October 30, 2012

Lately On the News....

"It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was [once] a slice of Americana. … [But] the show is riddled with the kids calling each other stupid, dumb, and blockheads. There is continuous teasing and bullying. Charlie Brown is supposed to be the hero, instead he is kicked and demeaned at every turn. … Time marches on, opinions and attitudes evolve and change. Some things are better left in the past, it's time for new classics. New themes and specials for a modern holiday. When It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is on tv this week or next, skip it."  - Buzz Bishop, Babble.com.
 
Well, yeah, but... isn't that why we like Charlie Brown?  The fact that, despite everything that goes wrong, he still picks himself up and tries again?!  True, it's mean that his friends call him "blockhead," but we can't forget the part in A Charlie Brown Christmas where everybody fixes his pitiful tree and sticks up for him, singing "O, Little Town of Bethlehem," now can we?
 
Also on the news:  Just a small footnote....  Disney buys Lucasfilm.  (Being the exact opposite of a Warsie, I wouldn't care tuppence.  I'm just excited about more movies because of the awesome special effects!!)
 
(And oh, yeah.  Please accept my pre-apologies for the possible shortage of blogging this week.  My week just went into a tailspin - in a good way, though!! - and I have no earthly clue when or how much I'll be blogging/commenting/being-alive-in-the-blog-world for the next week or so.  Forgive me.  All will be explained - if you haven't already heard the news - soon.  Ish.)
 
~Eowyn~

October 25, 2012

Letters

Dear Anne-girl....  Thank you so much for this week's Scribblers' Conference!!  It's been so amazing and I can't wait to start writing again - I've been insanely busy this week, so my writing is basically zip.  : P

Dear David Tennant... You are amazing and I can't wait to watch more of Doctor Who!  I already know a ton of quotes from the show and am constantly scaring my dad because of them.  (Don't worry, Dad....  I'm not going to go crazy.)

Dear Thea.... I miss you SO MUCH!!!  And I'm insanely jealous of you and can't wait to hear all about how amazing Italy was!!  Hearing stuff from your sister is great, but I feel like I'm missing out on details.  And that new job getting paid to go shopping and teach a girl English....  Wow.  (Thou shalt not covet! THOU SHALT NOT!!!)  The kids you're nannying for are adorable and I can hardly imagine how hard it'll be for you to come back!!  Skyping with you the other day was amazing and I loved seeing the kids - Giacomo is SO CUTE!!!

Dear August Rush....  You are an amazing movie!!!  (Minus a few scenes....)  And your soundtrack is phenomenal, especially August's Rhapsody and Raise it Up!  Oh, and I can't fail to mention the one that my littlest brother loves watching... the guitar-slapping song.  And August/Evan... you are so adorable.  Cutest little boy ever... and every time I see a picture of you, I'm struck by the fact that you look almost exactly like a friend of mine when he was younger.  : )  Also, I can never thank you enough for providing me with an actor to cast as Alec!!  (Now to find my main character....)

Dear The Avengers....  You were a good movie - via ClearPlay, that is.  (Dear ClearPlay - YOU ARE AMAZING!!!)  I now have a love-hate relationship with Tony Stark and a LOVE-LOVE relationship with Captain America, mainly because of this.  I also think that Banner was the deepest character.  And I officially think that Hawkeye is cooler than Legolas.  (In your face, Legolas fans!!)

Dear gluten-free apple pie....  Sighhhh.  You are bliss in gluten-free form.  My intestines thank you.

Dear Nikki and Alec....  Sorry I've had to leave you guys in a car driving thirty minutes for the past week or so....  The author is busy and promises to get you to your destination very soon!!!

Dear theory test on Saturday....  Why must you be so early and so far away?  Why must you scare me with your grading system?!  Why must you taunt me with a 98% the first time, then an 80% the second?!!  (True, the second was probably more my fault than yours....  I went skiing with some friends the two days before and got home at 2am, then woke up at 7:30ish....  Yup, it was my fault.)  Just please be nice on Saturday.  No D# melodic minor scales, I beg you!!  I'll have to console myself with a Starbucks Java Chip... and last time I had one, it didn't end well.  : (

Dear sweet little brother....  I'm sorry you're sick.  : (  It's so sad to see the sweetest little bundle of personality feel bad.  You sat down and watched "Some Brides for Some Brothers" today and looked so pitiful....  Poor dear.  I'm so glad you like musicals, by the way.  Your future wife will appreciate that.
(And along those lines....)

Dear younger brother....  Please don't talk about Jane Fairfax around girls who aren't related to you.  Likening my younger sister reading a letter from a friend to the way Mrs. Bates reads a letter from Jane is awesome, but not around other girls.  Please.  I beg of you.

Dear Senior Year....  You are amazing and I love you to death.  Thank you for being you and shining a light at the end of this tunnel.  : D

Dear bloggy friends....  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.  Half the time, I don't know if anyone's reading it, but then I hear from someone or someone comments and it makes my day.  Thank you SO MUCH!!!

(Last because it's the most important....)

Dear adorable little kids we just heard about....  I am praying for you!!!  Hopefully, if it's God's will, I'll meet you guys soon.  : )  (Goodness, I'm tearing up.)

~Eowyn~

October 23, 2012

Doctor Who Blog Party Tag Questions

A Doctor Who Blog Party is taking place over at Day by Day and they've had some pretty awesome things happening thus far!  Take a look!

When I saw the tag questions that people submitted a few days before the party started, I couldn't resist.  Here are my answers.

(Disclaimer: I've only seen two full episodes of Doctor Who, but I know I like it already.  : )  Also, I don't agree with some of the content in the show, even though, overall, the show is one of the cleanest out there....)

Allons-y!
1| If you decided to name your first born child after any Doctor Who character, male or female, who would it be?  Rose.  From what I've seen, she's my favorite companion and she's totally awesome.  : )  Oooor.... I've always wanted to name my kids, oh, what's the word.... rare names.  Cuz everybody's name is Hannah Grace or Mary Sue.  So Rory would fit in there perfectly....  : )  And I've always loved the name Amy... and Matt... and David....  XD


2| What is your favourite colour of the Doctor's shoes?  RED!!  His red Converse are ah.mazing.  (Someone's been peeking at my Christmas list....)

3| Look around yourself and name the one thing that is TARDIS blue in your house!  My homeschool Greek notebook.  Now I will never look at it the same way again....

4| If you could pick who plays the Twelfth Doctor which actor would you choose and why?  Tom Hiddleston.  From the few things I've seen him in, I'd say he'd be a pretty good Doctor!

5| The Doctor is going back in time again, which historical era should he visit?  Ooh, good one!  Hum....  Regency.  : )  That would be amazing.  (Ooh, and then he could meet Elizabeth Bennet or Emma Woodhouse!!!)

6| Would you REALLY go with the Doctor in the TARDIS?  Is the popemobile Catholic?!

7| Who's your favorite Doctor and why?  Ten, hands down.  He has so much more personality than the others combined.  And none of the other Doctors sword-fight aliens in their jimjams, wear 3-D glasses or brainy specs the way he does, or have amazing hair and eyebrows.

8| Would you be afraid to spend Christmas in London?  I would gladly spend Christmas in London if I knew something would happen and the Doctor would come!!  Then I'd travel with him in the Tardis.  : )

9| Do you look at an ordinary screwdriver and think 'this could be a bit more sonic?'  Every time!!

10| Angel statues, plastic mannequins, Christmas trees - what ordinary everyday object would you love to make an object of terror to Whovians were you Steven Moffat?  Pots full of boiling water.  Something could come out of them with steam and creep me out!!

11| The TARDIS lands in your garden and the Doctor steps out. What is the first thing you say to him?  "OH, MY STARS!!"  And then I'd say, "TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!"

12| Who is your favorite actor who has played the Doctor so far and why?  David Tennant.  He brings so much life to the tenth Doctor, it's stunning.  Absolutely stunning.  I mean, that's the reason he even wanted to be an actor - watching Doctor Who when he was little.... And I think that's why he's so amazing - because he knows how long he's wanted to do it and there's no reason to hold back and not live his dream.  Me loves him.  : )

13| Have you seen any Classic Doctor Who? If so, which Doctor/episode(s) is your favorite?  Nope.  My sister wants to watch them all, though, and I'd sit there with her and watch it, too!  I think I'd like the ones with Sylvester McCoy, though.... He seems quite amazing.  Or Peter Davidson - the Time Crash episode looks pretty cool!!

14| Which are the creepiest, scariest and all-out meanest baddies in all the Who-niverse?  I think the Weeping Angels are....  They sound so creepy!

15| Who is/are your favorite Companion(s) and why?  Rose cuz she's Rose and, therefore, awesome.  I also like what I've seen of Amy and Rory - those who waited.  : )

16| Did you cry more watching Doomsday or The Angels Take Manhattan?  Never seen either, but I've read the synopsis-es and seen a few clips and... I could barely keep myself from crying during a Doomsday clip.  I had to tell myself, "Girl, you've only seen one David Tennant episode - calm down!"  I can hardly imagine what shape I'll be in when I finally do see it....

17| What is your favorite quote from the show?  Only one?!  I can't do just one....

"It's bigger on the inside!"

"Rose is coming back.... Is that good?""Yeah."
 
"Look at the hair on the back of my very manly hand!"

"Timey wimey," "Wibbly wobbly," "Spacey wacey," "Humany woomany," and "Jiggery pokery."

"I'll just step inside this police box and arrest myself..."

"Don't blink.  Blink and you're dead."

Not bad for a girl who's only seen two episodes....  : )

18| Which Doctor (including all previous regenerations) would you most like to be the companion of, and why?  Ten.  Because he's awesome.  : )

19| Which of the following are you more scared of, the Daleks, Cybermen, or the Weeping Angles?  The Weeping Angels.  They drive me nuts!

20| Who are some of your favorite guest stars in the series?  Sally Sparrow/Ada Clare.  I've only seen snippets, but she looks amazing!!

21| What was your first experience with Doctor Who and how did you hear about the series?  I think my first experience was on a friend's blog.  Then I heard about it on another friend's blog... then another friend's blog....  I was like, "Hey, I guess I need to watch this."  And I did.  And that was the end of that.

22| The Ninth Doctor said, 'Fantastic!', Ten said, 'Allons-y', and Eleven says, 'Geronimo'; what would you like to be the signature exclamation of the Twelfth Doctor?  "Yes?"  He could say it in a weird way... drawn out and with a British accent....  : )

23| If you were trapped in an episode, which one would it be?  One of the Christmas episodes....  I'd be the victim who was shot and had to be carried onto the Tardis to be brought somewhere for safety.  Yup, that'd be awesome.

24| Which is your favorite episode with each Doctor (Nine, Ten and Eleven)?  Seeing I've only seen two....  The first episode of Nine, the first episode of Ten, and (from clips) the first episode of Eleven.  I've always been a fan of beginnings....  : )

25| After watching a certain Doctor Who episode, did you summon up the courage to try fish sticks and custard?  Ummmm....  Must I answer that one?

I realize I just posted a lot of pictures from the show....  And what I did post wasn't even a drop in the bucket.  *nervous chuckle*  I guess you could call me a fan.

Totally ready for the rest of the Doctor Who Blog Party!!
~Eowyn~

October 15, 2012

Five Reasons Why I'm Not Doing NaNo....

I've finally decided not to do NaNo this year....
 
Here are the five main reasons.
 
1) School.  Need I say more?  That, plus the fact that I'm a Senior (WOOT!), does not equal lots of free time to do NaNo this year.
 
2) I have no earthly clue as to which of my many novels to write.  It'd be waaay too hard to pick between all of them, anyway.....
 
3) Time and my lack of it.  (See #1.)  Also, I'm doing a lot of university orchestra concerts - and a violin studio concert - at the end of November.  Literally seven in two weeks.  No joke.  (Here's a heads up - there will be a scarcity of posting in those two weeks.  Like now....  Heehee....)  Also, I'm doing a big piano competition in January that I really need to get ready for.  I got to State last year - yahoo! - and I would dearly love to see how far I could get this year.
 
4) I did Camp NaNo back in June and started late because of the SAT the Saturday after it started.  I'm taking the SAT on December first this year - at the end of November.  It'd be crazy for me to have SAT stuff, plus writing again.  Not to mention weird and Déjà vu!!
 
5) I want to stay sane.
 
These are my reasons for not doing NaNo.  It does not mean that I won't be working on my June Crusade novel - at least.  I'm so close to the end I can smell it.  Really sad, but I'm looking forward to writing the big surprise climax at the end!  (Well, that... and a little surprise I have for you guys.)
 
What about you guys?  Am I the only writer on the planet who isn't doing NaNo?  If there's one person who isn't doing NaNo, please comment.  We'll stay sane together.  (And get school done along the way, thus not be ix-nayed from our parents' wills.  And....  Yeah.)
 
~Eowyn~

October 4, 2012

October Snippets

I finally decided to do Snippets of Story.  Hope you guys enjoy!  I've posted a few things from my other works-in-progress, too.  Enjoy!

~~~~~~~


“Let me help you with that,” Andy offered softly.
“Andy!” the girl shouted, nearly dropping the cake. Andrew grabbed it and set it on the dining room table, then turned back to her.
“Hi, Haley,” he greeted, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.
“Hey.”
Andy could tell that Haley was trying to keep her emotions in check – he had no idea what they were, though – so he reached out and gave her a short hug, but she held on. He could hear her start crying and grinned awkwardly.
“Oh, Andy, I've worried about you so much, especially in the past month. When I heard what happened....”
“I'm fine, Haley. You don't need to worry about me.”
Haley let him go and half-smiled. “I know, but I still do. After all, you are my big brother.” She grabbed a tissue out of a box nearby and wiped under her eyes, then laughed. “Look at me! I've been here barely a minute and you already have me crying!”
“What is this world coming to?”
Haley shrugged and stuffed the tissue into her coat somewhere, which she started taking off. Andrew took it and hung it on a hook on the wall next to his.
“I brought a cake,” Haley said, motioning towards it.
“I saw it,” Andy replied, nodding.
They were silent for a minute.
“This is awkward,” Haley noted. “Sorry.”
Andrew gave her another short hug. “That's okay. I knew it'd be. I haven't seen you guys in forever.  How's college?”
“It's good.”
“Okay, now that that's out of the way, how's college?”
Haley smiled. “I never can fool you, can I?”

- Stalker (?), a novel I haven't worked on in a while but would dearly love to go back to because I loved the plot!  It'll need some major revisions, though....  (But which of my stories doesn't?)

~~~~~~~

Elizabeth sat and watched [a couple] dance, trying not to wish she occupied the dance floor, too. Suddenly, a young man sat next to her and she nearly jumped in surprise.
“Finn!” she burst out. He grinned and she chuckled softly, watching the dancers again. “You scared me.”
“A thousand apologies, Miss Lizzie.” He nodded towards the dancers. “Not dancin'?”
Elizabeth shook her head slowly. “I think I'm destined to be a wallflower tonight. I don't have an escort, either. Isn't that just terrible?” Finn laughed and she faced him again. “Who did you bring?”
“No one,” he answered, still smiling.
“What? But I thought you were going to bring your sister... or something like that.”
“She got sick at th' last minute and still insisted I come.”
“That was kind of her,” Elizabeth observed, watching Allison practically float around the room.
“Aye, but I don' 'ave a partner, either. Just like you!”
Elizabeth laughed. “Is that an invitation?”
“It can be,” Finn replied, his eyes twinkling merrily.

- Overcoming Her Pride

~~~~~~~

[Allie and I] stepped inside the foyer and I set the roller blades down on the tile. I peeled off my socks and threw them down beside them as Allie leaned over and dropped her purse on the floor, then stepped out of her shoes.
“Allie.”
I looked up at exactly the same time Allie did. Alec was standing at the far side of the foyer, his hands in his pockets, staring at Allie. My gaze darted back and forth – first at Alec, then at Allie.
'Wow,' I thought a minute later, grinning. 'Talk about chemistry....'

- Untitled June Crusade/Camp NaNo Project  (This is one of my favorite scenes!!  The end is the best....)

~~~~~~~

Aaron sat quietly in his chair, staring out the window at a pair of birds who were making their nest on the tree just outside the classroom window. His arms were folded on his open workbook laying on the desk, his head resting on them. Though he was still, his eyes were not. They followed the birds- Romeo and Juliet, he had named them- as they gathered twigs, bits of string, and trash from around the school. The history teacher droned on monotonously with her lecture, seeming never to lose her breath.
“The kings and queens of England,” she was saying, “are very fascinating in their own rights, though we don't have too much time left to go into them,” she glanced at the clock on the wall. “However, I would like to mention a few things about them.”
Several quiet groans rumbled through the classroom, echoing Aaron's own silent one. They weren't getting out early today.
'And on the last day of school before Christmas break,' Aaron mused. 'How awful.'

- Thus begins Aaron's Journey, the fantasy I've told you guys about that I stopped writing about two years ago.  Just looking at the beginning again and remembering how hard I worked on it, revision after revision after painful revision, makes me want to read it again and finish it.   Oh, bother.

~~~~~~~

And I think that'll be it.  I'd give you guys the latest scene from my June Crusade/Camp NaNo Project (which I've called TJCRW - try to figure that one out!), but it gives up a lot....  I'll just give you the first line.

"Can I take your coat?"

: )
~~~~~~~

Oh, and one more thing!  I need your help.  My opening of TJCRW is in desperate need of your services.  (Why I said that in a Scottish accent in my head, I have no idea!  Wait....  Never mind.)  Anyway, it's not the best of openings.  I don't know if it's because it's a little boring or hard to understand or what - I started with action, too!

The opening scene is below.  (It's the State Ice Dancing competition, by the way, and my character in first person's name is Nikki.)

“Now... please welcome... Alec and Nikki Scott!”
The crowd started roaring with applause and I glanced at Alec, who cracked his knuckles and looked at me with a hint of a smile on his face. He reached his hand out towards me, and I took it with a nervous smile.
We stepped into the rink and skated towards the middle, causing the audience to clap even harder. True, it was probably only a few hundred people – I couldn't tell because the lights were in my face – but they made enough noise for a few thousand.
I could barely keep my emotions in check. 'Oh, Lord, help us,' I prayed as I bowed my head like Alec's as we stood motionlessly in the middle of the rink. 'I'm so excited! Help us to stay in sync and everything. Please don't let anything go wrong. Thanks, God!' I ended, finishing my prayer up in a hurry. The first few notes of our music came over the speakers and the crowd died down.
'One, two, three, two, two, three, three, two, three, go!'
I slowly looked up at Alec, who skated circles around me, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped and held his hand out. I hesitated slightly, then took it. He grabbed my other hand and we started spinning, twirling, and gliding to the music. With every move I made, I tried to keep one eye on Alec, one eye on my feet, one ear towards the speakers, and one ear towards Alec, who might whisper a command or two every now and then.
We flew through the routine, effortlessly weaving and spinning around the rink. Alec held my hands and pulled me up onto his shoulders with a serpentine lift. As I came down and danced beside Alec, doing a backwards crossover, the crowd clapped and I smiled. We did a camel spin together and I barely kept myself from smiling harder. 'We're perfectly in sync with each other!' All of our hard work was finally paying off, and I couldn't wait to find out just how well we were doing.
Soon – almost too soon – I heard the music change tempo and knew that we were nearing the end of the song. I took a deep breath, knowing what was coming.
“Here it comes,” he whispered, his grip tightening on my waist and hand.
The hardest aerial move in the entire routine. I quickly ran through the steps in my mind as I skated beside him and mentally prepared for the lift. I took a deep breath and, right on beat, he pulled me up onto his shoulders. Before I knew it, I was back on my feet again and spinning out and away from Alec.
'We did it!' I realized, smiling widely as I heard the audience burst into applause. 'A reverse rotational lift without any complications! Yahoo!'
I spun in again towards Alec, fell into the basic waltz position, feeling the beat as we danced through the last few bars. We glided around the rink once more, then Alec spun me out and we did a sit spin, then twirled for three rotations. Alec and I skated together and I grabbed Alec's hand, then we were in the waltz position once more. Three sets, then he spun me around. Three more, and I dipped. The music ended and I waited for three seconds until Alec pulled me back up again.
The crowd was ecstatic. I almost laughed as I realized that I'd never heard that much applause for us. I grinned at Alec and he smiled back and hugged me. We were both dry-heaving, but we didn't care. We grabbed hands, skated to the center of the rink, and I curtsied, then he bowed. The audience roared and I couldn't help but start crying.
'Oh, thank you, Lord! Thank you!'

What went wrong?!  Be as harsh as you care to - it might not even end up in the final draft, so I don't care.  : )

Putting all this up here is making me want to write more....  Guess what I'll be doing this weekend!
~Eowyn~