literature
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Non-Writing Writer

I was inspired this morning as I walked to practice piano for an upcoming recital… this would have been great, had I been inspired to practice. Rather, I was inspired to set the opening of Wordsworth’s The Prelude to music. My roommate (bless her) stopped me just in time: “Ryanne, if you write a melody and… Continue reading
AP Literature, author, authors, beauty, blog, blogger, Book, book review, books, bookworm, brainstorming, character, Children’s Books, Christian poetry, classic literature, college, faith, Fiction, first draft, humor, inspiration, journal, library, literature, Music, music major, NaNoWriMo, novel, novels, piano, poem, poet, poetry, poets, reader, Reading, short story, truth, write, writer, writer problems, writer’s block, writing, writing advice, writing humor, writing process -
A Sunset Reflection

I took this photo on a sunset run and added the words (surprise! They were not actually fabulous skywriting!) as I was doing some reading later. The exercise, combined with the wisdom of St. Hildegard, were a welcome relief to an emotional day. Sometimes on overcast days like today, we fail to remember the sun.… Continue reading
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Ray Bradbury: a reflection

Yesterday was the birthday of renouned American author, Ray Bradbury. Three more years and we can celebrate his 100th birthday. But even in 2017, Bradbury’s birthday is special to me because his stories provided the kick-in-the-pants I needed to take my writing seriously. Before entering high school, my family and I made a trip to… Continue reading
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Misshelved: Winnie the Poe
Went to the children’s classics section in search of some light reading…now I am just wondering how many poor young Winnie-the-Pooh fans have been traumatized by Poe instead… Perhaps Eeyore likes Poe’s stories. “Nevermore” seems like his type of vocabulary. Still, “Welcome to your nightmares” is a daunting phrase to put on a book beside… Continue reading
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Just My Type and Fontly Yours

The title of this post is made of two puns, so I’d say it’s off to a good start. Today I want to talk about fonts. I know, I sound like Brick Heck from The Middle, but I strongly believe that fonts and type style are crucial to the success of a piece of writing. The other day,… Continue reading
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Book Lovers’ Day Announcement
It’s Book Lovers’ Day! Perfect timing to have my first draft printed! My mom was so amused at my excitement that she turned a picture of my manuscript into a baby announcement. 😂 Continue reading
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10 Going on 30

I turned twenty on November 14th, 2016. It was weird. Every day I was thinking, “one more week until I am no longer a teenager” or “three more days until I am a real adult.” But then, when the day came, I felt the same. This should not have been surprising, but I could not… Continue reading
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Well-read and Caffeinated: 10 Ideal Coffee/Tea and Book Pairings
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all readers in possession of a good book are in want of a delicious beverage to sip. But why settle for just any latte? In my opinion, books and coffee are like fine wine and cheese; you must pair them properly so as to derive the fullest enjoyment… Continue reading
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Reflections on Writing a Novel Draft
During my journey home from Italy, I was super bored and, thus, my brain went crazy and came up with a novel idea that I am ridiculously excited about. Thankfully, I hit 50,000 words on my other novel draft, so I was able to set that one aside without too much guilt to begin this… Continue reading
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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… Continue reading
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 -
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… Continue reading
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The Shop
“Okay, what quirky place inspired this story?” asked my editor upon reading the following tale. “It’s too random not to be based on reality.” My editor (who may or may not also be my mother, but she was an English teacher/professor so it’s kosher) was right. This story sparked to life in an antique mall in… Continue reading
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