Random Writing

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I missed last Friday's post. My final English project was due that weekend, and I had to spend a lot of time working on it. But I'm back now!

And I have nothing planned. Again.

Well, I was taking a look around my blog the other day, and I realized it could probably use some cleaning up. I haven't been updating my Writing and Sketchbook pages as often as I should be, but I'm definitely putting that on my list for the summer.

Let's see, are there any interesting stories I can tell you? ...Nope, sorry. Other than finals this week, I've been working with the role-play writing club in my school so that we can finish up our story for this year, I've been watching an unhealthy amount of Warehouse 13 and Doctor Who, and I've been writing a lot.

I suppose, then, I could share some of my writing with you. It has been a while, after all. Not all of these are my best work, but they're some things I've been working on recently. Enjoy!

Silent Stories - A poem (?) that takes place in a library. Poetry isn't my forte, but I feel like this one turned out pretty well.
Solitary - This is one of longer things I've written lately. It's a dystopia where people have been forced to live alone to stop the spread of contagious diseases.
Your Imaginary Friend - A short story written from the perspective of a child's imaginary friend. I still have to go through this and edit it a bit, but it's one of the most recent things I've written and I thought I'd share it.

Well, this post turned out to more random than anything else, but hey, I did post! Anyway, I'll be back next Friday! Until then!

Five Awesome Websites for Writers

I probably could've come up with more than five, but I didn't want to bore you too much.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post called, "Writing Stuff is Hard." And it is. However, as some of you may be aware, I run a fiction writing club in my school called the Writer's Nook, which meets online every other Friday. As the leader, I have compiled a list of websites that have helped me with my writing, and I thought I'd share some with you today.








1. Writer's Digest
This website has a lot of amazing stuff. Weekly writing prompts, a free e-mail newsletter, contests, and tons of articles about all things writing. If you have questions about publishing or finding an agent, Writer's Digest has a lot of helpful tips and how-to's for that. There are also plenty of things about writer's block, writing dialogue, almost anything you can imagine. The website covers a lot of genres, from romance to sci-fi. I really recommend you at least check it out, but the e-mail newsletter is totally worth subscribing to as well.

2. Helping Writers Become Authors
This website is somewhat similar to Writer's Digest in that it provides a lot of articles for help in different areas of writing.  However, it is a little different, so I encourage you to check this one out as well.

Writing Stuff Is Hard

As hard as it may be to believe, I don't just sit down at my computer and words magically appear on the screen.

Okay, I didn't really mean that about myself. But I'm sure you've thought something along those lines about some of your favorite writers - "Wow, Scott Westerfeld is such an amazing author. It must be so easy for him to write stuff like this."





Allow me to let you in on a little secret: Writing is hard. Right now, you might be thinking, "Well, of course it's hard. I have to write a ten page paper for my English class by next week, and I have no idea where to start." But it's not just writing that people assign you. Even writing as a hobby is rough. Heck, even keeping up with these little posts on my is tough to do. Why is this so? I've thought about it a bit (actually, not that much, I'm sort of making this up as I go), and here's what I have to say.

Sometimes, I Just Don't Have Much To Say

People sometimes ask me why I don't talk very much. They're justified in asking, by the way, I'm not trying to put anyone down here. And it's not like I never say anything at all - There are just some situations where I'm more comfortable with speaking than others. If it's the right subject and the right situation, I could go on for hours for something. But not all the time. Sometimes, I seriously don't have anything to say.

So, if it happens that I'm with a group of people who are talking and I'm not saying much, it's really just because I don't have anything to say. It's not that I don't have anything nice to say - that's a different matter altogether - I just can't think of anything that would contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.

I don't really do "small talk," as some people call it. (Actually, I like the term "idle chitchat" better.) What I mean is, I like to be engaged in a conversation. It's not that I want to have a deep, philosophical discussion every time you call me on the phone, I just don't want to go through the motions, so to speak.

Also, it's not that I hate it when people don't include me in on their conversations. Most of the time, I perfectly happy just sitting and listening to what the people around me have to say to each other. I call it gathering ideas for writing, other people might call it eavesdropping.  Maybe it's just a writer thing, but I like to listen to others, whether they're talking to me or I just happen to be in the same room as them. The other day I found a quote about writing:

All this to say, if I'm with you and I'm not saying anything, please don't take it to mean that I'm aloof or bored. Really. I like to listen to you talk, and I feel bad if I intrude on your conversation with some random comment that barely relates. I'll contribute at some point, but in the meantime, I'll just listen.

(I hope this at least makes some degree of sense. I wrote it all out on a whim, so it might not be entirely coherent. This is just some stuff that's been on my mind lately, and I felt like I should blog about it. Thank you for reading it, and I'll see you next Friday!)

Creative Wednesday: Katelynne

Hey all! I'm sorry that Creative Wednesday has been on a bit of a hiatus lately. But hey, it's back now!

This week, I have some poems written by my friend Katelynne, who goes to my school. I only have two to share right here, but she's an amazing writer, so you should check her out on DeviantArt too. She has a lot more poetry on there, and I encourage you to go read some of it!

So here are the poems, and I hope you enjoy!

Close your eyes By Katelynne baby just close your eyes and turn away the world is burning and there's no need for you to see just close your eyes build up your walls the world is burning and there's nothing you can do so just close your eyes turn out the lights the world is burning and if you don't see it maybe it'll all go away open your eyes look around the world is still burning closing your eyes can only hide so many lies

Sticks and Stones By Katelynne Don't tell me sticks and stones hurt more than words ever will. Don't tell me a broken bone hurts more than a broken heart. I've heard it all before don't want to hear it again Because it's wrong. Sticks and stones are just sticks and stones but words are knives, bullets, dynamite. The only difference is you can't see the damage on the inside. Can you see the Band-Aids on my heart? Put a cast on your broken leg, wait for it to heal. But put a cast on your broken heart, try to hide your brokenness from the world. You can't heal a broken heart. If someone breaks, and no one around chooses to hear, do they make a sound? Or are they drowned out by the sound of life around them? Are they dismissed as background noise by the very people who say that they care? Can you hear the sound of hearts breaking? Open your eyes take the plugs out of your ears. And choose to see the broken hearts all around you.

So there you have it! Remember to check out Katelynne's DeviantArt page, and I'll be back again on Friday!

Creative Wednesday: Me!

Addison Sparks, the heroine
of Subject 10. Normally, she
wouldn't be dressed like this, but
in one scene, she works as a
waitress.

This... is awkward.


Let me be honest: Creative Wednesday totally came up without any warning.I was sitting on the couch making fun of a doomsday preppers show or something like that and all of a sudden I though, "Oh snap! I'm supposed to have a blog post tomorrow!" So, unfortunately, you're stuck with me. Hopefully I won't bore you to death.

I actually wasn't even sure what to post for myself, but I have a few short stories and maybe some artwork to go with it. I haven't written too much that's worthwhile lately, but as always you can check out my novel-in-progress Subject 10. If you're not familiar with it, here's the blurb (which I really should rewrite, but oh well)"

Being kidnapped at ten years old, I was confused. Scared. No--terrified. Surrounded by caged rooms, poking scientists, and menacing needles, my only thought was that I needed to get out of there. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my chance until after the “doctors” had changed me. They made me into an experiment, a science fair project known as Subject 10.   

I wasn’t alone though.

There was another boy there, my age. His name was Xavier. He was my only friend during those six years we spent at the testing facility. And, by the time we were both sixteen, we had had enough.

My name is Addison Sparks and this is my story.  

For more short stories, click the jump!

Creative Wednesday: Lexi

Hello everyone! Creative Wednesday is here again, and this week I'm featuring my friend Lexi, who is a great friend of mine and also a published author! She has written two books, Step-Twins and Triplets-in-Law. You should totally check them out! They're available for purchase on Amazon.com, and you can get them in a physical form, or for your Kindle.

Step-Twins
Triplets-in-Law




I have my own copy of Step-Twins, and it's a book I really enjoyed. I really encourage you to check out those links, and you can read some of Step-Twins after the jump!

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Creative Wednesday

Alright. First, I apologize for not posting this past Friday. I have no excuses - I just couldn't think of anything. To make up for it, I'm going to introduce a new thing for every week (or every other week, depending on how it goes) called Creative Wednesdays.

Click the jump to read my brother's poetry!

Creative Wednesdays is a feature where I showcase the creative endeavors of a person. This person will be a reader of this blog, or someone that I know personally. If I can't find anyone, then you'll probably get stuck with me. Now, I know you don't want that, so that's incentive to ask about being featured! More information at the end of the post.

This week, I have some poetry my brother wrote. He was nice enough to let me post his writing last-minute, which is awesome. Click the jump to check it out, and find out how you can get featured on my blog!

America's Got Talent?

Want to know a little pet peeve of mine? When people say, "Wow, you're so talented! I wish I could [insert activity here] like you do!" Granted, I am/was one of those people. But let me explain.

When you say something like that, you're putting yourself down. You're telling yourself that you could never measure up to what another person can do because they're just naturally better than you are. That's not good, because what happens is you give up on trying to get better. You think, "I'll never be as good as they are, so why should I even try?"

I'm not saying that talent isn't real. People do have gifts for different things. Me, for example: I happen to really like words. I like to express myself through words, and I know how to make them work. Some people have a natural affinity for a sport, art, or music. They just know where the pencil lines need to go or how to hit a baseball just right. But when you but everything down to just dumb luck, that's not fair to the person.

Click the jump for more!

The Post About Writing And Stuff

Oh look, it's Friday.
I should've just saved yesterday's post for today. Oh well, I'm sure I'll come up with something to write about. In fact, I think I already have.

Alright, this is going to be short and sweet since I just gave you guys a big book review yesterday. (You should go read it. And the book, while you're at it.) I thought I'd share my little (actually big) writing project, Subject 10. I have the first eleven chapter, including the prologue, in a Google Document. So... It would mean the world to me if you guys would read it and tell me what you think. You can comment on this post if you have something to say, and I take all advice seriously (okay 99% of it). Anyway, click the link below to read it!

Subject 10

Oh yeah, I'll put this in my writing tab too. And since every post needs pictures, here are some pictures of Addison from my story.

For whatever reason, I
can't replicate her hair...
Addison Sparks (c) Me
Art (c) Me

Addy in a dress. This
isn't from the story.
Addison Sparks (c) Me
Art (c) Me

Finally, you can check out my Sketchbook and my other writing! I'll post again soon, I promise!

Sorry it's Been a While

I've been busy with... stuff. Like school, my birthday, solving the world's problem, and other nonsense. So, what do I have to say? Well, I've decided on a summer writing project, I saw a play, and there are some singles out for Rise. I'll start with the play.

(L to R) Hillary, Stargirl, and Leo.

I recently went on a school field trip to see a play adaptation of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. If you've never read the book (you totally should though), I'll try not to give anything away. Anyway, the play stayed pretty close to the plot of the book (unlike a certain movie adaptation of a certain book that I won't mention aloud), and I really enjoyed watching it. The Stargirl is a great book that I think anyone would enjoy.

(L to R) Leo and Kevin from Stargirl

writer also left the ending alone, which I was grateful for. I'm afraid to say anything else, but I will say that

The photos of the Stargirl play are from The People's Light and Theatre website.

And now... Oh, right, my project. Click the jump for more!

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New Page!

Hello! And yes, I know I already poseted today. But I just updated my Writing page and I also added a new Book Covers page that has all of the book covers I've created for my stories on Figment. So, with that being said, I think that's all. Enjoy the pictures!

Front Page AGAIN?

So... woke up late this morning. Walked on treadmill for my PE class (I hate it. Sorry, but I hate it). Took shower. Ate mini bagel. Logged onto computer. Logged into school. Checked Yahoo! feeds. Checked Figment.

Again?! But yeah seriously... "That Band Story" is my book! And it got featured! The funniest thing is though, it's not even a complete story yet. I mean, the whole plot is out and all, but there are some points where I need to put the band's name in (I have yet to think of one) and a song or two. But still... pretty cool! And almost exactly a month after the first time I got featured!

Oh yeah, you can read the story on Figment here.
Or os a Google Doc here.

Subject 10

The cover for Subject 10
(c) Me

Yeah... I've been working on a story (that will hopefully become a book later) and I decided I needed a cover for it. And so, while I'm not half-watching... Hold on, lemme ask what we're watching here... Okay, it's the Republican National Convention or something like that. Anyway, using GIMP and picmonkey.com, I created this cover for my book-in-progress, "Subject 10". So, while I'm at it, I'm gonna do some self-promotion and tell you that you can read what I have so far either on Figment.com or on Google Docs, using the links provided below. I hope you enojoy it!!

On Figment
On GoogleDocs

Figment Feature

GUESS WHAT!

Haha, yeah, one of my stories, "The Stupid Dress", made it onto the Figment's front page! No lie!!



Sorry, I'm being a little overreactive. But it's so cool! Anyway, if you'd like, you can read it on Figment, or I also have a link to a Google Doc if that's more your style.

"The Stupid Dress" (Figment)

"The Stupid Dress" (Google Doc)

Moving away from that, I also read something on GamesRadar today about video game charactes competing in the Olympics, so you can read that right here.

And that's all for now!

Figment

Hey! So my friend in school was telling me about this website called Figment, and I just signed up about two days ago. Basically, it's like DeviantArt, but for writing. I made my own profile, so I thought you might like to check it out!
Click here for my Figment page.

TasteKid

Hello everybody, I know this is random once again, but I was looking around the internet for some suggestions for something I'm writing (I needed some bands that sounded like Three Days Grace) and I came across this website called TasteKid. Basically, you type in your interests, and then the search engine thingy looks for suggestions for you. Anyway, I thought it was a cute little site, and it's actually a lot of fun to play around with.

http://www.tastekid.com/

New Blog!

Hey readers! My friend from our school's writing group created a blog for her awesome writing, and I thought you guys would like to check it out. It's still new, so there's not too much yet, but I know she'll definitely update it with more. Anyways, here's the link to her blog: Tales of an Amateur Author

Pages Update!

Due to the overwhelming response to my poll (did you see my sarcasm there?), I now have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR shiny new pages for you to look at! Yay!
Yep, so I still have the Zelda stuff page (but with a few new pictures), and I added a Pokemon Stuff page, a page with links to my writing, and a page with half-decent scans straight outta my sketchbook. So I hope you enjoy these new features here, and please let me know what you think of them!

Titles

I am so proud of myself. I just came up with a title for one of my stories I finished recently. It's that "romancy" story I wrote in February for my writing challenge, and I finally came up with something that I like and think I might keep.
You see, I have this problem with names and titles. I mean, I even have trouble coming up with titles for these blog posts! And don't get me started on character names; those can take me weeks to decide on permanently. So I guess it's safe to say that I was pretty excited when I came up with this title and I liked it instantly.
So how it happened: I was Googling (actually I was Yahooing because Google's acting weird on my computer) tips for coming up with title ideas, and one stood out to me. Take an existing expression, and twist it around a little, make it a play on words. So one thing that came to mind later on was internet memes. The first one that I come up with: "The cake is a lie," from the original Portal video game. Yes, I'm a bit of a geek. Anyways, the point of the story I wrote was pretty straightforward: There's a guy, and he's pretending to date this girl so that this other really annoying girl leaves him alone. Complicated, and yes, very cliche. But then I was thinking "y'know the cake is a lie... cake kinda sounds like date... The date is a lie! Ohmygosh!"
Yeah, so something good came out of my geekiness