Tag Archives: fun facts

Why I Love Hermione Granger

Posted in Character Spotlight, HP & The Giant Prehistoric Chicken by

Hermione is definitely one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series, which is why I think the focus on the Giant Prehistoric Chicken shifted over to Hermione. 

There are a lot of similarities I see between myself and Hermione.  She’s book-smart and loves learning, there’s a fear of failure, and there’s a sense of compassion for others.  We’re both only children, and while my hair isn’t bushy like hermione’s, it can get pretty frizzy.  Plus we both have brown hair.  And I do love the smell of books, especially new books, while Hermione loves the smell of new parchment.

Hermione’s also a very strong female character in the series, and shows that she is just as deserving of an education of Hogwarts as anyone else.  She’s not ashamed to be a muggle-born witch- and she’s actually very proud of being a muggle-born witch.  She definitely proves that with hard work, and some serious studying, you can be a very powerful witch (or wizard) no matter what your background is. 

One of my other favorite things about Hermione is wanting to free the house-elves, and fighting for those who are oppressed.  She also helps those in need (like all the times she helped Neville in potions), which makes her pretty awesome in my book.

So last month, I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One, and one of the scenes that was memorable (besides both Hedwig and Dobby dying), was the opening scene, where Hermione modifies her parents’ memories.  I can’t even imagine having to modify someone’s memory, but it takes someone’s who pretty strong to do something like that.  And as a random side note, I downloaded the Deathly Hallows soundtrack today, and I’ve listened to the song that’s played when Hermione modifies her parents’ memories a good 5 or 10 times already.

Kiora Mackenzie Jackson

Posted in Character Spotlight, Turning Point by

This is my first character spotlight.  The format for it may change, depending on the characters.

Kiora’s around 5’4″, green eyes, auburn hair, and is fairly petite.  She’s an only child, wears glasses most of the time, but will wear contacts every once in a while.

She loves arts and crafts, so it’s one the ways she copes with everything going on around her.  Making mosaics, collages and scrapbooks, knitting and crocheting, and sewing are some of her favorite things to do.

I originally thought her to be more introverted and shy, but she definitely came across as more extroverted.  She definitely sees herself as quiet and artsy.  The whole artsy part is somewhat funny to me since she loves math and science, but she’s trying to be a well-rounded person.

The thing that strikes me the most is the relationship with her dad.  Her grandma’s been pretty involved with Kiora’s life- up until her death anyway, and Blake seems to be a workaholic.  She’s had a hard time adjusting to being in Washington D.C., and being the daughter of a cabinet member.  I still have no idea what being the kid of a cabinet member is like, but I’m assuming that she has to go to…stuff.  Like dinner parties and that kind of thing- at least a few a year.  For that matter, what exactly is a “typical” day like for the cabinet?  Meetings, phone calls, that sort of thing I guess.  I have a very vague idea, and I didn’t really focus on Blake at all, but if I can ever get my lazy behind to edit/revise, then I have to figure it out/make it up. 

Random Facts: Loves! Disney movies (the little mermaid is her favorite movie, along with Finding Nemo).  She loves daisies, softball, and brussel sprouts (which is funny because I hate brussel sprouts).  Hates hand sanitizer, wearing shoes, and bingo.  Loves headbands, teatherball, and bowling.Would like a pet aardvark or a pet badger.

2006 Sequel

Posted in Post-NaNo Wrap Up, Wildflower by

This one started off well, and then halfway through I had no idea what to do with it. 

I was glad I got to continue Chloe’s story, and look closely at the past that changed her.  From not knowing anything about her dad, and the overprotectiveness of her grandparents, I really put her through a lot. 

About halfway through, I had no idea where to take it.  There were a few directions I could go in, and unfortunately none of the them spoke to me.  I could have furthered the finding her dad thing, I could have furthered her personal struggles to get over her past, I could have focused more on her writing struggles and work problems (which was what I had partly wanted to do at the beginning of the month).  Since none of them appealed to me mid-November, and as she complained/talked about her past, I decided I’d have her complain/think/reflect about different things that happened in her past.  It worked out okay, but it got tiresome after a while. 

It did give me insight into her past, which will prove useful in any editing I do for this one.  I know I can rework her complaints/reflections into something more constructive and interesting, and even if  I end up cutting out that half of the book, it’s still really good background info on Chloe.

Considering I lost my steam halfway in, I’m really impressed that I managed to write 50k without using any dares or wordpadding techniques.

It’s highly likely I won’t be working on this one anytime soon, but I’ll still post character spotlights, and any updates should I start working on this one again.

Victory Song: Wildflower by The JaneDear Girls.  Yes, it’s country music, but I love country music.  Besides, it seemed appropriate because the story really is about Chloe changing and growing as a person, and figuring out how to cope and accept with what’s happened in her life. 

Title: Nothing really jumped outside out to me, but Wildflower seems pretty appropriate, so I’ll stick with that one for now.

Harry Potter and The Giant Prehistoric Chicken

Posted in HP & The Giant Prehistoric Chicken, Post-NaNo Wrap Up by

The thing that amazes me the most about this one is the fact that I got off to such a rough start, and still managed to finish this one first!  November 1, I had 414 words, and didn’t write anything for a couple days.  I managed to get up to a few thousand words on the 4th, and got completely caught up about a week in.  But even then I struggled with it, and it was because I was trying to mimic the 5th book too much.  The characters were too in character, and I was trying way too hard.   Once I realized that it didn’t have to be exactly like Order of the Phoenix, it got a lot easier to write.  After all, if I wanted something like the 5th book, I’d be reading it, instead of writing my own version.  And with the struggles that I had the first week or so, I’m amazed that I managed to write 50,707 words without wordpadding!

The focus gradually shifted from Harry over to Hermione (who is undoubtedly one of my favorite characters), which may have been one of the reasons why it became easier to write.  I definitely see a lot of similarities between myself and Hermione, so writing from her point of view is a lot easier than Harry’s.  Also surprising me was that characters who didn’t have huge roles in the series had much bigger roles than I expected.

I won’t be doing any character spotlights on these characters or anything relating to the Harry Potter world, but definitely check out the Harry Potter Lexicon, which has been my saving grace over the last month.  On the rare occasion I needed to look something up, I apparated right on over to the Lexicon, where I could find everything I needed, as opposed to becoming wrapped up in reading Harry Potter whenever I needed to look something up. 

So instead of doing an in-depth character profile, I’ll be talking about each character and why I like or dislike them.  There’s definitely going to be a mythological aspect as well, since they’re going to the underworld, so I’ll probably highlight the places, creatures and gods/goddesses they encounter, plus any spells or potions I personally make up. 

I don’t really have a clear plan on how much I’ll be working on it, but anywhere from 500 to 1000 words, depending on my mood.  I haven’t actually written anything for it the last day or two, but I just need to sit down and write it!

The title should be well obvious by now (or so I hope anyway). 

Victory Song: I was listening to No Way from A Very Starkid Album when I reached 50k.  I knew that it definitely had to be something relating to Harry Potter, and No Way seemed to fit the best, because I was absolutely surprised that this was the novel that I “finished” first, and not only that, but a day early!  And as a side note, Potter Puppet Pals, A Very Potter Musical, and A Very Potter Sequel are absolutely genius.

The Secret Service Novel

Posted in Post-NaNo Wrap Up, Turning Point by

This one went really well year, which was a big surprise.  Maybe it was the fact that I did a little more planning for this one than I did the others.  Maybe it was because I had conflict and tension in oodles.  I’m not quite sure what was going on with this one, but I’m definitely going to keep working on this one!  I wrote around 800 words or so yesterday, which I’m proud of because it’s something I’ve never done before.  Also impressive is that I wrote 51,045 words without wordpadding at all!

At the beginning of the month, I didn’t really have a clear plan of what Kiora’s life was like, or how Secret Service protection would affect her life.  As the story unfolded though, it’s been hard for her to adjust to being the Secretary of Education’s daughter, and it’s been hard for her to fit in with her classmates, who are much more used to being the child (and in some cases, grandchildren) of important politicians, etc.  She, for the most part, seems like she’s kind of gotten used to secret service protection, but she’s not really the type to say so. 

Also taking me by surprise was Kiora and Dustin.  I orignally decided it would be a one-sided thing, with Kiora having this huge crush on him because she thinks he’s cute.  Out of nowhere, he kisses her, it causes issues because he’s feeling guilty, and she thinks it means something.  I was leaning towards the idea of them dating for a day or two, but found I couldn’t write it.  However, I came up with the brilliant idea of replacing Dustin and Kiora with Sienna (a classmate of Kiora’s) and a secret service agent.  I’m still not sure how everything will play out, but Kiora and Dustin are definitely realizing and coming to terms with the gravity of what they’ve done. 

Victory Song: Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. 

I know I briefly mentioned it before, but I thought I’d have a victory song for each novel.  I’m not quite sure why I picked this particular song as the victory song, but somehow it seemed appropriate. 

I won’t be working on it frantically like I was last month, but I plan on writing 1000 words or so everytime I work on it.  The rules of just writing, and ignoring my inner editor still apply, of course, at least until it’s finished.  Whenever that is.  I’ll be posting how it’s going, plus I’ll be talking about each character in-depth.  I’ll also post the weird stuff I’ve written.

Title: Turning Point.

I know I’ve mentioned the title before, but I’ll be referring to the title from here on out.

Winner!

Posted in Progress by

That’s right, I’m a winner for the 5th year in a row!  It’s been a great month, and yes, frustrating at times, but I think this is my favorite nano ever!  I’ll be doing a wrap up for each novel, plus a general wrap-up post as well over the next few days.  

Secret Service: 50,255; I was listening to Use Somebody by Kings of Leon when I hit 50k, at which point, I screamed and jumped up and down.  I finished this one today!

Harry Potter: 50,707; got to 50,000 and decided to write an extra 700 words.  I was listening to No Way from A Very Starkid Album when I hit 50k.  This was the first one to reach 50k, and I screamed and did a happy dance.

2006 Sequel: 50,023; This was the 2nd one I finished.  I was listening to Wildflower by the JaneDear Girls.  Not much celebrating for this one, just me saying Yay! when I hit 50k.

Grandtotal: 150,985; I was glad I had an extra 700 words for the harry potter fanfic, because when I went to validate, the validator had me at 149,800, which almost a thousands words off.  I added a couple hundred words to my secret service novel, which brought me up to 150k.  Since I was validated and had saved my winners certificate, I entered in my true wordcount.  It was quite the scare, because I’ve never remembered the nano site being that off, but oh well.  I still have my 150k, which is all that matters.

And as a side note, I was listening to Days of Summer from A Very Starkid Album when I validated the 1st time.

Meet My Inner Editor

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I thought today I’d talk more about my inner editor.  We all have one, and it’s the voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me to fix my grammar and check my spelling.  It’s that voice in the back of my head telling me that my writing is terrible, my ideas are terrible, and my characters are lifeless and boring.  Every year, I do NaNo, it gets easier to ignore her while writing.  I have no idea what she looks like,  but she seems like an Isabella to me.  She seems pompous, and has an air of superiority surrounding her. 

This year, I’ve managed to almost completely ignore her.  Not completely, of course, but I’ve gotten a lot better at just writing, which to me is what NaNo is all about.  The poorly written sentences, the inconsistencies, and the terrible (and yet oddly funny) spelling errors can all be fixed later.  You can’t edit it if there’s nothing to edit.  Ignoring Isabella means I can focus on writing, and not have to be bogged down with the worry that it won’t be good enough.  It is a rough draft, it’s not supposed to be perfect.  Accepting that has gotten easier every year as well.

Secret Service Novel: 41,839; I feel like the pace on this one has definitely slowed down, but there’s still plenty of ideas to go around.  I think I’ve settled on a direction for this one, so we’ll see how that goes.  But if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll have no problem trying to find a new direction to go in.

Harry Potter Sequel: 44,342; the ideas just kept coming forth today.  If I can write an extra 667 words today, I’ll be a day ahead! 

2006 Sequel:  43,415; the complaining/venting seems to be working out rather well so far, but it is getting a little old.  Hopefully, I’ll have inspiration for something in the next few days, or failing that, I can always go back and write one of those chapters I know I’ve skipped over.  I’ve lost my muse on this one, I’m hoping I can miraculously get it back in the next few days.

Grandtotal: 129,596; today was a good day for getting ahead (at least for one novel).  I’m hoping that I can continue to get ahead today, with the hope that on the 30th, I won’t be writing until 11 pm and scrambling to get my word count verified, because that’s usually when things go wrong.  I’ll be very superstitious the next few days to be on the safe side!

Sleep is Important

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Lack of sleep makes for an interesting day writing wise.  I’d say I got maybe an hour of sleep.  While I did get a lot of writing done, as I might as well be productive if I’m just going to sit and wait to be tired, when it comes to writing later in the day, I write even stranger things than normal.  I’m honestly surprised I didn’t fall asleep at the Living Room this morning.  Here’s a few tidbits from sleep-deprived writing:

  • “I am never reading barry potter.”  (who’s barry potter?)
  • “I’m hpping you don’t forget the.”  (forget what?  that you never ended the sentence?)
  • “Do you think he was in on it?” kiora saidked.  (don’t say or ask when you can saidked)
  • ancoient rines (what’s ancoient rines?  is it like ancient runes?)

Note to self: never write when I’ve only gotten an hour’s sleep.

Secret Service Novel: 33,522; I’m rather amazed I stayed awake long enough to write anything for this one.  Things have a taken an interesting, unexpected (and possibly illegal if it keeps up) turn.

Harry Potter Fanfic: 32,373; My attempt to write this one today hasn’t gone well, mostly because I felt like I was going to fall asleep.  Hopefully my nap will give me enough energy to finish today’s quota. 

2006 sequel: 35,674; at least something productive came out of my inability to sleeep.  I also realized that I’ve given up on trying to figure out a plot for the second half, and instead am going to complain about everything.  Chloe’s been complaining most of the last 6,000 words or so, and since complaining is good for my word count, I might as well run with it.  It is fictionalized complaining, as it’s Chloe who’s complaining about everything.  I’ll see where it goes.

Grand total: 101,569; I’m relieved that I’ve passed the 100k mark!  150k is firmly within reach now!

Things Are Moving Along!

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Things are moving along in NaNoland. 

  • Hermione’s researching up a storm, and the professor’s are starting to figure out something’s going on because it’s weird, even for Hermione. 
  • Harry’s having dreams that may or may not be predicting the future. 
  • Chloe came close to committing suicide again, and blames her mother for everything that’s gone wrong in her life. 
  • Dustin wants to get married someday, but his job takes up too much of his time.  There’s potential for him to give it all up but it would depend on the girl, and if she’s the “right girl.” 
  • Kiora’s aunt Audrey is the one behind the threats, and probably the kidnappings too. 
  • Blake has dropped off the face of the earth, and I have no idea where he is or what he’s doing. 

Secret Service Novel: 28,444; Kiora and Dustin are now in Texas.  This changes their relationship forever.  I remembered the title: Turning Point seems appropriate since getting secret service protection changes Kiora’s life forever.

Harry Potter fanfic: 30,285; things are really starting to move along.  Hermione’s considering a teaching career post-Hogwarts, so she’s working with McGonagall, Flitwick and Bill Weasley to help her decide if she wants to teach and in what subject.

2006 Sequel: 29,023; I wrote 2,000 words today for it, which makes me happy, and really helped close the gap that I had.  Being a thousand words behind is very manageable. 

Grand total: 87,752; I’m happy with this number.  It might not be where I want it to be, but I can live with it.  I like the pattern of Harry Potter/2006 sequel/secret service novel.  I’m doing well with the 1st and last novel, so I figure it’s a good day if I can start off with something that’ll boost my confidence, followed by something I’m struggling with, followed by something I’m doing well with to remind me that something is doing well.

And The Typos Keep Flooding In

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It really is amazing the misspellings that occur in a month.  I thought I’d share some of the more notable things that I’ve managed to type in the last couple weeks from my harry potter fanfic.  As usual, any comments in parantheses are my thoughts and everything is copyright me:

  • “She ran after fred, screaming arr at him.”  (the image that popped into my head is mrs. weasley dressed up as a pirate, chasing fred with a sword.)
  • “You’re a smart woth” (what’s a woth?)
  • “d.a.a., helping fred and george with he joke ship, and she’s resarcong the giant prehistoric chicken” (1- what’s the D.A.A., and 2- what’s a joke ship?)

there’s a few other ones, but I never marked where they were…so those will wait until I can look through it and see where they were.

Secret Service Novel: 26,592; I had a great title…and promptly forgot it.  I’m slightly off of where I want to be, but I have some interesting ideas to work with.  Today, Kiora took a trip to the future.  She went ahead 3 years, and apparently, somehow, started something (that’s yet to be determined) with dustin when they were in texas escaping her aunt audrey.

Harry Potter Fanfic: 26,860; george has admitted to liking hermione, if only she would admit she has feelings for him. 

2006 sequel: 26,712; chloe found a letter hidden under a rock in her front yard from her dad to her mom, and is now embarking on a scavenger hunt to find him.

Grand total: 80,164; knowing I’m halfway there is such a relief!