My Life on Repeat

Here's the thing. I had this lovely little post all typed out and ready to go to the presses when my genius computer suddenly realized that I was signed into my college Google account, and not my personal Google account. Therefore, it kicked me out of my blog and nommed my entire post before I could even say "cheesecake".

I despise technology.

That said, all I really wanted to say was that
a). Yes, I'm still alive and yes, this blog is still running [though very slowly, it seems]
b). I'm still stuck in the perpetual rut of writer's block. In fact, I think I'll just build a nice summer cottage and stay.
and
c). My short story isn't published yet, but I sent it off to the publisher and it should be in his hands even as I type.

But, with all the trouble I'm having with technology today, I think I might send him an email just to make sure.

'Til next time,

Elisabeth <3

Praise Him.

{via}

I had my last devotions of 2011 today. Providentially, the final Psalm the One Year Bible had me read was [no surprise] Psalm 150. It's short, but as 2011 draws to its close, I think it says a lot.
"Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD."


There are a lot of things about 2011 I wish I could change; there are some things I wouldn't change even if I had the chance. It was a good year; a hard year; a year of testing and of refinement and joy. Not as bad as some years I can remember; maybe not as good as others.

At the end of this year, there's a lot of memories knocking on my door. Sometimes I'd like to question God; to ask Him why He thought that moment was right to bring a difficult providence into my life, or if He couldn't have let the sun shine just a little longer before dousing all my hopes in a sudden storm. Other times, I'm overcome with gratefulness at how good He has been this year.

I can't change the bad things that happened; I wouldn't change the good things. So, in the end, there is only one thing to do: praise Him.

I must praise God for every gift He's given me this year; praise Him for the trials He's brought me through.

I must praise Him for the sunshine and the rain.

I must praise Him for the times of happiness, for all the times I did something I thought I'd never do and did it well. Those things I'll remember for the rest of my life. And, in the end, I can do nothing but praise Him for the times I failed because I relied on my own strength to get me through, or simply because He had a lesson to teach me.

I'm so thankful for this year. I've learned a lot; grown a lot; written a lot; talked a lot [that's not unusual]; prayed a lot--though not as often as I should. I've made new friends, discovered new gifts, found new passions. I've read a heap of books and loved almost every single one. I've worked for about seven months now and am really encouraged by how kind everyone at the office has been to me. I got accepted into a college that I really like, and there's a chance that I might recieve a good sum of money to make it easier to attend there [that's something I'll have to wait 'til 2012 to find out]. For all these things and more I can only praise God.


Sometimes the providences I encounter leave me gasping for breath, but I can only praise God that He led me safely through. Other times, they leave me breathless with joy, and what better way to show my thankfulness than to praise the Lord?


Well, that's my formal farewell to 2011. I hope and pray that 2012 will be just as good a year, for me and for you.

As far as any New Year's resolutions go, well--pfft. Aren't mine always the same?


God Bless ~

Ps. One of the things I praise God for is my blog! I'm so glad to have the chance to write down my thoughts, post my stories, and read your blogs. In honor of that blessing, I picked my top ten favorite posts from this year. Here they are:

1. I Know I'll Understand Someday [10/16/11]
2. Another Short Story =] (6/18/11)
3. The Happiness [8/13/11]
4. An Apology [5/18/11]
5. Where Do I Start? [9/17/11]
6. Day{s} After [12/28/11]
7. Braking for Turkey [11/20/11]
8. Second to the Right, and Straight On Till Morning [8/28/11]
9. Is It November Yet? [10/13/11]
10. Ideas, Ideas [4/9/11]


What about you? What were your favorite posts from Something Solid Out of Air?

Really, now.

I'm an obsessive music lover. When I find a song that I like, I listen to it. I listen to it again and again and again. For me, it never gets old. For other people... well, they usually just leave the room.

But today, I've outdone myself.

I went to see War Horse the other day with my sister, mom and a couple of friends. I won't even try to tell you how great it was (that might take all day). It was pretty simple for me: horses + English people + rolling green fields where said horses can run for a gloriously long time + a backdrop of one of the deadliest and most tragic wars in history + a phenomenal musical score (which I will mention again) = a pretty awesome movie. It was heartfelt, yet at the same time not at all the syrupy mess most horse films degenerate into about five minutes after the opening credits. It had a lot of suffering and tragedy woven into its plot line, yet at the same time, no matter how many battles you saw or how many characters died, you always knew in the back of your mind that everything was going to be okay in the end. It was a blend of real life and child-like faith in what seems impossible, and I think everyone involved in the making of the film pulled it off brilliantly.

I mentioned in my last post that I was expecting the score by John Williams to be good. Well, it wasn't. It was spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that I've been haunting the War Horse official website for the last 15-odd hours, refreshing the page so that I can hear a three minute long snippet of the music.

That's pretty disturbing even for me.

With that, my friends, I'm off to Grooveshark to deliver some well-earned respite to my family, who by now probably have the theme for War Horse seared onto their very brains.

My Year {In Pictures}

Hey everyone. The year is almost at its end, and I was just looking through some pictures from 2011. It was a good year, to be sure; a lot of good things happened and my family has been blessed beyond measure. I decided to make a couple of picture mosaics, just to show you what the year has been like. The first one (right down there) is just a sort of summary of 2011 for me. It includes my trip to Louisiana for a wedding, most of my amazing summer (including my very first piece of corn on the cob in 2011!) and snippets of our trip to Maine.

Then I went a little further and made a picture mosaic of "36 Things I Loved This Year". That one needs a little explaining, so there's a list under it. If you dare to move forward, I commend you.

My Year {In Pictures}

36 Things I Loved This Year

       
Oh boy. Here we go: (from left-right)

1. I loved Maine. I loved the weather, the landscape, the fact that no one else was there AND sitting on top of a rock in the middle of the woods. Yes. Don't judge.

2. I loved East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It was a confusing but captivating story, skillfully written and masterfully handled. And I also loved the miniseries, which I watched before I read the book. Shaaame.

3. I LOVE HAVING A BLOG! It's such a privilege to be able to read all of your blogs and post little things for you to read.

4. I love that as of March 2011, I have two new little brothers. It's amazing how much they have changed since they first came as foster boys. They're so special, though sometimes difficult to love, and I'm so blessed to have them in my family.

5. I love that I got accepted into college! I don't know if I'll be going to Covenant next fall, but it was such a relief to get that letter in the mail and know that if God leads me there, the door's already open.

6. I loved seeing Les Miserables almost a year ago in January. The performance was just amazing, and it was so special for me to be there with my best friends to see the 25th Anniversary show!

7. I love the Irish Tenors. Yes. I know you knew that, but I thought you might want to hear it again.

8. I LOVED this year's GPCWC. It was just fantastic. I'm still sifting through all the stuff I learned and trying to apply it to my stories. I can't wait for next year! (See, they already changed the banner! August 2012, here I come).

9. I love learning about my great-great grandmother, Mae. I love her story, her spunk, and I love my grandmother for telling me all about it. It's so cool to be able to write her story over one hundred years later.

10. I loved seeing Schindler's List for the first time this year. It was such a great film, so well done and so haunting. It's currently one of my favorite films.

11. I loved going to Louisiana in May! The wedding there was beautiful; I was so happy to be able to be there. New Orleans was such a fascinating place to visit, even though it was SO HOT every day.

12. I LOVED being able to go to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with my German 2 class. I will never forget what I saw there, or how it felt to stand in that cattle car, or how emotionally drained I felt on the car ride home. It was a powerful experience and I would go back again in a hearbeat.

13. I love the books I've written in this past year. I know I'm still not even close to being done, but I got words down on paper and even had several new ideas pop up! I love writing, and I'm so thankful that I had another year to do it!

14. I love skiing! All the adventures my friends and I had are too many to post here now. I'm so excited to be going again this January!

15. I LOVE THAT THE HOBBIT IS COMING OUT NEXT YEAR. I just saw the trailer and, as a rabid fan of both the books and the first three films, I went a little berserk. I don't know if I can wait a whole year.

16. I love that I'm falling back in love with wolves. I started quite a few stories about them over the years, and I think another one's on the way. They're such fascinating creatures to write about.

17. I love pasta. Any pasta. ANY. I could eat it for the rest of my life. I ate quite a lot of pasta in this past year.

18. I love my Avaria books. I know I've been neglecting them, and not working as hard as I could to fix those plot holes, but I still think about them all the time and I can't wait until I start writing in them again!

19. I love Christmas. 'Nuff said.

20. I love latex gloves. Granted, they're really hard to get on, especially if your hands are wet. And it's really awkward when you're standing there fixing ever finger while people are waiting to start a procedure. But in a dentist's office, latex gloves are crucial. Since I work in a dentist's office, and I know more than I ever wanted to know about what kinds of nasty things live in your mouth, I really REALLY love latex gloves.

21. I love coffee. I love the effect coffee has on me (I think the coffee itself tastes pretty nasty). I usually only drink it on Sunday mornings, and I try to avoid it otherwise because it really does stain your teeth, but let's face it--I'm becoming an addict pretty fast.

22. I love painting. Over this past year, I've done a lot of painting and I'm starting to like it more than simple pencil or pen & ink art.

23. I love being part of the Class of 2012 (squee!)

24. I love how much reading I've done this past year. Goodreads, you are my friend forever.

25. I love the film Judgment at Nuremberg. Despite the fact that it's very long and pretty detailed, it's a captivating story and has unforgettable characters.

26. I love music from movies! I'm finding out that I really like movie themes--there's just something about them that clicks with me, I guess. I'll sit at the piano for a good hour trying to play my favorite themes by ear. Don't worry--you'll never need to hear the results ;)

27. I love Hershey's Cookies n' Creme candy bar. In fact, I love just about every white chocolate candy bar I've ever come across.

28. I love Ocean City, NJ!

29. But I also love Ocean City, MD! If ever I chose one over the other, my grandmother would disown me =)

30. I love owls. But you already knew that.

31. I loved that I saw my very first sunrise! It was spectacular.

32. I loved this year's NaNoWriMo. Even though I didn't finish quite on time, I have an incredible story started and I can't wait to keep writing it.

33. I love having a cell phone! Okay, so my phone is only a Tracfone, but as my dad says, phones are for making and recieving calls. No more, no less. Annnnd that's exactly what I do. Okay. Sometimes I text a little.

34. I love driving. I'm pretty bad at it still--I have horrible judgment and I've made blind turns more times than I'd like to admit, but I do love it. And I LOOOOVE my little red Honda.

35. I love that I've grown in Christ this past year. I've been lazy and forgetful; I've skipped out on my devotions and prayer time, but He has continued His work in me despite... well, me. I've learned a lot this past year; it's come with hard lessons and many blessings. I can't wait to see what next year has in store.

36. And, in closing, may I just say: I really love my life. It might sound a bit cheesy, but it's true.

 Anyway. I'll probably post once more before Christmas, Lord-willing, although my life is starting to get really busy as the big day approaches. If I don't write to you again soon, I hope you and your families have a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!

God Bless~

Getting in the Mood



Frank called me one day and said, 'I have an idea for a movie, why don't you come over and I'll tell you?'

So I went over and we sat down and he said, 'This picture starts in heaven'. That shook me.


Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gwdjUVhr

It's that time of year again. Time to raid our DVD shelf, searching for just about every Jimmy Stewart movie we own before we plop down on the couch for a veritable marathon of black, white and really tall. All of this joy, of course, can only lead up to one epic film. It's so amazing that my family is only allowed to behold it once every year, sometime around Christmas (preferably Christmas Eve). You must know of it. It's the recorded wonder of that one period in history when Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart made a perfect film (except for that one scene where the wreath is hopping off and on Jimmy's arm).

Yes, people, it's time for It's a Wonderful Life. This is my absolute favorite Jimmy Stewart movie, and almost my favorite movie. In the world. And I've seen my fair share of movies. Good ones, too. But this one's different. It's Christmas for me, not to mention a wonderful story.

It was amazing that a play that seems dated in this world... A man whose best friend is a six-foot white rabbit... But it caught on, especially with young people - they surprised me most of all.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gweuK36g

I've been watching this movie around Christmastime for just about my entire life. My dad loves Jimmy Stewart movies, and this is his favorite film ever made (right up along with To Kill a Mockingbird). I love the storyline, the characters, the amazing actors who brought them to life, the black and whiteness of it all, the shine in people's eyes, Zuzu's hair (and her name for that matter!) and that lovely house that leaks. It's all wonderful, and it only comes once a year.

We don't have too many Christmas traditions. In fact, in recent years we've cut back on Christmas presents, Christmas music, Christmas cookies and Christmas decorations. We try to be careful, because Christmas the way we want to celebrate it is for Jesus, not for the pretty lights, yummy food, amazing movies or wonderful music. Watching It's a Wonderful Life, however, is a tradition we plan to keep, and I certainly want to carry on in my life for as long as I have a DVD player.

Well, I think one of the main things that you have to think about when acting in the movies is to try not to make the acting show.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/james_stewart.html#ixzz1gwgAnBlt

I love Christmas, both for all the stuff that doesn't truly matter (lights, food, music, movies, etc.) and for all the things that do (the birth of Christ, our salvation). It's hard to balance out the two, especially when the world is so focused on glorifying material things. That's why I like It's a Wonderful Life so much. It's a story about how material things don't really matter. It shows how one man, fictional though he be, finds out that everything he and his family ever wanted was right in front of them. I love the story. And I think nobody could have done a better job as the lead character than good old Jimmy Stewart. And so tonight, as I put on Harvey and begin my Christmas Countdown, I thought I'd remind you all to think about your own traditions at this time of year. I bet they're great--keep them! But also remember that Christmas means more than traditions can ever show.

More Christmas posts will be coming--don't worry about that! Meanwhile, go find yourself a Jimmy Stewart movie and be happy.

Blessings,

"...A date which will live in infamy..."

{Via}

If you know me well, you'll know that I'm an unabashed history buff. I love history. I watch history movies, read historical nonfiction, talk about historical occurences and recently began to write my very first historical fiction novel: To Bring Mae Flowers. I wasn't always so history-crazed. I used to hate it with a passion. My 3rd grade history book covered things like Roman and Greek history, which, I'm ashamed to admit, I found utterly boring. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I discovered history for the truly wonderful thinbg it is: a long, long story. Arguably the greatest story ever told. The Bible? That's a history book. All those things really happened. To real people. In real places. The rest of history is like the sequel to the Bible, leading up to the grand ending when Christ returns and writes the final words, which have been known to God for all ages past, present and future, for all to see. I wish I could know everything there is to know about history.... all the nuances and interesting little facts that exist. But it's been my experience that a person is usually drawn to a particular era in history, and so it is with me. I'm a World War II history buff, and proud to be one.

That's why this day is so special.

I'm sure we all know the general story. On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Less than 24 hours later, the United States entered World War II. It's not much of a beginning. Usually we remember grander battles and more glorious entries into war. This attack was quick, unexpected, and deadly. The real fight was yet to come. But every story has to have a starting point. For the United States, this was it.

Do you realize that today marked the 70th anniversery of that point? I personally know one World War II veteran. He's into his nineties and beginning to slow down. The rest of his generation are not far behind in age or health. It's a startling thing to think about, but we're beginning to see what has been called the Greatest Generation die out. For me, it's traumatizing. History is slipping away. Chances to talk to the men and women who were there are becoming scarce. Soon, all of these things will have been written down for the archives, and the last few who remained will have passed on.

I don't usually observe days of remembrance, but today I wanted to. Just for a minute. And I wanted you to think about these things, too, even if you're not totally nuts about the 1940's like I am (although, if you want an awesome period of history to be nuts about, the 1940's is the bomb). Today was a day to remember a starting point. Before long, there will be a little ending as a generation moves aside to make room for new ones. The story goes on. But let's not forget what happened before our chapter began.

Sorry for being a tad sentimental, and for using all those writing examples. Hey, what can I say? I'm a writer: it's what I do.


December 7th, 1941-December 7th, 2011.

Wow.


Seventy years later,

I'm on Day 15, and it's Day 18 ;_;

That's where I'm at XD Almost 25,000 words. 5K words behind. But my story is moving, and I'm really beginning to like my characters. Like, I liked them before, but now I like them A LOT. Like, a whole lot more.

I'm being a stereotypical teenager and instering the word "like" every other word, aren't I?

Oh, well. That's what NaNoWriMo does to your brains.

Cheers,

Elisabeth

Ready, Set... Wait What?

....go?

Ready or not, in one hour and ten minutes, that's exactly what we've gotta do.

NaNoWriMo isn't about sophisticated plots, meticulously christened characters or wickedly clever villians (although if you have any of those things, that's fantastic and we're all very jealous).

NaNoWriMo is about writing for the joy of writing.

Even if what you write is never published.
Or finished.
                                                                               Or even opened and read again.
At the end of it all, you will have written fifty-thousand words.

Original words.

Thought-out words.

Words which no one else wrote in those thirty days.

You're on a quest to showcase your originality. Your drive. Your heart. Your spirit. A story needs to be told, and you've been chosen to tell it. Characters are destined to be born by your nimble fingers and imaginative brain. Villians of the most evil category are already plotting to hijack your storyline and take over the world. No one said it would be an easy journey, Wrimos. But it is your journey. It is your story.

THIS IS YOUR TIME.

 Be proud, be bold, and .....

......please don't freak out.

(Come on, you really thought I would end a post on the night before NaNoWriMo seriously?)

Cheers, Wrimos! May your fingers be quick and your nerves like steel!

Running on coffee,

*

Fields of Athenry

This song has officially made my day. Dare you to listen ;)

Loving the Irish Tenors,

Elisabeth, who is destitute without her sig :(

I like Owls...

...and so naturally when I saw this template, I couldn't resist :3



Have a happy Tuesday!

I Know I'll Understand Someday

As my life gets busy and my high school days begin to wind to their final round, I find that there are a lot of things I wish I could do.

I wish I could dedicate myself wholly to my writing. I wish that the words would come as easily as they did four years ago, when I finished books in months and could write for hours without stopping. I wish that I could give my characters the time they so desperately need to develop and grow instead of clumsily moving from one to the next and buying them off with memes and quizzes. I wish that I had the time and energy to take every wisp of story in my mind and capture it in words, whether they be part of a poem or a novel. I wish that I could just sit back, breathe, and write. Like I used to.

I wish that I had more time for my art. Painting has become my obsession--the colors are so real and vivid. But I have no time to dip my brush into a spot of paint and run it across a blank canvas. I have no time to sit and think of concepts for paintings that speak to my soul with their colors and textures. I have no time to experiment, to learn by failure, to mix colors to find the perfect shade, to use every brush and notice a difference. I have no time to go to the store anymore and just stand in the aisle and breathe in the subtle smell of paint, or marvel at the canvas that's bigger than me. I wish that I could just slow down, breathe, and create. Like I used to.

I wish that I had more time for my reading. I love to read. I wanted to read every book ever written when I was little. Now I'm working on it, but not in the way I want to. I snap up a chapter here and there, always distracted, never focused on the words, the voice, the author. I try to rush through because "lots of classic books look good on a transcript", not because they develop my mind. I wish I could find a book I love and curl up, just to read. I wish I could enter back into the worlds I once knew, the worlds where I felt everything the author meant for me to feel and not just the superficial emotions I know now. I want that again. But I've forgotten how to find it. Or so it seems.

I guess I want to live again, or live life as I once knew it. I want to have the whole day to myself, to do the things I want to do, without all the confusion of school and responsibility and the pressures that I feel now.

But you know what I'm realizing?

I am living.

It's not the life a twelve year-old girl with straw-blond hair and braces lived. That life has been lived. It's a memory--sweet, haunting, sometimes even trailing on into the life I'm living now. But I am living. As I sit here, wishing for the things I once knew, the life I have is passing me by. There are new chances out there for me, things I never even knew of when I was twelve. They're not the same as the chances I had back then. But they are once in a lifetime chances, chances I'll never get to chase again.

The old things linger on--I still write when I can, paint when inspiration floods my mind, and read when I have a spare moment. I'll always have my passions. I am a writer, an artist, a reader. I'm a person who loves to draw and sing and walk outside on crisp fall days. I love chocolate and the warmth of a horse's breath on my fingers and taking random pictures and making beautiful memories. Those aren't things that are ever going to pass me by. Those are what make me me. They'll always be there, even if it seems like they're fading away.

All these thoughts that have been spinning around in my mind reminded me of the verses in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Maybe I'm not "dying" and beginning a new life without the things I've loved ever since I knew they existed. Maybe this is just a time of transition, a time when those things can't play as large a part in my life. Maybe this has been God's plan for my life all along.

 Seasons change. They transition. Trees lose their leaves in the winter, but the leaves always grow back in the spring.

Maybe it's not the time you wish you had, but the time you're given that really matters.

In fact, you know what?

I know it is.

And that's all the writing I've done today.

And for once, it's okay.

Elisabeth with an "S"

 It doesn't sound quite the same, but it's true. Elisabeth with an "S" is a much more interesting way to spell the name ^_^ Biased? Nooooo, not I.

Well, this is getting to be a trend, I think. First Little Women ate up gobs of my time while thoroughly delighting me; now Anne Shirley has captured my attention. That's right--I finally made good on my promise to read the books. And now that I've finished the first one, I don't know how I can bear to read the second one. I just know the characters are going to change.

Anne of Green Gables has an intriguing premise. As the sister of two former foster boys, Anne's plight captured my heart. Just thinking about arriving at what you assumed to be your forever home and then be faced with the prospect of being turned away is heartbreaking. And L.M. Montgomery writes with such maturity that she actually makes Anne's plight become real. The result is breathtaking.

Besides the characters, who deserve a blog post all to themselves on account of their incredible awesomeness; and besides the storyline, which is as simple as can be and yet held me captive for about four hours straight; and besides the fact that this book is set in a real place that you can actually visit (you can certainly tell that Montgomery was a Canadian--she describes every detail in Avonlea to perfection!), I loved the fact that after 100 years (YES! 100 years!) Anne's story is still as believable as ever. The writing is not over-wordy and doesn't use terms foreign to a 21st century teenager (namely, me).

If you've read Anne of Green Gables, I hope you share in my joy. If you haven't, I hope you pick it up and read it sometime. Even if you don't particularly like it, it's a great story and Montgomery was quite accomplished in her craft. I found it almost too easy to read Anne of Green Gables in under four hours, and I definitely plan to read it again in the future. The sequels? I'm not too eager to read them yet. I still have a perfect picture of Anne's life after Green Gables in my mind, and I don't really want her to grow up just yet :]


Besides my latest literary raptures, I've written a bit in the past couple days. College website surfing and college applications have been eating up my time and my insanity. It's hard to believe that I could be in COLLEGE this time next year o_o Scary is a better word, actually.
I wrote a poem, and a muse, and some random outbursts of frustration at my inability to express my joy at being able to write again. None of them passed the "blogworthy" test, however, and thus I have nothing to show to you. Lord-willing, I will. Soon. VERY SOON.

Alas, it's time to say goodbye. Take a look at my new siggie as you leave. I made it HERE. You should all grab one, too!

God Bless!

(GRAHH. It has a white background DX Oh, well. Another thing to tinker with ;D)

I Said I Would, and So I Shall

"I shall conquer the beast that hath overtaken me and destroyed the happiness I once enjoyed. Though mine helmet be a thimble and mine sword a pin, I shall bravely ride forth and pop this bubble of drudgery. TIME, THOU SHALT NOT HAVE ME.
And I shall rescue the fair damsel of writing from Time's loathsome jaws."

~ Yours Truly, about two minutes ago


What can I say? I was in a knight-ish mood.

Anywho, I've decided to get back into my old habit of going to good old 750words.com and writing those words each day. I keep getting their emails and it's really prompted me to get back on the horse and ride into the sunset (even if they sunset's really fake). Did I mention it's eleven o'clock? Writing, tomorrow I come for thee.

~Elisabeth

A Meme for Me, and One for You, Too!

Say that five times fast.

Anyway, sorry for the lapse into silence. I've been pretty busy. As you can see, I sort of redid my blog a bit. I like it so far :] I have a MUCH more detailed profile page and book page up (you can see them under the blog title). Okay, the book page is not done yet, but it WILL be. Someday.

Today, I have a meme for you. I already did it, which kind of makes the blog title...incorrect, in some way. How I don't know. My brain hurts. The Venerable Bede has been chewing on it.

I found these memes here. I CANNOT vouch for the site in that I don't know if all of the memes are appropriate (I've only done two). But I liked what I've done so far, and I thought I'd share the memes with you.

Here's my favorite meme so far. It's UTTERLY confusing and you'll probably do the numbers wrong like me, but it was so fun to do. I would have posted my completed meme, but it's very long and garbled and I was asleep when I did it.

For the record, I didn't write this meme--I only found it online and have duly credited my source.

Have a great time :]

God Bless~

Elisabeth

PS. In case you're totally clueless like me, OC means "original character." Maybe I'm just weird XD

Reality TV Show Writing Meme!

Rules:

- Choose 6 OC's.

- Put your OC's names in list of numbers and answer the questions with your OC's names instead of the number, write at least 100 words to answer.

- Once an OC is evicted, you must choose the next consecutive number to fill in the question.

1. Welcome to the House! Introduce the OC's and what their luxury item would be.

[1] [2]

[3] [4]

[5] [6]

2. There are 3 bedrooms, 1 with 2 double beds, 1 with 2 single beds and 1 with only 2 matresses on the floor. Who pairs up with whom, is there an argument over who should get the better room, and how is this resolved?

3. Now they've decided where they're sleeping, they make their way to the living room but find that it is empty expect for a few large and heavy boxes which hold the furniture which [1] and [4] have been told to put together within a time limit, how well do they do?

4. The furniture's together, now for dinner and a rest! [2] and [5] are designated for cooking first. What do they cook? Do they work well together? Does their cooking go down well?

5. A few days pass and a relationship is growing between [3] and [6], is it a good one or is it a bad one? What measures are made to make their relationship blossom, or stop them from attacking each other on sight?

6. A week has passed and it's time for an eviction! Someone hasn't put in their penny's worth and needs to be gotten rid of. Choose one OC, and have them say their weepy, or exuberant, goodbyes.

7. There's a siren in the middle of the night! [1] has tried to escape with [3] as accomplice, however they are both caught, who blames whom, and what is their punishment? Do the other house-mates suffer for it?

8. The next task appointed for them arrives in the form of a letter and a pack of bendy wires. They pick up the letter and read that housemates [2] and [4] must make a cube using the fewest number of wires possible within 30 minutes of time.

Do they manage it?

9. That evening, they find alcohol [Elisabeth says: They mean root beer, of course :P] in the refridgerator and a karaoke machine in the living room. However, it is incredibly hard to set up and it's instructions are in Japanese. [5] and [6] are bullied into geting it sorted. How do they get on?

10. Eviction time! Eviction this time is based upon house-mates behaviour and performance in the last week, and sadly, [1] and [3]'s escape attempt has not impressed the higher hand.

[1] or [3] must go, choose, and have them say goodbye.

11. Confessions Time! Having been together for two weeks, how do the house-mates feel about the others? How do they feel about the evictions? Let's listen to them now.

12. [1] and [4] have become very close, and [6] is jealous and decides to confront [4] about it, what happens?

13. Their next task is to simply tidy the house, however, they have to do it blindfold, [5] cheats and [2] does nothing, such disobedience so late in the game earns them a time-out and their luxury item is taken away, how do they cope?

14. Due to the cheating in the previous task, the electricity in the building is cut, and the living room is locked off from them. [4] suggests a game of hide-and-seek, does anyone get injured in the dark? Does anyone take this moment to be naughty with another housemate?

15. The living room is open to them again and inside is a television, an XBOX and four Guitar Hero guitars, a not stuck on the television let's them know that it is a play-off between [3] and [6].

Who wins, and did they realise the loser would be evicted?!

16. With only three house-mates left, tension starts to rise, [1] becomes super-competitive and starts taking over any tasks given to them. [1] accepts a task before even hearing it, and it's challenging them to sit in a bath of maggots for half an hour.

How does [1] react and do they complete the task?

17. Another Confession. Poor [2] is starting to suffer from cabin fever and is sure the others are out to get them. Let's listen to their ranting.

18. The house-mates realise they are quite quickly running out of food, and find three unlabelled tins in a cupboard, with blindfolds next to them and a letter explaining that two tins are sliced peaches, one is dog-food, they must each choose a tin with their blindfolds on.

Who gets the dog-food, and evicted?

19. The final task denotes the winner of the entire game, the final two house-mates are given an envelope, inside is the instrutions of their last task, they simply are.

"Choose."

Does this shock them? Do they choose themselves as the winner or the other? Do they give their own victory up, or are they selfish?

20. Now it's (quite abruptly) over, tag someone!

Inspired by Insanity

My journal doesn't look exactly like this--it has lovely rainbow stripes. But it's made by Iota and I'm happily scribbling away in it.

A strange way to begin a blog post, you say? It is not. It's just insane.

My friend showed me a nifty little notebook the other day. In it, she'd jotted down random quotes that struck her fancy. Some of them obviously struck my fancy and knocked it down, because I've thrown my whole being into starting my own "quote journal." Some of the first names to grace its pages have been Victor Hugo, Winston Churchill, Peter Pan, Oscar Wilde, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Lucille Ball. It's a great mix, and I'm absolutely loving searching my books and the internet for random, inspiring quotes.

This is something of an update. Besides my lovely journal, I've finally gained my permit after weeks of stressing, studying, stuttering out answers to my longsuffering sister, and banging my head on the wall. I drove around a very quiet community for the first time today and came home convinced that all of the cars were out to nom me. They were probably only afraid of me. Driving is fun, I can say, but quite scary. I suppose if I was a boy I'd think differently.

I sound sort of like Jo March--I guess it's not much of a surprise, since I've been chewing through Little Women. I actually like it, which is a big surprise since I don't usually like novels dealing with young women coming of age (you should have seen the Elsie Dinsmore books after I was through with them). Little Women is somewhat unbelievable and so sweet it's almost sour, but it's a good story and the characters have thoroughly engaged me (especially Jo, as you already know). I'm also working on Alice in Wonderland and have decided to tackle Anne of Green Gables after resurrecting my love of the story by watching the trilogy starring Megan Follows.

I outlined today. It was unbelievably hard. I found that I could hardly remember the plot of Avaria. It's time to get to work, it seems--and it's time to work hard. But unfortunately, the only work I'll do this week is on paper. Yes. I'm going away again--back to the shore. I love the shore. REALLY I do. I must love it a lot since this is the third time we've been down this year :3 But I've resolved not to bring my laptop and rely instead on my pen, paper, and the cooling September air to inspire me. I hope it works. Otherwise, Fozzy'll murder me.

I hope you're all enjoying the start of the school year. The very first co-op class is finished, and now I get to go meet "The Venerable Bede" as I plow through The Ecclesiastical History of the English People for Brit Lit. Joy.


I'll miss you guys! Let some little insanity inspire you every day, and you might end up with a rainbow-colored journal filled with quotes from Jane Austen to Jack Sparrow (I hope you do!)

~God Bless

Elisabeth

It's Coming....

Fall. I can smell it in the air in the mornings and feel it under my toes in the afternoon. The leaves aren't changing quite yet, but there's a sense of anticipation, as if all of nature is holding its breath before the plunge. I don't know what the calanders tell you, but for me, autumn is September.

I love September. It contains a lot of happy things. My sister's birthday, the beginning of a new school year at co-op, the last beach vacation of the season, the first walk under the crisp red leaves. Fall means leaf parties, where my entire family converges on my grandmother's house and chases down every leaf in her spacious yard. It means breaking out the boots and scarves and insisting on wearing said accessories every single day. It means school, which can be fun and can sometimes be...well, not so fun. New classes excite me--what will we learn? Who will I meet? How will the classes change me? Fall means finding leaves the color of my dreams and trying to photograph every single one before they start to fade right in my hands. It means shorter days but long, cool, starry nights. It means that soon, we'll all be able to puff out huge clouds of steam into the colder air.

Fall excites me. Even though it's still hot and humid here, I can begin looking forward to sweaters and boots, hot chocolate and long nights studying and occasionally writing like a madwoman when the tingly air completely overpowers my sanity. It's not my favorite season for nothing.

As I head off to my very first class of the year at co-op, I just wanted to invite you to join me in the anticipation =)

Happy Fall~

Elisabeth

More Than Words

I can't believe that 9/11 is almost ten years behind us. Today, two magazines came in the mail. Both of them were special memorial issues. I sat down and just looked through the pictures, not even reading the articles. The emotion, the bare, raw emotion on the faces of the people in those pictures can't be recreated by anything I write. They're surreal, those emotions. They were singular and unique to every person who felt them, and they will never be felt by anyone else. It's very hard for me, as a writer, to see those deep emotions. They're things that I can't touch, that I have never experienced. Researching and practicing and imagining don't help. There's a time when I need to simply say, "I can't imagine." And it's so true.

There is something about pictures that fascinates me. I feel that as writers, one of our hardest jobs is to actually create a picture with words. It's certainly something I've struggled with ever since I first put down "Once upon a time..." on a piece of notebook paper. Those awful, heartbreaking pictures speak more than words.

I don't want to make the tenth anniversary of 9/11 a writing exercise. It's so much more than that.

Outlines, GoodReads, and Figuring Stuff Out :]

Hi everyone. I'm not going to apologize for not posting in forever--I know you know my excuses by heart and you could probably apologize FOR me by now -_- (But I really am sorry--writing this summer has been harder than ever before!)

Today I went through my outline for Avaria and basically tried to figure out exactly what I did and didn't need. It was tedious, sometimes boring and sometimes a bit painful since I had to decide to cut some scenes which have been in the book since the beginning :'( But I think I made progress and can now chat a bit with Fozzy about her opinion and then start to tear my poor novel apart (again). I also found a bunch of resources from writer's conferences past and made a list of exactly what I want to do with each one. I really need to work on my characters--maybe I'll let them loose on the blog someday and let you tell me what you think of them :] I'm going to try to make each of them a little document containing their backstory and vital information, just to get everything organized. I think it's a good idea--I'll let you know how it turns out XD

Next--GoodReads! I just found this yesterday and have been basking in the glow for about 30 hours :] If you know what GoodReads is, then you don't need to read the rest of this paragraph. If you don't: GoodReads is a site packed chock-full of books--unfortuantely, not ones you can read. They're actually books which you can mark as *read*, *currently reading*, or *to-read*. You can make "shelves" of these books, invite friends to join, take bookish quizzes, find and favorite quotes, become fans of your favorite authors, and review books that you've read. I'm having a blast! It's not a Christian site, but I haven't seen any problems with language and it seems secure and well-moderated. If any of you are on there, I'd love to "friend" you and swap book suggestions :] I always loved to read even before I loved to write, and it's so fun for me to compile a list of all the books I can ever remember reading X3 If you're not a member, you can sign in with Facebook, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. and create an account thru one of those profiles. Sorry for rambling--I encourage you to go ahead and take a look around the site for youself!

Shoooyeah. This school year I'll be taking a graphic novel course which I'm super excited about! I expect to be writing a lot of poetry for said class, so hopefully you'll have a steady stream of verses thrown at you then. Over the next few days, I'd like to post a couple of chapters from Avaria for you to take a look at.


Aaand Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra just ended and Stargate SG-1 is on -_- That's probably my cue to sign out X3


Have a good 4th of July!

~Elisabeth

Another Short Story =]

Hi everybody! Hope this lovely June day finds you all well =]

I did it! I actually wrote some Avaria today! It was, like, 300 words, but I'm proud that I actually did it XD I should be done with the 4th or 5th edit-through of this book in another couple thousand words, and shall be posting frequent snippets for you to tear apart :D

Today I went to a graduation party for meh cousin. 'Twas a very interesting party and I had fun =] I sat with my sister and wrote in my secret writing book for a good while, and I actually came up with something good enough to get its own Word document.

This is a muse--very random, with no real inspiration behind it besides the obvious. It's pretty choppy and....

What a Wonderful World....

I don't know why, but that song is stuck in my head and subsequently its title has become the title of my random blog post. I shall have to look it up on Grooveshark and add it to my playlist =] And look! Balloons! Because that fits so well with the random song!

Well, hi everybody! Sorry for not posting in...a long time... I've been crazy-busy (I need a new excuse). Summer's almost here, and I'm beginning to wake up from my school-induced writing hibernation and realize that I'd better start typing away again--FAST. It's not just because I haven't written a good portion of one of my novels in I-don't-know-how-long--though that's a pretty scary thing! I have my yearly writer's conference looming in August, and I haven't really improved my sample writings from last year. BIG PROBLEM. So, all that to say, you can be expecting (and reminding me to post) some chunks of my novels for your inspection =]

Okay, second thing: I have a poem random non-rhyming/rhythmical (is that a word?) jumble of words for you. Yay! I just wrote it, and I can't say I'm TOO happy with it, but it's what I have XD It's a short muse about autisum, to put it bluntly. We have a friend with an autistic son, and he came and spent a few hours with us the other day. I just have to wonder what it's like.... He was playing outside, and there were butterflies, and--well, that's how I got this picture, I guess =]

Okay, guys! Off I go on another attempt to conquer my stack of untouched writing -_-

God Bless~

Elisabeth

The Autistic Butterfly

The whole world spins out of his control

And so he spins with it

Unable to direct his wings

Trapped inside his mind

He flutters aimlessly around

Letting the world pass by

In flashes of colors and light

And things he can’t understand.

He stays low to the ground

Hides in the grass

Keeps himself company

Though watching the others

Out of the corner of his eye

Wanting to be like them

But not knowing how to change

Or why he is the way he is.

But in his mind he’s different

He is a normal butterfly

Somewhere in his maze of thoughts

He finds himself

Holds himself tightly in the storm

Of a strange and careless world

And he hopes that someday the others

Will find the real him, too.