writing

July 16, 2015

A Europe State of Mind

It has now been over a month since I returned from the trip of a lifetime: a two-and-a-half week journey through Europe with my family. When I call it the “trip of a lifetime”, I mean it! Sure, I had to punch my snoring relatives in the middle of the night once in a while,… Continue reading

Musings

accents, American, austria, bicycle tour, books, europe, france, germany, holiday, humor, ice cream, inspiration, literature, london, macarons, Music, paris, prague, senior trip, sound of music tour, tourism, tourist, trip, vacation, writing
July 9, 2015

To answer “How is your writing going?”

People often ask, “How is your writing going?” or some such question. Well, to answer that… What I think: My novel is sadly forsaken but I think if it all the time and also I need to change the entire perspective so I am rewriting it even though I was 50,000 words in and also… Continue reading

Musings, Scribblings

author, blogger, Book, brainstorming, essay, first draft, novel, practice, short story, working, writer, writer problems, writer’s block, writers despair, writing, writing practice, young author
June 30, 2015

Research…it’s Legit

As a writer, I frequently find myself researching topics that are…strange, to say the least. In the past I have spent late night sessions researching homemade poisons, mustache puns, medieval makeup, symptoms of consumption, ways to recycle a goat carcass, and what happens inside a morgue. Oh, and let’s not forget unibrow jokes. Anyway, in case… Continue reading

Scribblings

brainstorming, first draft, google history, humor, research, writer, writing
June 27, 2015

Writer’s Despair: Part Two

Last night I was struck with a severe case of what I have dubbed “Writer’s Despair,” the cruel cousin of Writer’s Block. Unlike with Writer’s Block, I could not break through Writer’s Despair by searching through my idea notebooks or looking up prompts on Pinterest. Rather, WD hung over my head like one of those cartoon… Continue reading

Musings

author, despairing artist, first draft, ray bradbury, writer, writer’s block, writers despair, writing, writing advice, writing mentor, writing process
May 12, 2015

The Window Washer

Once more, I find myself in the uncomfortable situation of actually enjoying my homework. A lot. I know that many people in my class find this irritating, but I can’t help it; I like to write, so naturally I will like an assignment that requires me to write a short story using the literary elements… Continue reading

Literature

Anne of Green Gables, annotation, AP Literature, authors, beauty, Book, books, bookworm, Bradbury, classic literature, english class, homework, how to read literature, inspiration, library, scribbling, sherlock holmes, short story, writer, writing, writing assignment
May 1, 2015

A Sketchy History

Never investigate a writer’s Internet search history unless you’re comfortable knowing that he or she was looking for things such as this: Other searches may include: beard puns, homemade poisons, magic mirrors, baby names, Latin verbs, and nearest coffee shops. All but the last are for stories…at least let us hope so. Continue reading

Scribblings

awkward, brainstorming, research, search history, writer, writing
March 13, 2015

A Caution to Writers

Dear fellow writers, Should you ever decide to change perspective halfway through your novel’s draft, do not use Word’s “Find and Replace” feature because otherwise when you try to change “I” (the pronoun) to your character’s name (Paige, in this instance), you might find every letter “I” replaced with her name. Oops. That Paiges a serPaigeous… Continue reading

Scribblings

author, first draft, NaNoWriMo, novel, oops, typing, word, writing
February 26, 2015

Sophisticated Simplicity

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ― Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci is remembered as one of the most ingenious men to have walked the earth. Even those unfamiliar with art recognize his name as the painter of the “Mona Lisa” and the innovator of ideas ahead of his time. And yet, this man, the epitome… Continue reading

Musings

Anne of Green Gables, AP Literature, Art, author, beauty, chopin, essay, john green, leonardo da vinci, literature, lm montgomery, lyrics, Music, simple beauty, simplicity, song, songwriting, sophistication, true art, writer, writing
December 24, 2014

Everyday Miracles

There are two tales to this post, one leading into the other. This is what literature enthusiasts would call a “frame tale” structure, but let’s not clutter this post, intended to be sweet and heartwarming, with literary devices. Instead, let’s begin with the first story… It was nearly midnight, but my eyes, as usual, would… Continue reading

Musings

Anne of Green Gables, beautiful, caroling, christmas, christmas cheer, christmas with anne, elderly, everyday miracles, heart-warming, holiday stories, L.M. Montgomery, literature, miracle, novel, service, singing, writing
December 11, 2014

The Necessity of the Reader: A Literary Criticism of Heart of Darkness

Modernist author Joseph Conrad once said that “of all men’s creations, books are the nearest to us for they contain our thoughts… they resemble us in their precious hold on life.” According to Conrad, books not only act as the vessels that preserve the themes of human life, but as mirrors that reflect the variations… Continue reading

Literature

AP Literature, author, book review, books, classic literature, frame story, heart of darkness, imperialism, lit crit, literary criticism, literary gap, modernist, novella, reader, reader’s response, writing
November 27, 2014

NaNoWriMo Problem #5

Changing point of view halfway through. :/ Continue reading

Scribblings

author, Book, first draft, NaNoWriMo, novel, point of view, writing
November 10, 2014

NaNoWriMo Problem #3

Writing a single page and expecting your word could to skyrocket. Continue reading

Scribblings

author, Book, NaNoWriMo, novel, November, word count, writer, writer problems, writing