Sunday, June 30, 2013

Harry Potter Meme

I'll jump at any chance to do these (especially if they're Harry Potter related). I stole this from a blog I found when I accidentally clicked a link (what luck)! (See if you can find the secret text). ;)

Would you rather go to prom with Harry, Draco or Ron?
Huh. Probably Harry. How can I pass up the chance to go with Harry Potter?!

Would you rather be sorted into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin?
Well, I think I'd be a Ravenclaw, but it would be pretty cool to be sorted into Gryffindor.

Would you rather explore the forbidden forest or the halls of Hogwarts?
Oh, definitely Hogwarts. Way more secrets and less danger.

Would you rather enroll in Potions, Charms, Divination or Defense Against The Dark Arts?
If Snape were still teaching potions, I'd say no, and divination didn't look like a lot of fun, so I guess I'd go with charms (unless Lupin were teaching DADA).

Would you rather buy an owl, cat, rat or toad?
Definitely an owl! :D What a cool way to deliver mail! (Plus I'm allergic to cats and I'm not really interested in toads).

Would you rather have in possession: the elder wand, resurrection stone, or the cloak of invisibility?
The invisibility cloak. The elder wand causes too much trouble and the resurrection stone doesn't really work. Plus, wouldn't it be great to use it while you're playing Capture the Flag?

Would you rather be tutored by Luna Lovegood or Hermione Granger?
Ha! When I first read this I thought it said, "tortured" instead of "tutored." But I'd choose Hermione to tutor me. Absolutely.

Would you rather, in the final battle, fight against Nagini (the snake) or Bellatrix?
*Shivers* Neither! Fine, I guess Nagini. If I had the sword, everything would be fine. I least I can deflect snake bites. The killing curse I can't deflect.

Would you rather fight a basilisk or a dragon?
A dragon. Hermione could teach me that charm where you hurt their eye. Plus, how am I supposed to fight something I can't look at directly in the eyes?

Would you rather be a part of the Malfoy family or Weasley family?
... Is this supposed to be a trick question? So totally the Weasleys (duh).

Would you rather have a butterbeer or pumpkin juice?
Having tried both, I'd say butterbeer. It's sooooo good and sooooo addictive. ;P

Would you rather fly on a broomstick, Hagrid's motorbike or Buckbeak?
This is a hard one . . . I'd have to say Buckbeak because he seems more . . . secure, I guess. But maybe a broomstick. I have no idea.

Would you rather have a conversation with Daniel Radcliffe or J.K. Rowling?
J.K. ROWLING FOR SURE.

I tag you all! :D Anyone who wants to do it, just jump in! :D And don't forget to check out day one of my writer's camp (see below this post)! :D

(By the way, I'm participating in the "Notebook Sisters's" critiquing party! Pop on over there and check it out)! :D

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Writer's Camp--Day 1

Before I start talking about my cool completely and totally amazing writer's camp, I have an announcement to make! :D

I'M GOING TO BE A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR FOR "THE BOOK CHEWERS!!!!" :D

I just recently found out and I am super excited (if you haven't noticed from my constant use of emoticons)! :D I'll be starting my position sometime in July. I'll blog here whenever one of my posts go up (or, you know, you can just subscribe to "The Book Chewers." Just an idea).

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for.

Writer's Camp.

On the first day, the teachers and the students mostly just got to know each other. We played a few games (including "Balderdash," "Scattergories," and "Would You Rather") and got to know each other by doing this fun exercise.

We got to interview each other!

We learned about what makes a good interview before splitting up into pairs. Here are some tips I learned:

Do background research.

If you're interviewing someone about their career, do a little research on their job. You might be interviewing them to learn more, but you don't want to look completely clueless. Plus, this will save you time in the interview to ask more interesting questions rather than asking, "So, Mr. Garbage Man, when you pick up the garbage, where do you put it?"

Set it up.

Contact the person by e-mail first. This won't put them on the spot, rather than if you contacted them by phone. If the person lives close to you, offer to take them out for coffee/hot chocolate or brunch. You'll pay, of course. Ask them for 30 minutes of their time MAX. If they don't live close to you, do the interview over the phone, Skype, or e-mail.

TIP: If the person you want to interview doesn't respond within a week, feel free to follow up with another e-mail. If you don't hear back from them for another week, try calling (if you can find the phone number). If no one picks up, leave a message. If you still don't hear back, chances are this person is not interested. Be persistent, but politely persistent.

Write the questions down.

This seems like a given, but a lot of people don't write down their questions. They simply go with a notebook or a tape recorder and ask whatever pops into their head. This leads to a lot of "Um-s" and "Uh-s" and "Hold-on-a-second-s." This just wastes both of your time. Think of the questions before hand and write them down.

TIP: Some of the answers might take more time than others. Put stars or hearts or some other simple doodle next to the questions you want to ask first. This way you'll have plenty of time to ask the questions you really want to ask. If you breeze through all of questions with time leftover, feel free to ask any follow-up questions you might have had throughout the interview.

Be polite.

If the 30 minutes is up, it's up. Don't ask for extra time, don't pretend like you don't see what time it is, don't ask another question right when the time is up. If the person you're interviewing keeps talking after the 30 minutes is up, remind them of the time. If they don't care, go ahead and ask more questions. But they should be the one to initiate the extra time, not you.

Ask interesting questions.

Especially if you want people to read this interview. You don't want your readers to scroll through a long interview of answers to, "What's your favorite color?" or "Do you have any pets?" Think of some really interesting questions, like, "What book character do you think you're most like?" or "What are your quirks?" I've tried both of these questions and gotten great results.

Small talk is extremely helpful.

Some people might have a hard time opening up. A good way to prevent yourself from getting two word answers is to add a little bit of small talk in between. But just a little. If you use too much, you'll end up wasting half of your interviewing time. A little bit goes a long way. If the person you're interviewing mentions that they've always wanted to travel to Portugal, you could respond by saying, "Oh, my mom's Portuguese!" (She is, by the way).

Write and record.

While recording an interview is a good idea, always, always, always bring a notebook along, too. You never know when your recording device might run out of battery or just break completely. Bring a backup and take notes.

Pick out the important stuff.

You don't have to write the interview down word for word, but never ever change something the person you're interviewing said. If they said they hate pizza, they hate pizza. You don't necessarily have to include that when you're writing the interview down, but don't write, "I have a love-hate relationship with pizza," when they specifically said that they hate pizza.

Good quotes.

If you're taking notes and the person you're interviewing says something really cool, make sure you write the whole thing down, word for word. You wouldn't want to forget part of a really cool quote and end up butchering it later. But never ask them to repeat the last thing they said, because chances are they forgot it and it won't be the same. These will be your pull-out quotes, and should be related to your controlling theme (see below).

Use your observational skills.

Interviewing isn't just about asking questions and getting answers. When the person you're interviewing is talking, take a look at how they're sitting. What's their body language like? How are they speaking? Are they excited by this topic? Are they grinding their teeth as they give an answer? Take notes of these things, too. You can get a lot from a person just by the way their eyes look as they speak.

Be nosy.

This is your big chance to ask any questions that you want and actually get answers! Dig deep. What have you always wanted to know about this person? Don't ever be rude, but you can be politely nosy.

The hook.

You're going to want a nice hook at the beginning of your interview. Really grab the readers. Entice them. Why do they want to keep reading? The reader should be reading this of her own free will. Some might just glance at the first few sentences and move on, but if you have a nice hook, a lot of them will stick around and see what you have to say.

The controlling theme.

What is your controlling theme? Bring out the person's personality in your interview. When I was interviewed at the writer's camp, the person who wrote the interview really focused on my dream I had as a little girl--I wanted to grow wings and fly. Throughout the whole interview, that person kept giving little hints about my dreams and my love of fantasy. It made for a really enjoyable interview. Figure out that person's personality and focus on it.

Language.

When writing your interview, add a little bit of description in between. These descriptions should not be what shoes the person has on or what the coffee shop looks like around you, but should focus on the person's face: the way their eyes sparkle at the mention of their dog, the way they bite their tongue when you ask them about their boss. These descriptions shouldn't just be boring, "she smiled-s" or "her eyes sparkled-s." They should be poetic and flow together, such as, "Her eyes looked as if they were sprinkled with glitter," or "her smile could have powered a city."

Your three gold coins.

Your three gold coins are your pull-out quotes (see above). Whether you have two or three or four, you should have a few of them and they should be spread out: one towards the very beginning or your hook (see above), one in the middle to keep your reader interested, and one at the end to wrap it up and leave your reader happy and content. If you use them all up at once, it lowers your chance of having people actually read your interview.

Now that I've bombarded you with tips, tricks, and tools of the trade (and no, alliteration isn't on there, though it can be extremely helpful in poetry), let me show you the interview I wrote that day. I had fifteen minutes to interview my partner and 30 minutes to write up my interview with her. But she wasn't a student.

Somehow I was the odd one out, so I got to choose which teacher I wanted to interview (there were three). I chose Ms. Savage, and boy am I glad I did! Ms. Savage gave me plenty to work with, and I loved the interview she wrote up after she interviewed me.

Here is my interview:

Interview With Daina Savage

Daina Savage--who is 50% Latvian on her mother's side--starts off by saying that her name is often mispronounced and means--roughly translated--the poems of the people. This is the perfect introduction for Ms. Savage, because that's exactly what she is: a poem for the people. Journalist, optimist, and lover of learning, Ms. Savage says that she is very much like Hermione Granger.

"There isn't enough time to learn everything about the world," she says. "That's why I'd want a Time Turner."

I ask her what she likes about journaling and if she'd rather be doing anything else.

"Oh, no," she says. "I have the best job. I was going to be a dentist, but that's not what I was passionate about."

At this point you can see the hopeful gleam in her eyes. I know this gleam well, because it matches the one I have. I, too, am an idealist.

"I like bringing people together," Ms. Savage says. "I like effecting change."

Daina believes that there is good in the world and that kids can be empowered. She is the epitome of an optimist.

Daina also writes poetry. Her love of adjectives, alliteration, and people reacting in a positive way to the natural world just highlight her hopefulness, her attitude of, "the sky's the limit." Her writing is very romanticized and inspirational, much like her personality.

I ask Ms. Savage more about her career and she says, "It's hard to be a critic. I don't like to bring down peoples' work. I love telling a story. I hope my writing motivates people to make a difference."

After we had a lunch break, we did some creative writing. We experimented with different sayings, like, "every cloud has a silver lining" or "the early bird gets the worm." Once we had one we liked, we had to take that saying and twist it around. That would be the theme of our poem or story.

But that's not all. Then we had to include five different words in our stories or poems. These words didn't have anything to do with each other. Our list was:

Mother
Blackberry
Whir
Needle
Clouds
Cliff

We had to include at least five, but we could do all six, if we wanted to. I took the phrase, "A cat has nine lives" and wrote a poem about it. Here it is:

They say a cat has nine lives,
But mine only had one.
My mother told me not to let her go outside.
I didn't listen.
Blackberry didn't hear the whir of wheels against the concrete as the bus came by.
She was deaf in one ear,
You see.
Seeing her broken body on the pavement was like a needle to the chest.
The killer didn't even look back.
I see Blackberry's face in the clouds sometimes
Gentle and sweet,
Never squashed.
It wasn't until a black kitten wandered into our backyard that I was able to love again.
I kissed his nose,
He licked my ear,
And blackberries never tasted so sweet.

And that concludes day one. What do you think? :D

I have a challenge for all of you. A fun challenge. I challenge you to find someone you've never met and interview them using the tips I wrote about in this post. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying so along with your e-mail (in this format: themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com). Then find someone else in the comments that you'd like to interview and contact them through e-mail. Have fun! :D (I'll be awaiting your interviews)!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

If You're Mean To Me I'll Write You Into My Book--TCWT Blog Chain

This is my first time participating in the "Teens Can Write, Too!" Blog Chain and I am VERY excited! :D

The prompt is: “How have both the people in your life and your own personal experiences impacted your writing? Do you ever base characters off of people you know?”

The honest answer is, I don't normally take things from real life for my writing. People say to write what you know, but I always think that's a little narrow-minded. I write what I don't know, and it usually turns out okay.

Of course, sometimes I--without meaning to--take a few personality traits from people I know in real life and write a character based on them. It wasn't until the third edit of Fantasya: A Giant Problem was finished when I realized that I had taken my personality and my best friend Kirsten's personality and created two characters that were based on us that were also best friends. And not only two characters, but the main characters. The characters weren't completely like us, but just close enough that people who knew us might notice some similarities.

The book I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year (Secrets) was mostly a book with just characters based off of people I knew. Some of my closest friends were the main characters while one person I do not like is the villain. It got hard after a while, though, to just write characters that already existed in the world, so I branched out a bit and changed their personalities. I added a few extra characters that had been completely made-up. The book was fun, but I don't think I'd ever do something like that again.

But all of that aside, I do get inspiration from conversations around me, my observations, and my experiences. I'm constantly writing things down on a piece of scrap paper, the notes on my iPod, or a notebook. If I'm really in a pinch, I'll write on my hands or try really hard to memorize the thing I needed to write down. I got a whole book idea just from watching a documentary about space. I also wrote a short passage about a woman I saw at the park one time that I managed to write into the same book.

          I walked by a woman holding a leash that was not attached to a dog, but her child, who was laughing and trying to chase a butterfly that was just out of reach, thanks to her restraining mother. The woman checked her phone, scrolling through Facebook, and barely glanced up when the little girl yanked free of her grip. The woman gasped and chased after her.
          “Come here!” she yelled. “No! Come here!”
          The woman dropped her phone in her attempts to catch the toddler. When she did scoop up the girl, she carried her over to a park bench and tied the leash around the armrest.
          “Sit!” the woman said, completely forgetting herself. Didn’t she know that she was talking to a human being, rather than a canine? “Stay. I’ll be right back.”
            The woman grabbed her phone, brushed some dirt off of it, and scolded her child for being a kid.

I now invite you all to answer this question in the comments! :D

26th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll be announcing the topic for next month’s chain.)
 


Sunday, June 23, 2013

I Swear I'm Not Dead . . .

. . . I've just been at a writer's camp all week!!!!

I promise I'll post lots about that very soon, but for now, I'll just post two links to blog posts I wrote (one is for "The Write Practice" and the other is for "Positive Writer").:

"How To Stop Procrastinating Before It's Too Late"

"How To Stay Focused On Writing"

Sunday, June 16, 2013

A Poem For My Dad

A while back on Mother's Day I wrote a poem for my mom. I saw it yesterday and realized I hadn't done one for my dad yet. Perfect timing! Here it is.

This is a poem I wrote for you.
You can read it when you're happy and sad,
Cheerful and blue.
You're funny and helpful,
Loving and smart.
You are a dad who is close to my heart.
And this is a poem where I want to say,
Have a wonderful Father's Day!

I love you, Daddy! :D

Favorite First Lines

I've seen this prompt on multiple blogs now, some of which are, "The Edge of Precipice" and "The Book Chewers." I thought it was a fun idea, so I'm going to steal it from them. ;)

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." -- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling (I bet you saw that one coming).

"I knew it would begin with the end, and the end would look like death to these eyes." -- "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (This book is surprisingly good. You should all read it)!

"There were only two kinds of people in our town. 'The stupid and the stuck,' my father had affectionately classified our neighbors." -- "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Yes I know it's two lines, but the two go together so well that I couldn't leave them out).

"There is no once upon a time in this book." -- "Fantasya: A Giant Problem" by Me. ;) (I had to include it).

What are your favorite first lines? (Psst! You can use your own, if you'd like). Leave a comment! :D

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

ABCs of My Awesome Life

I completely ripped this off of multiple other bloggers (but to be fair, they were ripping it off of someone else, too). If you want to learn more about my awesome life, please continue.

Ambition: To become a published author. And neaten up my handwriting (seriously, an aspiring author should have neat handwriting)! Oh, and become a witch (the Harry Potter kind, not the double, double toil and trouble kind). I'd also like to own a broomstick (preferably a Firebolt). And a Niffler. A room of requirement would be pretty handy. And a magic wand.

Bad Habits: I procrastinate (but I'm working on that). I also bite my nails (and I really do want to quit. Anyone have any tips? I've tried everything).

Celebrity Crushes: Hmm, I've never really had a celebrity crush, but I guess I'll say Adam Levine because he's cute, creative, talented, and geeky (he is)!

Drink: Butterbeer. (There are some awesome recipes out there. Go look one up)!

Education: Real education: homeschool. Dream education: Hogwarts. (*Sigh*).

Food: Favorite: Sushi. Least favorite: Raisins and most nuts (excluding cashews and certain types of peanuts). I also love popcorn (when I don't have a stupid orthodontic appliance in, which I do now--braces, ugh), chocolate, and berries of any kind.

Guilty Pleasures: Why do we call these guilty pleasures again? Should we feel bad for enjoying life? Anyway, I'd say chocolate and peanut butter (Reese's anyone?), video games (mostly Webkinz and Minecraft), reading, writing, and good TV shows (new favorites include Friends and Gilmore Girls, but don't ruin anything for me because this is my first time watching both)!

Hometown: I was born in Arizona, but I've lived in a small town in Pennsylvania for ten years now.

Ice Cream: Chocolate and peanut butter. All the way. (My second favorite is the "Double Dunker" flavor, and, as my mom says, it tastes like Dunkin Donuts smells).

Jonesing for: (I'm not positive, but I think this means what am I craving--?). Then I guess right now I'm "Jonesing for" a sequel to the Harry Potter series, Allegiant by Veronica Roth, the next two books in The Host series, and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (but I'm "Jonesing" for that all the time).

Kryptonite: Cute puppies. I just have to pet every single one of them.

Look-a-like: Hermione Granger, when I first get up in the morning. (One of the perks of having thick, brown hair. I can easily dress up as her for Halloween, after messing up my hair, which I did a few years back).

Movie: Favorites: Any of the "Harry Potter" movies, "The Hunger Games," "The Help," "The King's Speech," "Wreck-It Ralph," and any of the "Toy Story" movies. Movies I think could have been better: "The Host." It was good, because I loved the book, but some of the actors and actresses were really bad, and some of the scenes weren't realistic to the book. (In one scene, a character is forced to cut herself with a knife, and she doesn't even flinch when it happens. She just stares at the blood).

Nickname: I don't have any nicknames, seeing as the only nickname that could come from "Kate" is "Katie" (which I hate. It sounds condescending to me, but I don't know why). The nickname I love from being online is MV which stands for Magic Violinist.

Obsessions: Reading. Writing. Harry Potter. Taylor Swift. The Civil Wars (the band). Indie music. Chocolate and peanut butter. My family. My Friends. My dog Scout. Cute puppies. Yellow. Sunflowers. The beach. Fantasy novels. Etc. . . .

Perfume: Yuck. I hate perfume. And scented hairspray. But I do love how Taylor Swift describes her perfume ("Wonderstruck") on the Ellen show. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video of her talking about it, but I was able to find a "commercial" for it.



Quirk: I straighten any crooked object. If three pencils are next to each other on a table, but one of them isn't completely aligned with the others, I'll fix it. It bothers me if things aren't perfectly straightened like that.

Regret: I have no regrets. I won't do anything that I think I might regret later.

Starbucks: Is okay. I really don't like coffee (unless it's a pumpkin latte), and the only drinks I like there are hot chocolate and their hot apple cider drink. I do like their big cookies, though.

The Last Book You Read: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. It was surprisingly good, and I can't wait for the next installments in The Lunar Chronicles.

Unique Feature: I can't think of any unique features I have. I don't have any freckles, scars, birthmarks, or any other unusual marks/spots/features.

Vacation: My favorite vacation was the one our family took to Florida to go to Harry Potter World. Best. Amusement. Park. Ever.

Wine: I don't know anything about wine. Or any kind of alcohol.

X: I am Xtra confused about this space.

Years: Years I've been alive: 13. Years ahead of me: ??? (Hopefully many).

Zen: Reading and writing makes me calm, as does hot chocolate and Scout.

I tag you all! If you read this post you are now doomed to write an ABC post about your life! (Mwa ha haaaaaaa).

Friday, June 7, 2013

The Versatile Blogger Award and a Search For a Critique Partner

I'm happy to announce that I recently received the "Versatile Blogger Award" from Karoline at "As a Teen Writer." Thank you, Karoline! :D














Unlike some other awards, all I have to do for this one is accept it and pass it on to a few of my favorite bloggers. I will pass it on to . . .

My parents at "Sushi and Pizza."
My brother at "I Don't Eat My Drumsticks."
nevillegirl at "Musings From Neville's Navel."
Miriam Joy at "Miriam Joy Writes."
Bethany at "Rainbows and Penguins."
seventytwofishes at "Seventy-Two Fishes."

It seems as if a bunch of my favorite bloggers have quit blogging. :/ What a shame. (Carla and Cici, if you're reading this, please keep blogging)!

As you can see from the title, I'm looking for a critique partner. For those of you who don't know what a critique partner is, I will explain.

A critique partner is a writer you can depend on to help you with your writing (whether it be books, short stories, poetry, etc.). You can count on them to be honest, kind, fair, and invested in your work. If you happen to find a great critique partner, you will become theirs and, therefore, will have to do your best to be honest, kind, fair, and invested in their work. You and your critique partner critique each other's work and help each other to perfect your writing abilities.

So . . . any takers? Please leave a comment if you're interested! :D

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

You Know It's Summer When . . .

I can't stop skipping everywhere I go.
I wear my friendship anklets daily.
I walk around barefoot outside.
I can't seem to find enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.
Menedy's (my stuffed cat) scarves come off and are put away in a box somewhere.
I stay up extra late reading.
We put the air conditioning units in the windows around the house.
Songs like "Call Me Maybe," "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "22," and "Brighter Than the Sun" sound so much more appealing on the radio.
Scout starts to lay on the cool, hardwood floor rather than in her crate or on the couch.
I eat Popsicles and ice cream sandwiches daily.
We see our friends almost every day, if not twice that day.
I have a huge pile of books to be read.
The laundry in my hamper is towering high, the clothes dirty with sweat, dirt, and grass stains.
I blog more often.
I write more often (if that's even possible).
Fruit tastes even sweeter.
I feel all bubbly inside my stomach.
I can't stop smiling.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Facebook?

I--as well as my parents--have been debating on whether or not I should get Facebook. The only reason I want to get it--or maybe I don't; I'm not sure yet.--would be to promote my blog. I think this could be the next big step in my writing career. I could reach out to so many people at once. It seems like a no-brainer, right?

Wrong.

My parents and I spent 2-3 hours in the car talking about this. We debated and talked and debated some more, but all we did was confuse ourselves even further. What should we do about this?

Here are some pros to getting Facebook:

1. I could promote my blog.
2. I could reach out to so many people ate once.
3. I could build a bigger and better community.
4. I could meet new people through Facebook.

Now for the cons:

1. Anybody can go on and comment whatever they want on my page (though this could happen on my blog, too).
2. People might comment on Facebook rather than my blog.
3. I might not reach the audience I want (such as random teenagers who have all the time in the world to post cat memes).
4. It could be a huge time suck for me.
5. My posts might get buried so nobody sees them.

As you can see, I'm stuck. Should I get Facebook or not? Will people even find my page? Am I just going to waste my time?

What do you think I should do? If you have any ideas/input, please speak up! I value your opinions.

Monday, June 3, 2013

The Awkward Conversation

Awkward conversations are a part of life--and writing. Many TV shows and books are littered with them. They can be helpful for humorous occasions or just to make your readers cringe with sympathy when the characters begin to ramble.

What are the different stages of an awkward conversation?

Well, usually it begins with:

The Awkward Silence

This is when both characters involved in the conversation (usually the MC and someone else) realizes that they have no idea how to talk to each other. They usually start to fidget, look around the room, or check their watch. This usually leads to:


The Rambling

Most of the time, the MC is the one doing the rambling. They're the one trying to fill the gap by talking about whatever comes to mind: their families, a TV show they watched recently, or some other topic. Normally this ends with something funny they heard that day, which doesn't turn out to be that funny the second time around. The other character will give a fake, feeble laugh, and then the silence falls again.


Attempted Small Talk

After the rambling ends, the MC sometimes tries to thaw the ice by talking about something neutral and meaningless, like the food they're eating, the clothes the other person is wearing, or the weather that day. This doesn't usually end well, but the MC was brave enough to try, and for that we must applaud them . . . halfheartedly. (Really, you couldn't think of anything else)?

"I gotta go . . . this has been fun!"

This is when the other character pretends to receive an urgent phone call or text to get out of the conversation. Sometimes they suddenly remember a dentist or doctor appointment. Either way, this is when the MC realizes that this meeting has not gone well.

Some TV shows that are brilliant at this are Gilmore Girls, especially the conversations between Rory and Dean, and Friends.

Have your characters ever been in an awkward situation? If so, how did they handle themselves?