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!