How Too Not Be Boring And Other Important Things To Remember When Conversing

Most people would think that introverts don't know how to converse properly, that we're all socially awkward. Unrelated fact, most people are dumb. Only the most noticeable of the sunlight-challenged stumble upon their words. Most of us, we live among you. We look like you. We talk like you. We walk like you. But we are not you. And yet you don't even know we are there. To you, we are one in a crowd.....

(Dear Pittacus Lore, please don't sue me. Show some love for someone else that's hiding from alien overlords. ~Love Becca)

As a writer: nay, as an introvert; nay, as a person who is easily bored and irritated; NAY as a person slowly turning into a horse right now, it continually astounds me that the majority of people I meet aren't capable of holding up a conversation of any substance. Saddens me, even. Perhaps this is because I am only meeting people my own age these days (and let's face it, as a whole, us newly made adults leave much to be desired) but it seems to me that at this point in their lives they should have the basics of courtesy and the ability to be the smallest bit interesting. So, before they ship me off to the glue factor, I shall endeavor to teach the world (or at least my generation) what our mothers seemed to fail to do.

1) Be engaged.

I put this first because this is the biggest problem I see and, coincidentally, my biggest pet peeve. People aren't engaging in a conversation. No, I don't mean interesting. I mean invested. We as a whole have seemed to forgotten that a conversation is a two-way street. And, let's admit it, we love hearing the sound of our own voices. Me, I think mine has a bit of a blue-jay song quality to it. So we use talking to others as a way soundboard the particular going-ons of our lives without giving any interest to the person we're going too. But do not be fooled, monkeys, for this is not a conversation. It's barely a step up from talking to a mirror. Actually, it's more like a step down. At least when you talk to a mirror it doesn't think your a snob. It thinks something along the lines of Oh dear lord, do I really have that many zits on my pane? I told mom windex would make it worse, but did she-Oh. Wait. That's the person standing in front of me. Never mind ma, you rock. 

Mirrors and their zit problems aside, I can tell you nothing is more annoying then someone who does not contribute to a conversation. Like they end each sentence with a statement about themselves. Example.
A: Ugh, seems like it's going to rain today. Isn't rain the worst?
B: One time it rained where I used to live.
A: Got a busy day ahead of me. You got any plans?
B: Yeah, one time a had a busy day too. It was the busiest. But don't tell me about what you were going to say because I don't care.
A: Making mac and cheese tonight. Want any?
B: Yeah I had mac and cheese once. It was yummy.

JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!

My point is this, when in a conversation, remember that you are not the only one standing there. Take interest in what the person your talking to has to say. Perhaps if they take a question, you might ask them one back. Or maybe if they are telling you a story, ask them about details. For the love of God, at least act like you care what they say.

2) Take a breath every once in a while, before you suffocate and die. 

We all know that one person whom we wished had an off switch. And whether it be because of lack of filter, lack of volume control, or lack of a pause button, we find ourselves exhausted after these encounters with little to show for it. This one kinda ties into the last one, but why don't you watch what you say and how you say it? Now, I'm no supporter of censorship, but when it comes to conversation somethings are down right distasteful and cruel at times. Or perhaps you're telling us things about yourself that we'd rather not know. It's also possible that we are concerned for your well being seeing as you haven't stopped talking for the past ten consecutive minutes and your face is turning a bit purple. Or maybe, just maybe, you're causing permanent damage to our ear drums because YOU CAN'T SEEM TO LOWER YOUR VOICE A COUPLE OF NOTCHES AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT THERE'S THESE COOL THINGS CALL MINTS NOW A DAYS, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO FRESHEN YOUR BREATH. MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO THAT.

3) Act friendly. 

Last but not least, let's dive into the topic of people that always seemed annoyed that you share relative space with them. There are these people out in the world, let's call them "people with issues", and they generally give off the vibe as hating all living things that grow under God's blue sky. When you acknowledge them, they glare at you. When you speak to them, they reply in word worded answers that come with a bit of a bite. When they walk by babies, the babies start crying. I have the pleasure of knowing a number of people like this, so I have something to say to both parities involved in this dilemma. First, to those with a bit more cheerful disposition. Be patient, these people simply do not know how to communicate properly. Behind the scowl and the eyes of the tundra, they are probably thinking about unicorns. And to those without the cheerful disposition, I hate to be the one to inform you of this, but we are all scared of you. That may seem cool now, but in the end, your probably going to die alone because of it. Might I suggest cracking a smile or even mustering a head-nod every once in a while to at least starve off this morbid fate of yours? At the very least, turn up the heaters behind your eyelids, your frozen stare is literally giving me a cold. (P.S. Ignoring me will not get rid of me. I live here too.)

That's what I got for you this time folks. Hope it helps. Now if you'll excuse me, my roommate will not stop glaring at me so I think I'm going to get the snow boot out of the closet.

Stats of the Week

Song:  Seven Devils by Florence And The Machine

Book: The Code Of The Zombie Pirate by Scott Kenemore

Word: Exchange

Quote:  "Keep living Ed...It's only the pages that stop here."
-Markus Zusak, I Am The Messenger

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Music

Hello again Monkeys. Yes, as always, it's been a while since we've talked. Forgive me, I've been a bit bogged down, what with all these vampires I've been having to kill lately. But here's a something I haven't talked about yet. And how the heck could I have over looked it for so long?

MUSIC!

Ah yes, music. The great escape, the soother of the soul. Surely everyone can relate to music! If they can't....they are lying. And Jesus doesn't like it when people lie so perhaps they should take five in the corner before they read this page.

"Butt Becka, this blog iz be about write stuffs. Wat do music hav 2 do with cpelling?"

SILENCE YOU FOOLISH PRIMATE! MUSIC HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WRITING! (By the way, you spelled my name wrong dummy.)

Music is a great tool for writers, whether it be for inspiration or for focus or otherwise. Music can take you away from your world and guide you to the great expanse of your mind. Or, given the right lyrics and the right time, can spark inspiration. They're catchy, quotable, and above all, productive. No matter what way you use them they are somehow helping you to achieve a goal, whether it be to rest or brainstorm or otherwise.

So what does this mean to writers? How can we properly use music to it's full potential? What kind of music is best? All great questions, rest assured. And the answers, as they typically are in art, are entirely up to you.

In my personal experience, first thing is to make sure that your music fits your mood. You can't be listening to heavy death metal while trying to write a romantic scene between two fourteen-year-olds anymore then you can listen to a Sara McLachlan song without thinking of dying puppies and feeling manipulated. If your trying to write, or even just trying to hash out a scene in your head, be sure to match the music with the mood accordingly. For example, happy scenes will go with mostly go with music with upbeat flute playing, or cheerful keyboard, intense face-off scenes can and will be matched with a Skrillex song eventually, and as always, romantic comedies will always be sound tracked with Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis.

Also, and this may bum some of you out, but the music you use should at least air on the side of lyric-less. Lyrics can be a big distraction. You could be in the middle of writing and be so focused on the song that you start typing out the lyrics rather then the story. Or you might just stop typing all together because of a catchy tone. Music is meant to accent the writing experience, not overpower it. Think of it as if you're watching a movie. The music will add a lot to the movie as a whole but it's place is in the background, not fighting with the characters or the action for dialogue. What do you want to focus on, Snape uttering his last words to Harry or the slow Lydia song playing in the background.

*Side note: Yes, dubstep does qualify as lyric-less for the most part.

I few suggestions for good writing music for me are:

Music with Lyrics
-Florence And The Machine
-Mumford and Sons
-Boyce Avenue
-Tyler Ward
-The Fray
-Matt Nathanson
-Metric
-To Kill A King

Music Without Lyrics
-Any Soundtracks From Your Favorite Movies or Videogames
-Lindsey Stirling
-Aston
-Sam Cushion (He is not on iTunes, look him up on Bandcamp) (Some of his stuff is free)
-High Five Spaceship (Also look up on Bandcamp, some of his stuff is free)
-Hans Zimmer

That's all there is for this week, thanks for stopping by. Now, if you'll excuse me, the undead pirates have broken down my door and my roommates are running low on ammo. They're going to need my golf club. Ta-ta for now.

Stats of the Week

Song:  Lo by Dawn Of Midi

Book: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

Word: Melody

Quote:  "Everything we do is music."
-John Cage

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The Key To Characterization

It's no secret that characters make the story. More then that, characters are the story. You can have the crappiest plot ever to exist in all recorded history of man, machine, and strange celestial celery, and it can still come out a half-way decent book if you have good characters. Likewise, you could have the most ingenious plot that creation ever beheld yet it could still turn to doo-doo should you have flat characters. Yes, characters will make or break a story, be sure of that.

But how does one create well-rounded characters?

I've got the answer, but we're going have to do a little exercise first. First, I'm going to need you, the reader, to stand up. You standing? Great. Now I'm going to start hopping on one foot while I throw these-Wait, this doesn't seem right. Give me a sec...

~*ruffles through some papers*`~

Sorry, notes for something else.

Like I was saying, I know what the key to characterization is. The starting point, the core if you will. Just sit down and think to yourself, what does my character care about? If this is done correctly, your character should start creating his/her self.

Example:

I'm in my forth draft for my main project right now, Scrapper The Connection Reborn, and for the past three drafts something's been off with the main character, Scrapper. See, the character came out loud and clear, make no mistake of that, but it didn't feel like her character. So when I was reading over the third draft I stripped down every little nuisance in her overall personality when I realized that the thing that was wrong was her motivation. For the first three drafts, the major decisions she made were centered around one factor, the leading man Zane. However, when looking at who she is I realized that she wouldn't fall so hard so fast for one guy, no matter how nice he was. So I had to adjust her motivation for her decisions accordingly, leading to an entirely different chain of events that brought her to the end of the book. Long story short I had to ask myself, what does Scrapper care about? And, much to my dismay, it wasn't Zane.

So what does your character care about? Here's a chain that might help show how a character can grow from that one little facet.

Notice how as we dive deeper and deeper into Billy's motivation we uncover not only elements of the plot but also little quirks in his personality. Yes, it really can be that easy. 

That's all I have for you Monkeys this week. I think it's about time I stop stalling and get back to that forth draft of mine. 

Stats Of The Week

Song:  Up and Up by Relient K

Book: Psych's Guide to Crime Fighting For The Totally Unqualified

Word: Celestial

Quote:  "It's a well known fact that people with mustaches can't be trusted."
―Shawn Spencer

Top Five Plot Subplots in Manga/Anime

~*Ahem.
Hello. My name is Becca Lathorn, and I have a bad habit of falling off the face of the earth. And for that I apologize. Let's move on.

Image From therealsimonoh.wordpress.com

Today I thought I'd just kinda geek out about a couple of subplots I go crazy over in manga and anime. That's one of the things I like about graphic novels and anime, they always give you the scope of exploring more then one character. And with these little lovies I read (or watch) them over and over and over.

5) Baccono: Graham Specter, Whatever The Heck He Is

Image From graham-the-great-specter.tumblr.com

Baccono is a historical fantasy that was first a light novel then later made into an anime. The anime takes place in the 1930's and shifts between multiple points of view, all centered around a centuries old war and race for the recreation of the grand panacea, the key to immortality. Now maybe I'm cheating by using a story with no clear main plot line (not only that, but I'm not even sure if this guy's role in the story can even qualify as a subplot), but I just love this guy to pieces. If you ever have the chance to read my main project (one that I've mentioned many times on this blog) Scrapper: The Connection Reborn you'll know that I go crazy over character that either have some sort of dual identity or are simply straight up clinically insane (of which I have an over abundance of both). This guy, he takes the cake when it comes to crazy. So when he shows up you know you're about to be very, very confused. To this day I don't really have a clear cut idea of who this guy is supposed to be. One minute he's a mechanic next he's a terrorist and then he's the lord of the underground and wouldn't you know it suddenly he's also the good guy and the bad guy at the same time. His is a small part in this particular anime and only shows up at the end, but his character is loud enough to make a lasting impression and to that I say kudos.

4) Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask (The Manga): Miss Anju and Kafei

Images From operationrainfall.com

Look at me, cheating again! I just can't be stopped. Next subplot technical originates from Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64. But they did make a manga out of it so this still counts! ~*Sticks Tongue Out*~

(Deku Shrubs look like this.)
Image From zelda.wikia.com

Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask is a dark fantasy that follows the story of Link, a young boy (maybe about ten in the manga) in search of his companion fairy Navi, who aided Link in his previous adventure (Ocarina of Time, also a manga so it still still counts.) While in search for Navi he is attacked by a young Ogre known as Skullkid and his two fairy companions, Tatl and Tael. (Yes, intended to sound like tattle tale) His horse and his Ocarina are stolen so he gives Skullkid a chase. When he confronts Skullkid, Skullkid transforms Link into a deku shrub. Making a deal with an otherworldly spirit known as the Happy Mask Salesman (aka, the creepiest shady character you will ever encounter in your life) Link has three days to recover a mask that the Skullkid also stole if he's ever to return to his true form. 

This gam- I MEAN COUGH COUGH -manga is just oodles of fun for more reason then one, however the part I enjoy the must is, you guessed it, the subque-PLOTS. Subpolts. Not subquests. That's so for video games and not even shut up. But the subplot I treasure above them all is the story of Miss Anju the Inn-keeper's daughter and her fiance Kafei, who has mysteriously disappeared. Miss Anju grows anxious with each passing day. See, in three days there will be a grand festival in town, and everyone knows that when two lovers are wed on the day of the festival they are blessed. Ever since they were kids, Kafei promised Miss Anju that they'd be wed on the night of the festival. But Miss Anju will wait, she trusts that Kafei will return. Link goes out looking for Kafei and discovers that Skullkid, that fiend, had turned Kafei into a child to punish Kafei for not playing with him. Kafei laments that he cannot face his beloved Anju like that, he needs to find the Skullkid and force him to fix this before his wedding night. 

Now if that's not true love, I don't know what is. My description really doesn't do it justice. Guys, I just love the bond that these two have (see Some Weirdo Things if you want to know why), how much they trust each other. It's so freaking cute. 

3) AIR: Minagi and Michiru

Image From konachan.com

~Omigod finally she uses a real anime. 

Guys, AIR. What to say about AIR. I only watch this anime when I'm really hating myself. Like seriously, I avoid it when I am able. Not because it's a terrible anime, no. It's one of the best anime's I've ever seen. But it's so. Freaking. Sad. Honest sad. Just cut out my heart chop it into little pieces feed it to your dog then torture the defecation it creates. I'm not one to cry during anything other then real life. Stories just don't usually have the power to move me to tears. In fact, there are only three times in my life where I've cried during any sort of story. 1) A little misty-eyed at the end of Les Miserables. 2) Clannad (discussed in the next subplot). 3) This anime. 

The basic plot is that wandering street performer Yukito is minding his own business, trying to perform for enough money for food when he meets Misuzu, a kind-hearted girl with a lonely life and a curse that threatens to kill her within weeks if Yukito does not help her. Throughout this sorrowful tale there are two subplots, the first one ends happily while the second one bittersweet. See, this is the part where I cried. Yukito and Misuzu eventually become acquainted with a rather oddly matched duo, Minagi and Michiru. Minagi acts as an older sister to the young mischievous Michiru and dotes on her constantly, but eventually the viewer gets the feeling that Michiru is the one looking out for Minagi. Minagi's mother, having suffered the death of Minagi's younger sister, has convinced her self that Minagi is the one that died and that Minagi is actually her younger sister. Minagi, while wanting to live up to her mother's delusion, feels as if her mother can't even see the real her anymore and is desperate to get her old mother back. Michiru helps Minagi do just that, fighting through her mother's dream and forcing her mother to realize the daughter she once thought was Minagi is dead. After all the healing has been done it's revealed that Michiru is actually the manifestation of Minagi's sadness and her mother's regret, and that the last thing to do in order to let Minagi move on in her love is to let Michiru disappear. 

What really got me was Minagi and Michiru's goodbye. Michiru made Minagi promise to smile as she disappeared, even though Minagi felt she could do anything but. The pain of saying goodbye to her friend was just so deep and raw, she was breaking apart. Regardless, as the two of them face back to back so that Minagi does not have to see Michiru go, they both smile through their tears. And just like that she's gone. 

Please go up about two paragraphs to see what that did to me. 

2) Clannad: Fuko Ibuki

Image From hqwalls.org

I tell ya, whoever created these two anime must have made it there personal mission in life to make me miserable. Do not. Tell me. That this girl. Is not. The cutest girl. You have ever seen. Don't. Jesus doesn't like it when people lie. 

Clannad, created by the sadistic mind that brought you AIR, is the story of the struggles of Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa, both struggling to find their proper place in life. Again, this anime puts an emphasis on a couple of different side stories, Fuko's being the first. Tomoya and Nagisa first meet Fuko while she passes out wooden starfish to invite people to her sister's wedding. While shy and childish at first, Fuko eventually warms up to Tomoya and Nagisa. As the trio spend more time together, they realize that Fuko never goes home. She stays at school all the time. When asked about this, Fuko responds that her sister doesn't see her anymore. Confused and worried, Nagisa offers to let Fuko stay with her family while Tomoya and Nagisa try to get to the bottom of the seemingly strained relationship between Fuko and her sister. When her sister is finally tracked down she tells them that her younger sister Fuko was the victim of a car accident and had been comatose for years. Turns out that the Fuko Nagisa Tomoya and a group of their friends had known was the lingering desire that Fuko has to make friends at high school. Soon after this is revealed, everyone starts forgetting Fuko, Tomoya and Nagisa being among the last. And while Fuko's spirit is slowly fading she is disappearing from their memories. But for a brief moment, when all those close to Fuko's spirit look down at the wooden starfish they gave her, they remembered her enough to go to her sister's wedding.

Again, please go to the first paragraph under number three to know just how this makes me feel.

1) Inuyasha: Inuyahsa's Battle Against His Own Demon Nature

Image From crunchyroll.com

~Yay it's not girly.

Okay, before even getting into why this is my favorite manga/anime subplot of all time, I have to go ahead and share with all you lovely people how much I love this anime (and manga). Once upon a time, way back when, I was a child. A child who did not know what anime or manga was. A child, who when looking at the word, would have pronounced it MAN-ga rather then MON-ga. I know. Blasphemy. Moving on, this was one of the first, the first series where I loved the anime as much as the manga and read/watched first all the way through even though they were both ridiculously long. Maybe if I'd watched it for the first time today I'd say it was stupid and cheesy and was filled with inconsistency, but my love for it continually grows as it is an instant nostalgia bomb.

The plot to Inuyasha: Modern-day Tokyo middle-schooler Kagome finds herself in a bit of a pickle when she falls through the well at her family's shrine only to resurface in feudal Japan. While trying to find her way home she meets Inuyasha, a century's old half-demon in search of the Shikon Jewel (aka Jewel of Four Souls or Sacred Jewel), which has the power to make him into a full fledged demon. He came close, fifty years before but was stopped by the shrine priestess who protected it, Kikyo. She bound him to a tree in the forest shortly before dying, having demanded to her younger sister to burn the jewel with her body so that no others may misuse it. Well, lo and behold Kagome happens to be the reincarnation of that priestess (which Inuyasha doesn't take to kindly too), or so she discovers after a demon attacks her and send the jewel flying out of her body. And after a scrap with a nasty crow demon, she accidentally splits the jewel into pieces. Thanks to that Kagome and Inuyasha are stuck on a journey together to gather the pieces, Kagome because it is now her responsibility to guard the jewel, and Inuyasha because he still wishes to use the jewel to make him a full fledged demon.

As mentioned eariler, this is a very long series and has a large number of subplots, even within the main characters. However, the crowning jewel for me will always be Inuyasha's struggle with his demon half. At the beginning of the story, Inuyasha welcomes any opportunity to improve his strength and bring him closer to demon-hood. But he does not stay so arrogant and power-hungry for long. As his character develops he examines his reasons for wanting the power in the first place. One of the main conflicts of the second season of the anime is Inuyasha losing control of his demon nature and killing a number of people out of blind rage whenever he or his friends are close to death.

To me, this subplot is the perfect example of one of my favorite conflicts when it comes to stories. Man vs. Self. It's the most human out of all the conflicts, in my opinion. No matter what comes and goes in our lives we will always have our inner demons to fight. That is one of the only constants life has to offer. And Inuyasha? He literally fights his own inner demon! So cool!


In short, Eilobell, please have an anime marathon with me.


HOLY CANNOLI that was a long post. Well, if you missed me before, you sure as heck don't now!

Stats  Of The Week

Song:  Drops of Jupiter by Train

Book: Inuyasha By Rumiko Takehashi

Word: Cannoli

Quote: "Alright, I'm all done. Let's piss on the fire and call the dogs."
~Duck Dynasty

Things I Will Take Away From High School

Seeing as I am a senior and soon ending the required level of education that I am called to do in this great country of ours, I feel it is important to write a reflection of what, in my opinion, all learn from the experience that is coming of age. It's a monumental point in life that is often covered in a thick fog of confusion and conflict, and in the end it shapes the adult that one would be one day. So upon entering the world I share universal truths, ones not necessarily learned in a classroom.

Either except the world as it is, or change it.

Love is not an emotion, it's principle.

True friendship has an open mind, and values more then just what you have to bring to the table.

Passion is found, not force.

In a world where kindness is weakness, kindness is more important then ever.

Happiness is just as important as pain.

If you're not taking care of yourself, you have no hope of taking care of others.

Perfection does not exist, so stop looking for it.

Remember that the Journey is just as important as the Result.

Never underestimate the power of sweater weather.

Never let your problems follow you too your dreams.

Peace in the home is worth more then gold.

Know yourself and life will follow likewise.

My Bucket List (At Least As Far As Writing Goes)

Yes, yes I know. I've been all me me me lately. But this post is particularly important to me. It's my way of getting people to hold me too things I really want to do in my life. I've never been great at overcoming fears and making a leap into something big, something that involves commitment. But there must be something to this whole writing thing because it's kept me truer to my big projects then anything else in my life. So here are things that I want to do with my story telling, places I want to go. You better hold me accountable to this.


1) Publish Scrapper.

2) Write a screenplay.

3) Write a Graphic Novel.

4) Write a Middle Grade Novel.

5) Write a Christian Novel.

6) Write and produce a TV hour-long sci-fi or fantasy.

7) Write for a video game.

8) Voice act in a cartoon or anime.

9) Voice act in a video game.

10) Launch a Youtube Channel and gain enough views to be a partner.

11) Write an episode of Doctor Who. (Stole that one from Neil Gaiman, don't tell him.)


That being said, my overall goal for the summer is to learn about the basics of Script formatting and writing, maybe getting started on writing a few of these projects before I get them going. So far I've got an idea for the Graphic Novel, the Middle Grade Novel and the TV Hour-Long Sci-Fi.

Stats Of The Week

Song: Overkill by Colin Hay

Book: Hold Me Closer Nercromancer by Lish Mcbride

Word: Evanescence

Quote:  "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
― Mahatma Gandhi

Some Weirdo Things

In my opinion, life's not interesting if you're not even a little bit weird. I value weirdness, real weirdness, not just Oh, well, sometimes I plays Call Of Duty so that makes me a nerd te-he weird, I mean I like to listen to classic Disney movie soundtracks while I read Dracula or Edgar Allen Poe weird. So, without further ado, I present to you the weird things I tend to indulge in.

1) While reading something suspenseful...
Okay, so have you ever read or watched something so intense you felt you needed to take a break from it before you move on? Well then, you're kinda like me, only less...physical with the reaction. See, when I'm reading something intense, I don't just take a break from it. I yell-no wait-squeal at the top of my lungs, throw the book up at the wall, then go and pace somewhere else for a half an hour. No joke.

2) I read some pretty weird stuff.
The fact that I read 2-5 books in a typical week can probably be considered weird in it of itself, but even at that, I read some pretty strange things sometimes. One prime example would be a manga that I used to read obsessively in middle school when I was but a novice in my love for manga and anime, Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo. Old fans of Toonami (On Cartoon Network Saturday nights with other anime like One Piece MAR and Naruto, now merged into Adult Swim) will know this one (the anime, in any case). Anyone who does will tell you it makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, even looking at the cover you could tell probably how much sense this made. Small sample of what I like to read and watch.

3) I talk funny.
Sometime you should listen in on a conversation with me, I'm told it's really a riot. Being the learned citizen I am, I have a tendency to use overly-fancy language and mix it with typical modern-day jargon. (Perhaps you've already gathered this from reading this blog.) Some recurring examples are...

Whilst driving and being cut off-OI! CALM THY SELF BROSEPH!
Small talking with Eilobell about out church's Music Pastor's Wife-She's so cute. I'm really happy she procreated.
After washing the dishes-I've made the executive decision to forfeit my college fund to get an exterminator.
Takes off shoe, wafts foot odor towards family-Onward, my minions, destroy them and claim this land in the name of your dark master. MUAHAHAHA!

That, and sometimes I make old lady noises.

4) My guilty pleasure are middle-grade-ish paranormal love stories. 
Now I know that I do a lot of moaning and complaining to my friends that the whole paranormal love story thing is overdone, but honestly, my heart melts when it's done just the way I like it. I say middle-grade-ish because I'm not sure how else I can describe the kind of love story I like. See, I fell in love with these kind of love stories in middle school, when I started reading manga (see #2) and the very first one I read was a series called Kamichiama Karin. Following that I started watching and reading Inuyasha and D.N.Angel. And, of course, how can I leave out the ever-infamous Tokyo Mew-Mew? See, while all these stories range in plot place and even suggestive age rating (Kamichiama Karin-10+, Inuyasha-18+) they all share two things in common. They are all fantasy/paranormal, and they all have the same sort of love story. That is, the story starts out awkward and innocent, then grows to genuine affection and dedication and not just sexsexsexlet'stoucheachotherinournonossex or oh my gosh you hate the world I do too yay lets start kissing each other because we hate everything (otherwise known as teenage angst). So much of what I read now-a-days is centered around the physical aspect of love, so whatever happened to just genuinely liking someone because you like them?! It shows a true bond of not only love but friendship as well, like when you look at a couple and you think to yourself those two were so made for each other, like you can't picture them any other way. I eat stuff like that up! 
*For all those who are not manga fans, this is a thing in novels as well. I suggest you check out Walk Two Moons, and the Bible.

5) I "hate" France. 
I put quotes around hate because I don't really hate France. Honestly, I have nothing against it. But people who know me joke around about my "hatred" for France. Why? Well, my "hating" the French started back when I was maybe eleven or twelve. I was vacationing with my family in Wisconsin Dells, we were driving around looking breakfast. Someone suggested we go to iHop. I did not want to go to iHop. Naturally, I protested. When asked why, I couldn't just say because shut up and outside of that I didn't have a substantial argument, so I needed to think on my feet. I remembered earlier that week watching a commercial with some kinda french pancake so from that thought I blurted out Because iHop is run by the French!
Dad: Okay....so what?
Me: I hate France.
Yes, six years later and that's still a thing.

6) God usually speaks to me through food. 
I really just don't have the means to explain this one. Let's leave it at that.

Alrighty, that's all I've got for you for now. I'm sure I'll think of more things later, maybe. What about you? What are some really weird things you do? 

You know what? While I'm at this, might as well make it a tag. I'm tagging Princess Faith, Eilobell, Jo5y and Vintage Teen all up in here! And they also have to tag at least two people when they're done.

Stats Of The Week

Song: Strangers Like Me by Phil Collins

Book: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Word: Preternatural

Quote: "Do what you love and convince people to pay you for it."

~Steve Story

Love On A Post-it

I sign all my post-its with The Lonely Hearts Gang

So, would you like to know what a day at the mall with Princess Faith, Eiolbell, and Vintage Teen is like?

Over the weekend I joined in a mini-revolution organized widely Princess Faith (see her follow up here) and Eiolbell along with the fifteen-or-so people they invited as well (among the masses, Vintage Teen) inspired by Operation Beautiful, a mission to post anonymous Post-its with inspiring or loving messages on them in public places and in doing so changing the way you see yourself. Guys, I can't even tell you how much fun this is.

It started out with all of us piling into a fifteen seat-van we stole from church, all of us discussing tactics of posting our notes without being notice, shouting Superchic[k] and Veggie Tales songs at the top of our lungs. Then we dispersed with our groups to cover the mall in love. In my corner was Eiolbell, Vintage Teen's younger sister, and the ever-radiant Rachel The-Bomb-Dot-Com Scheafer. First stop for us was Forever XXI, where we absolutely bombed the place. There wasn't a mirror or dressing room in that place left un-covered, you couldn't turn a corner without seeing a Post-It. Next stop was at Claire's  which we covered with relative ease. After that was Khols, which is where we ran into trouble. We were all in general agreement that we should stop by the make-up section, so we swarmed it. I got to work quickly, posting where ever I could. However, after a few I noticed that everyone had scattered. As I lifted my head from a mid-thought Post-it, I noticed a rather disgruntled employee tear down one of the Post-its nearby by. It was then that she looked from the Post-it to me, holding pad and pen in hand, and glared.

    "Can I help you?"

    Nervous hand gestures and laughter. "Don't mind me, just going about my business, sampling your fine wares. Tell me, do you think peach suits me?"

I made a quick and daring get away, discovering my comrades hiding in the girl's junior's section. Upon my arrival, Eiolbell let out an agitated sigh. "Can you believe that woman? What a marsupial." (Don't ask me about the marsupial part. 0_0)

Well, that concluded our little extradition. We made our way to Cinnabon to meet up with the other groups and share our overwhelming success. (Minus Khols, upon which we all agreed that the woman there needed Jesus.) Our adult chaperon (as most of us were under-aged and it was a church sponsored event) commented on how she went back to Forever XXI and saw girls crowding around the notes we left, smiling. That made my week. Another thing I'll always remember is when someone asked me what my favorite note left was.

     "You're overall appearance pleases me. Persist in your efforts."

     One friends doubles over in laughter, calling me Sheldon. Another smirks and cocks her head. "So what's that mean in human speak?"

    "I like your shoes."

Overall the experience was incredible. I know I say that about a lot of things, but it felt so exhilarating to spread love and maybe make someone smile, no matter the Khols Make- Up Sections of the world. (Now I know that Khols is run by Satan, so there's that.) And, weirdly enough, it felt even better to do it anonymously. Now I'm keeping a pad and a pen in my pocket at all times, ready to write love on a Post-it.

So here's your dare, Monkeys. Do what we did. Go about you're week Posting encouraging Post-its where ever you can. Make someone's day. And when you do, picture your Post-its and send them to me and Caitlin over at Operationbeautiful.com.

And until then....

**Website Update**
Hey guys, if you're interested I recently published a short story on my website for you're viewing pleasure. Also make your way to my Facebook Page for regular updates on short stories, possible future videos and other news.

Stats Of The Week:

Song: God Is Bigger Then The Boogie Man by Veggie Tales

Book: Operation Beautiful by Caitlin Boyle

Word: Resplendent

Quote: "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

~Marilyn Monroe

Just A Few Suggestions...

About life, in general. And maybe about writing.

-Words are empty

-Giving respect where respect is due is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of wisdom

-Share faith freely, but do not look down on others for theirs

-Beware the words you say and the actions you take, they are liable to kill anyone (including yourself)

-Covet insanity, its only those who dare to think outside the box that escape it

-You best not sass your mother

-Peppermint tea can cure nearly everything

-Happiness is to sorrow as wakefulness is to sleep

-When downtown with friends, be ever vigilant of bikers

-Judgement is not humanities' job

-True forgiveness comes when you decide to let go

-Mondays are the worst

-Do not waste your life straying from the path

-Grammar is highly overrated

-So is culture

Stats Of The Week

Song: I'm For You by Tobymac

Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Word:  Splendorous
Quote:  "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned in life; It goes on."
~Robert Frost

20 Things I Learned From Calvin And Hobbes

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/02/21/calvin-and-hobbes-photoshopped-into-photographs-of-real-locations/

*Post inspired by Micheal S. Den's Calvin and Hobbes Photoshop Collection (Link below picture)

-You don't need to be living to be a great character
-Even a six-year-old can crack a political joke or two
-Always watch your back, you never know when a tiger will be there
-Parents are communists
-Always drop a bait pillow to the floor when needing to pee in the middle of the night, think two steps ahead of the monsters
-Mosquitoes don't have teeth
-Seriously, beware of tigers
-Seriously, beware of monsters
-Two characters can be speaking English and yet still be speaking two completely different languages
-Main characters can be great story tellers
-When fishing, forget the fishing rod and just go for the nearest big rock or small boy
-Best guard the cookies when aliens land in your back yard
-Monsters will shrivel up at the sight of light, Fathers will not
-Imaginary friends are surprisingly witty and sarcastic
-Verse Six: Tigers are nimble and light on their toes, my respect for tigers continually grows...
-Apparently, time does not stop when your watch does
-Parents really are the best sometimes
-Tigers do not appreciate puns like humans do
-Imagination will take you just about anywhere
-Never underestimate the power of a good friendship, whomever it is you share it with

Stats Of The Week

Song:  White Page by Tanya Godsey

Book: The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes By Bill Watterson

Word: Chimera

Quote: "Animals sometimes make a lot more sense then people do."

~Bill Watterson, The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes

It's High Time I Got My Butt Kicked

Yes, I realize that this post is coming a bit late. But, in my defense, you're not my Mother. Thusly, I present to you this week's post. 

Weird title, ain't it? Yep, took me all of three seconds to come up with it. You know why? This week has been a week of learning for me. I literally thought of five different life lessons I'd learned from this week to write about before I thought of this post. That's how busy I've been. Yep, busy busy busy. Seems like all I do now is work. And I could go into detail about why I am so very busy, therefore boring you, the  Monkey, to death and effectively wasting more of my time. I'm not going to, however, because there's a more important lesson to be learned here that requires the immediate attention of all us young people. (And maybe a few old people too. Hey, I don't claim to know you. I ain't your Ma.) Well, actually, it's more of a tip then a lesson. Ah, no. It's more a lesson-ception if you know what I mean. What do they call it when you're thinking about thinking about something? Meta... meta-cognition! Yeah, it's something like that. 

Getting to the point, the topic of the week is, learning how to learn a really hard lesson!

Or, if you prefer, learning how to take a good swift kick in the pants. 

As I mentioned before, this week has brought me a many lesson, too many really. It's painstakingly taught me patience, the value of up front work, the fact that teachers are not to busy to email your parents should they think you are in trouble in your class (when really the morons don't know how to collect a freaking homework assignment). And through and through I've moaned, and I've whined, and I've half heartedly prayed that the Lord give me patience when really all I wanted was to break some sophomore's jaw. And it feels like this week will never end. But these little lessons God has planted for me, whether bluntly or subtly, are lessons I intend to take seriously. Don't get me wrong, right now I hate them and think that they're total malarkey, but let me check back with you in the morning with that. 

And there in lies my first point. It's okay to get mad at first. 

Whoever said that being angry is wrong is stupid. Anger is an emotion. Emotions are not wrong and emotions are not right. They are inevitable and a fundamental part of the human experience. Like death, anger is widely misconceived and more importantly neutral. It's what we do with anger or what we get from anger that ultimately decides what is good or bad. (Or, in my case, what is Godly and what is Ungodly, which I'll get too in a later post.) In this particular situation, my anger sends up some red flags for me. Is this really a lesson, or is this just the Universe being a meanie? It's later when I think on this thought and decide what is right that calms me down. See? Productive anger! Who knew, right?

Don't worry, everything's according to plan. 

It is so easy to blame every little thing in your life on the forces that may be conspiring against you. Fate, God, The Universe, Bad Luck, you name it. These are distractions, ploys, devices created to steer you away from any experience that could craft you into a better you. Believe it or not, everyone indeed has problems. Problems that hinder their lives and suck away their happiness. There is not a person on God's green earth who will not have something they are struggling with. However, much like humans, no two struggles are alike. Problems are tailored specifically to everyone's lives so that they might be able to become the best person they can be starting from birth and ending with death. So while you are different, you are by no means more or less then the person standing next to you. Every situation you encounter slowly shapes who you are and you are the decider of whether you use that to your advantage or not. This is where anger can go wrong. You can use anger to say this is terrible, why would this happen to me, this is totally unfair and spend time meditating over such thoughts rather then looking for the silver-lining, the way this benefits you. I can say today that I would not trade a single struggle I've had in my life because my struggles, as much as my happiness, are who I am. I do not like the struggles I've faced, and if at all possible would not like to relive them. But that does not mean that I am not grateful for them. So, when something goes wrong, relax. You're life isn't broken, it's just getting an update. 

Find the lesson, and make sure it sticks! 

When we were young, we were taught through punishment and disciplined what is right and what is wrong. In any story, the hero needs to go through a great many struggles in order to make it to the ending. We are taught that anything in life of worth is worth working for. In order to continue surviving in life, we need to strike a balance between happiness and pain and own this. But in order to move forward in life, we need to know what the motivation is and how to achieve it. Believe it or not, that is the tricky part my friends. And, unfortunately, I do not have the answer. How you find your lesson to be learned is entirely dependent on the situation. Sometimes there are many lessons to be learned, sometimes there's only one. And the point of an experience, whether it be good or bad, may never be something so easily defined. More often or not you won't even notice it happening. However, every human being is innately able to see the point to whatever trial passes in their life, just so long as they may have their souls tuned in the right place and channel their anger or despair like wise. 

Wow, that was a pretty heavy post. Well, that was basically my week. 

What's your thoughts? Ever seen a trial of your life work to your benefit?

Stats Of The Week

Song: Spontaneous Me by Lindsey Stirling

Book: Ruby Holler By Sharon Creech

Word: Meta-Cognition

Quote: "The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has it's limits."

~Albert Einstein 

Conferences And Stuff

*Takes break from fighting with Princess Faith*

HELLO MY NERDMIGAS!!! (If that Spanish is wrong, I apologize. I only went to the first day of Spanish Class.)  So, as I've mentioned here and here, I have been planning quite some time to go to the Jerry B. Jenkins Writing For The Soul, and now this past weekend I've attended it. Let me just say, this conference was an experience I'll never forget.

This conference was vastly different from the AWP Conference I attended the previous year for many reasons, all of which can be boiled down to a couple of categories. Atmosphere, Structure and Content.


Atmosphere

One of the things I'll always remember about this conference was the orientation. The minute C. McNair Wilson walked up to that podium and opened his mouth will be forever burned into my mind. Why? Because one of the first things he said was "Raise your hand if this is your first conference."

And you wouldn't even believe how many hands went up.

This set the mood for the rest of the conference.

All the sudden everyone was being honest about what place they were at in their writing. We started feeling safe about braving the conference because we knew we weren't alone. Personally, I felt it was so much easier to approach people, finding people to stick to and be confused with. Before we knew it we were all talking about our writing, our hopes for the future, stories from home, I swore at times I felt like I knew these people my whole life. (Is that weird? Let's forget I said that. Try not to think about it.) I just remember when going to the AWP Conference being so intimidated, scared to even be honest about my age. And, as another gauge to measure how awesome this conference was, let me present to you the following statistic.

Business Cards Given @ AWP: 1
Business Cards Given @ WFTS: 10

That, my friends, is staggering.


Structure

The way that the conference was structured gave a great benefit to extroverts and introverts, beginners and professionals, and writers editors and agents alike. The way the schedule went, it started with an optional devotional at 6:45, followed by breakfast at seven. After breakfast, along with each meal, we'd have a lecture given by a keynote speaker. After that, we'd go to a continuing class that lasted both days or we'd go to appointments we'd signed up for with agents editors or mentors. Then lunch with another keynote speaker, only at lunch there was each editor and agent was assigned to a specific table and you could sit with which ever one you wanted. It was a great way to connect agents and editors with authors on a more personal level, getting to know more about the industry without the pressure of having to present a pitch. Then back to classes or appointments. And the day would end with another meal with agents and editors and one last keynote speaker, followed by book signings from whoever spoke that day. And while this took a whole day and a whole lot of energy, I had to admire the organization that let attendees gain more familiarity with other attendees. Kudos, Jerry B. Jenkins.


Content

Writing For The Soul gave a unique opportunity that other conferences, in that they allowed for attendees to sign up for 15 minute appointments with editors and agents in order to pitch their book and possible get a partial or full request (or, in some cases, going straight to the book deals). This, I feel, is a way to make something everyone hopes to do at a conference fifty bazillion times easier. I mean, seriously, why hasn't anyone thought of this before? Not only were we allowed 15 minute appointments with agents, but we were also allowed a 15 minute appointment with a mentor and a 15 minute appointment with former Disney Imagineer C. McNair Wilson to work on our pitch. Along side those added perks we also were discounted half-off for a room rate at five-star/five-diamond resort hotel The Broadmoor.


All-In-All, The Christian Writer's Guild knows how to do a writer's conference.

Stats Of The Week

Song: And Run by He Is We

Book: Hatch! By C. McNair Wilson

 Word: Menagerie

Quote: "There are two things that are infinite, the universe and stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe."

Albert Einstein  

My Older Brother (The REVENGE of the Princess Faith Post)

Alright, day 2 of the I-Love-My-Family-So-Eat-It challenge. For those of you just tuning, I challenged my friend Princess Faith to write about what she loves about all 2534678 of her siblings and do it better then me. So far Princess has posted about her sister Dayle and her brother Gordon. (But, see, Princess is cheating by using Gordon next because she know's I'll have to say that his post is great because he's on my youth group team.) I've already written about my sister Jenny. Today it's my brother's turn.

* A Note to Princess Faith*
I'm on too you. (In the words to your older brother Shane) #ILLEGAL

Day 2-My Older Brother Alex

My brother has something of an odd role in my life. He's there and he's not. While we aren't all that close we still care for each other like we are. My dad has described it as him "hard wiring" Alex to always protect and stick up for me. Not only that, but he's been a great role model as well. He's a good friend, not afraid to tell someone what they're doing is wrong, been more sympathetic then most boys I know. All-in-all, he's pretty good at being a big brother.

2008-2009 Christmas/New Years Vacation

Along with being a Class A older brother, Alex also happens to be extremely funny. First off, he's a master at keeping a straight face. Seriously. He kept a straight face during a whole dinner at Ed Debevic's. (For those of you who don't live in Chicago, Ed Debevic's is a burger joint that pays actor to wait on you and be extremely sarcastic and mean to you while you eat. Now, in theory, this seems like a terrible idea, and yet...) And while Alex can keep a straight face he also does the weirdest stuff he can think of. He's a classic goof. 

Four Years Later....And now he's showing off the guns...

Another thing I admire about Alex is his passion for Christ and his willingness to serve. He's volunteered at Camp Awana every summer and almost every winter weekend since he got into high school, he's been a founding member of a college aged bible study, and recently (literally the day after I got into Columbia College) he was admitted to Bethel College. He's a brother easy to be proud of.

He later told me he was considering pushing Sean in....

Guess who's idea this was.

He was so proud of me for graduating, OH WAIT...

Now these few short paragraphs cannot hope to begin to describe what Alex means to me, but with any luck it's a decent start. And all there's left to say is that I love you Alex, thank you for being a great brother. 

Repetition Can Kill

http://goldenscissors.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/repetition.jpg?w=590

Repetition can kill.

It comes in all shapes and forms, whether it's a repeated phrase or a word used too often. Repetition dulls your words and subconsciously causes a reader to glaze over your work as you read and easily bores them. It's the sign of an immature writer and it can be freaking annoying. It's that one friend that only has that one story to tell you when you get together, it's that song on the radio that they play over and over, it's that three hour movie that your just so sick of but you can't turn it off, it's...you get the idea.

And on that note, repetition can kill. 

And it's sneaky my friends. It's not just words themselves, but how you word things as well. Sure, when you use the phrase It was so unbelievable that I gave a origami frog to my squid over and over again, people will get sick of it. (Aka-the reason why the latest draft of Scrapper is thirty pages shorter.) But the ways you write things out, such as listing them in threes or always attaching an adverb to the start of a sentence in which an action takes place, is also monotonous and bland.

*Just a little added tip here guys, repetition can kill. 

Sometimes repetition, if cleverly used, can be an effective way to foreshadow and bring your manuscript. Enter the catch phrase, the nervous habit, the lovable little quirk. Repetition used in characterization makes your characters more familiar and also establishes that the absence of said repetition means something is not right. So do not despair, because repetition can be put to good use.

But, staying on the safe side, always remember that repetition can kill. 

Did I mention that repetition can kill?

Stats of the Week

Song : Hello Sunshine by BarlowGirl

Book: The Giver By Lois Lowry

Word: Ostentatous 

Quote: " It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool then to talk and remove all doubt." Maurice Switzer

A Letter to Whoever I Become

Dear Whoever I Become,

To you I disclose the thoughts of the future. It's my hope that this letter find you well, that Whoever you are is someone I want to be. But even if not, to your credit you survived, and I could only dream that you are the type who would keep surviving. 

I must confess I face you with fear, there being no set in stone guarantee that my ambitions should succeed. I'm all too aware of the fact that there's a real possibility my life would take a turn for the worse, my blessings coming with the aftertaste of the knowledge that I could lose them. 

All the same I excite myself with who you may be. You could very well be weaker then me, but you could very well be stronger as well. And whatever happiness I find is happiness I look forward too, I only hope you recognized it when it came. 

Perhaps I idealize you. Maybe I have a specific picture of you in my head. But that picture is mine and mine alone, and I think I wish that you would actually not be that picture. I want to be surprised, I want to see if maybe what I'm doing now is only leading me to what you do. Maybe I'm starting the journey you've already finished. 

But these thoughts of you are trivial, not worth the energy I put into them. Whatever will be will be, and I need to let this obsession go. So I write you this letter in good health and hope to be done with you until such a time where I will be you. 

Yours Truly 

Who You Used To Be

College And Stuff...

OH DEAR GOODNESS IS SHE STILL ALIVE?!

Yes, Monkies, I yet live. After numerous dealings with pyschics and shady back-alley necromancers, I've returned. (With all my soul...I hope.) And coming from the grave I present to you, college! (Da-da-da DAAAAAAAAAAAA) 

As I mentioned a bit in my previous post, come fall I will be attending Columbia College Chicago, and thusly I thought I might sprinkle you with a couple of thoughts with ending my high school career and looking ahead to college.

First off, and I really can never say this enough, senior year is the most useless invention man kind has ever created. I mean this, sincerely. See, all throughout high school, heck, all throughout school itself, no matter how much I dreaded it I could never ignore the fact that school was at least somewhat useful. However senior year does not follow the pattern. By now we've learned what needs to be learned, done what needs to be done, and are over all ready to start our lives. And while some might not share my enthusiasm  I am eager to get on with my career, namely writing. Over the past year, basically when I started writing queries, I've felt a little restless with my writing. I can't just sit still and do nothing anymore, I need to be creating a story or reading a book or trying to find agents. And too me, school is a huge waste of time. I'm sitting in class hearing the same old things out of different mouths, all the while thinking about all the work I could be doing were I not wasting my time with these classes. I thought, at the very least, that the writing classes would be marginally helpful. Dead wrong, I'm still finishing those assignments with ease. Even worse, in school I cannot write how I want too, how I know is good. No, I'm stuck to the confines of a rubric. I've looked for a point to it, I truly have, yet it alludes me.

So if any two things can be inferred about the previous paragraph, you could either take away that I really don't like high school right now, or that I could really use a piece of tangerine in a tuba with a cat dangling off of the swing singing the camp fire song. Simplicity dictates that we go with the former (and yet my heart is with the later).

My feelings toward college are a bit more befuddled. I'm caught between wanting it so badly I could eat a cow and being so nervous about it that I could eat a cow. From what I gather from my college going friends it's ten times better then high school, but that's what they said about high school from middle school sooooooooooo.....................
I feel it's a great privilege to be accepted to Columbia, and a great opportunity to further my writing and meet other people with the same goals and dreams as me.

So, yeah, there are my thoughts. Maybe one of these days I'll write something useful. Until then I think I'll just stick to eating cows.

Ways Of Inspiration: Winging It

This is how I spend my Friday nights...

THE BLANK PAGE!

It's enough to scare any writer, the thought of staring a a blank page. The words are just at the tips of your fingers, yet they seem so hesitant. Yet it continuously happens to us, again and again.

This is a Way of Inspiration, a tumbling block, a style of writing, a good/bad habit, and a one-way ticket to the loony bin all in one! But enough of just looking at that page. Start writing.

Oh yes, the art of winging it, it's a delicate art that requires much experience and concentration. (I don't know if you can tell, but I'm winging this blog post as we speak.) There's not very much to say about this type of inspiration, just that it's when you power through for whatever reason. But here are somethings to help.

-Writing Prompts
-Reading 
-Taking breaks
-Watching TV
-Don't Push Yourself

That's all I got. Happy Tuesday!


~* Update *~
Okay, I know today's post was real doo-doo. Sorry, I'm tired. Just leave me alone. 
BUT WAIT!
Don't leave me alone, because now I'm on Figment.com! Check me out at this link, or search Becca J. Lathorn. 
Kthanksbyenow. 

The Ways of Inspiration: Socializing

Admittedly not my favorite type of inspiration, but I'll roll with it. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Socialization. 

Making friends, making enemies, making acquaintances that secretly think you are just about the strangest organism they've ever had the displeasure of knowing, it's all the same. Interaction with other people and/or things. (And no, unfortunately, imaginary friends don't count.) This, indeed, is a source of inspiration. And it comes in a variety of forms.

Coffee Shop Writing
And other such public places where you sit down, work, and keep half an ear open. This is observing people that have nothing to do with you, giving you a unbiased look on the workings of socialization. Just be sure you don't look too much like a creeper.

Interacting with Friends
While it is a more biased look on life, at the same time it gives you a deeper understanding of it. Observe what your thinking, what your feeling, while you talk to people. Are you sincere? Are you a phony? If so, why? Writing about it.

Media
Dorkzilla time here Monkeys, you need to pay attention to what's on TV, music and otherwise. Know the linguistics of it too. You'd be surprised how useful it is in shelling out your fictional world.

Bottom line, it's all about observation. 
So observe observe observe! You never know where inspiration sparks.

THAT'SALLFOLKS! Enjoy this little photo! 

The Ways of Inspiration: Dreaming

Hello, and welcome to another exciting episode of Becca talks to herself! This week on the agenda we have-
Wait...No that was the other thing. Nevermind.

Clears throat.

Greetings Primates. Prepare to embark on a magical journey, deep into the depths of-
Hold on...Nope. Still not right.

Sips tea. Clears throat.

...Monkeys? Is that what this is? Right, I'm sure I have it this time. Sorry about that guys. Long week, lots of stress. You get the picture. On with it then. So, this week I'm starting a  new mini series, The Ways of Inspiration, to dive into what makes someone create a story. Where exactly does that spark come from? As any practiced writer knows, this is an impossibly large subject. There are without a doubt as many answers as there are people alive. Times two. But just for the fun of it, lets try to narrow it down to some general categories. And what better way to start then with dreaming?

This particular post comes from a number of things going on in my life that have taught me the importance of a dream. To get a bit scientific on you for a second, the importance of dreams goes beyond just the necessity of sleep. We all know, of course, that our bodies need rest to function properly. But dreams? They have a purpose of their own. Oddly enough, they help us sort out what has gone on through the day. I don't know all the science behind it, I only got the cliff notes, but apparently dreams are part of what keeps our sanity. They give our brains a chance to figure out what's what. Ironic, I know. But I have a point. And I sincerely can't stress this enough, I'm speaking from a place where good friends of mine are suffering because of a lack of dreams, getting full restful sleep is very very important. Insomniacs, hear my plea. Please take care of yourselves.

'K. Done with the heavy stuff. Now onto the writing. 

For any writer, I believe, dreams are an invaluable tool for inspiration. In dreams, anything can and will happen, just like in our stories. And, much like how I feel when I'm creating a story, it's not really me that's in control. I'm just observing and recording. But it's so much more then that when it comes to dreams! It's a way to engage all of your senses in the story, if only for a night. You're not just imagining it, you're living it! This is golden in the universe of fiction, to be able to put your self in your main character, to be able to experience your fictional world. Last night I was at a friends house spending the night (I practically live there, they even have a mattress for me) I had this amazing dream and when I woke up before I could even yawn I was jotting down pages of notes in my writing journal. I'm telling you guys, this has got to be one of my favorite forms of inspiration.

So what about you? Have your best stories come from the realm of dreams?