Moving Day!

http://www.sanfrankiecisco.blogspot.com/ is moving!

We will be relocating just down the street to http://www.efballard.blogspot.com/. The reasoning behind this is: I started this blog a while ago.. after I watched Julie & Julia. I used my mom's email address. It makes it confusing to log in, using her email and password. But, you can expect the same updates and stuff from the new address.

See you there!

Stay beautiful.
Keep it ugly.

Ch. 2

Moving right along with DHAN. Who needs NaNoWriMo, right?

I wish it was November. I just really wanted to write this book. And anyway, if I get it done, then I can move on to another book for NaNo. I do want to do NaNo this year, and I bet I will, but the idea that I'm nursing for November isn't quite what I want it to be. My MC is a bit.. Mary-Sueish and that is bothering me. I don't have a full plot arc yet; I have it set up until the rising action is over, then there's this big gap where the climax and falling action should be, and then the ending is in place. This is a HUGE problem. You can't have a story with a beginning and end only-- you need a middle. Think about it! What would a PB&J sandwich be without the peanut butter and jelly on the inside?

But anyway. I bet I'll get a killer idea when November rolls around. And, if I don't, maybe I should wait until Camp NaNo comes around again. Or just write when I want to. But I like feeling the pressure of a due date, all those daily goals, weekly rewards, and the time when you type the last word and lean back and go, "Take that. I did it."

I remember when I first found out about NaNoWriMo. I was in that stage of young writerdom when you start things easily, but don't finish. I had about.. twenty to thirty open projects with nothing close to a climax, let alone an ending. I was wandering about on the forums of the sharing website I used, and found a link to NaNoWriMo. I had to be about ten or eleven at the time and I read about it and I thought, "Wow! This looks fun! I bet I could do that!" I told my mom about it and she laughed at me. "You'll never be able to finish!"

Take that, Mother.

Not only did I finish, I finished twice.

Anywho, DHAN is going well. Just finished the first chapter and I'm ready to start number two. It's about 14 pages now, which totals up to 5115 words. I'm in absolute LOVE with this project. It's like a new addition to the family or something. One thing I don't think people understand about writing is that, when you create something like this, it really becomes something like your child. You raised it from nothing and you don't want anyone to hurt it. You want to love it to death. Maybe I should word this in first person, not second, because that's how it is for me. But if anyone slammed my book, I'd probably cry, because it's like slamming a part of me, and my child.

My family as of now:
Give and Take (currently being reworked slowly)
Insomniac
DHAN

I should go get writing. You should stay beautiful.

Keep it ugly.

♥

9/11

I was three. At home, with my parents. My sister was about one and a half. My other sister was nonexistent. We were shephered out of the living room, away from our small television set, as the towers were struck and until they fell.

Life went on. I was oblivious. Preschool came and went; as did kindergarten. And then, we come to first grade at Van Allen Elementary with Mrs. Davis.

It was circle time. We all came to the carpet at the front of the room and she took her seat at the front. I remember, I sat on the edge, by one of my friends. She told us that we were going to make a banner for troops going to Iraq. I remember someone asking, "Why are they going?" "How long will they be gone?" And that was when I figured out what happened. As she told the story, in terms that would not harm a child, I learned that the Twin Towers fell. For a long time, I thought that they were still there. I learned that there were people who wanted to hurt us. It was there, in Mrs. Davis' first grade class, that I learned what happened. I also was told that the war in Iraq was supposed to end when I was in fourth grade. Well, I'm in eighth grade now, and it is still raging on in the Middle East.

For the first time on the ninth, Friday, in my ELP (Extended Learning Program) class, we watched the towers get struck, North first, South second, and we watched them burn. I was right up front. Then, after a few minutes of watching the scorching buildings, hearing only the static of silence, we watched them fall. Then, when it was over, a question was asked: "Does anyone have anything to say?" No one said anything. And I buried my face in my hands and I cried. I tried to gather myself, but it was so hard. It was the first time I've seen that footage. I had never seen it before, and it has been ten years. My best friend and I sat, side-by-side, both crying. Afterwards, we had to write about it. My hands were shaking and I wrote, "There are no words. The only one that comes to mind is complete and utter disbelief."

I've been told that I'm hopelessly emotional. I've been told that I cry a lot. I've been told that I'm very mature. All of these things are true. I cry at a lot of things, because there are certain things that move me. And I hate crying, but I cry. This day, even ten years later, moves me to tears because of all the lives that were lost. The sheer magnitude of the loss that America endured on that day. I didn't know anyone personally in those two towers, but I can say that just the idea that their children didn't get to say goodbye, that their wives and husbands will live on without them, that they died in such an awful way, and some were never found... it makes me cry just thinking about it. And why shouldn't it? Death is so final, so abrupt, that we could never comprehend what to do if it were to come for us. Would you sacrifice yourself, or another? Is that how I want to be remembered? Am I going to die today, right here?

Rest their souls, those that died. All 2,983 of you. You are not forgotten. In your honor, we became one, one nation, one race, one mind, one body, unified. You are missed. You are loved. You will never be forgotten.

Stay thoughtful.
Stay unified.
Stay commemorating.

Keep it ugly.

♥

You're not in this alone



Let me break this awkward silence


Let me go, go on record


Be the first to say I'm sorry


Hear me out,


And if you take me down


Or would you lay me out


And if the world needs something better


Let's give them one more reason now, now, now




We walk in single file


We light our rails and punch our time


Ride escalators colder than a cell




This broken city sky like butane on my skin


stolen from my eyes


Hello Angel, tell me where are you


Tell me where we go from here




This broken city sky like butane on my skin

Tell me we go from...


stolen from my eyes


Hello Angel, tell me where are you


Tell me where we go from here




And in this moment we can't close the lids on burning eyes


Our memories blanket us with friends we know like fallout vapors


Steel corpses stretch out towards an ending sun, scorched and black


It reaches in and tears your flesh apart


As ice cold hands rip into your heart




That's if you've still got one that's left inside that cave you call a chest


And after seeing what we saw, can we still reclaim our innocence


And if the world needs something better, let's give them one more reason now




This broken city sky like butane on my skin


stolen from my eyes


Hello Angel, tell me where are you


Tell me where we go from here




This broken city sky like butane on my skin

Tell me we go from here
 
stolen from my eyes


Hello Angel, tell me where are you


Tell me where we go from here

"Skylines and Turnstiles"

A Day of Remembrance

I know it's still the tenth, but I don't care. Let's make time today to remember the fallen. Remember the heroes, the victims, the leaders, the hopefuls. The ones who died for another. The ones who died in innocence. Have a moment of silence. It doesn't have to be much. Just take a little time for all those people who never got to say goodbye. All those people who were just going to work. All those people who never suspected anything. All those people.

I don't care if you believe in God or Allah or Budda or nothing at all. Give these people your thoughts. They didn't deserve to die.

Stay reflective.
Stay quiet.
Stay full of love.
Keep it ugly.

♥

Keep it Ugly

I dyed my hair.

Pink.

For many reasons that shall remain secret.

My life is perfect. I feel like this is a shot to the Man. It says, "Hey, guess what? I will not conform. I am an individual, not a clone for the whole. I am amazing, and with one look, you know that I know I am. Go ahead and judge, because you don't know me."

Pictures to come. Right now, I have to deal with some squabbling siblings.

Keep it ugly, my dears. Never let them take you alive.

:|

A few updates:

Really upset with the MCRmy right now. Leave Pedicone alone. He stole from the band, he got kicked out. He doesn't need death threats or hate. MCR has moved on, it's our turn to do so too.

KTWGS has a new title: Death, Heat, and Nirvana. Not the band. A nirvana is: a place or state characterized by freedom from or oblivion to pain, worry, and the external world. So, yeah. I do love Nirvana, the band, but I love the word too. It shall be refered to as DHAN if I get too lazy to type it out.


Working on a fanfic of my friend's story to pass time. Harry Potter marathon ensues.
 
Bored.
 
Keep it ugly.
 
♥

A word from our sponsor: self-acceptance

Now, I just had this major breakthrough thing where I realized that no one needs to like who I am, only I do. Anyone else is a bonus. But I was looking around for the past two and a half weeks at my school and finding out, wow. I wonder how many of these people are actually true to themselves. You can tell that I don't care, but I can also tell how much that these other people do. For instance, I was voicing my opinions about the feathers-in-the-hair trend going on, asking why you would want a fake piece of down clipped into your hair. Why pay money for it? I mean, honestly. If you like it, fine. Go ahead and do it. Just don't expect me to say that I love it. Well, I know this girl (no names) and she doesn't need to follow all these trends. Underneath this exterior of wanting to be like everyone else is this amazing girl with a voice and an opinion and a great future, but she's suffocating herself with all the things everyone else is. She told me she was getting a feather and I plainly asked, "Why?" "Because everyone else has one and I want one too."

If she wouldn't have said the first part of her answer, I would have been fine. But she did, and I practically exploded in her face. Granted, I was not in a good mood that day, so I probably went a little extreme, but really. "Everyone else has one" is not an acceptable answer. Being a trend follower makes you nothing but unoriginal. You can't come up with your own look. It's sad, really, to see all these clones walking around my school. I know plenty of the "benders" as I like to call them, but I know even more of the "clones" and even a few "Barbies". It's really making me lose faith in humanity's creativity.

But those rule-breakers, most that I know at least, are usually the most broken themselves. I know some who talk to me about suicide and I try to make them see that who they are and being so helps people, usually using myself as an example. If I didn't have other benders with me, I would probably fall apart and succumb to the world of feathers, Hollister, and :gulp: mainstream music. But I didn't because the benders never left me and I will never leave them. I just wish they knew just how amazing they were.

Even if you aren't a clone of those people that you see online or on the television, it doesn't mean you aren't beautiful. Everyone has something beautiful about them. I can find something in everyone, so you can find something in yourself, because you were meant for something. I have no idea what I believe in at the moment, but I know that everyone has a purpose. You will be happy some time, some day. I can promise you. Just love yourself, because you're absolutely worth it. You always have been. You are beautiful. Stay that way.

Keep it ugly.

♥

Well, ain't that just wonderbar?

"I don't believe in karma." -Sandra Bernhard


Even if I did, I don't deserve to be this miserable. I mean, things are fine, but I'm not. I'm in between projects and, being a teenager with no life, I need a project to fill my time. I have schoolwork, but even that doesn't take nearly long enough to keep me occupied. I could do everything I needed to in study hall. I'm saving KTWGS (title in the works) for NaNo '11 because A) I need a NaNo novel and B) I need September and October to complete charrie development and the plot and etc. I finished my play, but I need to edit the last scene.. which shouldn't be hard. But I do need something to work on. I don't have any new ideas, which is strange, but still.

But yes. I'm sick and idea-less. Not good.

The Ramones, Pinhead Gunpowder, and Hole to cheer me up. :)

The truth is ironic and hurtful and beautiful and sick and twisted and wrong and right and pure and conceited and biased and tearful and aching and sweet and undying.

I don't know what to tell you. Just know that I'm better. So much better.

HO-LEE CRAP

My mind was blown the other day by my close friend and class president.

We had Drama Club last year, for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, the teacher who supervised and directed the play quit when the year ended (and I don't blame him for doing so). Now, they can't find someone to take his place, which really bummed me out, because I love Drama Club.

I was just beginning to flesh out the idea that I had floating around in my head about creating a stage play from the music in The Black Parade. I had only just started experimenting with the idea when I photographed my character list (a WIP..) with my cell and uploaded it to Facebook. Not fifteen minutes later do I receive a text message from the friend mentioned above saying that she had a great idea.

Me: What is it?

Her: Well. You know how we don't have Drama Club anymore?

Me: Yeah..

Her: What if we did your play?

Me: (took me a second to register) That's a great idea!

Her: We can talk to Mrs. Reid and since we can direct, someone just has to be in the room with us.

Me: Yay! Now I have to write it. ;)

..or something along those lines. Needless to say, I was breathlessly excited. I had the plot written in a notebook, so I lent it to her to read over the weekend to get the idea. I already finished Act I: Scene 1 tonight. I want to finish Scene 2 tonight as well. Then, after we're done cleaning the house tomorrow, I'll get rolling with Scene 3 and 4.

Updates

I haven't written in a while, and for a good reason - school has begun again. It's our second day, and I hate eighth grade, but I can tell that it'll be fun. Does that make sense? Oh, never mind.

I've gone from writing Engraved, KTWGS (which may get a new title, because of this post), and a new fanfiction, Danger Days to writing the fanfic and KTWGS. Engraved's MC is becoming Mary Sue-ish and I hate that and I need to develop her and the plot, because I don't have a plotline yet. Danger Days is here because I needed something light and fun to write. I'm having trouble starting KTWGS, but I think I should have it up and rolling tonight (hopefully).

There's a specific soundtrack to each one of my novels. Music really impacts my writing, so I need to have a really specific playlist to get what I'm writing about right. Like, I can't have Lenka's "Like a Song" playing while I write a happy scene. Or "Viva La Gloria" when I'm writing a confession scene. Or "Planetary (Go!)" while writing a romantic scene. Or.. you get it.

For KTWGS, I'm listening to a lot of My Chemical Romance, because I like them and the words are excellent and the melodies are astounding. But I would like some more music suggestions. I like rock, alternative, and indie music. I'm open to folk, dance/electronica, and metal. I'm not into rap or hip hop. I like Broadway music too, soundtracks and stuff. Lyrics are important. Anything you like, leave it in a comment and I'll give it a listen to. :)

Peas, corn, and carrots.
Frankie

I (finally) confessed.

Have you ever carried a secret so huge that it feels like it will just tear itself out of your chest at any moment because of the weight that it has on your body?
I have.
Twice.
At the same time.
And they’re both gone now. And I feel so light that I could fly. I’m happier than ever now, because those weights are gone. I told them to the two people who matter the most to me, and they were accepting and understanding. I feel so much better now.
Things are going to get better for me. I can feel it in my bones.
This year shall be my defining year. I am letting go of all barriers and just being me for once.

Fail troll.

I asked my friends what I should title my next work (giving the options “Kiss the Winter Goodbye, Sweetheart”, “Burn”, “Master of the Survivors”, and “Master of the Runners”) on my personal Facebook page. I got a few responses from my friends, asking what it was about and saying that it sounded cool, and I got this awful reply that made me incredibly angry.


“They both suck. Go back to the drawing board, you’ll NEVER win a Grammy, EVER”

I mean, really? First of all, Grammys are for music. Duh. Second of all, I would like to see you come up with something better. Third of all, why would you go and troll like that? I mean, the internet isn’t for the faint-hearted, I know that, but you really want to say that when I know where you live and our sisters are best friends? You want to say this crap when I see your face every day? I mean, why? Seriously. I’m not going to say that crap about you, so why bug me with it? I totally understand that you don’t like the titles, but tell me WHAT YOU DON’T LIKE or GIVE ME A SUGGESTION, for Pete’s sake! Go trolling on my Facebook?! Really?! And, then he continued to scroll through my statuses about my projects and commented with “meh” on my cover for KTWGS and I just want to know how to make it better! I also posted part of an MCR lyric as a status (“Raise your glass high for tomorrow, we die!”) and he says, “that is AWFULL”. Again, terrible grammar. Why even comment? This is MY page and I get to say whatever I want to. You don’t like it, leave. This is my music. My life. Get away if you’re a hater like that. And don’t think I’m going to leave it alone. I’m going to confront you about it. I can’t believe this. This is the stupidest thing in the world. I swear to God..

Everybody wants to change the world.

It's a wonderful morning. Sunday, day of the kings. I woke up to the sun streaming through my window and I was curled up tightly. It was nice. I stayed there for a little while, contemplating where my next project (Kiss the Winter Goodbye, Sweetheart - which shall be referred to as KTWGS) would take me. How would I put some of myself into these four teenagers who have some strange talent and survive the apocalypse? How would I make the Pain Master relatable and fun and mysterious and interesting without making him the focus of this plot? How can I give Persephone the attitude of "I don't care at all" and make her be tough and off-putting, and make sure I don't have any of the guys fall for her accidentally? What are Elicio, Tully, and Persephone's talents? Why is the Pain Master special? How am I going to write the epic battle between the Higher and the survivors? Heck, the battle between the Higher's robot and the Pain Master and his students?

But, KTWGS would have to wait for a moment, while I had some pancakes and watched the Happy Days reunion, even though I've never watched the show. Then, I migrated over here to update my Tumblr, checked Facebook, went through my deviantART, looked for any Goodreads or Figment notifications, and came over here to write a new post and listen to some My Chemical Romance to get me inspired (I mean, come on, "I'm just a man, I'm not a hero..." How can that not give me ideas?) to get cracking on KTWGS. I'm excited for this project, I really am. It might be as good as Insomniac. Or not. Either way, it will be fun. And isn't that what this is all about?

Drained.. but Totally Loving It

Hey, just so you know, I copied and pasted this from my deviantART journal. There were two. Just so you know. :)

First one:

IT TOOK ME AN HOUR TO GO THROUGH MY NOTIFICATIONS. A WHOLE HOUR! I've only been gone for three days, guys! Why must you bombard me with this crap (kiddings - love the work, keep it up!)?! My internet has been down, so I have two hours at the library today. AND HALF OF IT IS NOW GONE.

Also - no new Insomniac until Friday/Saturday. The reason being: I will not have internet until then and I had to empty my flash drive to fit all of the photography my friends did that I had to upload onto Facebook for them. You will just have to wait. I did finish it. I'm sort of happy with the ending, but not completely. Maybe you'll like it better than I do. :/ Who knows?

Another thinger - ~PhoenixMonroe is coming to hang out tomorrow and Friday, so we're writing a Jarper/Rev clash fanfic thing. It will be fun and possibly good enough to post TWICE!

Err.. more news..

OH! Yes. I started Paint Slave. I really should give myself a break, but I wanted to start this and I need to move away from realistic stuff to a full-out fantasy thing. It shall be fun. BASIC PLOT SUMMARY!! Dilenquent shipped to "reformatory school" by parents. School turns out not to be a school. Meets three other dilenquents and the "paint master". Becomes a "paint slave". Does stuff for the "paint master". Cue massive heat wave - like MASSIVE massive. Like WIPES ALL LIFE ON THE SURFACE OF EARTH massive. Cue shelter a few miles underground. Cue going back up and finding dead relatives (well, they think that they're their relatives.. they're sort of.. ash). Something about finding life and maybe even the four horsemen of the apocalypse or something. Not sure yet.

..it's still a working plot. But that's basic stuff. ~PhoenixMonroe gave me names.

Well.. I'm off to work some more and goof of and.. stuff. See ya on Friday!

Frankie


And the second one:

I. Finished. It.


Officially.

Because I posted it.

All of it.

"THIS IS THE LAST PERFORMANCE OF [INSOMNIAC] FOREVER! AND WE CAME DOWN TO MEXICO TO PROPERLY KILL THEM OFF!"

Name that quote. I'll give ya a cookie if ya do.

Anywho..

I'm going to take a breather and write some poetry. Then get cracking on Paint Slave and Engraved because I can't commit to just one.

I got the new MCR CD and the FBHT CD. I wish they would come out with another one. I mean, I know Green Day is working hard on their new album, but I wish they would go back to the FoxTubbies for a little bit to tide us over. Just for a little bit? Please?

I thought that I had something cool to say, but I can't remember what it is. Hmm. Ninja gremlins stole my thoughts. :/ Oh well.

Frankie




Yes, it is true. I did finish Insomniac. :)

I thought that the whole "I WILL FINISH THIS!" and the "THIS WILL BE EPIC!" things would be my famous last words. I really did. I doubted. I know that I didn't sound like it, but every second I did this, I was thinking, "Is this even good? Who would read this crap?" then I would think, "I want to write this. It doesn't matter if no one else ever reads it. I want to write it for myself. So I will." And I did.

I need to give myself a break. I'm going to die if I don't..

Insomniac updates and other random stuff like witchcraft, photography, friends, and the Foxboro Hot Tubs

Wow. Long post title.

Anywho, first things first. Insomniac just crossed the 30K word line. I'm so happy. I had to give it a mature content warning on deviantART, though, because Jimmy drops at least three f-bombs and some other choice words as well. Oh well. At least people can still read it if they want to. They're only words to me, so I'm not bothered. If you are, don't go trollin' on my work, cuz I warned you and you will just be redirected to the Nyan Cat video and most likely called a "fail."

I went to see HP7 on Sunday with some friendsies. Yes, I will admit it, I did cry. A lot. And, we were sitting in front, so I was sure people were staring. But I didn't care. Part of me died in that theatre... and then I almost choked to death on my gum, so, I really did almost die.

Me and those two friends from HP and another are having an epic photography day on Saturday too. We're having a sleepover on Friday and going around wearing black on Saturday (which will be an extremely hot day, but we'll get over it), taking pictures. I can't wait. If you see us, say hi! We don't bite! ..much.

MY FBHT CD CAME YESTERDAY! And I haven't stopped listening to it. It's amazing. I love it. And it only cost me nine dollars on Red Tag. :)

♥,
Frankie

22 Hours

At least it's not 127, right? Technically, I guess it's 44, there and back, but still. I want to finish my 21CB fanfic and get a lot done with Insomniac. I promised to Paint Slave that I would at least try to update every night, so there shall be no shortage on that front. But, just so you know, I won't be posting for a while here. So, keep calm and carry on without me for a while and I'll see you soon. :) Bye!

Updates

I just wanted to type a lot because I don't want to go fold three loads of laundry while my sister is watching the dumbest, stupidest, most low-class show ever (H2O). Here it goes.

• My FBHT CD isn't here yet.. I'm hoping it comes today or tomorrow. Or just before we leave. It'll probably get here right after we leave because that's what happened with my book too. :/

• I'm working on Isomniac. I know that you knew this already. I'm at approximately 15000 words right now. That means I'm a little over a third of the way there. I don't think that Insomniac will make it all the way to 50K, but I can certainly try. I'm bringing in a few twists involving the Rev and his past and his passion for grape juice. He's also probably going to get pranked by Karma and Roxelle (probably something involving Roxelle's snake, Jubilee). I won't say for what, but I assume that it's going to involve Monroe. Zane's talents are going to emerge beautifully, I imagine, but I won't tell you what they are just yet. Will and Renee, well, they're still oblivious to Faith.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

• Since we have a 22 hour drive coming up in our near future, I think that my 21st Century Breakdown fanfic should be done soon. I'll get it typed up and posted and it should be all right. This would be my interpretation of Christian and Gloria's story, based on Green Day's album, 21st Century Breakdown of course.

• I was also watching the music videos for My Chemical Romance's Na Na Na and Sing and I loved the story in those and was thinking about 1) buying the CD and 2) writing a fanfic based on those two songs (I need my own killjoy). Maybe Welcome to the Black Parade too, I'm not sure yet.

• Though you probably haven't read it yet (seeing as how I haven't posted it here), I was working on a story called Engraved before Camp NaNo. I'm working out the plot arc in my head and it's turning out rather well, I think.

• I'm also going to be taking lots of photos in DC (hopefully some good enough to post here) and then when I get back, ~PhoenixMonroe and ~ReginaGeorge can have our epic photography day. We'll get together on a weekend (dressed in cordinated outfits) and drag my mom around to the Villages and to the river and to downtown to the brick walls and the fences and the rubble and the graffiti and such.. It'll be fun.

• Yes. And I need to find a new guitar teacher because mine is going to college a year early. :/ I'll miss him, but I'll take a month off and take up guitar and piano again and I shall redeem myself with YouTube videos.

And that's what I have. Thanks for reading all of that. Kudos. Peace. Love.

The Reverend

Those of you that read Insomniac, you know who the Reverend Strychnine Twitch is. Those of you that listen to the Foxboro Hot Tubs, you know who the Reverend Strychnine Twitch is. Well, today, on the anniversary of the birth of our country, my friend Macy, who reads Insomniac on a regular basis and "loves it" and has "Twitchitis", was at a festival and saw a guy who "looked exactly like Twitch! He had blond hair and was dressed in Twitch-ish clothes" and he "put on sunglasses randomly" and was "drinking beer by the stage" and she thought "holy crap it's Twitch!" All from a text message or two, but she got no picture because her "phone was being stupid".

Needless to say, this made my day, even if I couldn't see this guy. :)

First Day: A Recap

I should make a vlog for this, but I don't really want to. Maybe I'll do that when I get more written. But I woke up at 4:43 and jumped out of bed. It was still dark and, when I went downstairs, it was so quiet and calm and cool and it was amazing. I wrote a little over 2000 words, which put me at 9700-ish. I listened to a lot of music (FBHT, the Fratellis, MCR, the like) and I just didn't want to stop. Waking up early always gives me more energy, so I got a lot done, whereas today, I woke up at eight and feel so tired that it's not even funny. :/ Oh well. I can still write. '

All in all, considering my partner and I are at about the same length right about now, I think it was a pretty good day. This is going to be the best NaNo yet. We're excited, young, and we're getting our lives done now. I say that because these novels (and short stories and poems and fanfic and such), they're my life. If I didn't write them now, I'd have so many ideas at the end of my life (or midlife or early adulthood or high school) when I'm so busy that I simply can't write them. I mean, I do know adults and high schoolers who make time for this, but I have consistency in my life right now that lets me write whenever I want to for how long I want. It's nice. This is not to say I won't keep writing, because I will. Even if I have to get :gulp: a real job, I will still write.

Also: My writing friend and I have decided that, since we're embarking on this journey together, we'd incorporate each other into our stories as, like, a cameo. I have decided what I'm doing for her, and she's already done mine. You can read it here. I came up with most of the dialogue for her. She's a little bit meaner than I usually am, but she's actually really close to me. I think I'm going to put her in as (those of you who are reading my work as I write it, this is a spoiler, so.. yeah) a girl named Macy who goes to the Ruby Room and gets saved by the Rev (christened Monroe) but something kind of.. weird happens to her. (So, actually, I guess this really wasn't too much of a spoiler, but..) I'm thinking something sort of dark, but I don't want it to be a stereotypical thing, ya know? I may take suggestions if they're good, but I don't think anyone will bring anything up, so I'm just going to roll with it.

So, I'm off to write and get a little breakfast. Have an uber awesome day! :)

♥,
Frankie

Schedule for First Day of Camp:

1. 4:00 - 5:30- Wake up
• Take some time to wake up completely.
• Drink some coffee, eat breakfast.
• If you still aren't awake, cold water on your face.
2. 5:30 - 6:00 - Work out plot
• Consult plot arc, charrie development, etc.
3. 6:00 - 11:00 - Write
• Turn off editing eye, just write.
4. 11:00-12:00 - Rest time
5. 12:00 - 2:00 - Write some more.

And the rest of my day consists of a BBQ and a baseball game. If all goes according to plan, I should have a decent start. ...Am I taking this too seriously? I don't think so, but that may be becasue I'm demented. Oh well.

Camp

Don't worry - I'm not getting sentenced to another three weeks of LIT-ing at Day Camp.

I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo!

And, I know what you must be thinking.

Is she insane?

And the answer is: yes. 100% yes.

I'm tweaking the rules a little bit. I'm working on Insomniac, but I consider it okay because this is just to force me to write. I won't take prizes unless I write 50000 + 6647 that I've already written. I think this will be good for me, though, since my "Getting It Done" goal is to finish Insomniac by summer's end. And, with this as a tool, I think I'm closer than before. And, with the help of my writing friend (who goes by her pseudonym, Phoenix Monroe) embarking on this journey as well (and tweaking the rules too), I can give you an 85% chance that I'll succeed.

I like those odds.

I swear to God

I will do this! Even if I have to stay up all night for the next six weeks, I will!

Pssh.. look at how one of my eyes is bigger than the other one.

New Video

For those of you who don't have my YouTube, here is one of three of my latest videos.

My friends are so lovely!

You guys have watched my video for "Almight Monster", correct? Well, if you haven't, go watch it now and then read this post. I'll even wait for you.

...

...

...

You done?

M'kay, good.

So now you're all caught up and stuff. So, we can begin!

My friend Hannah was probably one of the first :and only: ones to watch the video and comment on it :by the way, comments make me happier than a bird with a french fry, so continue to comment, please:. Then, not only did she comment, but she liked it and faved it :I believe - I still need to figure out YouTube:. AND, not only that, but she sent the link to a friend of her's in New Mexico who is studying writing at a college there, who, in turn, showed it to her poetry class! How awesome is that?! I was so shocked I told Hannah to tell her friend that I loved her. I'm not kidding. I love :almost: everyone anyway, so why not tell them?

Also, my friend Macy and I are heading out to do some photography this afternoon around downtown and in the villages. We were texting each other about it, and I suggested the villages "for culture". And she says, "Yay! Culture!" And I say, "What culture?" And she says, "I dunno." And I say, "The corny kind." And we laughed at my pathetic joke :or, LOLed, rather:.

Engraved on Figment

I posted the very short amount of my short story Engraved (which I will talk about in an upcoming vlog) on Figment. And, after a mere thirteen hours online, it received a heart and a comment that said, "Very mysterious and compelling. Can't wait to read more!" I feel so loved. ♥

Also, I have been drooling over these epic headphones for the past few hours. I wonder if they make Green Day ones...?

Goal

I have set a goal for myself. I want to finish Insomniac by the end of summer. Let me repeat myself in big print and all caps so it's set in stone.

I WILL FINISH INSOMNIAC BY THE END OF SUMMER!

There. I think that settles it. Now I have to write it down and send it to Senor Maurer. :)

Keep It Ugly

I have no idea what to talk about. I'm still extremely happy for no reason whatsoever. I think that if this lasts any longer I may become :drumroll: an optimist! :gasp: I know. But I have a feeling an extreme low is going to follow this. It just happens. That's life.

Right now, I'm sitting with the sun streaming through the window (at 7:30, no less) and my cell phone blaring music ("Blue Lips" by Regina Spektor). I'm in my pajamas and my mum and sister are upstairs doing whatever mums and sisters do. My other sister is at Youth Group. When they come down, we're going to eat dessert (I'll prolly just eat some more watermelon) and watch our recorded America's Got Talent/The Voice/Platinum Hit. The only semi-bad things going on at all are the facts that my skin is peeling (ew..) and I'm tired from being with screaming kids at the zoo today. But maybe while I'm waiting I can get some more Insomniac written. :)

Oh, and I'm thinking of changing the blog name to "Keep It Ugly". I like it a lot. Not because I have low self-esteem or anything, I just like the fact that it's kind of like owning yourself and crap. But maybe not. Maybe I'll use it for a story or something..? If I did, I have no idea what the plot would be. Ideas? :cough: Haley? Macy? :cough:

Almighty Monster

My first YouTube upload! Woo hoo! My original poem "Almighty Monster".

Sunburn

There we go. My summer is now complete. Red - on my chest, shoulders, neck, face, and half of my right leg (which, quite frankly, I don't get). And, oddly enough, I love it. I love sunburn, but I know that it's waaaaay bad for my skin so I use sunscreen. But today, I guess it didn't work? I dunno...

THAT totally ruined every single one of my plans for the summer...

You know how earlier I was ranting about having to babysit a bunch of 5-8 year olds this summer? And then, later, how I got out of it? Well, I'm back in it. For three weeks. Starting tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm not that happy right now.

The reasons are as follows:

1. I "sat around" for the last few days. That is untrue and, frankly, demeaning to my lifestyle. I do not "sit around" and "be lazy". Yes, last summer I did practice the "sitting around routine" but that was because I was uncomfortable in such a new, much bigger place and did not know anyone. Now, I know that I could have met people, but I'm not exactly a social butterfly. This summer (that has only just begun, I might add), however, I did not just sit around. I painted a mural on my bedroom wall and rearranged my room by myself. I moved furniture by myself. I worked hard by myself. And what rewards do I get for my three days of self-expression, God-awful heat, and sweat? None. I get punishment. I don't get to work on my writing or my photography or any more creativity. I am sentenced to a summer of tending to scraped knees and whining.
2. I am on the computer "too much". That's horrible to say. It's half-true, though. I am on the computer a lot, but I'm not always on Facebook or Flickr or whatever. I work on my writing and upload and edit my photography and do not "waste my time". Oh, of course I am on social networking sites, but that is when I get my terrible bouts of Writer's Block. I set limits for myself. I will not get on Facebook until I write to *insert length here*. I know how to do that stuff. I know that Facebook is not helping me get anything done. I know how to get things done. I write, just not at an extremely fast pace - not because I'm goofing off, but because I am trying to get everything to sound good so that I don't have to edit more than I should. I like to process everything before I put it on the page. It's the way I am. I'm sorry, but that's how it is and how it will be. Go ahead and deactivate my account, maybe it'll help, but I do get stuff done, contrary to popular belief, it's just... not fast.
3. I got a C+ in Gym. Now, this one doesn't bother me as much as my parents. The way I see it is that it's Gym, I everyone hates Gym, Gym is stupid and embarrassing, and I have the freedom to think so. Sports are not my forte. I stink at every sport known to mankind. I have tried, in the past, to succeed at these things, but after so many let-downs, self-esteem lowerings, and soul-crushing ridicule (well, not exactly soul-crushing, but it was harsher than need be) I just got sick of the same thing over and over and I didn't like it anyway and no one person can be talented in every single field, so I'm just... not. I'm trying, I am, but apparently trying isn't enough for Senor Teacherguy. I am an introverted writer, so get used to it.
4. I need to get an "additude adjustment". This one's bad. This paragraph will be long. I apologize in advance. I AM A TEENAGER. TEENAGERS GO THROUGH THIS. NO ONE IS IMMUNE TO TEENAGE REBELLION. IT IS EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE. I need to express myself, my beliefs, my individuality, and I can't do that without disagreeing with people. It's how I am. It's how my mother is (sorry for throwing you under the bus, Mom, but I believe it's your gene). I leave nothing unsaid, nothing undone. My opinion will not be buried because you don't like it. I will voice it, because it is mine and I am entitled to it. I will not swallow anyone else's opinions if I don't think that they are correct to me. I will listen, but if I don't like it, it's not mine and don't expect me to advertise it. Expect me to counter it. Expect me to share my side of things. Do not expect me to be happy with your opinion. By the way, if we didn't have diverse opinions, where would music be? Or art? Or any form of self-expression, for that matter? Where would I be? I'd be eating math textbooks, wearing what people tell me to, listening and adopting peoples' opinions, and, being silent and taking everyone's crap. That is not me and that's because the additude I posess is my own and I will have it and get punished accordingly. I'm sorry if this sounds awfully huffy, but that's how I see it.

...and I'm still going to do it with this being my only complaint until it's over. I swear.

All Righty Then

Fine! Be like that, you stupid machine! DON'T upload my video! See if I care!

My computer's being mean to me and not uploading my vlog. I tried it twice and gave it five hours. FIVE. That's insane, isn't it? Oh well. I guess we're just going to have to beg for YouTube... stay tuned!

Basically, I was just talking about my stories and summarizing and explaining the genesis of the idea. I was also interrupted by family members... twice. And, if it would upload, you would get to meet my kitty, Pickle.

My poor camera thinks it didn't do its job, that poor Nikon Coolpix L120... It's okay, you did what you were supposed to. Don't worry little camera...

We'll get this sorted out and I WILL have a vlog on here before July!

Obsessed

This is my new favorite singer from The Voice... except she got eliminated. I still like her. Her name is Rebecca Loebe. She and the guy that made it through (Devon Barley) sang a great duet and I love it so much I thought I'd share it with you because maybe you don't watch The Voice.

Bleed

Contrary to what the post title may have you believe, I'm fine. I'm just feeling great right now. I'm simply flowing out creativity and work and... I'm enjoying it. I can't believe how much fun I am having!

A very wise and great man named Ernest Hemingway once said:

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

... and this cannot be more true. However, the blood is pure and I am enjoying the pain.

I Love Lazy Days

(Right now, I'm just listening to a whole crapload of Foxboro Hot Tubs)

Oy. I woke up maybe... twenty minutes ago? Yeah. That sounds right. Ahhhh. How nice is that? Now, I just have to fold some laundry and I'll have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. I'm going to write and mostly practice guitar because I have a lesson tonight that I haven't practiced at all for because of being in Minnesota. But, ya know, that's how it goes.

And that, folks, is my schedule. :)

I'm Baaaaack!

I have a monster-sized headache right now. It's not funny. The thing is I hate to take Tylenol because I don't want to develop a tolerance for it or whatever... it's weird. It's like the way I have to wait for the coffee to completely finish draining through before I take any. Or the way that I don't like to wear slippers or shoes in general. I dunno.

Anyway, I have a lot of ideas for writing projects. But I shall not spill anything! I don't want to tell. It's a secret. Shh!

Lonely

♪We're packing... for a roadtrip... to Minnesota... we're leaving... soon...♪

*music stops*

Wait, what?

She has a fever of a hundred and one?

...

NOW???

Don't Know What to Do

My short story, ¡Gloria!, didn't make it into the anthology. Neither did my other short stories, Incandesence and We. I have "Working Class Hero" by Green Day on repeat to make me feel better.

I looked at the anthology, and, let me be the first to tell you that some of them didn't deserve to be in there. I mean, really, if you have no idea where to place a comma or indent or use correct words and you're in middle school... oy. Furthermore, there were five or six or seven short poems that could have all been put on one page, but they each got their own page. There was a long poem that could have fit on one page if they used columns. And some students put title pages on them. Those take up space that I could have had! ¡Gloria! is only one page! I just... I'm so angry that I could hit something. I'm ticked off. There has to be some sort of bias. I swear.

I feel like crying. That was some of my best work and it's not even good enough to go in our school's writing anthology. I just... I can't comprehend to you how awful and unappreciated I feel right now. There were people all over the school hunched over these booklets and I just wanted to throw up because they would never know how much it hurts me that they won't see my work of art. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into that short story. I can't... I just... I'm so... I don't even know. It's like I'm suddenly not good enough. My teachers told me to submit something, so I did. Everyone said, "For sure!" "Of course you'll get in!" That made me so confident in my abilities and now... I'm just so low right now I don't know what to do.

Hold Up

I just had one of those "the world's against me"/teen angst moments. Holy crap. It was weird. I was writing Insomniac and, all of a sudden, I was like, "Why even bother? No one cares anyway! Anything you do doesn't even measure up to any of their standards anyway." I had to take a minute, eat some fruit snacks, stand by the open back door, and take a deep breath. Then, I sat down to write some more.

This story is doing weird things to my head, man.

Wake Me Up When School Ends

(Obviously, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day)

We're so close. This is the home stretch...

Has anyone seen my Science book? I just had it, and poof! It's gone. Or my Algebra review? I think that it got blown off my bed, but I'm not 100% sure.

Anyway, it's been a heck of a year. I've had the time of my life. ("Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles) No lies. This year was so much better than last year. I'm not going into detail, but I think it's just because I genuinely stopped caring about what people thought and did what I wanted to do. ("21 Guns" by American Idiot Cast Feat. Green Day) I just... lived. And that's how it's supposed to be.

These last few days are going to be crazy. But, in a good way.

Photography Spree

Yesterday, we took a small trip to see my cousins. They recently had a new baby and relocated to a new house, and we decided to go say hello. It was my idea. :)

Anyway, I took a few pictures as well. I'm in the middle of uploading the good ones to dA. Some have potential, if I do say so myself.

I still have lots to do, so I hope I can get it done. I only woke up an hour ago, but I think I should have time to conquer that stack of work.

100

Well, friends, this is it.

My 100th post.

You may bask in my glory now. ;)

This week was crappy but had some good parts to it for me. It's like that book Before I Fall. It's 490 pages of blah, blah, blah, but it has some decent parts in it somewhere.

Start out with the bad:

• Sick - I was sick Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. But you know that, because you read my last post, right?
• Behind - I'm behind on my work. I have to write a speech, finish a giant review packet for our Algebra final, study for our Science final, finish my Science make-up work, and some late/redo work that I have to do. Guess how I'm spending my weekend?!
• Tired - I haven't been sleeping well lately. For some reason, I keep waking up at, like, five in the morning and falling asleep at eleven or twelve, even. It's not fun.
• Pain - I went to the dentist yesterday for a mouth surgery and braces adjustment. It took two hours. Do you know how hard it is to stay in the same chair with a billion fingers in your mouth for two hours? For me? Yeah, so they adjusted four teeth and removed some of my gum to adjust the fifth. It was my own personal heck. For two hours. And now, I can't chew anything without it hurting. So, I'm drinking a smoothie. It melted. :(

Now, on to the good:

• Books - I picked up my 44 books from Monsieur Maurer today. I can't wait to dive right into them. There are so many! It's insanity. There they were when I walked into the room; waiting for me in a ginormous stack. It was so beautiful! ... I feel like a nerd.
• 3 - There are only three whole days of school left! AHH! I made it through seventh grade! Woo hoo! ... So far, this is the oldest I've been.

And... that about sums it up. 100 posts and much more to come! Peace out, cats.

Vietnam War

I was listening to the Green Day cover of "Working Class Hero" while putting together my project for the Social Studies extension. I did another movie. I made a connection to the fact that John Lennon was against the war and, you know, that's what my project is about. A guy in class scoffed (yes, actually scoffed) when I revealed my topic. "I knew you'd work with the hippies." I could only smile. Heaaaall yeah!

I liked it better than my dream presentation, so I thought I'd upload it too. :) (Song credit - "Old Cold Bar" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra... and, yeah, it's a Christmas carol. You can't even hear it!)

In Sickness and Inspiration

I have been sick for the last, oh, three days or so with stomach-related issues. It was awful and I had nothing but a coffee mug of chicken broth and two pieces of toast for three days. BUT all that was worth it, I think, because while sleeping in until 10:30, I had a lucid dream (a dream where you know that you're dreaming) and I found myself smack dab in the middle of Christian and Gloria's story, starting with "Song of the Century" and ending with "See the Light". It was amazing. I had been struggling to unravel the plot to "21st Century Breakdown" the album, and, lo and effing behold, it was revealed to me! In my sleep! While sick! It just shows to go you...

Another thing - I won 40 books from the most amazering teacherdude EVER! Senor Maurer gave away 40 books to 4 students who wrote short stories based around nine very random items. You can read my story. Read the post and I'm the first entry. I wrote it almost immediately when I heard about the contest. And... it turned out well, so I put it on deviantART. So... if you have been listening to my shameless advertisements, then you have already read it. ;)

Happy Deathday, Emily!

Well, 125 years ago today, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson died. I wanted to share this because I have always loved and will continue to love Emily's works. The funny thing is that my name is Emily and my little sister's name is Elizabeth, though we both go by nicknames.

Another thing. An amazing person on inkpop designed some covers for my short story, Incandescence.

I like the middle one bestest. ;)

So, I better hold on...

(Needless to point out, I am indeed listening to "Basket Case" by Green Day. XD)

I decided to make a random post to say that my 100th post is coming up in... 4 posts. Which makes this my... 96th post. Sorry, it's the weekend, and I already had my brain melted by radicals in my Algebra book. ("You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" by the Offspring - I lurhv this song!)

I also decided that tomorrow I am going to finish that homework that I put off. :) That's the bad thing about me. I'm a fun person to be around most of the time and I am really creative, but I am a huuuuge procrastinator. It's a horrible trait, I know, but God had to give it to someone, so how about someone with absolutely no time to spare. Thanks, God. I love you, too.

Time to change subjects! ("King of All of the World" by Old 97's) I found this story the other day that I wrote forever ago. It was on the old laptop on Word (I have to use OpenOffice now, so... nothing is compatible) and I noticed it and reread it and decided to put it on dA. It's called I Won't Let You Down, after a Rachel Diggs song. ("Mother Mary" by Foxboro Hot Tubs) It was surprisingly good for that period of writerwomanship... or whatever the word is.

Well, it's already eight o'clock. Time to ignore my family! I'm kidding. Time to drown out my family with International Superhits! XD

*insert witty post title here*

("Supermodel Robots" by the Network) So, I just got back from singing.. twice. Once during last period at school with Clare *cough*Callidora*cough*. I played my guitar and she borrowed one from Mrs. Teacherlady while her's is in the shop. We sang Rhythm of Love by the Plain White T's. It went... rather well, methinks (I had no idea that that was one word. Go figure.). They were quiet while we were performing and they howled at the end. It was fulfilling. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

There's a lot I hafta do this weekend. I want to get a jumpstart on my project for Social Studies (ANOTHER ONE! I can't even believe it. I finally get my dreams one done, school gives me a week off, and BANG! Another flippin' project thrown in my face) and write a lot. I want to finish Anna's alter ego (Adele Fournier) and write some more poetry. Maybe something for Miss Ava Maurer, a newcomer to Earth. XD There's also a Science final to study for (which I prolly won't study for) ("27th Avenue Shuffle" by Foxboro Hot Tubs) and... something else. I think it involves Algebra... and radicals. *sigh*

OH! My mother took me off the sheet for the LIT thing. I DON'T HAVE TO WORK WITH SNOT-NOSED BRATS THIS SUMMER!!! WHOO! Instead, I'm volunteering at the library and the Children's Museum (front desk only, please). Maybe some theatre too... we're not entirely sure.

Anywho... I have stuff to do and a life to get. Bye!

Happy May! (also a bit of a rant in there somewhere...)

(Starting out with "She's a Saint, Not a Celebrity" by the Foxboro Hot Tubs) Well, May is here. Has been for eight days. I was just lazy and didn't post cuz of weather, spring cleaning, and such other girly things I used to oppose but now can semi-tolerate. ... I guess that's what adolescence does to you.

I have to fold laundry while typing this. It's whites. Which means socks. LOTS. OF. SOCKS.

Yesterday, my mother and sisters and I took to Target to buy some stuff for my room and crap. While they were getting shampoo and deo and stuff, I snuck off to the Electronics area and wandered the music section. I picked up International Superhits! (the only Green Day CD without a PA sticker) and boughted it. ("Stuck with Me" - Green Day (irony ensues)) It made me happier. When we got home, we finished cleaning out our closets and our rooms. Mine looks different. Waaaaay different. We went with a green/black/white/gray color scheme. I got a Eiffel Tower poster to go with my ticky-tock clock. :) It's adollable. ("Broadway" - Foxboro Hot Tubs) My friend and I went shopping (for five hours before my second hair cut) and I got a lot of bottoms and some camis and other stuff. Then we got to the hair cut. A few days before, the same lady cut my hair. It looked good to me in the salon, but then it just deteriorated. And then, cut to school. BFF: Preety. ME: You hate it, don't you? BFF: Yeah...  So, I got a more stylish cut. It looks really good, I think. A lot better than it did. But, what made me angriest was that people were openly bashing it. I know it wasn't the best, but that's not what they were going for. THey hated it cuz it was short. Simply because it differed from the norm, which is shallower than a puddle in a black parking lot in July. I swear, if people think that other people have to look the same ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day) to be "cool", then I don't want to even think about what society has become and will evolve into. It's sad, really, that people can't open themselves up to stuff like that. Luckily, my friends explained their reasoning behind their dislike and it was okay. But my other "friends" said that they liked it and proceeded to talk about it behind my back. Huh. Nice way to be followers of God.

Anywho, now that my rant it over, we also got pictures done today. I wore salmon (but it's really pink, no matter how much I wish it wasn't). Our photographer got some great shots of me playing my guitar. Did I tell you I can (semi-)play "Here Comes the Sun" now? Yeah, I can. Be jealous.

("The Seven Deadly Sins" - Flogging Molly) I am also making slow progress on Insomniac, my short story. Faith is listening the rain (literally trying to decode its words). She's so sweet. I love her.

Anyway, I need to sort these socks. :(

Music, inkpop, and Acting

Right now, I'm about to run over my Pandora hours, which is fine, considering tomorrow is May first and I get another forty free hours. I'm listening to Spring Awakening, another musical by Michael Mayer (a man I owe much thanks to cuz he brought AI to Broadway and now it's gonna be a movie). "All That's Known" which is about how everyone is so naive, but he knows what is really going on. Oh! It just changed. "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. Amazing how diverse a Pandora station can be, huh?

Anywho, I got an inkpop account today to share my (somewhat still crappy) work with the world some more. http://inkpop.com/profile/darkhorserunner/ Right now, I only have Incandescence up, but that's cuz inkpop takes forever to load. Oh well.

Also, over on my dA page, I uploaded some new poetry and two new (uber) short stories. (It changed again- "Name" by Goo Goo Dolls) The short stories are based on Green Day songs ("Christian's Inferno" and "Song of the Century") to go with the theme that I am going with; writing short stories based on my favorite songs. So far I have those two, and Viva la Gloria (based on - you guessed it! - "¡Viva la Gloria!") which may be in our school's anthology... but I think that I said that already... The poem (Under the Oak Tree) was a birthday present to my friend Shelby. It's a testament to a friendship that has stood the test of time and the stress of distance.

And I gave my debut theatre performance last night as Audrey Young/Courtney Peterson in A Nice Little Island: A Thriller put on by BMS's Drama Club. I was told I did a good job with my scream and laugh and hitting Louis in the head. (Changed again - "Basket Case" by Green Day) My parents gave me flowers after the show before the cast party (which our director crashed! XD).

AND my half-birthday was yesterday! I'll admit, I did NOT get up at three in the morning to watch the wedding, but I wanted to. (Changed again - "Uprising" by Muse) Yesterday also marked the anniversary of Hitler's suicide.

AND I only missed two points on my independent study on dreams (which Mr. Cole - Science - used as a teaching tool on... Thursday, I believe?).

Needless to say, my life has been looking up lately. :) Hope yours has been, too.

New Artform

Yesterday, while me and the sisters were lounging around watching movies and eating the ears off our chocolate rabbits, I decided to put to work a kit that has been sitting on my dresser for the last... oh, eleven months or so. I was experimenting with henna tattoos. I have a lot of work on my right hand and the words "Green Day" on my left hand in Arabic. I did one on each foot this morning because we had some left over. The one on my left smudged a little bit, but it's still cool. I am hoping I don't get in trouble at school for it. If I do, it's temporary and the expression of self. That's my argument.

Anyway, now that I've done that, about two months ago I set up a deviantART page to share my work with the world. Here's my link: http://www.darkhorserunner.deviantart.com/

Enjoy!

New Projects

Well, now that I've done both NaNo and Screnzy, I think I need to tackle a few more stories/creative goals before the next school year. Here's what I want to finish by August 15, 2011.

1. Musically-centered short stories [The Story of Reverend Strychnine Twitch; Gloria! (which may be in the 2011 Writing Anthology for my school)]
2. Street Light Eyes (trailer to be posted in a jiffy)
3. Since I'm going to get a Flip camera soon, I feel like maybe we should try shooting a bit of Natural Disaster Ashley. "Try" is the keyword there.
4. Convert some already finished stuff into script format
5. Work extremely hard on the guitar and maybe merge back into the piano scene
6. Try to convince my mother not to have me and the sistas go to a camp (I know it's not creative, but it's motivated by the fact that I won't be able to do anything creative if I have to go to camp).
7. Have a flippin' awesome summer!

Luhv to all, peace on Mars.

Done!

That's all she wrote, folks. I finished Screnzy 2011 in nine days, which totals to about eleven pages a day. To celebrate, one more time, I'm posting the song that carried me the whole way through.

10 To Go!

Day 9 of Screnzy, and I am determined to finish today, though I have a crapload of chores to do. I have 10 pages to go, and am OUT of filler. I hit the end two pages ago and have no idea what to do. I think I may call it done and go back and add a scene or five. I am so tired that if I yawn one more time, I think my nose may come out my mouth.

Oh, and, way the by, I lost the Game. Ha!

MILESTONE!

It is day 7 and I have hit a milestone!

3/4 OF THE WAY DONE, BABY! YEAH!

Ashley has just be diagnosed with RSI after Sophie books the band's greatest gig ever at The Niche as the featured band of the night on Friday. Ashley wants to know why Declan doesn't play anymore, and he's avoiding everyone at all costs.

Inspiration

So, I've gotten to the tense moment in my script, and I was sort of plunking around YouTube today and stumbled upon this fella who is absolutely amazing! This name is Sungha Jung, and you have to see these videos. It explains everything.

Screnzy Update

All right. It's day 5 and I'm halfway through. So, I thought we'd celebrate with a little song. Sound good?

Another Screnzy Update!

Okay, so I know I just posted yesterday, but SO MUCH has happened since then! We are supposed to be at 10 pages today and I am at 33 and counting!

AND - we got a new computer upstairs, so I don't have to keep using this piece of crap in the basement. I can download Celtx upstairs and use it till my fingers bleed, which I will!

Things are getting slower - we are about to go into Declan's head and see some snippets of flashbacks. Coltrane's dog, Mickey, just died and as soon as everyone else gets out of the house (I have no idea as to how I'm going to do that, though...) we'll see what happens when you use ecstasy.

Ooh, fun! Drugs! Heheh.

Anyway, this is Frankie, signing off for the next few days until I get a break to post again!

Screnzy Update

So, it is day numero dos at Screnzy and we are supposed to be at 6.66 pages.

I'm at 25.5 and counting!

It feels so good to be ahead. Maybe I'll be halfway tomorrow? Who knows!

Everything is going well. Ashley just walked in on a HUUGE party and doesn't know what to do with herself. It's kinda funny, kinda scary (if you put yourself in her shoes).

Anywho, I'm off to finish by the fifth!

Let the Scripting BEGIN!

Here it is! Screnzy '11!

Ashley is already 3 pages in (at 9:47 in the morning, might I add!) and I'm on a roll. I may write for the whole day (working around homework and chores and other stuff that I have to do). I used "Waiting" by Green Day in the beginning. Excellent song for my concept. It's great. Check it out! I think it's the theme song, in a way, for Natural Disaster Ashley. I can't find a better one.

Anyway, I want to make some good headway into this because I don't know how much time I'll have to work on it during the month. :)

I'll keep writing, you keep doing what you're doing and make sure you love every minute of it!

6 Days Left

There
Are
Only
Six
Day
Left
Until
Utter
Scripted
Insanity
Begins!

I am so excited! I can't wait! I want to delve into Declan and Ashley's minds RIGHT NOW! But, if I do, I can't win. Six days, I have to wait. 144 hours, 8640 minutes, 518400 seconds until I begin Screnzy! Too long! I am memorizing Green Day songs as I type, as my mother bought me 21st Century Breakdown a week or so ago and I am so happy! Their music carries the potential for stories upon stories upon stories! I think that this script that will be written in April has the potential to be great, and I will make it so.

"Hold onto your headphones, honey."

This made my day. The little girl is my wallpaper now. I smile whenever I turn on the computer. Too cute!

A Change of Heart, of Musical Taste, of Writing Style

ACT I: Scene I:
INT. OFFICE - DAY

Open on FRANKIE, sitting at desk, waiting for inspiration to hit. Angle on Frankie's tired expression.

FRANKIE
(frustrated)
Oh, joy. NaNoWriMo's counterpart, set to take place in April, which is only 15 days away.

Screnzy - or, to those of you who use correct English, Script Frenzy.

I am going to write a script - a screenplay.

The worst part? I have no idea how! But, I will use Scripped.com, so it will all turn out peachy. I hope.

PLOT: Guitar prodigy, Ashley Holmes, runs away from home and joins a punk band called Crash and more-or-less moves in with them. But, when the bassist's girlfriend books the gig of the undiscovered century, she gets a wrist injury. So, the lead singer, aka Declan Hollister, must explain how he knows so much about guitars without being able to play.

CHARACTERS: Ashley, Declan, Joey, Coltrane, Bea, and Mickey, the dog.

SETTING: Somewhere down my street.

TIMELINE: 30 days to write 100 pages.

That's where it ends. 3 1/3 pages A DAY. This does not seem so daunting when you break it down, but I am so used to word count. I have no idea how I will be able to do this.

About the musical taste, I have migrated from my comfortable bed of indie rock and alt pop to garage rock, blues, and punk to get in the mood. For me, this is like admitting defeat because that is ALL my dad listens to, and I said I would always have my own music. Here we go! Foxboro Hottubs, Offspring, and Joe Bonamassa!

Oy. What have I gotten myself into? Ashley and Declan, you better be pretty darn interesting to cover 100 pages.

FRANKIE walks off-screen, leaving behind a swinging computer chair and prepped workspace behind.)

END Scene I

Short Stories

I recently had a teacher of mine read and edit my two short stories, Little Angels and Incandescence. She made many edits to Little Angels, and I fixed it based on her input. Then, as I was leaving her classroom, she told me that she was about half-way through (21-page) Incandescence. She told me that she gets to school at six in the morning, when the hall lights are still off and all is quiet. She told me that was when she started reading Incandescence (which is about a warehouse, an experiment, fear, and darkness) and she told me that she had to stop because she got scared. Now, at first I didn't believe her, but then I went home and turned off the lights in my basement and read the story aloud. I listened to myself talk, and I got shakier and shakier. I kept thinking that Xavier was going to run out and drag me to the warehouse and project my fears before me - that Genevieve would... Whoops! That would be a spoiler. :) Anyway, that is a huge paragraph and I used horrible grammar, but I just wanted to get that out.

By the way - Mrs. Burke, are you about finished with my book? My mom wants to read it!

Titanic

I just watched Titanic and, as predicted, I cried like a baby. But, then, I realized what it was that made me cry.

It wasn't only that Cal lived and married and made millions and then shot himself, proving that he shoudl have given up his seat on the lifeboat for Jack so that he and Rose could be together forever instead of Jack dying a cold, soaking death and sinking to depths to rest with the ship and leave behind a forever-changed Rose.

Not only that.

I realized how attached I had become to the characters and how James Cameron spun the tale to make it that way. How he used such a sad time in history to show that love is strong and can come from anywhere. I realized that the novel and short stories I have recently completed don't stand anywhere near that area.

They are miles away.

I realize how proud I was (sort of still am, but to a lesser degree) of these two short stories is sadly overstated. I have to do much better to be that proud of something I wrote.

I am not saying that I think I'm a horrible writer and that I am going to quit that "career." Quite the contrary! I am going to write with renewed energy and try to do better than I ever had before!

Thank you, James Cameron, and all the actors in Titanic! You have pulled out another layer of the authoress inside me!

Pitch

For the ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) contest, we had to create a pitch for our novels. The first round winners are decided on these pitches. Here's mine:

At night, when we fall asleep, sometimes we have strange dreams. Usually, we don't think anything of these dreams. They are irrelevent to our life.



But Harlow Castleberry's dreams are a different story.


Harlow's dreams began a while ago, but they have started to get worse as time progressed because her father made her stop writing them down. Now, she is seeing her dreams come to life when she is not asleep. She doesn't know what is real and what is fantasy.

And now, there are secrets coming to the surface, floating there, waiting to be overturned so their identity will be revealed. They are calling to Harlow, and she can't resist them.


Harlow's sister, Lee-Elba, knows about these secrets. One is not a secret to her anymore. She wants to tell her little sister everything, but it isn't until her parents begin to act strange that she does. She tells her about their parents, the club, the Hate Crew, Catastrophe, Exodus, and Armageddon, and the mysterious deaths surrounding their family.

Harlow doesn't know what to do. Her brain is filled to the brim with questions, and she has to replace them with answers, before it's too late.

In Memorium

A few hours ago, I got back from a memorial for a friend of our family. She died on the last day of January, succumbing to cancer after a long fight. She was a nice woman, always with a smile. She used to swing her arm around my neck and say, "Hey, Shrank, how ya doin'?" I cried when speech's were being told, though I did not know her well. I can't believe how much I cried. I think it was my cousin that went up and talked about how they used to go mushrooming that really did me in. Thanks, Kolter! Anywho, we love you, Carla, until our dying days.

In memorium - Carla Arbogast (1968-2011)

Proof Copy Arrived!

The proof copy of my novel came here today in the mail. I freaked out when I saw the small cardboard box. I have to edit it a little still, as I can see, but soon it'll be ready and I have to get another copy and approve it, then it'll be on Amazon! I'm so happy!

Little Angels Trailer

Quick summary: Virus in a small town. Easy peasy. In the actual story (only 3 pages), there's a specific family, but I decided to make the trailer a little bit more vague. (Song - "9 Crimes" by Damien Rice)

Cover of Give and Take

Give and Take going to Amazon!!

Okay, so, one of NaNoWriMo's sponsors is CreateSpace which lets authors, musicians, and filmmakers create and sell their works. Because I won NaNoWriMo, I got a free code that let me get a free proof copy of my novel. It should be here on the 28th. Then, once I approve it, it will be able to be sold on Amazon! I'm uber excited! It will have a cover (which I designed), an ISBN number, EVERYTHING! I can't wait!

chau.

Update on ... everything.

I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. My life has been ... lifelike. I have picked up some new likes and dislikes in music, movies, sports (yeah, I know), and even comedy. Especially ventriloquism (if you were in Moline at the iWireless Center on the 31st, you probably know who I'm talking about).
As far as music goes, I think I may be getting into ... pop. Indie pop, but still, it's pop. I'm beginning to worry about myself. I just watched an entire day of football. That could be it. :)
I realized that, in movies, there has to be a solid backbone of a story, or the effects don't matter. Now, I almost abandoned this because my and a friend went to see Tron: Legacy and the effects were spectacular, but there was no story. The relationships were awkward. I mean, it goes from "Dad?" "Sam?" "I missed you!" "Ditto!" to "Any girlfriends?" "Uh, no."
Sports - one big dislike. I still hate football.
Now, comedy. Jeff Dunham. He is LOLROFLLMAO. He is hilarious. I'm not even kidding. We watched Spark of Insanity, the Very Special Christmas Special, and bloopers online. I almost peed my pants 3 times.
I am working on a short story. It's sci-fi and I made a trailer. Except I can't post it right now because I dropped my flash drive on the floor at home somewhere and can't find it. :(
Have a good rest-of-holiday!