantastic to see family again, and everything feels really familiar after spending a month here over the summer. I also got to visit Cornerstone University with my parents (I think I told you about Cornerstone...) Anyway, I really like it. It's probably at the top of my list now! We also stopped to see some friends who recently moved to Indiana. It was great to see them again! We had a blast!

All week, us kids have been hanging out with cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents and making rubber band bracelets (kinda like this)

It's fun, and a great project for having something to do with your hands while you're just sitting around. Also, the kids figured out these bracelets make great shooting rubber bands, so they've been setting up empty cans and plastic cups on the pool table downstairs and shooting them down. Very fun :).

That's really all that's been happening, I guess. It's been great though!

Oh, another thing. I can post more of my senior pictures now! Ready?

 I really like this one :). It's one of the few that turned out well in the group with my dress. I just love the  dress itself, and it looks really cool in the woods, if I may say.

I like how this one is close up. From a photographer's perspective ;), it's just a pleasing picture (it looks really good when the subject, in portraits at least, fills most of the frame.)

This is another one that I like a lot. It's good composition, and the angle is a little unusual but still nice to look at. I'm too much of a photographer...

Well, that's about it. Oh! My usual Hobbit update: 14 days! Very excited! I also want to see Thor 2... Anyway, that's all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Various Interesting Things

23 days till the Desolation of Smaug! :D

Anyway, I think what I'm going to do today is just post various pictures (from Pinterest) and tell you what they lead me to imagine. So this will be kind of random, but hopefully fun :).

This picture just has 'inciting incident' written all over it (not literally...) But really, I imagine it being the start of a story. The main character's village is burned to the ground and she escapes and has to go on a quest to... and that's where my idea plops down and won't keep walking. Story goals seem to be a consistent problem. I could also see this as an 'embracing destiny' scene, where the hero decides to start on whatever her quest is and can't go back 'cause there's nothing to go back to.

Ok, so it hardly gets more interesting than this! I mean, she's just a normal-looking girl--t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes. But she's standing against a huge stone wall and playing a cello. Which means she probably lugged the cello all the way there. It just makes me wonder 'why?'. I don't even know what I would do with it, but seriously, a cello! I could understand a violin or something hand-held (we saw someone playing bagpipes once in Kansas City) but you don't see someone playing a cello on the sidewalk very often...

This one has nothing to do with stories or anything really, but it makes me laugh every time I see it. It's just hilarious. Yeah, that's all I have to say on that one.

I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to nautical-looking things. Like this. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but those old-looking ships just fascinate me. The weathered wood, the ropes and knots, the familiar shape of the ship's wheel. It's just cool! Plus there's maps and compasses and stuff like that. I don't really know when it started... Actually, it's part of why I wanted to make my character Bryllen a sailor. I guess it's kind of a weird thing to be fascinated with, but... oh well :).

This kind of looks steampunk to me, and I'm not a huge steampunk person, but this is still cool. And, I mean, seriously, this girl and her cat are walking up a skyscraper! Or something like that. They're just standing there several stories up on the side of a building as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Which is very interesting, to say the least.

I pinned this picture of Santa's sleigh being pulled by a dragon, but it's not working to put it here. It's on this board if you want to find it. Not only is it funny, it makes me think of a highly entertaining re-write of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with fantasy creatures and worlds and whatnot. Said poem doesn't exist (that I know of) but, hey, maybe it will someday :).

This is just epic. I love it. Someday I'm going to do this in a story. The actual flower language is cool as it is (I think there's more than what this person says, but they are pretty generic) but if you could send a message like that^ in a bouquet of flowers... Like I said, epic. Codes are just cool.

This is another one that makes me laugh. But it's kind of true. I just like it.

Well, that's about it. I have lots more interesting pictures, but I tried to pick some of my favorites. Which one do you like best of these? And I'd love to see some of your favorites from elsewhere!

Various Updates

Writing: Still plodding along in Other Worlds! I'm enjoying it very much, but I have quite a few important things to figure out yet. Like the Story Goal. Actually, I kind of know what that is (to stop the villain) but I don't know what exactly the villain needs to stopped from doing... it's a bit of a problem, but I'm working on it. I also haven't given anything a name yet. Literally, nothing has a name. I have a list of at least 16 things (including characters) that I need to name, and those are just the major things. Without names, I end up using either really long explanations every single time I mention something or abbreviating it to one or two letters (last time I called my ally 'UG' for months--short for 'Unnamed Guy'). Needless to say, it's a little confusing even for me. Plus names just make things seem more real. But I like to spend some time getting just the right name. (Actually, there is one exception to that. I came up with Captain Zavier's name on the spot, but I didn't know how big of a role he would play when I did...)

Fish: See them up in the corner? There are now five: orange, green, greyish, white, and red. They don't have names yet either, but for some reason I feel like naming my characters is slightly more important. Also, I noticed that if you put your cursor over the square where they live, they follow it. Like they're waiting for food :). Anyway...

The Hobbit: 30 more days till The Desolation of Smaug comes out in theaters! (December 13 is the big day--one month form today!)

College: I visited Sterling College (in Sterling, KS) about a week ago and liked it a lot. They have a Writing and Editing program that I'm very interested in. We're planning to visit Cornerstone University (in Grand Rapids, MI) when we go up there for Thanksgiving, so that should be fun. Cornerstone doesn't have an editing program specifically, but with their location they're able to offer some possible internships with 'real' publishing companies. So, yeah, I'm just deciding between those two. In the meantime, I'm working on applying for outside scholarships in hopes of covering more of the cost. Not too hard, just extra deadlines :|.

Senior Pictures: Yup! Mrs. Emery took them for me... a couple weeks ago, I think, and we got them back yesterday! :) It was a little bit of a different experience having my picture taken (I'm usually behind the camera) but it wasn't too bad. And we had a gorgeous day. Anyway, I'm very happy with them (Thanks Mrs. Emery!) No, I'm not going to torture you all. Here's a sampling. :)

There are more, of course, but I don't want to show you all of them at once! (a.k.a. I can't get them to upload for some reason...) Anyway, enjoy!

The Second Hobbit Movie!

There are 37 days until The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug comes out in theaters. Let me say that again: 37 DAYS!!! :D I'm extremely excited!

If you've read much on my blog at all, you have most likely seen that I'm a big Lord of the Rings fan. Tolkien fan, really. And if you read this post you saw my review of (ok, thoughts on) the first Hobbit movie. Basically, I loved it. :) And I've been waiting almost a year for the second one.

It's going to be so incredibly epic! The trailers leave me with a gigantic grin every time I watch them. Oh, here's a link to the trailers: click here. So cool!

Anyway, as far as I can tell, the movie is once again going to differ from the book. (So read the book first!) They changed some things in the first movie that continue a bit into the second (apparently). I will say, though, some of the changes definitely make sense. In Tolkien's other work (namely The Silmarillion and the LotR appendices) he does mention other things that are going on at roughly the same time The Hobbit takes place. These things aren't specifically mentioned in the book of The Hobbit, but at least to me they fit in logically. So, yeah. As much as I'd like all movies to be exactly like the book, in these it doesn't bother me too much if they're not. It's just exciting that they're movies :D.

Also, in preparation for the movie, I'm rereading The Hobbit. We read it last year as a family before the first movie came out, and I thought it would be a good idea to refresh my memory (so I can more easily identify changes they make). It's just as good as ever! As far as I know, I'm still reading through the part that will be in this next movie. And I'm speculating how far they'll go in the story. I have ideas, but I really can't know for sure. I'll just have to wait.... *sigh* I'll just watch the trailer a whole bunch more to pass the time :).

Complicated/Conflicted Characters

So, I've talked about Villains and Heroes already. No, I' not going to go through every single type of character I can think of. Actually, I wasn't going to do any more with that little 'series'. But then I thought of another kind of character that I really need to mention. It's very possibly my favorite.

I would call them 'Antiheroes'. The dictionary defines an 'antihero' as "a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes." However, that description doesn't quite fit some of the ones I'm thinking of. So instead I'll call them 'complicated (or conflicted) characters'.

Now, in my opinion and experience, there seem to be two categories of these characters. First, there are the ones that more closely fit the description of an antihero. These characters are the ones that you seriously feel like you should hate and yet for some reason you just... can't. They're too interesting and have something good that intrigues you and makes you want to like them even if it defies logic. I would say they're more on the 'complicated' side of the spectrum. Here are a few examples I thought of:

Severus Snape, from Harry Potter. I know, I also used him as an example for a villain, but he really fits this category better. Throughout the first six books (and most of the seventh), he's rather despicable. But there are still those moments when you find out something wasn't what you thought. It's so obvious that there's more to him than first 'glance' will tell that he's intriguing even though you don't want to like him. And of course there's the one chapter in book seven that changes just about everything... (but I don't willingly give out spoilers, especially big ones *nodnod*) (By the way, many other 'relatable villains' come very close to this category too, but not quite like Snape.)

Mrs. Thornton, from North and South (both book and movie). I'm not sure I can explain how much I like this character. It seems bizarre that I would like her, of all people, but I think it goes back to what I said before. At first she doesn't really seem likable, but as you learn more about her and 'see her in action' it makes her incredibly interesting. Hopefully this example makes sense, because I really don't want to give anything away to people who aren't familiar with this story (it's just so good!)... but I would LOVE to talk more about it if anyone wants! :D

Ok, the second category. I'll say they're more to the 'conflicted' side, to keep things simple. They tend to be with the 'good guys' more clearly than the first type, and yet they have something so unusually interesting about them (at least to me). Often, they have complicated and rather sad backstories (both categories do, now that I think about it), and the influence these backstories have on them and their actions contributes a large part to their 'interestingness'. The reason I call them 'conflicted' is because they seem to be reluctant in a large, important, somewhat mysterious area. I'm not explaining this very well at all, so let's see if some examples help:

Elrond Half-Elven, from The Lord of the Rings. He's an elf, and he really has no desire to be thrown into conflicts other races are dealing with, but he's wise enough to know they (the conflicts) will impact him too, whether or not he gets involved. In the movies, they also put more emphasis (than the books) on his dealings with his daughter, Arwen. Because she loves a mortal man and [MILD SPOILER] decides to become mortal to be with him, Elrond is faced with being separated from his only daughter forever. It's kind of a big deal. When you know his history, you feel for him all the more. (Just for an idea of what I'm talking about, his parents "left" [it's complicated] when he was around 20 [I think]. Elrond and his brother, being half elf, half man, were allowed to choose for themselves whether they would be mortal or immortal. Elrond chose the life of the elves, and his brother chose men. So there's another separation. Also, Elrond's wife was seriously injured [sometime before LotR--not sure exactly] and left Middle-Earth too. It's very sad. This was longer than I expected, sorry.)

Peet the Sock Man[SPOILER ALERT]a.k.a. Artham Wingfeather[END SPOILER ALERT], from the Wingfeather Saga. He practically encapsulates the word conflicted. Obviously, he cares about the Igiby children, yet he forces himself to stay away from them. As you move along in the series, you (again) learn more about him and he becomes even more interesting. I can't say much more without giving a lot away, so I'll just leave it at that. (I'm not going to give you his backstory. I know you won't go look for all the interesting details of Elrond's, but you really must read the Wingfeather Saga.)

Like I said before, the 'complicated (or conflicted)' characters are some of my favorites. I think part of it is that they tend to be minor characters (or at least not the main character) so there is more opportunity to show an 'equal balance' of good and bad. It's not always equal, of course. But heroes need good that outweighs the bad, and villains need bad that outweighs the good. You know what I mean? That isn't essential to these characters, so they can be even more relatable than good heroes and villains. We all have struggles, but I don't think we often 'feel' like we're on one side or the other. Also, when we see a 'complicated' characters actions, and then compare them with, or see how they flow from, that character's history, we often pity them, and then admire them, for doing something 'heroic' despite what they've gone through.

So, who are some of your favorite 'complicated (or conflicted)' characters? Why?

My Main Character {Sci-fi novel}

You're going to get to hear a lot about my OW novel, I'm beginning to think. I suppose it makes sense, since it occupies a lot of my mind. Sorry if it's not something you're super interested in or if it's confusing...

Anyway, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my main character (MC). It might be difficult seeing as I haven't named her yet, but hopefully it'll still be mostly clear.

Here's what I think she's going to look like:

You know, basically. Light blond hair, blue eyes.
I also considered this picture as my 'main image', because of the lighter hair:

But I like the first one better. I don't know exactly why, but she seems to fit sci-fi better, I guess. And she seems a little less... bouncy? Happy? Bubbly? You know...

Now, more about her. As you might have been able to tell from what I said just now, she's not a particularly playful person. I haven't decided a whole lot about her personality, but she is mature for her age (18), because she has a lot of responsibility. Maybe I shouldn't say she's not playful--she just doesn't have time to play. Like I said, I'm still deciding some things, one of which is whether she's an introvert or an extrovert. Both of my previous main characters have been introverts, so I kind of want to make this one different, but I don't know how well I can pull it off. I'm seriously lacking in experience of how it feels to be an extrovert.

Let's see... She's a hard worker, and has to be to support herself and her mother. (I haven't decided what kind of job she does yet though.) The way I'm setting things up (and having fun with it! :), the government/whoever (possibly changing) controls how much money people can earn at specific jobs and specific times of life. For example, jobs working with the element thing that I told you about in the last post pay better than, say, working in a clothing store. Of course, the owners of the factory or store or whatever aren't under as much control as their employees (and they're probably part of the richer upper class that mainly make up the government anyway, so... yeah.) But hopefully you get the idea. In relation to that, parents make enough money to support their children when they have them (according to number of children as well) but the additional money automatically stops when the child turns 18 unless they are already 'registered' as having a disability that keeps them from working (and you can't avoid it or lie and say your child's not 18 yet--this is sci-fi, people can know stuff like that). So once you're 18 you have to support yourself. (You can get a job younger than 18, but it also doesn't pay as well). So my MC has to support herself, but there's the added complication that her mother is unable to work because of illness (I won't go into detail now). She (the MC) has to take care of her mother, but is only earning enough to comfortably support one person.  Yes, it's a little complicated, but hopefully you see why this is a problem... because I don't know how to explain it better... Anyway, there are other factors that play into this whole problem too, but I don't want to confuse you too much with a ridiculous amount of information.

Just remember that none of this is set in stone :). I'm still in the beginning stages of planning all this out, so some of it is likely to change. I hope I've interested you in my main character, though! 

Update on my Sci-fi stuff

As I've told you before, my sister and I are doing Other Worlds this school year (see this post).

One of the first things the teacher emphasizes as we begin creating our own 'other worlds' is that we should choose one main thing that makes the world different from the real world. For example, having no written language. Almost everything else that's different stems from your 'one thing'.

Now, this of course applies to both fantasy and science fiction, but I've discovered in the last week that in sci-fi, your 'one thing' needs to be scientifically sound.

What I came up with for my 'one thing' is that people have found a newer, more clean and efficient power source. My first ideas were... well, they were interesting, but certainly not scientific. So I checked out some kids' books about alternative energy from the library to help me come up with a more reasonable idea. I wanted something that would work with the scientific side of sci-fi but would still allow me to be creative and come up with stuff that doesn't exist yet. So it was... a little complicated to say the least.

Here's my solution: The people in this country/planet have discovered a new element (like, one that's not on the periodic table). It's kind of like a rock or a crystal that they mine, but the thing is, it lets off a glow with properties like sunlight. They use it by basically just setting it on solar panels, so the energy collection isn't dependent on whether or not the sun is out. Also, they could have the solar panels inside or even underground if they wanted. The energy produced can either be stored in a battery-like thing and used to power various technology, or the element/solar panel combination could be directly connected to whatever needs the power. Also, since I made the thing up anyway, I decided to make it even more different. This element breaks the 'rule' that things go from solid to liquid to gas and just slowly evaporates from the solid phase (starting at a certain temperature, but I haven't decided what yet.) The cool thing is, the element is never used up by burning or anything (like other fossil fuels would be) so people can collect it from the air as a gas and 're-condense' it, and it can be used again.

I'm really excited. It's been fun to invent something that's not quite realistic and probably will never exist, but still has mostly scientific properties. Everything's not worked out yet, of course, but it's been a good start in my opinion, so I'm looking forward to coming up with more for my sci-fi world!

The Fish... thing

You may (or may not) have noticed the new little fish thing on the right side of my blog. If you click on the white part, it drops some 'food' and the fish swim around and eat it :) (so cute!). Anyway, I just felt like pointing it out.

Also, I kind of feel like naming the fish (because names are fun and I'm weird that way) so if you have suggestions, please comment! There are only two right now, but I'll probably add more as the weeks go on (I didn't want to start with only one because it might get lonely *nodnod*).

Heroes

For lack of a better topic and because I recently did a post about villains, I now get to talk about heroes :).

I think what makes a good hero is, like a villain, being able to identify with them. They need emotion, faults, and realistic actions/reactions. Basically, they're normal people in relatively abnormal circumstances (although the circumstances don't really matter that much--it's more how the hero responds). My favorite heroes are the ones that aren't perfect, but they still have something(s) that is(are) good, even great. I don't feel like I'm explaining this well, so let me give you a few examples:

Bilbo Baggins, from The Hobbit. He's not very brave (at first for sure), he's kind of sulky, and there's nothing really exceptional about him. But he keeps trying, and he really cares about his friends. He does have some moments of genius, but they aren't "the norm", so it's easier to relate with him.

Frodo Baggins, from The Lord of the Rings. (Seeing a theme here?) He is also a great example of perseverance. He's kind, merciful, generally good, but at the same time, he succumbs to the Ring's power (sorry, slight spoiler...). He undertakes this huge quest, but he really just wants to go home, so once again, I understand how he feels.

Janner... Igiby ;), from the Wingfeather Saga. He's a relatively normal kid in some pretty outlandish situations, but he still seems normal. He struggles with jealousy of his brother, and sometimes he gets angry when Tink/Kalmar is being obnoxious. But he's willing to give of himself to help his family all the same, even putting himself in danger more than once. And he learns to love his brother no matter what (sorry, more slight spoilers...)

Elinor Dashwood, from Sense and Sensibility. She has got to be one of my favorite Jane Austen characters, mostly because I feel like she's so much like me (so again, relatability. made-up word...). She has a lot of emotion, but she keeps it to herself and tries to stay strong for her family. She is strong, too, but... maybe this is more in the movie, but I think she tries to be stronger than she is or than is good for her.

This is kind of hard because I usually love books for more than just the hero. And I sometimes love books even if the hero isn't the best they could be. But hopefully you get the point. Heroes must be relatable.

What really gets me is when the hero's emotion isn't included. When they're going through this awful thing but there's no feeling written out, I unconsciously take it to mean that they don't have any feelings about whatever it is. Which is bad because, of course, I then stop relating with them. (This is why I always try to imagine how I would feel when I'm writing a scene. It sometimes has the not-exactly-desired effect of making my heroes significantly more like me, but at least it's some emotion.)

Also, I don't like it when everything goes well for the hero and they don't really have to fight for anything. Granted, this has more to do with the author and the overall story than the hero, but still. Easy isn't always best.

Now, I suppose I should give some examples of heroes I don't particularly like. This is a little harder because I've (thankfully) been spared from many horrid heroes. And I've probably forgotten many of them that I have read. Actually, they might be more in movies than in books. I don't know. I still don't remember (m)any. So maybe some basic types of heroes then:

The superhero. Overall, they have too much natural power and not enough goes wrong. They always win everything. There are some exceptions, of course, but in general... yeah.

The perfect hero. Think Cinderella. Things go wrong, but she never complains, she's always happy. Snow White too. It's an ideal temperament, I suppose, but I don't want it and I can't relate to it. (The one exception to this is Sam Gamgee. I can't think of anything wrong with him, yet I still love him. I'd love to discuss if you want...)

The 'fake' hero. They seem to have emotion and/or faults, but if you look a little deeper, it's all empty. This probably applies to many modern movie heroes. I'm specifically thinking MK from Epic (no offense if you like the movie a lot).

I can't think of anymore right now, but once again, I'd love to hear some of your favorites or least favorites!

A small, story...thing

Ok, so I'm kind of copying Avery's idea here, but a little different. More of a story starter thing (and only one picture). Anyway, this is a picture I've wanted to do something with for a while so now seems as good a time as ever! Just so you know, I'm going to be writing this on the spot, so don't hold it to too much of a standard ;). Now, the picture:

Cool, huh? Here goes...

"Miss Ellie, Miss Ellie, will you tell us a story?" The children crowd around me in the kitchen, eager looks on their dirty faces. 

"A story?" I wipe my wet hands on my skirt. "What story do you want to hear?"

All of them answer at once.

"A new one!"

"The princess's kitten!"

"No, the king and the giant snake!"

"Alright, alright, come outside where it's light," I say. I grab a couple of blankets, spread them out on the front step and the ground nearby, and sit down. The children gather in a circle around me, waiting as patiently as I've ever seen them. 

"Let's have a new story today," I say, and I make a thoughtful face as I decide which one. 

"Is there adventure?" asks a girl.

"And danger?" adds an older boy.

"And a princess?" the youngest girl says, climbing into my lap.

"All three," I reply, smiling. "Long ago, before the king was king, or his father was king, or his grandfather was king, the kingdom of Saren warred against our enemies in Lorgon. It was a terrible war, and Saren's king almost lost his life twice. The second time he was badly injured, and his officers, fearing for his life, convinced him to return home. But little did they know," I lower my voice to a whisper, "the king's escort was followed. A band of Lorgons traced their path and, in disguise, snuck into the Great City. For three days they studied the city, learning everything about it, without being detected. Then they brought their information back to the Lorgon army. With knowledge of the city on their side, the Lorgons were able to find a way into the Great City, past all the guards, and right up to the castle itself." 

"All of Saren's soldiers were behind the Lorgons, expecting a normal battle, so the Great City was unprotected. Our enemy destroyed much of the city and took many captives. When they left, the remainder of the people were overjoyed to hear that the king was safe, but the king was distraught. Not only had the Lorgons taken his city, but they had captured his only child, the princess." 

"Oh no!" gasps the little girl on my lap.

"The princess was put in chains and made to walk all the way back to Lorgon to be sold as a slave. The army of Saren tried to follow, but they were fought off. Desperate, the king sent an offer to the king of Lorgon to ransom his daughter with a huge amount of wealth, but Lorgon refused unless they should be given the Great City of Saren itself. Though he would have given his life for his daughter, the king could not let his country fall to its enemy, and so he gave the princess up as lost unless some brave man could rescue her. He would have gone himself, of course, had he not been injured, but there was still no possibility of anyone succeeding." I pause. Just then, the horn sounds, signaling afternoon rest. 

"What happened?" asks a small boy, but I shake my head. 

"Hurry home now or we'll all get in trouble," I say. The children moan, and I smile. "But come back as soon as the hour's up and I'll finish the story."

The children scramble to their feet shouting, "Yay!" and "Thank you, Miss Ellie!" I wave until they all disappear and turn back inside to finish the dishes.

Villains *evil smirk*

So, I found this thing on Pinterest.

Villains can be fascinating characters. Or they can be awful. The list above contains several of the 'stereotypical villain actions' that are rather cliche at this point. They can be fun when used in jest, but if you want a realistic, 'dreadful' villain, you should avoid them.

Now, like I said, villains are fascinating. At least, good ones are. I know, I know, 'good villains' is an oxymoron, but what I mean is villains who are well-written and/or well-portrayed. Personally, I think the best villains are the ones who have some kind of 'good' in them still. Not the ones that are purely evil, because we can't relate with them. The good ones are those villains who still have evidence of being great people, the ones who we see could have been heroes if only they'd made better choices. I think we like them because we see some of the same things in ourselves. No one is perfect, but we're not usually all evil either (to clarify, I'm speaking in terms of actions--all people are born with a sin nature and are naturally bad.)

Here's a few of my favorites as examples:

Captain Hook, as portrayed in the 2003 movie version of Peter Pan. I like this version especially because Hook is shown as an intelligent man with some kind of sad backstory that we don't know, yet can see evidences of. Does that make sense? He almost seems like a lost boy himself, except he's a grown man who has chosen the wrong path. I'm not trying to justify his actions at all, or anything like that, just trying to get the point across. You'll just have to watch the movie. Actually, Captain Hook is probably the best part about that movie...

Loki, specifically in the movie Thor (because I haven't seen The Avengers). He is so obviously struggling to get his father's approval, but he goes about it the wrong way. Throughout the whole movie, I was trying to figure out how he would turn bad because, at least at the beginning, he seemed like a better guy than Thor. Again, I'm not saying he did bad things because of his situation, but throughout the movie, you see him dealing with so much... emotional stuff, I guess, and you see where he goes wrong. (Side note, it's just as important to develop your villain as your hero, in my opinion).

Severus Snape, from Harry Potter. Yes, I'm counting him as a villain, because that's what he is for most of the series. (I'm really sorry if you have a problem with Harry Potter. I don't want to start a huge discussion or anything here, but if you have questions, please feel free to email me or something.) Anyway, Snape obviously (obviously) hates Harry and at first we have no idea why. We slowly learn about him, but through all that, and even without it, there's something so intriguing about him. Just with his actions, for example, the times he saves Harry, we see that he's not just a big bundle of hate. He's also incredibly intelligent. (I have to say, though, some of the main reasons I liked him were his sarcasm (and that you could never tell if he was joking) and that he was pretty much the only teacher who consistently enforced the rules... anyway...)

I wasn't going to include him, because he's not quite in the same category as the others, but Gríma Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings. He's not really one of my favorite villains, mostly because I just can't stand him, but part of that is because he's still well-written. He's an awful person, and Tolkein shows us what he's like, which is what makes us hate him.

Now, some villains I don't like. (These are ones I don't like because they're badly written, not because they're bad). Just a few:

Captain Hook in the Disney version of Peter Pan. Stupid villains annoy me so bad... All he does is chase Peter and yell at Mr. Smee and run from the crocodile. *shudder*

Mr. Wickham in the 2005, 2-hour version of Pride and Prejudice. Ok, so he's not really a villain, but still! He's fine in the book, but... ugh! How could they ruin such a perfectly good bad guy?! You see him, like, once before he funs off with Lydia. Badly done, people. ;)

Sauron in the Lord of the Rings. In reality, I don't consider him the actual villain of the story (I won't  elaborate here, but it's the ring). But really, all he does is sit in Barad-Dúr (I think that's right) and freak people out with his giant creepy eye. Anyway...

I can't think of anymore right now (I'll let you know if I do!) But hopefully you see my point. I think we're drawn to conflicted villains for the same reason we like flawed heroes: we relate to them. And because we relate to them, we can learn about ourselves through watching them.

So, who are your favorite and/or least favorite villains?

Science Fiction

You may remember from my post about Christmas that I received the writing curriculum "Other Worlds" (OW) for said holiday. OW is a follow-up to the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum that focuses specifically on Fantasy and Science Fiction. As you may or may not know, one of my favorite genres (to read and write) is Fantasy, so that was why I originally wanted OW.

Anyway, this semester, my sister Avery and I are doing OW together. We haven't done much so far, but I'm already enjoying it! One thing I didn't really foresee was deciding to try Sci-fi instead of Fantasy. I really don't have a lot of experience with the Sci-fi genre at all (except for Star Wars, but that's about it) so I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into. I don't know a ton about science, at least, I don't know how much I'll be able to support any technology I think up. (I suppose I have had three years of high school science. This is where physics comes in handy!) But I'm still really excited. Part of OW is learning about the genres themselves before learning to write them, so it's a great way to start out with Sci-fi. I also have access to a bunch of books through the curriculum, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the genre (as well as having new reading material!)

I think one thing that fascinates me about Sci-fi is all the incredible technology. It will be so fun to come up with some of my own this year, but I don't know how well I'll be able to describe it! Some things are so complex... But, to inspire myself and to get an idea of what kinds of things I want to work with, I've been putting together a Sci-fi ideas Pinterest board. It's been really fun to imagine what kind of 'image' my made-up world might have and what kinds of crazy things might exist there. One of my favorites has got to be this one:

It's this 'umbrella' that uses air to keep the rain off. The air is pumped up through the handle and released out the top in a kind of 'curtain' that blocks the rain. How cool is that?! I really have no idea how I would use this in my novel (or any novel) but it's just. so. cool. 

Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun. I don't know if it will continue, but I hope so, and I think it will be a great thing to try all the same!

College Stuff...

I've been trying to think of something to blog about for a few days now with no success, but I think I finally thought of something! Yay!

So, I'm a senior this year. It's exciting (because high school's almost over! :)) but it's also weird and a little scary. Weird because I'm one of the oldest students in like everything, and scary because, well, I'm very possibly leaving home next year.

I've told some of you about this already, but one of the biggest things that happened in Michigan (although it really seems like it would be incredibly small) was that I heard about Cornerstone University for the first time. It's a Christian college in Grand Rapids (near where my grandparents and aunt & uncle live). What really made it stand out was, when I looked at the website, I found more than one major that sounded really truly interesting. Like I would actually want to study it. Looking at K-State, I had only found a few things that sounded OK, but not really exciting. At Cornerstone, there were at least three that I'd have to choose between. (I know you're wondering: they're Ancient Studies, Linguistics, and Spanish Education. Click to find out more).

I'm definitely excited about the possibility! I like the idea of a smaller, Christian college, and I do kind of like the idea of getting away from home. It's rather odd actually. After we moved to Kansas I never wanted to move again, but I almost wonder if it's one of those things where you tell God, "I'm not doing that" and He says, "Oh really?" You know what I mean? :) Of course, I don't want to leave my family and my friends and my home :(, but I suppose I've come to accept that it's probably going to happen at some point. I've kind of been battling the whole idea of moving for a few years for various reasons that I might talk about later, but now... yeah. I'm not so opposed. It's weird.

Of course, I have no idea what's going to happen. Cornerstone is significantly more expensive than K-State (big problem), not to mention far away (possibly my mom's biggest problem ;)). But I'm learning to trust God and his plan, that he'll carry it out and he knows what's best. I am planning on applying to Cornerstone, though, and hopefully we can set up a visit for when we go to Michigan for Thanksgiving!

Some Words about Worrying

One of my very favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

It's way too easy to become anxious. I find myself worrying about lots of things, from whether or not I'll pass my driving test to what I should do about college. When I catch myself worrying, I almost always bring it right to God (it's taken awhile to get there, though). I ask for help to not worry and to not try in my own strength, but for a long time I stuck with only the "prayer and supplication" part of the verse--asking God for what I needed or wanted. A few months ago, I 'rediscovered' this verse, and the word "thanksgiving" stood out with me. It was almost as if God was telling me, "You're forgetting something." So from that point on, I started thanking God for what he's already done for me and for his example of faithfulness in the Bible whenever I asked for his help. I don't always remember, of course. It can be hard to be really thankful when you're in a tough place. But I've found that when I do entrust my worries to God and remind myself of what he's done before, I do experience his peace. It's amazing how God can make you feel so peaceful in the midst of a ridiculously crazy life. But I know it's possible, because I've felt it before. 

Now, the end of the verse says that God's peace "will guard your hearts and your minds". The way I understand it is, when we tell God our requests with thanksgiving, he gives us peace. Then, when we feel that peace, we are less likely to be anxious. Then, with God's help, we can really "not be anxious about anything". Yes, we'll probably fail. I know I have. But I keep coming back to God with thanksgiving and requests, because it helps. His peace does prevent worry. And who likes worrying?

Waterfall Picture

This is completely random, but I took this cool picture of a waterfall in Michigan. I've been wanting to try this technique on moving water (to make it look smooth) but the lighting has never been just right or the pictures all turned out blurry. But I finally got a good one! :D See?

The technique is like this: you set your camera on a slower shutter speed to blur the motion. It either needs to be really shady, so as to keep it from being over-exposed, or you need a special filter (I think it's a polarized filter--they're not hard to find.) I can't remember exactly, but I probably used the filter on this picture. Then you either need to hold your camera completely still or put it on a tripod (which I didn't have with me). I was actually kind of lucky. I took 8 pictures of the waterfall, hand-held, and one of them turned out clear. Yay! Anyway, that's it. Try it sometime, though, and let me know if you get some good ones. I'll keep trying too!

My Summer Adventure

Probably the biggest thing that happened this summer was my trip to Michigan. I spent the whole month of July living with my aunt, uncle, and cousins and watching the kids while their parents worked.

It was quite an adventure! I had never flown by myself before, so I was a little nervous. Also, I had to make a connection in Chicago with just enough time to get to the next flight.

The view from the plane was incredible! I spent most of the flight looking out the window and listening to the soundtrack from The Hobbit on my iPod :). 

The connection in Chicago went fine as well. It turned out that the plane was delayed, so I ended up waiting for at least an hour. At least I wasn't rushed! And it was awesome to fly over Lake Michigan too. Again, amazing view! (I don't have a picture, sorry.)

The rest of the month I spent hanging out with my extended family. I had so much fun with my cousins, playing in the pool, playing with toys, and much more! 

This is my cousin Jackson. He's nine, and he loves sports (specifically baseball). That picture was from the day we found three little tiny frogs in the pool (yes, I'm serious--look at his fingers!). We had fun carrying them around and giving them rides on the pool toys (and shrieking a little when they jumped). When we got out of the pool, we put the frogs and a little pool water in an old gatorade bottle so we could show the kids' mom and dad. (We let the poor little guys go that night--the live one(s?) at least...)

This is Margo. She turned six the day I left, and she loves Barbies, unicorns, princesses, and the colors pink and purple. I was there for her birthday party (a pink-and-purple-princess-themed pool party with a unicorn piñata) which was fun and a little crazy (I think there were seven or so little girls). The picture above is from an evening when we got dressed up for a photo shoot. That was fun too! Margo and I played a lot of Barbies and My Little Ponies while I was there... Sometimes Jackson joined in with his Transformers (like if we needed an ambulance or something ;)). 

They're a busy family! Jackson plays baseball, both kids take piano, and that's just the start! (I don't have any baseball pictures, unfortunately, because I only took them on my aunt's camera.) Another thing that raised the busyness was that they got a new puppy about a week before I left! She's a little German Shepherd puppy, absolutely adorable and she'll be a great dog... but she's still a puppy. Which basically means someone needs to be watching her at. all. times. 

The picture is from a few weeks ago, so she's probably a lot bigger now. Her name's Rune.

When I got home, my family had made a giant banner for me (of which I also have no picture...). Keeping with the adventure theme, Avery drew a picture of Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit coming back to his home (it looked kind of like the picture from the movie advertisements). And keeping with the Hobbit theme, they wrote "There and Back Again" and lower down, '(we promise we didn't sell you stuff to the Sackville-Bagginses)'. It made me smile :). 

And that's about it for my adventure! There was more, of course, but I can't really fit everything here. I know I'll talk about some of the other parts in other posts, so I'll end here for now. It was a great experience, though, and I can't wait to see my aunt and uncle and cousins again!

Interviewing Characters

So much for blogging over the summer... I'm glad to be back though!

Anyway, I'd thought about talking about my summer, but then decided I didn't want to, so instead you get to hear (ok, read) about something much more exciting. At least, I think it's exciting.

If you've read any of my posts last school year, you hopefully know by now that I was at that time working on a novel. Well, I'm still working on it, but I have gotten farther! I wrote the rough draft of the first 3 chapters in time for OYAN Summer Workshop ( I might consider letting you read them... email me). Unfortunately, I had (have) no idea what is supposed to come next. Aand, I didn't work on it much (at all) over the rest of the summer. Yes, I was busy. No, I didn't really try. You're probably wondering what's so exciting about this. Don't worry, it's just background.

So a few weeks ago, I decided to try something new. See, there's this glorious thing called a Character Interview, which is exactly what it sounds like. You ask your character(s) questions and write down their answers. I know, it sounds a little strange, and it certainly feels strange at first. But I have yet to find something that better helps me understand my characters! It's just fantastic. Anyway, I decided to try asking my characters what they wanted to happen since I wasn't thinking of anything by myself. I started with Bryllen, my main character, since I know her best. (I had also interviewed her earlier with some more general questions.) It was so fun! I didn't make any incredible breakthroughs or anything, but at the very least I got to know Bryllen better. Which is always good.

After Bryllen, I moved on to my ally, Kendric. I felt like I didn't know him well enough to ask about the plot right away, so I started with just my general questions (I have a list from a book which works great). It was a blast to see how different Bryllen and Kendric are. Even so, when I asked them the same questions about the plot, there was one big thing they agreed on. I'm not going to tell you what it is because it would take a ton of other explaining. But I was kind of surprised (I have a feeling those two agreeing will be a rare occurrence), and I now have to figure out what to do with it. Do I make it happen, since they both want it, or do I make sure it doesn't happen, for the same reason? *evil author grin*

I understand if you don't find this as exciting as I do. It's hard to explain how amazing it is to get to know someone you created. But if you're a writer, I would seriously encourage you to try interviewing your characters. I can even send you the list of questions I use if you want! :)

P.S. I might post some of my character interviews here sometime, but I think it would be even more fun if my characters answered some of your questions! (See this post and this post to learn a little more about my novel.) If you have a question for either Bryllen of Kendric, please comment below! It doesn't have to be related to the story either...

Also, I started a Pinterest board for pictures/quotes that I associate with Bryllen. (here) I'm purposely trying not to pick ones with distinct faces because I rarely imagine my characters with distinct faces. But it should still give you an idea.

Writing Rough Drafts

I can't believe how long it's been! But I did decide I wanted to try to blog through the summer (although probably not as consistently...) so I might as well get started.

Yeah. I've been working at my novel outline over the past few weeks, and I'm to the point where I actually start writing! The beginning of chapter one (version one) is written, but... that's about as far as I've gotten. As a perfectionist, I have a bit of a problem writing a rough draft. I am perfectly aware that it doesn't have to be perfect the first time through, but actually writing it without worrying about getting it "right" is... well, hard, to say the least.

When I'm writing, say, an essay or a report, taking a little time to refine stuff as I go isn't much of a problem. It makes things easier later too! But when I'm writing a story, trying to fix stuff up along the way really gets my focus off telling the story and I end up with a bunch of needless stuff. Well, I end up with needless stuff anyway, but it's easier to work with if it sticks closer to the story. However, it also takes a lot (a lot) of concentration and focus for me to write something without trying to get it perfect. Which means I'm usually mentally exhausted after an hour or so. But I s'pose it's better than nothing!

That's all I really have to say. Have a good start to your summer!

Oh the Joys of Growing Up... :|

Yesterday morning I went to my first college visit. O_O It wasn't anything super special, but it is rather momentous. Since I'm going to be a senior next year (scary thought!) I've been trying to figure out what I want to do and where I want to go to college and all those other big decisions. I don't particularly like making big decisions. I'd much rather stay a kid and let someone else decide for me or have the right choice be really obvious. But, of course, life doesn't work that way. We all have to grow up at some point (unless you're Peter Pan....). Honestly, though, I can't imagine trying to make these decisions without God. Just the fact that He's always there and I can talk to Him or ask Him for help makes things that much easier. And I know He will help. He is my heavenly Father and He loves me like no one else ever has or ever will. That's really comforting when I face big things like decisions about college and such.

Of course, I couldn't talk about making these decisions without mentioning my parents. They're so ready and willing to be involved in helping me make the best decision! I'm so grateful for them :). I still have to make my own decisions obviously, but they really do want to help me and they have good advice. I can't imagine not having them either.

Well, that's really about all I have to say about this subject. It's really as far as I've gotten. In case you're wondering, my plan so far (meaning it is definitely subject to change) for college is to go to K-State and major in English or Spanish (or both!). Unless I find something I'm really interested in that K-State doesn't have a good program for, that's the plan. We'll see what God has in store :).