Tag Archives: Inspiration

Lady Antebellum

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One of my favorite bands right now is Lady Antebellum.  They’re a country band and one of my favorite songs right now is Just A Kiss.  They have 3 albums out right now- Lady Antebellum is their first.  It’s followed up Need You Now, and Own The Night is their most recent.

I have a confession.  Their first album is the only one I have in it’s entirety.  I have a few songs from Need You Now, and just one from Own The Night.  Still, I like the songs they put out as singles.  And because I only have one full album, I’m not going to do an album ranking.  I will, however, tell you about what other songs I like.  I like American Honey, Love This Pain and Our Kind Of Love from Need You Now.  And Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Long Gone, All We’d Ever Need and Home Is Where The Heart Is are my favorites from their self-titled album.

My least favorite song is Need You Now.  I liked it at first…and it got played so much that I got sick of it hearing all the time.  I also dislike I Run To You.  Don’t know why, but the song is just annoying.  They’re a big fan of the long song…and the song of the broken-hearted.  In the songs I’ve heard, especially with the singles they release, they don’t really stray too far from that.  The two who sing- Hillary Scott and Josh Kelley’s brother, make their songs come to life and really believable.  I sometimes find myself singing along to some of their upbeat songs, and their songs are always good to listen to if I need to get into a “love is great” or “love sucks” mood when I’m writing.

I’m a fan, and I can’t wait to see what else they come out with!

The Iron King

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Book: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Pages: 363 (Paperback)

The Review: The Iron King is about Meghan Chase and her journey to find her younger brother Ethan.  It turns out that Meghan is the daughter of a fairy king, and her younger brother Ethan is kidnapped by the Iron King.  She journeys through the Nevernever, which is Kagawa’s version of the land where fairies and such reside.  Her best friend Robbie turns out to be Puck, from A Midsummer’s Night Dream, who leads her to Nevernever, and helps her find her brother.  She meets other people along the way, and gets into all kinds of trouble along the way.

I liked it.  Kagawa’s descriptions are amazing, and I could picture everything so vividly.  I have to say that I loved Grimalkin, who is very much like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland.  A few times, his response to things was “I’m a cat,” and I could picture Grimalkin saying it like that explained everything.  I’m not sure what to think about Meghan, the main character.  She is impulsive, and a lot of the trouble she gets herself into could have been avoided if she listened to Puck, or if she thought things through.  But at the same time, she did want to save her brother and would do anything for him.

I did like the concept of the Iron Fey.  In The Iron King, if fairies touch iron, they could die.  The faeries aren’t a big fan of the advances made in technology and science, since science “proves” they don’t exist.  But the Iron Fey were really interesting.  The Iron Fey are fairies that evolved from the traditional fairies in the book, and they are immune to iron, and are slowly poisoning Nevernever.

I enjoyed it, and you’re left wondering what happens to Meghan at the end.  There are a couple sequels, so I may have to add those to my ever-growing list of books to read.  It was fairly fast-paced, especially the 2nd and 3rd sections.  Random side note: 1- why is dividing books into different sections so prevalent? and 2, why does everything need a sequel?

Random side note aside (read: there WILL be a blog post about this), I love reading about fairies.  I feel like fairies are going to be the new vampire, because there seem to be a lot of YA books involving fairies now…

Rating: 4 out of 5.  It’s definitely a mix of different books, but I love how vivid the descriptions are, and how I feel like I’m there with Meghan.  Add the Iron Fey, and you have a really interesting take on fairies.

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

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Book: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Pages: 341 (Paperback)

What Did I Think? In Chamber of Secrets (CoS), the Chamber of Secrets is opened.  Harry gets a visit from Dobby, a house-elf who works for the Malfoy family.  He warns Harry that something terrible will happen if he returns to Hogwarts.  Harry makes his way to the Weasley house after Fred, George and Ron come to get him.  He finally makes his way to Hogwarts, with Harry and Ron taking Mr. Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia since they can’t get to the Hogwarts Express.

Several students, plus Mrs. Norris get petrified by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets.  Hermione, Ron and Harry brew the Polyjuice potion to figure out who the Heir of Slytherin is.  People thought it was Harry after the school learned he was a Parselmouth (one who can speak to snakes) after an incident at the dueling club.  Moaning Myrtle is a girl who haunts the school after being killed the first time the Chamber opened, most notable the bathroom where she died.  Let’s see…we also meet Aragog, who is a spider that Hagrid found.  Everyone thought that Hagrid was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets and so he was expelled.  Aragog isn’t the creature who was in the Chamber.  In fact, Aragog is scared of the monster in the Chamber.  We find out that the monster is a basilisk, who travels the pipes…and those must be some pretty big pipes.

Ginny, Ron’s younger sister, is taken into the chamber, and Ron and Harry go to rescue her, along with Professor Lockhart.  However, Ron and Lockhart get left behind after Lockhart’s attempt to obliviate Ron and Harry backfires.  Harry saves Ginny, destroys a diary that belonged to Tom Riddle, kills the basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor, and Ginny realizes that she was possessed by Voldemort and was the one behind the attacks.

There’s a lot of adventure, and some mystery.  It’s amazing how many clues are in the book, and how a lot of the places and creatures seen in this book are important to later plot points.  There is a lot going on, and I wish could throw in every little detail, but I can’t.  Especially I want to try to practice condensing HP to a few paragraphs…this will be especially important for books 4 through 7.

Back to CoS, though, Lockhart is hilarious, and completely useless as a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher.  Another favorite moment in CoS is when Hermione transforms into a cat (on accident, of course) after drinking the Polyjuice Potion.  While I like CoS, I think I would place it behind Sorcerer’s Stone.  A lot of the things and places and people do make another appearance somewhere in the series, and I love the details.  I love how things that don’t seem important and are insignifcant in this book show up to be more important.  One of my favorite things about CoS is that there’s still a sense of innocence.  There are some very bad, evil things in the wizarding world, but it’s far off in the distance…at least to a certail extent.  There’s no Voldemort, not really, anyway, and things are solved easily.  Things are still pretty black and white, with no real shades of grey.

Rating: 4 out of 5.  While not one of my favorites, it’s still really good, and sets up some stuff that’ll be revealed in later books.  And there’s a little bit of everything in the series, as well as this book.

I Have A Confession To Make

Posted in Other Projects by

I was going to be all productive over the weekend, and work on my plot bunnies.  I had high hopes of doing some character profiles, and actually attempt to make some decisions on what to do.  I was even going to do some writing on Saturday or Sunday.

So it should be no surprise that I didn’t do anything.  I didn’t write anything, I didn’t make any decisions, work on any of my characters…but I did write a couple of notes for one plot bunny.  And then realized that it was something I had written a few lines up.  So I didn’t even come up with any original ideas either. 

The clock is ticking, and I have just over 6 weeks to finish up these ideas.  It seems like a lot of time, but for a procrastinator like me, it’s really not that much time.  Maybe I need to spend some time at the library, since that seems to be one of the few places I can actually get any work done.

So, I’ll try to work on a couple characters, and try to decide what direction I want to go in for a couple of them.  I can’t promise that I’ll get any work done, since I seem to be really bad at it right now, but I’ll definitely try.  I just need to sit down and actually do it. 

Here’s hoping I will!

September!

Posted in General by

We’re in September now…and I have no idea what to do with myself.

I got so wrapped up in going to Camp that yesterday, I felt the need to add onto my story, which I didn’t.  Because I wasn’t sure what else to add, and I didn’t really feel like adding onto it.  So I wanted to write, I just didn’t feel like it.

November is two months away!  Goodness, is it really that time of year again?  I don’t know where the time has gone!  I suppose I should get reading, I still haven’t decided how much time I’m going to spend reading in November, or if I should read as much as I can this month and next month.  I’d like to not have to worry about reading 9 books during November, so if I add on a few extra books in the next couple months, I should be good.

Speaking of doing things during November, I still haven’t decided how much I’ll be cooking.  I will be making a couple things, but I’m debating whether I should make a bunch of stuff during October and freeze it, just in case.  I think this will be the year when I actually have a stockpile of snacks and stuff.  The key words, of course, are “I think.”  Because I tell myself I’m going to have snacks and that I’m going to cook in advance every single year, and I never do it.  If I were going to do it, this year will probably be it, and hopefully it’ll work out.

Actually, wasn’t the whole point of me cooking new things every month to find out what I should make during November?  I think it was, but I actually can’t remember!  Oh well, I have of things to make, and I think I’m going to work on a November one.  I’m set for September, and maybe October, but I definitely want some stuff that I can freeze well, so I can just stick in the freezer, and then take it out, and thaw it out and stuff.  That’s the plan anyway, hopefully it’ll work out.

That’s about it for today, I think, so have a great day!

Yesterday Was A Smashing Day

Posted in Camp NaNo by

In terms of writing, yesterday was a really good day.  I’m currently at 7,759 words, well ahead of where I should be.  Yesterday was just one of those days where I couldn’t stop writing, and I figured I might as well take advantage of it.  I’m definitely going to keep up the pace, if I can, because you never know when you’ll need those extra words.  Maybe I can use the time to work on my other stuff…

There’s all kinds of things in store for this novel and I’ve even added a few new characters.  I’m hoping I can remember them all.  If not, I’ll pretend like I remember their names. 

According to the stats page, I wrote 3,871 words today!  So if I keep up the same pace (or at least somthing very similar), then I’m set to finish on August 19. 

Like that would actually happen…not in a million years would I finish *that* early.  It’s likely, but…I tend to be a procrastinator, and if I do finish early, it’s likely to be a day or two early, not close to 2 weeks early. 

On to…baking!  It’s been way too hot to bake, although I could default to the middle of the night, which isn’t too warm.  And honestly, I prefer baking in the middle of the night anyway.  But lately, I’ve been feeling…weird.  And I haven’t really felt like it anyway, but I want to, since I’ll have to return the cookbooks I have soon.  Unless I can renew them, of course, which I’ll try to do. 

I think that’s it for today, so have a good one!

Mischief Managed: Happy Birthday Harry Potter!

Posted in Harry Potter by

Today is Harry Potter’s birthday (and J.K. Rowling, in case anyone is wondering).  The boy wizard himself is 31!  I wanted to give that a quick mention, as well as the fact that 1 million lucky people get to see Pottermore early!  I’m pretty excited about Pottermore, and I can’t wait until it’s open to everyone.  I think I might try and get the early access.  Whether I actually get it is another story, but since I have a lot of time on my hands, I figure I might as well try.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite moments from both the books and the movies, in no particular order.

  • Seeing Hogwarts for the first time (Movie: SS)
  • Hermione punching Draco (PoA: awesome in the book, even more awesome in the movie!)
  • Fred and George leaving Hogwarts with a bang (OoTP: awesome in the book, but they could’ve left with more of a bang in the movie)
  • “Harry, you’re a wizard.” (SS: one of the most memorable lines of the entire series)
  • “Not my daughter, you bitch!” (DH: also one of the most memorable lines from the whole series)
  • Harry, Ron, and Hermione meeting for the first time (SS)
  • Harry’s First Visit to Diagon Alley (SS- the book version was a lot better than the movie version)
  • The first quidditch match (SS)
  • The 7 Harry’s (DH- funny in the book, funnier in the movie)
  • Snape’s memories (DH- this made me cry)
  • Draco being turned into a ferret (GoF- funny in the book, just as funny in the movie)
  • Hermione, Ron and Harry taking on a troll (SS)

Have a great day!

More Random Thoughts About Harry Potter

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I’ve come up with a few more thoughts about Harry Potter, so enjoy!

  • We know that Hogwarts students can’t do magic over summer breaks.  But what about when students first get their letter and later on, their wands.  Does the Trace start once they say they’re going to Hogwarts, or does it start at some later point?  I would imagine that it would have to start at some later point, because they aren’t actually students yet and are more likely to use accidental magic, so therefore, it would make no sense for them to have the trace.  And that actually brings us to our next point…
  • Why do the first years have to take the boats, while all the second years and above have to take the carriages?  I bet there are some really interesting theories out there, but I don’t really have my own thoughts.  The only thing I can think of is the first point.  Is that why the first years take the boat to Hogwarts, so that the the Trace can be put on them?  That makes the most sense, because once it’s cast, it’s there until it breaks when the witch or wizard turns 17.
  • Speaking of the trace, how does it work at Hogwarts?  I’m guessing it’s completely ignored, because there doesn’t seem to be a way to remove it.  And besides, they’re learning how to use their magic, so to monitor magical activity at Hogwarts is stupid.  And what about the use of magic on the Hogwarts Express?  Magic is used pretty freely on the train, so I’m assuming that the train is overlooked by the ministry.  Either that, or it’s considered to be an extension of Hogwarts.  In relation to Hermione practicing some spells before her 1st year, and everything I’ve already said, it’s likely students about to start at Hogwarts aren’t monitored.
  • Sorting students into their houses: How exactly is it determined what house each student goes into?  Personality traits and who the person is are clear factors, if you look at the song from Sorcerer’s Stone.  And choice is also a factor, because Harry said he didn’t want to go into Slytherin, even though that’s where the Hat wanted to put Harry.  But I find it hard to believe that each year is equally sorted into each house.  So does the sorting hat also take into account where other students have been sorted?  Like, would someone who has the clear traits of a Ravenclaw end up in Hufflepuff because there aren’t enough students in Hufflepuff?  Does it even matter if there are a few more students in one or two houses?  Unfortunately, my thoughts aren’t as nicely put as they are in this blog post, but I agree with it.

I think that wraps up this installment of random thoughts about Harry Potter, but I’m sure I’ll come up with more.

Camp Is Ending Soon!

Posted in Camp NaNo by

Alright, Camp NaNo is coming to a close.  Well, for July anyway. 

I’ve been really bored with my NCIS fanfic since week 2/week 3.  I fell further and further behind, not wanting to work on it at all.  I’ve since abandoned my NCIS fanfic in favor of writing short stories for the rest of the month.  I did a couple flash fiction pieces, and I’ve done 4 Harry Potter fanfics.  They’re fairly short, but they’re not as involved as something longer. 

The only problem I’ll have is coming up with 4 more ideas, so I’ll have to give that some thought.  I’ve been sticking to 1667 per day, so I’ll need 3 more ideas if I stick to that as my goal.  Maybe a few more, just in case the three end up being a little shorter.  I’m on pace to finish early, which will be a relief. 

I’m at 45,049: 38,341 for my NCIS fanfic and 6,708 for the other stuff I’ve written.  Now I’m back on track after being behind for most of the month!

Today, I’m going to come up with some ideas for some short stories, and I’ll go from there.  And I also need to figure out what I’m writing next month, because I definitely want to do Camp NaNo again.  I have an idea, but I’m not sure what direction to take it, so I’ll need to figure that out in the next few days.

Harry Potter Round-up!

Posted in Harry Potter by

Today’s Harry Potter related post will be about some of my favorite Harry Potter things!

  • The Last Muggle: It’s a great blog, about this girl reading the Harry Potter series for the very first time.  I haven’t read all the way back to the beginning, but she shares her predictions about the books, and all sorts of other thoughts about Harry Potter.
  • The Harry Potter Lexicon: It has everything you need to know about the world of Harry Potter.  From magical beasts to the characters we know and love, and everything in between, it’s a great resource, and helped me out a lot back in November.
  • The Harry Potter Companion: Another really cool website!  It has really cool artwork, and covers the Harry Potter series chapter-by-chapter.  Plus, there are essays to read.
  • Mugglenet: It’s one of several sites devoted to Harry Potter, and the news surrounding the books, movies, and (I think) the videogames.
  • Potter Puppet Pals: I’ve only seen The Mysterious Ticking Noise and Wizard Swears, both of which are hilarious, and the 2 videos that introduced me to Potter Puppet Pals. Maybe I should watch those other videos.
  • Starkid Potter: They are the geniuses behind A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel.  The soundtracks are amazing, and there are so many great lines (Daddy, I have mastered the use of the potty!), plus they’re hilarious.  How can you not love the scarf of sexual preference, or Draco rolling around on the floor?
  • Fanfiction: I like fanfiction, and I am not ashamed to admit it.  I’ve said before that Harry Potter fanfiction is the first thing I wrote, and I still write it.  I don’t read it as much as I used to, but I love seeing the different ideas fans come up with and ways people were inspired by the books.  Yes, there are some not-so-good stories out there, and yes, you have to sift through that to find the things you like, but I’m fan (of fanfiction, heeheehee).
  • Wizard Rock: I know I’ve beaten wrock over your heads, but I’m growing to love it more and more.  I love the creativity of it, and it’s very good at calming me down.  Plus, it’s fun to listen to, and whenever I listen to it, I wanted to start singing and dancing.  In fact, as I write this, I’m listen to Oliver Boyd and The Remembralls.  And it’s so hard to not love wrock when the genre as a whole has done several compilation albums for charity!

So, I’ve mentioned wizard rock a lot, and some are probably really familiar to HP fans, but I hope you find something new and interesting to look at!