Ryanne Molinari

July 11, 2016

Writing Victories

Just had to brag a little bit: Today marks the two-year birthday of my baby novel. On this day in 2014, I was inspired to write a book about a quirky little town that I stumbled upon and, to my delight, today I reached the word count required for my manuscript to qualify as a…

Scribblings

author, authors, Book, books, bookworm, cobbly nob, coffee, coffee shop, draft, editing, Fiction, first draft, inspiration, manuscript, NaNoWriMo, novel, Reading, tea, tennessee, writer, writing
July 8, 2016

Affirming Ourselves to Death

Selfishness is nothing new, but it has grown to such enormous proportions that this generation is actually known as the “Entitlement Generation.” The saddest part is that we, the members of this generation, have been deceived into believing that there is nothing wrong with this and even seem to have redefined morality as personal happiness. From birth, we have been spoon-fed on praise,…

Faith, Musings

affirmation, Aristotle, Aristotle friendship, Augustine, Christian love, Christlike love, City of God, complete affirmation, complete friendship, genuine love, love
July 3, 2016

Writing is Hard: A Lament

Writing is hard and I’ll tell you why: I am not the Bard and that makes me cry. Red pens are bloodstains on my poor first draft Despite prep-school refrains about the English “RAFT.” Well, dear school teachers, I must ask you now: Though you seemed to be preachers, I do not know how To find out my…

literary living, Poetry

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June 25, 2016

Student to Sue State University over Conservaphobic Practices

Frustrations are on the rise at one California university as students and unrelated activists alike fight to end an attack on student choice. The Second University of Southern California has long held to its liberal values; it is a place known for its lack of enforcement of all antiquated ideologies, which administrators boast promotes a…

Satire

bill 1146, Bill SB1146, religious freedom, Satire, SB 1146, secular, Tolerance, traditional, university
June 23, 2016

Miss Darcy

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman having read or seen Pride and Prejudice, must be in want of a Mr. Darcy.” – Jane Austen and Ryanne McLaren* *Note: The above quote does not actually represent the entirety of this post, but I did think it rather apt in capturing the feelings of Austenites…

Literature, Musings

AP Literature, author, authors, blog, blogger, Book, books, bookworm, character analysis, characters, classic literature, darcy, elizabeth bennet, great books, inspiration, INTJ, Jane Austen, literature, meyers briggs, mr. darcy, novel, pride and prejudice, reader, Reading, romance, torrey honors institute, writer, writing
June 21, 2016

A Little Lament

Throughout the course of last semester, I was intrigued and challenged by one subject in particular, that of lament. Previously, I had held to the common view of lament, that it is solely an expression of grief and despair. While this is partially true, it is only the first half of lament. As I read the…

Faith
June 14, 2016

A Bigfoot Story

I’m currently on vacation in Montana with my family, staying in a charming cabin near Glacier National Park. The cabin has a guestbook in which visitors are asked to record the highlights of their stay. In flipping through it I became bored immediately. Most people wrote things like this: “Ate pizza and went skiing. Fun…

literary living, Scribblings

bigfoot, finding bigfoot, funny, glacier national park, guestbook, humor, journal, montana, sasquatch, travel, writing
June 1, 2016

Melanie’s Lemon-Berry Muffins

It seems that every year around the beginning of summer I reread or at least skim parts of Gone with the Wind. I even venture to take the 959-page tome into the pool, to the horror of bookworm friends who doubt my ability to keep from dropping it into the water. (Seriously, people, I am an…

Recipes for Readers

author, Book, bookworm, classic literature, gone with the wind, healthy muffins, healthy recipe, lemon, literature, muffins, novel, Reading, refreshing summer recipe, scarlet o’hara, strawberry, summer recipe, writer, writing
May 23, 2016

11 Writers’ Paradises

I use “I’m a writer!” to justify haunting many eclectic and sometimes downright strange locations. I visited four of the below Eleven Writers’ Paradises today, so I guess you could say it was a successful Sunday! (And yes, I know 11 is a weird number for a list, but it is my favorite number so sorry not sorry.)…

Musings

antique, author, authors, Book, books, bookworm, cemetery, church, coffee shop, hipster, inspiration, inspiring, library, novel, paradise, poem, short story, used bookstore, writer, writing
May 7, 2016

Immediately: Eight Poems Based on the Gospel of Mark

In reading through Mark, I was struck by the recurring use of the word “immediately.” It is used to characterize many aspects of Christ’s ministry on Earth, but I was especially drawn to its use in relation to instances of healing. As I pondered this motif and these stories, I found myself understanding them with…

Faith, Literature, Poetry

Bible, christ, Christian poetry, free verse, gospel, gospel of mark, healing, Immediately, Jesus, Mark, miracles, poem, poetry, prayer, Reading, sacred poetry
May 5, 2016

“Good Boy”

When I was in second grade, a dream came true: we got a dog. It was rather unexpected, but it was probably one of the happiest days of my life, never mind the fact that our new puppy was sent to live at Grandma and Grandpa’s house a month later (on my birthday no less…worst…

Musings, Poetry

dead pet, death, dog, good boy, grief, lost pet, pet, poetry, puppy, sad
April 17, 2016

Lessons

College. It’s a place where you learn. It’s also a place where you live. (Or survive on chocolate and minimal hours of sleep…but that’s the same thing.) In my first year of college, I have learned many things. However, most of them don’t relate to academics. Sure, I know more words than when I started…

Musings