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 :).

Details

I believe I did mention several weeks ago the stop-motion video I made for the OYAN video contest. Well, it's entered AND it's posted here along with at least some of the other entries, which you also might enjoy! Mine is the one called "No Small Potential", which should be the one that shows up. (It also says it's by King's Compass--that's my name on the OYAN forum, if you were wondering).

The video I made is about a minute long, but it has over 300 pictures in it. It was kind of an ambitious project, I suppose, but I didn't really know what I was doing, and I managed to finish it in one weekend, so I think it was worth it. But I can't imagine making a full-length film! That would take forever just to take all the pictures, let alone put it together!

So, the way stop-motion works is that it shows still pictures each with subtle differences in quick succession. The changes (usually a different position of some part of the subject) create the illusion of motion. For example, in the section of my video with the dragon, there's that part where he turns around. I started with his head first and moved it just a little bit and took a picture, then moved it another little bit and added some 'movement' somewhere else (he moves towards the girl) and took another picture. It was an incredibly slow process. Also, my 'stage' wasn't exceptionally large, so I had to be careful to show only the background I wanted (no bedroom carpet). This was especially hard with the dragon sequence, since so much was happening. In addition to all that, my little fairy girl didn't like to stand up on her own, so there were several times I had to prop her up with a needle or try to dangle her from fishing line and take the picture as quickly as possible before something happened (a.k.a. she fell over). I used fishing line for when the dragon tosses her sword in the corner and when her horse rears. There were at least 4 pictures in each of those small movements, if not more like 10, but in order to get them how I wanted I had to hold the fishing line in one hand and take the picture with the other. Thank goodness for my tripod to keep my camera from moving!

Over all, the process was long and tedious, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am most definitely a detail person, not to mention it was very quiet working down in my room by myself :). The final step was putting it all together on iMovie, which would probably have been easier and faster if I had done it before. I ended up adjusting each individual picture to have the right length of time so that the motion would be smooth, but also at a good speed. The process itself wasn't hard, just (once again) lengthy. If you're interested in how to do something like that, I'd be happy to show or explain, but I won't go into detail now.

One recommendation: if you're not a detail person who enjoys tedious processes and, well, details, stop-motion videos are not your project. Trust me.

Journals and Short Stories

I was looking over my past journals a little bit earlier this week (mainly because they are now in the plural form! I filled up the last pages of my second journal a few days ago). I didn't look closely or in depth or anything, but I did notice the dates I started and finished each one. It's been about two years since I started the first one, but I only started the second one in November.

I believe I've mentioned this before, but it was only this past August that I really began to journal more frequently and find it helpful. And I only really journal when I've been thinking deeply about something and need to get all my thoughts out. Well, I've been thinking a lot this school year, about the future, mainly, and all that jazz, and I think that fact and all my notes from the Daniel Bible study explain the rapidity with which my second journal filled up.

The way I journal, I rarely just sit down and write a page each day or something like that. No, it's more like mull over something for a few days, then write four or five pages worth in messy handwriting because I'm going so fast. But I really do think that's an improvement from how I used to be. I used to never be able to journal because I planned out my writing way too much in my head to actually write my thoughts. It sounded like I had planned it out. To be honest, I was rather frustrated. I'm so glad God gave me the ability to journal through these last few years, because it really helps me understand what I'm thinking. If you know me, you know I don't particularly like to share my thoughts and feelings out loud, but journaling gives me a way to figure it out even without saying it. Does that make any sense? Writing down my thoughts helps me evaluate them and 'catch' the ones I know aren't right. Then I can take them to God and ask for his help with specific things and specific thoughts. Overall, it really just helps me know what my thoughts and feelings are and it relieves a little of that weight from my mind and heart.

Anyway, I guess what this really comes back to is the short story I'm writing for English class. I a enjoying the assignment tremendously, but I've been having a hard time getting my rough draft 'out', so to speak. I can see the story in my head, but transferring it into words is harder than it sounds! I think part of the perfectionist in me is afraid to write something 'rough'. I want to get it right the first time. But I've been trying (and asking all the time for God's help!) to let the story pour out of me as if I'm journaling. I can fix it up later. So far, God has provided so much! I have a couple written pages already today, and I'm going back to it after this. I can't tell you how thankful I am. I enjoy writing, but it's not easy! A verse that has really encouraged me through this is Philippians 4:6-7. I don't have time to put it here, but please go look it up! It's a familiar verse, but so encouraging!

Keep up the good work, all the rest of you working on stories too! I can't wait to read them :D!

The Lord of the Rings

(I'm going to apologize ahead of time to those of you who are unfamiliar with the epic story of The Lord of the Rings. Not only will you have a hard time appreciating this blog post, but you are seriously missing out.)

You only need to talk with me for a short time to understand my passion for The Lord of the Rings. Actually, it's one of the few subjects I can actually go on and on (and on!) about. I'm not usually a talkative person, but ha! If you start a conversation about The Lord of the Rings you would never guess that. I do try to be courteous to those poor people who aren't as fanatical as myself, though. Which is why I gave you that warning at the beginning. So you can leave now if you don't want to read a whole long post about The Lord of the Rings.

Now, a few of the things I love about this story: First of all, the story itself. As a story-lover, I think I kind of look at The Lord of the Rings as the ultimate story. Yes, it is long, and Tolkien uses a lot of description, but honestly, the story is set in a fantasy world--it needs to be described. The Lord of the Rings has all the elements of a good story: well-developed and lovable characters, a clear goal and a hard time getting there, and unexpected twists along the way. It also has a positive theme, a very clear good vs. evil set-up. Many people have called it an allegory, but I don't think that is what it is meant to be, although it does still contain many elements of 'The Great Story'. I think all good stories do. I would analyze the theme more for you, but I don't particularly enjoy that sort of thing and prefer to just enjoy the story. :)

As I mentioned before, the characters are excellent. All the ones that need to be well-rounded are so. The good guys have faults (except for maybe Sam...) but they are still endearing and intriguing and I always want to get to know them better and learn about their history and how that has maybe impacted who they are.

Which leads me to another point. I think one of the biggest things I love about Tolkien's work is how extensive it is. His real passion was language and mythology, and that played in hugely to his development of Middle-Earth and its history. The best part is that all that history is written down! There is such a wealth of details in The Silmarillion and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. I am a researcher at heart, so I love being able to have a question about some character or event or something and then go look it up to find out the answer! It's awesome! :D And I usually end up discovering (or rediscovering) things I wasn't even looking for in the first place. I'm going to go back and reread The Silmarillion sometime soon. And The Lord of the Rings. Yes. That too.

I could go on about this for quite a bit longer, but I said what I really wanted to say, so I won't keep you. If you love The Lord of the Rings as much as I do and feel like talking about it for extensive amounts of time, please comment or email or whatever! If you haven't read The Lord of the Rings, you have my pity, and please get to it as soon as possible. It's well worth your time! Thanks for bearing with me either way! ;)