New Year

Well, I don't have a lot of time to write a super long post right now because we have a bunch of people over while we celebrate the new year. I'm currently being antisocial and hiding out in my room but I'm obligated to haul my ass out of bed and entertain the guests. Which I will...in a few minutes. Actually, I don't even think I'm antisocial. To be antisocial, you have to dislike people. I like people (sometimes). The reason I don't talk or hide out by myself is because I'm scared of people. So yes, dear reader, chances are if we met in real life, I'd scream bloody murder and back away from you like you have the black plague. I'll apologize beforehand.

As 2011 comes to a close, I've realized that not only am I going to be scribbling out /11 on all of my papers for the next few months, but I've done nothing notable or important this past year. (Unless you count the surgery my parents forced onto me, and even then, it's a rather unremarkable feat)

2012 will be different! This is the last year we'll ever have, according to the Mayans. I better do something interesting, hm? After I finish this post and make nice with the guests for a few hours, I'll compile my New Year's Resolutions. Except, instead of a list of vague things I want to do, it'll be a checklist of things I will have to do. To force myself to uphold these "resolutions", I'll probably be codependent and make someone I know hold me accountable for one (if not more) resolution.

Happy New Year! Say your goodbyes to 2011, whether it was a good or bad year, and welcome the new year! (I accidentally typed yar because when I blank out, I tend to think I'm a pirate) Maybe some other time I'll post my goals and make you in charge of one of them.

2011, good or bad year. Why?


What are your resolutions?

Live Blog with Cannibal Carrot Numero Dos

My writing has been stilted and almost nonexistent these past few days so yesterday I proposed another Word Goal Competition Thingy with my friend, Cannibal Carrot. If you weren't here for the past one (which lasted a weekend) and you're too lazy to go back and check my past posts, it's just a competition where we had to write 10k in two days. If you're worse than math than I am, it's 5k a day. This time, we're raising the bar. It'll be a one day deal, but instead of 5k, it'll be 6k. The bet's the same (although I was unaware we even had a bet until I checked her blog) If you don't write 6k today, you have to wear a dress to school on Mon--Tuesday.

9:40 am: Woke up. Looked at clock and then promptly went back to sleep. I stayed up until 12 something last night (this morning) because our dinner guests got drunk and couldn't tell time.

10:28 am: Checked Chloe's blog. No, no, no...opened up my word document and started to feel like shit. I'm aware this feeling will last all day.

11:16 am: Wrote for the past hour or so. The bad feeling didn't go away and now I hate my characters AND my writing. I earned breakfast, though.
WC: 1005/6000 Still way behind Chloe. She got a head start today. I wonder how much she has now...


11:43 am: Ate a breakfast of cookies, which will totally screw over my blood sugar level. Hello type two diabetes, I think I see you in my future! I found a piece of chocolate that will be my prize for reaching 2k.

12:27 pm: Wrote like hell, even though I'm a slow writer. Just wrote. Nothing else. The selfhatred is growing stronger.

WC: 2062/6000


12:53 pm: Finished the scene I was working on all morning. I've resorted to skipping around the story. Now I know it's never going to be finished and never going to be complete. *sigh*

WC: 2589/6000


12:54 pm: Going on an internet detour to cleanse my brain. Screw self control, I'll go crazy with my word doc all day.

1:00-1:59 pm: Alternated between surfing the internet and writing. I couldn't write without a little help, so I brought sexy Thomas back with all of his perverted glory. Blushed a lot while writing sexy scenes. Also paranoidly watched my bedroom door in case my parents wanted to come in and read over my shoulder.

WC: 3429/6000 I think I've earned my lunch.


2:40 pm: Pretty, pretty books. I think I'll be stupid and read you!

4:02 pm: Legend by Marie Lu is a FREAKIN' AMAZING book. The shitty feeling just increased tenfold. I think I'll keep the break going until it gets dark outside. For some reason it's easier to write during the night. And maybe the time will separate the shitty feelings and adoration from my writing.

5:33 pm: The sun is down. After a mind numbing hour of internet crap, it's time to return to THE WORK. Ugh, ugh, ugh...but ooh! Kissy scene. Oh wait...already wrote that.

5:46 pm: Procrastinated and made popcorn. Add said popcorn with sister while looking a her latest celebrity gossip magazine and dissing celebs.

6:11 pm: Wrote like the wiiind. (Even though the wind doesn't write) Mind numb. I can't feel my brain...

WC: 4570/6000 Only about 1.5k to go! Whoo! Chloe has yet to update. I'm frightened...


6:42 pm: Went on facebook while I was busy being embarrassed about writing a kissing scene. Checked Chloe's blog. No update. It's quite. Too quiet...

7:19 pm: Went and did the deed. Kissing scene is done.


WC: 5478/6000 I've earned my dinner. About 500 words left! Fight!


7:21-7:39 pm: Dinner. Spagetti and meatballs, yum yum!

7:58 pm: OHMYGOD! I reached 6k. I am done with this challenge. BS-ed a bunch with girly conversations, perverted guy antics, and kissing. Lots of kissing.

Final WC: 6004/6000 I might write more today, but I doubt it. I'm feeling kind of worded out right now.

Christmas Eve

I tried to include the other fun holidays in my previous post (I know, it's bad form to ditch a blog for months and then blog two days in a row. What can I say? I like to keep you guys on your toes) and I kind of failed, but this post will be a quick post. It's Christmas Eve, so I'm supposed to be spending time with the family instead of hiding away in my room like a hermit.

So my AMAZING WRITER/CLIMBER/A BUNCH OF OTHER COOL THINGS FRIEND decided to be more awesome than usual and drew an Infernal Devices cartoon that pertains to my twitter name (@llbroken_angell) So I just had to post it here to show you all how awesome she is. She's the same friend who sent me the hilarious list telling me why I should lend her Clockwork Prince. Yeah, we be book junkies.

Isn't awesome!? She has a blog too. It's pretty cool n' stuff so you should totally check it out here. 

Twas the night before Christmas...oh wait, I lied, that's tomorrow

It's one day before Christmas Eve. Or the eve of Christmas Eve. Or the day after four days before Christmas. Or the fifth day of Hanukkah. Or four days before Kwanza. Yeah, pick which ever name you want, but it's still the same day. My family and I are finally home after a grueling ten hour car ride. Family trips are fun...in theory. Because in real life, ten hours in a tiny (well, big) car, crammed up against my pointy brother and younger sister while the cow stink from the hoard of farting cows outside wafts into the car is a Bad Thing. And Bad Things are not fun. Part way through, my dad and my mom got into a very loud argument over directions while we were following a GPS. Confused? Yeah, I was too. For the entirety of the argument, I pretended to sleep so my parents wouldn't turn around and scream at me. My bitter personality and snark are not appreciated and I sound like a lame pep talker when I try to be nice. I have this terrible habit of making a bad situation worse. But honestly, I don't do it deliberately. For someone who calls herself a writer, I'm not very good with words.

Moving on, it's great to be home for the holidays. The tree is lit, the lights outside are winking, and all that's missing is a cozy fire. But our Christmas tree kind of blocks the fireplace, so we can't light it. Well, we could but then the tree would catch on fire and eat all of our presents and the entire house. (Random thought, but I saw a "crackling hearth" DVD for sale at Barnes and Noble. It was seriously just a video of a fire in a fireplace. Who'd waste eight dollars on that? More importantly, who'd spend, like eight hours recording a controlled fire?)

I think the holiday cheer's finally catching up to me. My little sister started turning on the Christmas songs and baking cookies in the beginning of December. She insisted we get our tree as soon as the month changed and we had to DECORATE IT RIGHT THEN AND THERE. When I was younger, (I know I'm still young. I just feel like an old lady) I'd always be the one who insisted we HAD to decorate our tree. This year, I hung about four ornaments before getting bored and leaving. I find that every year, it takes longer and longer for me to get hyped up about the holidays. It's almost like I don't care anymore. I didn't write a Christmas list until a week ago, and by then everyone had already bought their gifts. And the kicker is that I still don't care. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast buying gifts for my family and friend(s) but I don't expect very much from other people. Mommy, am I depressed? Or am I just some strange, pathetic creature with no feelings?

Oh jeez, and this soul finding rambling stuff comes out right after I declare a happy thing. Remind me to blog earlier in the day when I'm not as tired, okay? I don't know why, but after ten I get really depressing. As in, just by reading this post, I've already sucked away part of your soul. Sorry about that. Really. I'll give it back in a few days. I promise I'll wash it before I give it back to you. It'll be all sparkly and pretty and shiny and new. I swear.

When do you guys usually start feeling the holiday buzz? (And I'm NOT talking about the alcohol *glare*)

What did you ask for this year?

Movies

There's this fairly old belief that movies totally screw over a book. But...but what about movies that just suck? There's no book to compare to, just a really bad movie. The same goes for books, but I'm currently trapped at one of my mother's friend's house and there's this really weird movie on about a dog who used to be human who's a total asshole. (I'm a run on sentence fiend when I'm sleep deprived)

In any story, things have to make sense. I mean, it's nice to leave some things to be explained later or let the reader/viewer figure it out themselves, but there's a point where a reader/viewer will go "WTF" and leave. I reached that point when two dogs began to speak to each other telepathically. Sadly, it was a choice between gossiping fifty-year-olds and a really crappy movie. I stuck with the really crappy movie.

Generally, you're supposed to root for, or at least support the main character. It doesn't always happen, but the author's supposed to make the main character likable. Sure, they'll have flaws, but still, LIKABLE. The main character of this movie is a really adorable lab that used to be human. I mean come on, he's a DOG! Everyone loves dogs. But the movie makers still managed to make the dog a total dick. They managed to make you hate an adorable, fluffy doggy. Now that takes some hard work. The dog bit his wife's new husband while the man was driving and looking for his sick son in a snowstorm. Say it with me, "What a douche!"

And then the dog who can speak with the main character dog telepathically just died. At the end of the movie he came back as a telepathic squirrel. Um...what? *blinks* I know that I'm good at predicting endings and that most people hate it, but don't feel too accomplished by stumping me with a crackpot ending.

Rambly rant over. The bottom line is that plot twists are good, encouraged even, but don't write a story that makes so little sense that your readers wonder if you take drugs before you hit the keyboard.

Sorry for my crude language. When I get really tired, I tend to resort to dirty jokes and cussing. It's not good. Not good at all. I'm sorry. Oh pooh, this means I'm a bad person, doesn't it?

Have you ever read a book that makes no sense or a movie without a plot?

I think my friends are using me...

Okay, sorry for being a sucky blogger and not blogging anything lately. I'm just lazy. Are those shoes new? Love what you've done with your hair by the way. I think you've lost weight! :D


Well, right this second, I'm typing without the help of my right ring finger. Somehow, being the complete idiot I am, I screwed it up. But that's not what this post is about. 


I'm a boring person. I don't like taking risks and I lack a working sense of humor. So why do my friends keep me around? Am I some kind of charity case? Do they lack the guts to kick me out? Do they have extremely bad judgement? Do they enjoy mocking me behind my back?


Nope. I have books.


And I've buddied up with a circle of book crazed teenage girls. It's like be a drug dealer. They just keep coming back for more and they CAN'T leave me because doing so cuts off their steady supply of new books. Because I'm the freakin' supplier.* Seriously. One of my friends had a withdrawal via facebook at one in the morning. **

• I finished Clockwork Angel 35 minutes ago. I still can't sleep. So, I'm going to message you the reasons why you should try EXTRA ESPECIALLY HARD to get that book to me.
• 1. [removed friend's name] is a TROLL. Trolls are illiterate. They can't read! She's simply stealing the book! Probably to eat it.
• 2. I am not a troll. I would not eat it.
• I just realized that I didn't say what book you need to get to me! Well, if it wasn't obvious,
• GIVE ME CLOCKWORK PRINCE.
• please?
• 3. I will not squish its cover! You'll see tomorrow…that is to say, later today, that Clockwork Angel is still all rounded and pretty!
• 4. After reading it, I would be a good girl and read The Lost Hero.
• 5. Plus, after reading it, I would move on to Iron King. Although I may read that tonight (22 hours from now or so) and Mia wouldn't be pissed because I wouldn't take forever to return her book!
• 6. You're hella cool! And sucking up to people totally works when you want stuff from them! Stuff like, for instance, books. All hypothetical of course.
• 7. I will spam the HELL out of your twitter with requests for the book it you do not do this, and if you reply JARROD PERKINS WILL SEE YOUR TWEETS AND JUDGE YOU.
  
  

  
  

  • 8. I will stop threatening you if you give me the book.
  • 9. NOTHING happens between Jem and Tessa in Clockwork Angel. And there are rumors that STUFF happens in Clockwork Prince. Uh, hello? Dying here?
  • 10. Jem needs to punch Will in the face.
  • 11. The tenth and eleventh points may not be supporting my cause, but they're true. Soooo true! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL OF THE UNDERWATER AUTOMATONS! Did they go, "pffft zap!" and die? Or did they magically have gills all along?
  • 12. I TOTALLY HEARD THAT THE DOCTOR COMES AND TAKES JACE AND SIMON BACK IN TIME TO MEET JEM AND WILL AND JEM AND WILL ARE ALL LIKE, "LAAAAAAAAAME."
  • 13. I'm actually starting to become tired, so my reasons are getting hilarious. Hilarity = Persuasion, right?
  • 14. I AM A WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING. With love and goodness in my heart. I deserve this book.
  • 15. I will get you a FABULOUS Christmas present if you bring me the book. FAB. U. LOUS. We're talking Amazon / Barnes and Noble gift cards here.
    
    

    
    

    • 16. Or another present, if you want. As long as it's in my wimpy budget.
    • 17. YES, SIXTEEN IS A LEGITIMATE REASON.
    • 18. So is seventeen.
    • 19. I'm getting waaaaaaay too tired.
    • 20. You gave me Clockwork Angel! You did this to me! WWWWHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?
    • 21. Do it for Jem! Bring me Clockwork Prince for JEM! The poor guy has terminal cancer, for Angel's sake
    • 22. I just made an EPIC reference to The Infernal Devices back there.
    • 23. The world is spinning. I'm reallly tired, aren't I?
    • 24. You're welcome. I am a fanTABULOUS friend, sending you an incredibly long message at 1:20 in the morning
    • 25. I Facebook-messaged you this instead of texting you, which you should be thankful for. This so would have woken you up.
    • 26. 

      Unattractive photos of me have been posted on Facebook!
      The book would be comfort.
      Kind of like ice cream sundaes.
      Or bunnies. Or rainbows.
    • 27. I only just learned how old Church is! Cassandra Clare can't leave me with such a cliffhanger! WHAT HAPPENS TO CHURCH IN THE TIME BETWEEN TID and TMI? haaahahah!
    • 28. The Mortal Instruments is TMI. lolololololololol
    • 29. CLOCKWORK PRINCE IS NOOOOOOT TMI!
    • 30. Please. I'm sleeping now. Consider my 

      offers/threats/thoughts while being delirious.
      
      
      Have you ever felt like you were being used? Have you ever been used? Have you ever thrown away your dignity on facebook?
      
      
      *I can't believe I just compared myself to a drug dealer.
      
      
      **I'm not being a heinus bitch by posting this. My friend who sent this message to me actually suggested I turn it into a blog post.