The evil that is the series

I have been reading a lot lately, A LOT, per doctors orders. No seriously, my doctor actually recommended that I practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing, and reading, and yoga. Prior to this I hadn't been reading much because I am extremely frugal and couldn't justify spending money on a book instead of food, or gas, or bills. This left me to swim through the masses of free Kindle eBooks, hence the reason I hadn't been reading much. Although I must say that I did find some gems in those depths, but it took a lot of digging. Anyways, I jumped at the opportunity to start reading the "good stuff" again, guilt-free, because my doctor said so. I spent the next day devising a list of books that I wanted to read, because that's what I do, I plan things. In my hours of research I stumbled upon Divergent by Veronica Roth and ultimately decided that this was the book I wanted to read first. I am a HUGE sucker for YA dystopian, so I bought it, and I read it... in two days. Then I proceeded to buy the sequel, Insurgent, and read it in another two days. Now this is where my blog title comes in, I just HAD to read the third and final book to know what happens, and I'm sure you can imagine my horror (unless you are one of those sane people) when I found out that the third book won't be out for another FOUR MONTHS! What? This is what happens, I get addicted to an awesome series (like Divergent, seriously, you need to check it out if you haven't yet) and if I have to wait for the next book I go NUTS. Thankfully it only lasts about 24 hours before I start to calm down and forget about it, but still, it SUCKS.

The moral of this story - If your doctor recommends that you read a book to relax, do not, I repeat DO NOT start a series unless ALL of the books have been released already.

Oh, and read Divergent by Veronica Roth, because it's totally, yeah that's right, TOTALLY awesome. It's been a long time since I've read a book that had a really strong female lead. For one, she is not beautiful, and yet she can still command the attention of those around her because she is just that awesome (and not because she's hot). Two, she doesn't mold her beliefs to fit those of her love interest: in other words, she isn't going to change her mind because her boyfriend told her to. So thank you, Veronica Roth, for giving us a solid three dimensional character to look up to.

~A

Out with the old

The time has finally come... my old dinosaur of a laptop has finally bit the dust! THANK GOODNESS!!! Why am I so happy you ask? Because last night I went out and bought a new one, guilt free! Now I have 15.6 inches of shiny, sleek, awesomeness sitting on my lap, and it doesn't weigh 30 lbs, or heat up to the point of combustion! Oh, my precious, how I have been longing for this day to come.

Now I just need to install a word processor so I can start writing again, because it has been so long since I have written even a single word. I can't blame it all on my old laptop though; it's mostly been my own insanity holding me back. But no more, because I have this new, beautiful piece of machinery to inspire me. Sometimes that's all a person needs...

~A

If it's not writer's block, then what is it?

For the past couple of weeks I've been visiting my blog with every intention of actually writing a post... but then I just end up sitting there, staring at the blank screen, waiting for inspiration to strike. 

It never does. 

It's like my mind is completely empty. The itch is still there every day, nagging me, drawing my fingers to the paper, but as soon as I'm there all of the creativity just seeps out of me and I have no idea what to write. 

I know a lot of people don't believe in writer's block, but I am not one of them. What else could I use to describe my complete lack of inspiration? I do agree that it's something one creates for themselves though. I take full responsibility for this wall that has been put up in my mind, and I fully intend on breaking it down, very soon! Just as soon as I figure out why I put it there in the first place. 

~A

Nothing seems original anymore...

I thought I had this completely awesome and original idea for my first novel, but the more I outlined and gave life to my characters, the more it felt like something that had already been done before. I still want to write the story because I have already fallen in love with the idea, but I also want to write something that hasn't been written before (I guess that's what everyone says, right?). So I have decided I am going to scrap what I already have and start fresh. I'll still keep the basic idea (it's mostly the setting that I have my heart set on), and just change the story line. 

I'm starting to fear that there is not an original idea left in this world... it's ALL been done before... repeatedly! At least in the genre that I am interested in anyways, which is YA fantasy/dystopian/paranormal etc. It's such a played out genre, but it's what I love so I am determined to create something new and fresh. I'm just worried that my mind is being influenced by things that I have already read...

Maybe I'm just over-thinking it. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy (cliche, I know. But let's face it, what isn't a cliche anymore?).

~A

The most beautiful thing I've ever heard...

I just needed to share this poem by Shane Koyczan called "To This Day". I'm not usually one for poetry, but my husband came home from work this morning and made me listen to this. It seriously brought tears to my eyes. 

Be kind to people, don't waste your life being angry. Try to see the beauty in the world.

~A

PS: It's pretty long, but it's definitely worth it!

Our month without television...

So the problem with my family is that we've all become so dependent on technology for our entertainment. At the risk of sounding really old (because I'm really not), when I was a kid I didn't have things like cable, or internet, or cell phones, or tablets. We did have a Sega Genesis though... so we were pretty cool! My point is, is that I had to find other ways to entertain myself, and guess what? I was NEVER bored! I was always running around outside, riding my bike, or hiking, or building a tree fort with my friends. On rainy days I would read a book, or write a story, or even go out and play in the rain. It doesn't kill you, you know! 

I hate that modern technology has crippled our abilities to enjoy the world we live in. I actually wrote a research paper on it for my English class, but it's really long so I won't bore you with all of the details. But what I learned from my research really freaked me out. My son is almost 2 1/2 and he barely talks yet. Honestly, I haven't been too worried about it because he understands what we say to him and he finds alternative ways to communicate with us. But I know that the amount of time we all spend watching T.V. has to be having a huge effect on him, and could even be slowing down his development. 

So, because we are all so addicted to the T.V. we have completely taken it down. Our living room now consists of a couch, a recliner, and an empty entertainment center! We are planning on living like this for at least a month, maybe longer if it goes well. And so far it has been incredibly refreshing, and I have been able to get a ton of work done around the house, and my son is now able to throw his tantrums because it's time to go inside, not because it's time to turn off the T.V.! Seriously, I would much rather drag him kicking and screaming away from a fun day spent fishing and kayaking on the lake.

I am excited about this, and I really hope that we decide not to put the television back up. This will also be a good opportunity to work on the idea I have for my first book. I've started writing an outline, but it's hard to find time to write. My son naps for about two hours during the day, which is my time alone to do my own thing, which usually consists of housework and showering. By the time I get all of my chores done and I am finally able to sit down and write, he wakes up! Then I think to myself, oh well, I'll just write tonight after he goes to bed... but by that time I am so tired that my brain just stops functioning (I am not a night person). 

People say that if you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen. And I do, I want it really bad. I feel like if I don't write it down now, than someone else is going to beat me to it and steal it right out from under me. 

My goal during this month of no T.V. is to find time to write, even if that means drinking a pot of coffee and staying up until 2 am. It will happen, because that is what I want. 

~A

Public Speaking...

Today was the very last day of my first semester of college. I had my English final today, which consisted of getting up in front of the class and reading something that we had written... and let's just say, I was a WRECK! I have this completely crippling fear of public speaking, and the fact that it was only a small classroom with twenty or so students did NOTHING to calm my nerves. My story won 4th place in the contest so I ended up being one of the first to read, which means that I didn't have time  to totally psych myself out. 

Let's back track slightly. Our final assignment was to write a contest entry. It could be about anything we wanted, as long as it displayed our knowledge of what we had learned throughout the semester. I decided to write a fictional story about finishing the Boston marathon. I grew up in Massachusetts and the horrible event that took place in Boston this year really shook me up. I spent a long time wondering how it must have affected the thousands of people that were there that day. So many people were unable to finish the race that they had spent months (or even years) preparing for, and the ones that were able to finish had a victory that was cut short by tragedy. Then I saw a news article about some runners who wanted to go back to finish the race. I decided that was what I wanted to do: I wanted to finish the race. And that is what I did. My story follows a woman as she runs the last mile of the marathon, and the victory she feels as she crosses the finish line. 

So anyways, as I said before, my entry won 4th place in the contest (Yay!), which meant that I was chosen 2nd to read aloud in front of the class. I had spent the whole day giving myself a pep talk about how it wouldn't be so bad. Just get up there and read, that's all you have to do. But when the teacher called my name my heart jumped into my throat and I thought I was going to die. Luckily there was a podium for us to stand behind so I was able to hide the violent shaking of my hands, but there was no hiding the nervous tremor in my voice. My chest started constricting and I felt like I needed to gasp for breath, which made reading extremely difficult. I kept thinking to myself, "when is this going to be over?" And then, after what felt like an eternity, it was over. I had managed to get through it unscathed and only slightly humiliated, and with my face feeling like it was on fire I was able to return to my seat. 

So no, public speaking is definitely NOT my thing. 

Ironically (or maybe not, I still don't get the whole ironic thing) I am signed up to take a public speaking class this summer... trust me though when I say that the ONLY reason I am taking it during the summer is because a) it is a required course, and b) the summer class is only 1 day a week for 5 weeks. I would MUCH rather get it over with in just 5 classes, instead of prolonging the torture. 

So yeah, that's something fun to look forward to this summer.... 

~A