March Wrap-Up

Books I Read

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

4/5

I don't know why I didn't read this sooner! It was great from beginning to end. I loved the characters (especially Gansey) and the plot was so unique that I can't really compare it to anything. It's a paranormal book that'll appeal to people who don't like paranormal, as well. I'm excited to start The Dream Thieves.

Doctor Who: Official Guide on How to Be a Time Lord by BBC


4/5

This was a fun, fluffy read. Lots of doodles and quizzes and trivia. It's kind of like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for "Doctor Who."

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

5/5


My little brother's been begging me to read this for a while now, so I finally did. It's hysterical. It's super short--I read it in less than an hour--and is super creative the whole way through. Both younger and older kids will love it.

I also reread most of Insurgent before watching the movie, but since I didn't finish it, it doesn't count. :P But I would definitely give it a 5/5.

Movies I Watched

"Stuck In Love"

5/5

Love. This. Movie. It's funny, it has a great cast (Lily Collins, Logan Lerman, and Nat Wolff in the same movie?), and awesome music. Plus, it's about writers. It can't get much better than that.

"Iron Man"

3.5/5

Yeah, I hadn't actually seen (and understood) a Marvel movie before now. *hides in shame* I'm fixing that. "Iron Man" was great, as I expected. :) Tony Stark is hilarious, even if he can be stubborn and a little stuck up sometimes (but in the best ways). I did feel like a lot of it was set up, but that's to be expected from the first movie.

"Iron Man 2"

4/5

This one was so good! I wasn't expecting Natasha Romanoff to be in this series, so that was a pleasant surprise. She truly is awesome. I liked the villain in this movie much better than the first one. And we got to see more of Rhodey, who I think is great. Definitely a good sequel.

 "Notting Hill"

5/5

I love simple movies like this and "You've Got Mail" and "The Hundred-Foot Journey." William's character is so sweet (and funny) and I cracked up more than once at scenes with his roommate, Spike. But all of characters are great and so different from each other. Even Anna, who sometimes got on my nerves, was well-written.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

4/5

I should've watched this Disney movie sooner. It's short and sweet and is a great story. The ending was fantastic, too, though I won't give anything away here. The friendship between Quasimodo and Esmeralda is what really made the movie.

"Captain America"

5/5

Probably my favorite Marvel movie I've watched so far. Two words: Peggy Carter. I am so excited to watch "Agent Carter" now that I've seen for myself just how freaking awesome she is. Steve is sweet, Dr. Erskine made me sad, and Bucky made me even sadder. But the ending made me want to watch the sequel immediately, and I didn't have it on hand, so that was the tiniest bit frustrating.

"Thor"

4/5

LOKI. I knew I liked him in "The Avengers" for a reason. He's such a flawed character and I love it! I don't think he's a true villain. He's just lost and has made some bad choices. Also, Thor interacting with humans has got to be one of the best things I've seen in a superhero movie. I just about lost it when he smashed his cup on the ground. I'm sure you've all seen it before, so I won't show you again.

Whoops, my hand slipped.

"Veronica Mars"

5/5

This was the perfect ending to the series, even though I'm extremely sad that it's over. I'm just glad I got to watch it so soon after finishing season three. I can't even imagine how the fans felt waiting for seven years for a conclusion. (And the Sherlockians think they had it bad.) I highly recommend this show to anyone and everyone.

"Anastasia" (a rewatch)

4/5

Another great Disney movie! I'd watched this years ago but only remembered a vague scene of Anya walking through the snow. Yeah, it was time for a rewatch. It has everything a animated movie requires: good characters, humor, suspense, and people randomly bursting into song. The villain is delightfully freaky, too.

"Insurgent"

 5/5

I was a little worried about what they were doing to the movie when I saw the trailers and the negative reviews online, but I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it. It was fantastic! Yes, they did take some liberties with a few things, but I found the changes only enhanced the story. I actually like it when the movie strays away from the book a little bit (but only a little), because then we're not watching something that's exactly the same as what we've read. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend that Divergent fans watch it, too.

Quotes I Wrote

Nothing very quotable this month, sadly. I've mostly been doing a lot of planning for my Camp NaNoWriMo book, Plot Bunnies, which you can read about here. April 1st, tomorrow!

Obsessions I Acquired

"Teen Wolf"/the music from "Teen Wolf" When I started watching "Teen Wolf" (thanks for another great rec, Cait), one thing I hadn't expected was how great the music was going to be. I've made a lot of wonderful discoveries because of it. Some of my favorite songs from the series so far (I'm watching season three now, so no spoilers, please!) are "Who Are You Really" and "We Must Be Killers" by Mikky Ekko, "Black Sheep" and "Kill of the Night" by Gin Wigmore, and "Just a Little Bit" by Kids of 88. They're all very catchy, though, so consider yourself warned.

Tumblr I finally gave in to the temptation, and while my productivity might not be any better because of it, it's definitely a great place to go for a good laugh. I originally got on to follow some of my favorite authors who have active Tumblr blogs (like Rainbow Rowell, Amie Kaufman, and Meagan Spooner), but the fandom world sucked me in as it always does. And let me tell you, it's a great time to be alive on Tumblr as a member of the Supernatural fandom. We truly rule the website. Just like the Sherlock fandom is notorious for reaching Moriarty levels of insanity, the SPN fandom is known for their uncanny ability to find a completely relevant gif from the show for any post on there. It's especially hysterical when they reply in all caps with something like "HOW DO YOU GUYS HAVE A GIF FOR EVERYTHING?!" It's tons of fun.

This video. This is the video I will show to anyone I'm trying to convince to watch "Supernatural." The song choice is perfect, the editing is flawless, and the whole thing captures the heart of the story and the characters. I can't stop watching it!

Marvel movies. (Thank you, Cait and nevillegirl, for getting me hooked!) Apparently it's a crime to call yourself a fangirl if you haven't watched at least one Marvel movie. As you can see from the movies section of this post, I've fixed that and have not stopped watching.

Fanart While I'm not very good (yet), I've been practicing and am having lots of fun trying to copy some of my favorite fictional characters. I think I'm doing okay. It's definitely going to take time to get as good as some artists I've seen online (yowza).

Picture of the Month

Your generic demon eye

By the way, Alexia Stevens and I are starting a group for teen writers called Bean Bags and Sofa's Writers Group. If you're interested in joining our community, please take our survey so we know what to add!

How was your March?

The Perfect Patience Award

My dad at "Sushi and Pizza" nominated me for an award he created called the Perfect Patience award, which is awesome, because us bloggers/readers/fangirls (or fanboys)/writers have to at least try to be patient all. The. Time.

You have shown exceptional patience in the face of a frustrating situation. You are the embodiment of graceful waiting. The rules are simple:

1. Post this picture on your blog.

2. Answer the 5 questions I've asked.

3. Tag 3 friends whose patience knows no bounds (or from whom you want to hear, patient or not).

 

Questions:

1. Is there something on the horizon that will arrive soon, but not soon enough for you?

The fourth season of "Sherlock." The ninth season of "Doctor Who." The next episode of "Supernatural." (Are you sensing a theme here?) Winter by Marissa Meyer. The last "Mockingjay" movie. The results of a novel contest I entered through Scholastic. The "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" movie. Basically loving something that comes out in installments is hard.

2. What are three things that absolutely try your patience?

1. Hiatus/waiting (as you can clearly see from my answer above). Having friends in different time zones is hard, because you might have to wait eight hours before that person wakes up and sees your message. 2. Someone's inability to make a decision. 3. Trying to explain something to someone who just isn't listening.

3. Do you have any nervous habits or rituals that may not be obvious to anyone around you, but that help you stretch out your patience?

Usually taking deep breaths is the best way to go about it, unless you're going to be waiting for a very long time. In that case, I try to pass the time by reading and writing. If I'm waiting for new episodes/seasons of a show, I'll rewatch episodes (though even that can make me more frustrated) or write fan-fiction about it. Pinterest is a great place to go to express your issues with patience with other fangirls. Texting/e-mailing/messaging something in all caps to someone who's waiting with you is very therapeutic. Especially if you can count on them to write back in all caps.

4. In professionally-produced articles or writing, which makes you crazier: grammar errors or spelling mistakes?

Ugh, probably spelling mistakes. Certain grammar rules can be tricky for anybody to learn and practice, but it's so easy to open a new tab and double check that you're spelling something correctly. It takes all of three seconds.

5. Sherlock Holmes or Sheldon Cooper? Which roommate would try your patience more?

I would definitely rather live with Sherlock. While they both can be condescending and have annoying habits, Sheldon seems way more particular. Sherlock would be the kind of roommate who wouldn't mind my clutter if I were in the middle of a project, because he'll make a mess, too, if he's on a case. Plus, it's Sherlock freaking Holmes.

I tag . . .

-Cait at "Paper Fury" (because "Supernatural" and "Sherlock" and time zone issues)
-Aisha (you can do it in the comments, since you don't have a blog. Though you should totally get a blog because that would be awesome.) (because you're an extremely patient critique partner who doesn't mind waiting a little longer for me to look over your writing--thank you)
-nevillgirl at "Musings From Neville's Navel" (because being a fangirl is rough, and I'm sure liking Game of Thrones is especially difficult right now since the show is going to reach the ending before the books)

But I would love to hear from all of you! :) So anybody who's reading this, feel free to grab the award for yourself and blog about it or just answer the questions in the comments. Have fun!

Beautiful People Linkup--March

Cait at "Paper Fury" is co-hosting a linkup called "Beautiful People." Each month she announces a new set of questions to answer about your characters so you can learn more about them. Since Camp NaNoWriMo is right around the corner, I'm going to try and learn a little bit more about my protagonist, a seventeen-year-old character living in a writer's head by the name of Indigo Sparks. She's the hero of her story, a YA fantasy romance, who is a revered dragon slayer. She's short, wears pastel rainbow sweaters, loves Metallica, and kicks butt while looking adorable and not at all scary. The Writer has unfortunately decided to pair her up with another character in the book, a boy she loathes but can't escape.



1. What is their secret desire?

Indigo's pretty much an open book and often voices her opinions, even when they aren't wanted. She's filterless. But her not-so-secret desires are to fight The Writer tooth and nail to create her own story, one where she has the ending she wants. Upon discovering her friends' fates, she wants to help them out, too.


2. What is the best and brightest moment they experience during the story?

Probably everything she does in the climax, but I won't give that away here. ;)

3. What are the emotional places your characters are afraid to go to?

She doesn't like thinking about her past. It's too painful for her. Her parents never really got involved in her life. They forgot to show up to school productions, they forgot her birthday on more than one occasion, they wouldn't be able to tell anyone what her hobbies are. They were always busy with work and their friends and keeping up appearances in the neighborhood, but Indigo can't remember the last time they played a game with her. After she got sucked into the fantasy realm where her story takes place, she hasn't been able to find a way back to Earth, but what she's scared to admit is that she doesn't want to go back.

4. Is there a place/city/room where they will never go? Why?

Indie's always made a promise to herself that she wouldn't step foot into the morgue, where all the characters who met their demise end up, but that promise might change. She's also never seen the wing of the hospital where all the half-formed characters and ideas live, mostly because she's never had a reason to.

5. If they were permanently leaving town, what would they easily throw out? What would they refuse to part with? (Why?)

Her books and music and favorite clothes would come with her no matter what, but if she had to leave something behind for the sake of easy transportation, she'd be okay with throwing out her old drawings. She used to draw pictures for her mom and dad all the time when she was younger, but one day she noticed her mom using them as place mats or coasters. Then she noticed that they often ended up in the trash with coffee stains or sour cream smudges. She gathered the rest of them up and stuffed them in her closet and hasn't drawn another one since.

6. What do they want (consciously and tangibly)?

A happy ending. A family. Safety. Oh, and a bigger bookshelf.

7. On the other hand: what do they need (on the emotional, subconscious level)?

See above.

8. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

Indie learned a long time ago that wanting to change who she was did nothing but frustrate her, so instead she's learned to embrace herself, flaws and all. Though sometimes she wishes she were taller so she could reach things off the top shelves. It's especially infuriating when she has to hop up and down to read the spines of books that are higher up.

9. What is the most humiliating event of their life?

When she forgot her lines during her monologue for the middle-school play. She vowed after that to become a master of improv and not care what anybody thought about her if she messed up.

10. What things do they turn to when they need a bit of hope?

Indigo's best friend, Harper, isn't exactly a ray of sunshine. She's a good person to go to when Indie needs her butt kicked into gear or someone to tell her to snap out of it. But when she needs hope and comfort, she goes to the character therapy group and talks to her friends there. The group therapist has become a sort of mom figure for her.

Tell me about your characters! Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this year?

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! :) To celebrate, I'm sharing a list of some of my favorite books that have green covers. You need to read all of them ASAP. Seriously.

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire/Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

You are basically guaranteed that at least one Harry Potter book will appear on any book meme I fill out. I don't know what you've been reading all these years if you haven't read Harry Potter yet. And if you haven't picked up the books yet, close this tab, walk away, and go read it. Immediately.


2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I blame Rick Riordan for my interest in Greek mythology. I love this series! I devoured each book in just a night or two. It's been a couple years since I've read it, but they deserve a reread soon. For those of you who watched the movies but didn't read the books, read the books. The movies didn't do them nearly enough justice.


3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

(I freaking love this cover!) I have whole new appreciations for this book after discovering some of the better fan-fiction on the internet (SuperWhoLock!) and I've even written some of my own. It's a great warm-up before diving in to your WIP.


But back to Fangirl. It's a great novel with fantastic characters and dialogue, like every Rainbow Rowell book I've ever read. It's perfect for writers, introverts, fans of Harry Potter, and anyone who likes a good contemporary romance story.


4. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

This fantasy series only gets better as it goes on! Fablehaven does have a lot of set-up, but towards the end of the book, it's almost impossible to put down. It's definitely one of my favorite series. If you like magical creatures, fantasy, and adventure, pick this one up.

5. Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

This book is just plain fun. It's a good middle-grade book targeted for readers that are about 10-12, but I really enjoyed it, too. It's full of riddles and mystery and games that make you just involved in the story as the main characters. It's a nice, quick read.

6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I love this series. It's a shame that nothing ever came of the second movie, because I really liked the first one. Hopefully they do come out with the TV show. The family dynamics in this, as well as the urban fantasy setting and the great side characters, are what makes it amazing. I absolutely adore Isabelle and Simon, and even the villains because they're so complicated. Plus, the plot twists! Cassandra Clare loves to mess with your head. Don't say I didn't warn you.

7. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Though Glory O'Brien's History of the Future is my favorite book by her, pretty much anything you read by A.S. King is guaranteed to be good. There hasn't been a single one I didn't like. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is hard to put down, because you spend the whole book going, "What is happening here?" The feel of the book reminds me of stories like The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp and Paper Towns by John Green. I also love that we got to hear parts of the story from different perspectives, including inanimate objects. So creative.

8. A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron

There's a dog on the cover, so you know what that means: You're going to cry. And you will. Lots of times. It's a sweet story about different incarnations of the same dog finding his owner in each of his lives as she grows up. It's a super sweet story that won't take you long at all to read.

What are your favorite green books? Leave a comment!

Camp NaNoWriMo

Who participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this year? I am! (I'm hosting a private cabin, too, so if you want to be in it, comment or e-mail with your username.)

This isn't my first time doing it, but it is the first time I'm actually going to be writing something. I've used Camp NaNo in the past as a way to motivate myself to do edits. But I've been doing a lot of editing lately, and I'm itching to start a new project. I'm especially excited for the Word Wars!

I'm actually really excited about my idea. The inspiration came from a picture I found on Pinterest that made me laugh.

I'm hoping it's not too small or fuzzy, but in case you can't make it out, it says: A writer's brain. "What the hell is that?" "Oh, just my mind thinking of my next plot."

The working title for my story is Plot Bunnies, and it's about the characters living in a writer's brain. They all live together, even if they're not from the same book. They hang out, talk, go to group therapy (if they even survive their book), etc. One day, the main character's best friend and sidekick from her novel discovers that The Writer is planning on killing her during an epic battle. The MC can't let this happen, so she organizes a group of characters--heroes and villains alike--to start a rebellion and take over their stories. This is if they can survive edits, character cuts, Writer's Block, the Pinterest vortex, and the Pit of Doubt.

Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this year? What's your story about?