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!)

5 New Releases I Am Looking Forward To In 2014

I know it's already March, but here are five things that I'm looking forward to this year in no particular order.

The Maze Runner film - September 19
The first trailer for this movie was actually just released recently. The Maze Runner is based on the the novel of the same name, written by James Dashner. I've actually been looking forward to this one for a long time, ever since I finished reading The Maze Runner. The cast looks incredible, and the actors really look like they fit the characters they play. I can tell this is going to be a fantastic movie, and I can't wait to see it!

Lame Excuses For My Long Absence

It's been weeks since my last post. I am so, so terribly sorry about that. I got really swamped by English projects (plus other schoolwork), and my creativity was rather dead. Even so, I am sorry about not posting for almost two weeks now, I didn't mean to let this get away from me.

Also, for the time being, Creative Wednesday is being put on hold. It may come back sometime in the future, but for right now, I'm setting it aside.

That's about all I have to say right now though -- I'll be back on Friday, I promise!

Five Things That You (Probably) Didn't Know About Me

Suddenly, it's 10:45 on a Thursday night, and I have nothing written. Oops.
Anyway, I think the list kind of speaks for itself. I've compiled five fun facts about me that you most likely don't know. If you do, well, you're either a stalker, or you just know me really, really well. Anyway, here goes nothing!

1) I've injured myself in some pretty strange ways.
I mean, every time I've gone to the ER, it's for something completely abnormal. Here's a list:
- I cut my lip on some gravel
- I got a piece of a cornstalk stuck in the bottom of my foot
- I cut my forehead on my glasses
- I burned my hand on a toaster oven (although that one did not involve a trip to the hospital)
The time I cut my lip, I ended up getting two stitches (which fell out a few hours later). The cornstalk was just a small bit of it, but it managed to stick up through my sneaker and into my foot. The time I cut my forehead on my glasses is an interesting story. My friend and I collided while we were playing a game, and the frame of my glasses cut my forhead right above my eyelid. My friend was okay though, fortunately. And the toaster? Well, I reached into the back of the toaster to get something, and the back of my hand hit one of the burners. It hurt a lot.

2) I've always wanted to get my hair cut really, really short.
Like a pixie haircut, if you're familliar with the term. I've always thought really short hair was really cute, and for a long time I've wanted to get my hair cut really short. I never have though, I guess because it would be such a huge change. If I do ever decide to cut it though, I think I'm going to donate it to Locks of Love or another organizatioin like that.

3) I had a rock collection when I was a kid.
I kept it in a jewelry box with three drawers. The top one had some cheap, plastic "rocks" that were really supposed to be used for crafts, the middle one had some more everyday rocks that I thought were interesting, and the bottom one had some really smooth, polished rocks that I had gotten from gift shops. I think the collection started when my dad gave me some rocks he called "Tiger's Eye" or something like that. I'm not sure where he got them, but I remember that I really loved them and I loved to look at them a lot.

4) I fidget with stuff when I'm bored, nervous, or uncomfortable.
Okay, if you've seen me in person, you might know this already. Usually I play with my keys or my iPod, though sometimes I'll also tap my fingers or my feet or do something. I don't actually know why I do it, I guess it's just kind of a distraction for me.

5) I once read an entire book in an hour.
It wasn't like a whole hour, no breaks or anything though. The story goes like this: the book club in my school was reading the novel Frindle by Andrew Clements. Really, it was a bit young for me at the time, but it was such a good book and I encourage you to read it! Anyway, I picked up the book, which looked really thin to me, and my mom said that she bet I could read it in an hour. I set a stopwatch on my iPod, and it would count up during the time I read the book. If I took a break, I'd simply pause the timer. I did end up reading it in under an hour though, a feat I was very proud of at the time.

So there are five interesting things about me! See you next week!

Valentine's Day Songs for the Single and the Not-Single

(Okay, I didn't know what I was supposed to say there. Honestly, "Not-Single" was the best I could think of)

Ladies and gentleman, it is that time of year again! The time when flower and chocolate sales go up really high, when everything thing turns pink, and when you can't turn around without seeing something heart-shaped. Yes, I'm talking about Valentine's Day, a holiday with the sole purose of celebrating love.

Alright, full disclosure - I've never really cared for Valentine's Day. And before you write me off as a bitter teenage girl, let me explain. Usually, I just kinda saw it as an excuse to get free candy from V-Day card exchanges with my friends (of course, most of it was just bland lollipops and Fun Dip). I'm kind of too old for that now though, so this lovely holiday (pun not intended) has become pretty useless to me.

Also, I can't stand people who write stuff like "Happy Singles Day. #foreveralone"

Anyways, the point of this post was not to talk about Valentine's Day and what I think about it. The point is, I've compiled a list of songs for you to listen to this Valentine's Day, whether you're single, married, in a relationship, whatever. I'm compiled this list from my own resources (like the CD rack next to my computer).

And, as a fair warning, there are duplicate artists (for example, Flyleaf shows up once on both lists).

Click the jump to see the list!

Being Cyberschooled, Part 2

I'm back! In case you missed last Friday's post, I talked about the pros of being cyberschooled. This week, I've got the cons of cyberschooling. Are you ready? Actually, the bigger question is if I'm ready. Seriously. The School Loyalty Police might hunt me down if they read this.

Okay, not really, but let's just be honest with each other here. Every form of schooling has its drawbacks. Whether you're homeschooled, cyberschooled, or go to a public or private school, there are going to be some good parts and bad parts. Some forms work better for some people.

Anyway, that's all to say that just because I'm talking about the cons of cyberschooling, it doesn't mean I hate the system. Although it isn't perfect, it's something that works well for me, and I enjoy it. Although, between you and me, sometimes I wonder how I'd handle going to "real school." I'd probably get in trouble. A lot.

With that out of the way, the three major drawbacks of cyberschooling are after the jump!