Excerpt from a story

This is a piece of dialogue from a story that I'm planning to start writing, but haven't yet...except for this! It's a fanfiction for the TV show "Unnatural History".

“I don’t mean to go all Velma on you here, Henry, but I can’t see anything. We really need to find my glasses.” Leila said, as she leaned closer to him and squinted her eyes in order to see his expression. Henry stared back blankly.

“Velma who?” He asked confusedly.

“Velma. You know, from Scooby-Doo?”

“Ummm….?” He shrugged.

“The cartoon about the four kids who solve mysteries, and the talking dog? Ruh-Roh, Renry!” Leila did her best Scooby impression and waited for Henry’s reaction.

He chuckled. “I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Leila gave up all hope of him knowing what Scooby-Doo was and explained: “Velma is this girl on the show who wears glasses, and in just about every episode she loses them at some point and crawls on the floor – much like we’re doing know – and says ‘Oh no! My glasses! I can’t see a thing without my glasses!’” Leila paused for a breath and finished. “She’s also really smart and wears some killer knee-socks, but that’s beside the point.”

Henry raised his eyebrows in amusement. “I see. So you really can’t see anything?”

 Leila shook her head. “I’m blind as a bat.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” He lifted his hand.

Leila squinted towards him again. “I’d say anywhere from seven to fourteen.”

“I’m only holding up one hand.”

“Yup.”

Henry shook his head, and the two went back to searching. Leila slid her fingers across the floor, feeling around for her black frames. Half a minute later, Henry spotted them underneath a chestnut desk pushed against the wall.

“Got them!” He said as he reached under and pulled them out. He blew off a dust bunny and handed them back to Leila, who hurriedly put them on her face.

“Yes, I can see again!” She said, her hazel eyes focusing on Henry through the rectangular frames. “Thanks, Henry.”

“No problem, but I think we should get out of here. The museum closes in…” He checked his watch. “Thirty seconds ago.”

“Oh jeeze, do you think we’re stuck in here again?” Leila’s eyes widened with apprehension at the thought of being trapped inside the museum.

“No, Maggie said the Board did away with all the fancy technology after that computer almost got stolen,” Henry said, as the two made their way through the various exhibits toward the exit. “I think we’ll be able to get a guard to let us out.”

“As long as he doesn’t think we’re stealing anything,” Leila added. “But I’m pretty sure they all know us by now.”

What does it mean to be a writer?

This is a freewrite that I did for my writing class. To freewrite, you just set a timer for 10 minutes and write anything that comes into your  mind. It is just a rough draft and I didn't do anything to it except spell-check.

9-21-10

Freewrite

What does it mean to be a writer?

I grab my book and pencils and clutch them to my chest. I turn around and march resolutely upstairs, a determined look on my face. I’m going to face it. Confront it. Writing. It’s a difficult process, getting things to come out the way they are in my mind. It all seems to clear up there, but when I finally take time to put pencil to paper or fingers to keys, I hit a bump in the road. Where do I start? I have a great idea for the climax, the last paragraph or even a character nickname! But do I start with those things, or do I begin at the beginning? My head is spinning. “Once upon a time…” No, far overused. But I like it. So why shouldn’t I use it? Writing should be something that I choose for myself, and I shouldn’t be pressured pr intimidated by others. Sometimes I feel that way. I’m sure all writers do at times. Like for instance, I’m not too good at using fancy words to describe beautiful places in my head. I prefer the personal sound and emotions of writing in 1^st person. I would love to be able to make up a beautiful tale on the spot, but it doesn’t work that way for me. Right now, being a writer for me at least means practicing. But not giving up. So what if my thoughts seem a little jumbled at times and I can’t find the right words to describe something. I just need to be free with what I do. It will come. Imagination. I have plenty of it, let me tell you. I’m never bored--ever! Wherever I am, my mind is there also. And with my mind comes my fantasy world. I would love to write down everything in there and turn it into an epic tale of twists and turns, deep characters and intricate twisting plots, but I’m not there yet, it’s still all just bits and pieces right now. I believe I have potential--we all do. Everyone does. But I need to release mine. I need to release all inhibitions. That’s what it means to be a writer: being free. Free to just scribble random words down. Draw sketches of characters even though the only thing I have in my mind is their looks. Don’t worry about it. It’ll come. Drift off, daydream, muse. I think about the world around me. How could I make it different? Should I just abandon this world and make a new one? I close my notebook and pick up my pencils. Holding them close once again, I step lightly down the stairs, a triumphant smile on my face. Sure I didn’t write a novel, but I started with one of my dreams and worked off it. I made progress. Hey, maybe I’ll get the hang of it someday. Because that’s what it means to be a writer: dreaming of the impossible and letting go.

Project 365

There is a project that I heard about a while ago, that I thought would be a cool thing to start. So, I'm going to share it with you. It's called Project 365 and it involves taking photographs. Lots of them.

Project 365 was started by a guy named Taylor McKnight. It's all about measuring your life through photographs and being able to relive your year once you're done with it. The goal is to take a picture of something that represents what your day was about, or reminds you of what you did, everyday.

What you need to accomplish this task is, most importantly, a camera. You always need to take it with you, wherever you go, in case an photo opportunity comes up. Taking pics with your phone is a good way to do it too. You don't need to be an amazing photographer, just give it a shot and you won't regret it...or so I'm told. I'm planning to start doing it myself and I'll be sure to share my pics with you.

(here is a link for more info about that project ^^)

Something random to get this blog started!

Harry Potter Saved My Life

Ever since I was six years old, I've been reading the Harry Potter series. In these nine years since, I've found myself get quite attached to the characters, setting, and books themselves. They are most important to me because thanks to J.K. Rowling, I have been inspired to start writing myself.

Fred and George are my favorite characters!! ^^

I have always thoroughly enjoyed reading. I spend whatever free time I have curled up with a good book, oblivious to the world around me. I get so much joy from every book I read, and I thought that I would like to give some of that joy to others in my own words; through my own writing.

I first looked toward J.K. Rowling's books for ideas and began to write Harry Potter fanfiction. Fanfiction is about taking another author's story or characters and making up your own plot around it. Harry Potter, being the most popular category for the "books" section of fanfiction.net (as well as my favorite book series), seemed like a good place to start.

Though I only recently started writing HP fanfiction, it is clear that it is something that I can enjoy doing for the rest of my life.