Random Things #5: A Poem and My Self-Imposed NaNoWriMo

Sherlock and Watson send their somewhat awkward respects.

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've been scrambling to finish schoolwork, so on the weekends I've been wanting to relax instead of type. But the main reason is that I haven't had particular ideas for blogging. I feel like I've been cheating you guys with all these posts that, even when they aren't labeled "Random Things," are pretty all-over-the-place. That's because I like to type a quick draft, look it over, and send it out, rather than actually thinking about what I'm writing. 

After this one, I'm hoping to send out some more cohesive posts. These will likely range from book/movie/music reviews to thoughts on the universe to discussions of particular areas of life to guest posts, if anyone would like to do them! 

If you know me, you know that I hate commitments, so that's not a hard-and-fast promise. We'll see what happens.    :)

For now, behold, a poemish thing!

"Voices": A Poemish Thing

Each quaver represents a year
Each rise and fall calls to mind the paradox that those who fall will rise again
Like rings in the body of a tree, the vibrato reflects the age of the singer
A woman from days of elaborate curls and black and white,
A man from days of wheat and silence,
Share one thing: a voice
Aged and strident
Aged and beautiful

***

And behold, a writing thing:

NaNoWriMo…in February??? 

Yes, you read that right. I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo: The Slow Version this February and March. By March 31, I hope to have finished a spanking new 50,000 word first draft. (That deadline will very likely change. :P  You'll also notice there are a lot of "planning" and "hope"-like words in this post. I plan to do something about that soon...)

Why this insanity, you may ask?

One word: Boredom. I'm still planning a creative writing class for myself this semester, but slogging through short writing exercises doesn't compare to the joy and drive that I get from working on one cohesive story. Also, working on an overarching project helps my life in general. Especially in this dark, cold winter, I feel more meaning in life when I can be creative in this controlled way. 

Plus, I somehow came up with two detailed characters and a plot in the past few days. A PLOT, you guys! I am so excited about this. And it's not something super crazy like saving the entire planet, which are the plots that I usually come up with at the beginning of brainstorming. This plot is much more character-driven and closer to home. 

This more personal story is probably a result of the recent media I've consumed such as Hamilton, La La Land, and The Fault in Our Stars, which prove that even a small piece of a person's life contains huge dramatic potential. 

The title may still be subject to change, but that didn't stop me from making a cover as soon as I could. There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a cover with "Art3mis Took" at the bottom. (Sure, call me a narcissist. I'm a writer; I can take my righteous umbrage out on fictional characters.)

Isn't it pretty?  ^_^

So far it's a fantasy romance. That's all I can tell you for now, since I found with my last story that if I share ideas with people before the book is finished, the ideas seem less cool to me. No offense.  :)



How's your winter going? Dark and cold? And if you're interested in writing a guest post,or if you have particular topics you'd like to see posts on, let me know!

Random Things #4: Obsessions and Odd Stories

Here's an example of how this week has been going: 

Me: Hey Mom, I know Bluetooth isn't working in the car right now, but can I bring a  speaker to play music while we drive?

Mom: If by "music" you mean Hamilton, no. 

Me: Ok, never mind then. 

I think this past week was the first time that I was so obsessed with an album that the songs were constantly playing through my head. It actually got a little annoying but I'm still enamored with the musical. Here's a little background info:

Hamilton is a rap/hip-hop Broadway musical that describes the life of the founding father Alexander Hamilton. If you think it must be really weird, you're right. It is. But the lyrics are so compelling and the songs are so catchy that the weirdness fades away into awesomeness. (Ah, how eloquently phrased.)

CONTENT WARNING: The bad thing about the show is that it has an explicit rating because some of the songs have language (and some suggestive content), and even the clean version leaves in some of the content. So be careful which songs you listen to if you decide to look it up--"You'll Be Back" and "One Last Time" are a couple good ones to start with.

From "You'll Be Back," a breakup song
that King George III sings to the colonies

Aaaah, so bitter and inspirational at the same time.  :')

Now for NaNoWriMo: per the official site's instructions, I posted my book cover, a short description, and a truly careless excerpt that I wrote in about 5 minutes (How are we supposed to write excerpts if we aren't allowed to start our books yet?). Anyway, here's the cover:

I like how it turned out--in fact, once I designed it I opened the file a ton of times just to look at it. I hope I can make the book as exciting as my subtitle makes it sound.  xD

Synopsis: 

Dragon-worshipping pirates have lived off the townspeople of Parthan for as long as anyone can remember, until a bitter orphan joins forces with a dragon hunter in a desperate attempt to change everything.

Excerpt:

When Estaran slid down the rope of the Tree for her first training session, no one was there. Way to go, Doranth. So much for being a benign mentor figure. Est didn’t want to go back inside and endure the stench of last night’s burnt dinner so she plopped onto the dewy grass and watched the sunrise.

The pastel sunlight began to shine through the trees and illuminate first Est’s feet, then her clasped hands, then her messily stitched bodice. For the first time in the last few days, Est relaxed. She could feel the sun’s warmth immerse her, and she closed her eyes, leaning back and spreading out her hair on the grass.

Breathing deeply as the chickadees chirped in the Tree, she decided that the life of an outlaw wasn’t so bad after all.

That is, until she found out what she was training for.

Odds are high that this scene will never be in the book, but there ya go!

Anyway, have a wonderful fall/winter (depending on where you live)!

Guess what musical this is from...

If you've discovered Hamilton already, what do you think of it? What's your favorite winter activity? (Mine is watching the snow fall in the light of a street lamp.)

Random Things #3: NaNoWriMo and Returning Home

Those who are longtime acquaintances know that I have the Sherlockian habit of forgetting to tell people, even the friends I see every day, about little things such as going to Hawaii for 2 weeks. I do, however, remember the important things, such as release dates for new Brandon Sanderson books, or old songs that I just discovered on YouTube and that I think are the coolest things ever.  :P

Speaking of songs on YouTube, have you heard of Steve Moakler? The youth minister at my parish
(who is awesome, by the way) looooves his music, and because of her I just recently discovered his
song "Slo Mo." It's hilarious, and so chill! I can't say anything about the rest of his music because I've only listened to a few songs, but "Slo Mo" is clean and cute. Hehe, cute like the music artist...in this picture, doesn't he look like a mixture between Orlando Bloom and Jordan Taylor (for those who watch Blimey Cow)?

Oh yeah, I was talking about vacation. Well, Mom, Dad, and I were just on vacation to Hawaii and it was fantastic. Swimming in the surf, boogie boarding, teasing my dad about how much I love Ed Sheeran (because Dad can't stand him), practicing the ukulele and actually going to a ukulele festival (!), eating lots of pizza, hanging out with my sister-in-law who joined us for a few days, watching Lilo and Stitch and stranger sci fi films, sleeping in (sometimes), reading, racing for quarters at the bottom of the pool, working on my novel for NaNoWriMo...it was tiring but enjoyable.

For those who haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and it's a celebration in which maniacs challenge other maniacs to write a 50,000 word novel (novella?) all in the month of November. The official website lets participants log word count progress and win badges on the way to the finish. It sounds ridiculous, but this competition has actually produced rough drafts for published novels such as Cinder, the first book in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles.

So I, being another maniac, have decided to take up the challenge. This decision was perhaps aided by the fact that I'm homeschooled so I'm creating my own writing program this year. Guess what I have scheduled for the whole month of November!  :P



Anyway, I'm allowed to plan as much as I want as long as I don't actually start writing the book. So far my plot consists of a few hastily scrawled notes in a planner purchased at a Hawaiian ABC store, and it involves dragons, pirates who zealously worship said dragons, villagers, and a super cool dragon hunter. I'm not sure how he's going to be super cool, but he will be. Oh yeah, and an old guy who sells explosives. In short:

12% is optimistic.  xP

If I have time in November I'll give you a few updates on how the story's going. I've dabbled in short stories, but I've never endeavored to formally plan something this long and actually finish it. Hopefully it works out between school and work.

Also, my parents generously gave me a ukulele for my birthday so it's one of my favorite instruments now, as you may have guessed from the Hawaii description. It's much easier to play than the guitar, but there are still a ton of possibilities for songs. Heck, I started playing "Hotel California" on it! The intro is a lot of fun.

In Hawaii Dad and I sang Will Smith's "Men in Black" rap while I played the chords on the uke. It was fantastic. I tried doing the rap part, which was not the most beautiful and I ended up dissolving into giggles, but it was a good time. We're thinking of starting an informal YouTube channel where we can post random covers, and our band name will be the Bad Cover Bandits. I'll keep you posted on that.  xD

That's what's going on right now, although I'm pretty sure I must have forgotten something important like an alien invasion. Ah well, you'll find stuff like that on Facebook when it becomes a problem.

P.S. I just received Hamlette's gorgeous bookmark from the Tolkien Party giveaway! Thanks again, Hamlette! I'll have to post a few action photos later.   :)

Have you tried NaNoWriMo before, or heard horror stories about it? Is writing something you enjoy? Bonus question: what's your favorite song on the ukulele? 

Random Things #2: Explosions, Fears, and Italian Sodas

I couldn't think of one particular thing to do a full blog post on, so buckle your seat belt and prep your hyperdrive for the second installment of Random Things!

Last night, while watching The Guardians of the Galaxy for probably the fifth time (I'm at the point where I can mentally recite most of the lines before the actors say them), I thought, Why can't real life be like this?

I mean, I'm almost 17 now and I've never gotten the chance to:

1. Blow stuff up
2. Travel to an alien planet
3. Use a jet pack
4. Almost die

That last one might not seem that appealing, but think about it. Wouldn't it be awesome to be say, "Hey, I know I've made a lot of mistakes in the past and I haven't done that much with my life so far, but I'm going to try to save the world and I'm probably going to die doing it but that's okay"?

I wish I could do that. Actually I'm not sure whether I would have the guts to do that, but just to have the chance would be awesome.

See, what if life was just one big decision, and we chose good or evil in one fell, epic swoop? Instead, we're more like mini Groots: we've got to bide our time and make a lot of little decisions so that we can slowly grow into either a hero or a villain.

It's frustrating, but that's the way God made it for us so there must be a point to it. Perhaps it's actually better and more heroic to try to choose the good in a lot of little decisions like making PB&J for a friend, rather than in making one decision to attack an alien overlord.

I just wish it could all go faster.

On a completely different note, while exploring the marvelous land of YouTube, I also discovered a few amazing Passenger songs. For those who are unfamiliar with Passenger, he's sort of in the folk genre and he has a very distinctive voice, which when paired with thoughtful lyrics creates just the right combination. (Warning: some of his songs contain strong language, which is unfortunate. I've taken to glancing through the lyrics of his songs first, so I can know which ones I don't want to be listening to.)

This one is really good (and completely clean), though.

The verse about fire and light gives me chills.

Hmm, what else...

Let's share some random facts about me! Oh wait, this blog is basically made up of random facts about me...hehe. Might as well add more:

1. Anything that looks like a person curled up on the ground, whether it be discarded clothes or a shadow, freaks me out. This is because I had a nightmare when I was little about a pile of clothes that turned out to actually be a really creepy lady, and ever since I've never been the same. *dramatic pause*

2. I am somewhat obsessed with Italian sodas. Fizziness, and cream, and sugar, and more cream! I like mixing coconut with other flavors such as raspberry or lime.

3. My favorite tv show is Doctor Who, and my favorite Doctor is 11.

That's all I've got for now, so I'll leave it at that.

You may have noticed I haven't been asking specific questions at the end of blog posts anymore. It's because not very many people usually answer, so I feel like I'm forcing the two people who often respond to say something. Not that I don't love reading comments, I just don't want to make it awkward.

*pause for thought*

You know what, I'm overthinking that. I'll ask questions anyway, but there's no pressure to respond if you don't want to. I can always talk to my imaginary friend...*sniff*...  ;)

What did you think of Guardians of the Galaxy (if you've seen it)? Do you have any unusual fears and/or Italian soda preferences?

Random Things #1: Blisters and a Song

Since this post will be pretty random, I've started a line of Random Things Posts. We'll see how long it takes to get to 100, and then…I dunno, I can make a cake or something to celebrate.

I think I have too much time on my hands.

Anyway, I currently have a sense of both accomplishment and pain. Accomplishment because I've gone on to the next level of the cello, and pain because that next level is thumb position.

For those unfamiliar with the more obscure workings of the cello, thumb position is when you press the strings down with--you guessed it--your thumb. It's used to play things higher up on the strings, sort of like this:

Steven Sharp Nelson, my hero. If you haven't heard of him, YouTube the Piano Guys. You won't regret it.

My cello journey has led me to this book, which is currently the bane of my existence:

Don't trust how friendly it looks on the outside. It is evil.

You know that you've gone too far on an instrument when your teacher tells you that if your thumb starts hurting and turning red and you can feel your pulse in it, you should stop practicing. Fortunately the only hard part of thumb position is starting, because you need to get a callous on your thumb, which according to my teacher comes from practicing enough that you get a blister and start growing new levels of skin. Lovely.

That was probably way more information than you wanted to know, but now you have been warned. Steven Sharp Nelson may look happy now, but his thumb has gone through intense agony in the past. 

Anyway, I've practiced thumb position for probably a total of 5 minutes so far, so I'd better get on it. Those callouses won't make themselves!  :P

I've also been discovering Mumford and Sons, one of those bands that has been out there for a while but I hadn't really thought about or listened to much before now. I like how thoughtful their lyrics are, and even if I don't quite understand all of what they're trying to get across, the imagery is gorgeous. Mumford's voice is sort of rough, which might be annoying to some people but I like the air of sincerity it gives to the songs.

Their song "After the Storm" has become one of my favorites. If you haven't heard it, you should look it up!

What do you think of the song? And have you had any painful experiences with instruments? Feel free to share in the comments!