Goodbye, Blogger

If you've been following my Twitter, you'll know I recently visited @thebooktraveler's blog and entered a giveaway which you all should TOTALLY ENTER. Her blog looks fantastic and I began to wonder if there was any way my blog could look that awesome.

The answer? Not with Blogger.

While I started this blog in freshman year for a Journalism 1 project, I came to dislike posting. The format for managing was confusing and I was never satisfied with the way my blog looked, despite my year of required design class and HUNDREDS of theme options. So I decided to move to Wordpress.

WHOA. THERE'S A LOT OF DESIGN FREEDOM THERE. It's clean, organized, and after a bit of exploring, I knew how things worked without having to google how to do something.

This blog has served me well, but it's time to captain another ship.

Goodbye, my first blog. You served me well.

Visit my new blog here. Thanks for sticking with me!

All the Fang-filled Glory

As you can tell on my Twitter, I'm #TeamUnicorn. But as someone with unnaturally sharp teeth (my orthodontist commented on it), I'm also #TeamVampire.

And a Ravenclaw.

At my middle school, there was this huge debate/argument that I've seen evidence of on social media. Twilight vs. Harry Potter. Vampires-that-sparkle vs. Wizards-at-wizarding-school-with-mortal-danger. But with this came fandom shaming. It wasn't "cool" to like Twilight (Was I "cool"? No.); Harry Potter was the ONE TRUE FANDOM.

This isn't okay, guys.

Don't shame someone for their fandom. You don't have to like it--heaven knows my sister is in a ton of fandoms I don't like--but don't shame someone for the things that appeal to them.

How did this even get started in the first place? Twilight and Harry Potter are two different series with completely different people. Bella is a teenager who recently moved to Forks. Harry started as an eleven year old living in a cupboard under the stairs. Each writer, Queen Jo and Stephanie Meyer, had different stories in mind, though they both feature vampires. But they both had movies made. Could the comparison have started with Robert Pattinson?

My guess is yes.

He's an actor, guys, and most importantly, a human who chose what movies he wanted to work on (ok maybe this isn't how casting works but he could've said no). His characters are two separate people who belong in their own universes and probably never dreamed they could've met.
Cedric Diggory (Rest in Peace) and Edward Cullen aren't the same person, though they share an actor. Did you hear about that guy who plays the vampire AND the one who dies in that tournament? Yeah, he's cool, he's got a couple successful movies, let's cheer him on.

Then there's the writing/interpretation criticisms. HP fans have argued that true vampires don't sparkle in the sun (The vampire at Slughorn's party was kind of adorable though). Twilight fans have made the following criticism (found on Pinterest).

Sorry if that's too small to read. In essence, Twilight fans call HP dumb and HP retaliates and relationships go down in flames, fueling the Montague/Capulet-esque hatred.

Writers have differing interpretations of things. Look at Holly Black's vampires in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. They're dangerous, ruthless, and formed through a disease that causes those infected to become "Cold"--i.e., a vampire. In Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, vampires are bitten and have the whole long-life blood and glamour business going on. Two seperate interpretations. These aren't the same books (they're both REALLY AWESOME so go read!).

I asked my Twitter writer friends (Y'all are great, love you bunches!) to give me words to describe a cabbage. Green. Gloopy. Ruffled. Crunchity. Reliable. Sometimes red. So many words with varied meanings, trying to describe one thing that is completely unique. They chose words I wouldn't have chosen for a cabbage; reliable was a pleasant surprise.

Like my Twitter peeps, Stephanie Meyer and Queen Jo are different. Harry Potter and Twilight are two distinct books. Queen Jo and Stephanie Meyer are unique and seperate writers. So who are we to compare and fight over two totally different, amazing things?

Because they're both amazing. I watched Bella grow into someone else, find new things, and live her suddenly incredibly complicated life as she tried to suck it up and deal. She had those human moments where she wanted to give up (Harry did too--we can't ignore that). Harry took me to Hogwarts and helped me discover myself. Each book satisfied a different need. I wanted epic vampire romance: Twilight was there. I wanted to go away for a while and learn magic: Hello, Harry, how are you? They really can't be compared.

Furthermore, there's so much to both wizards and vamps. But I'm going to focus on the vampires in all their fang-filled glory.

1) Usually have superhuman abilities

2) Aren't picky about food; blood comes in a few varieties but it's pretty much the same.

3) Generally have awesome style

4) Turn into bats? (Iffy about this one, but OMG SO COOL.)

5) No reflection means not having to look at their face in fits of self-loathing.

6) Sharp, glinty teeth are good for scaring off people they don't like.

7) So many legends and stories. They're famous, essentially.

8) People are interested in them.

The list could go on and on; needless to say, vamps are pretty cool. My late present to you will be this other list. Check it out and let your To-Be-Read Lists get ever longer! ;)

ALL THE FANG-FILLED GLORY:

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Mini review: Not a lot of fang-flashing, but it fit, for this book. Mel was completely relatable and cares deeply for her friends. Team Human challenged the whole sensibility of vampire-human relationships through Mel, a teen who's skeptical of these relationships, particularly because her BFF Cathy has caught the eye of the new vamp in school: Francis. A+ read, guys.

Vamped by Lucienne Diver

Mini review: We have the ultimate girl power thing going on here, reminiscent of Rachel Hawkins's book Rebel Belle. Gina Covello is the girl (sorry, vamp), I wish I could be. Yes, she likes fashion and beauty; yes, she'll definitely kick vamp ass. She deals with waking up dead better than anyone I know would, especially when the vampire Mellisande is out to get her boyfriend AND turn the entire student body in a legion of the undead.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Mini review: I read this earlier in the summer and TOTALLY FANGIRLED. Tana, our lovely main character, wakes up at a party gone wrong, a massacre with the sunrise. She suspects vampire and lo and behold, there's one chained to a bed. However, she's feeling suspiciously...Cold. Definitely clear away time for this one and grab a blanket!

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Mini review: I read Twilight one Halloween, stowing a friend's copy in my pillowcase to read while we walked. AND WHOA. Really, this was the introduction to vampire fiction for me. I'd heard about it, of course, the infamous Bella and Edward dominating my school. Don't believe the people who discredit it because of the movie; the book is great! Also check out Midnight Sun, which is the first couple of chapters of Twilight told from EDWARD's POV. I loved it and desperately hope Stephanie Meyer will finish it, someday. It's a different story from Twilight, told in a new flavor because EDWARD. I'm nearly positive that the hugely popular Twilight series would've been even bigger if Midnight Sun had been written first.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Mini review: Nina Harrison became a vampire at fifteen and every Tuesday, she's forced to go to a Vampire Support Group in the hopes of coming to terms with vampirism. One day, a member vanishes via silver bullet and suddenly life (death?) is more exciting in the support group. I loved this book's vamps; instead of being powerful, mighty, and intimidating, vamps need help. They're human at heart and yet less than human. They've got to come to terms with who they are now and forget their human ways.

iDrakula by Bekka Black

Mini review: I got this book from the school library's FREE BOOK SHELF. It's the story of Dracula retold through emails, phone messages, and websites, hence the "I" in the title. Sometimes it's a little hard to tell the interactions between characters but I must say: Bekka Black did a great job. It's certainly not easy to make the most famous vamp story your own. But that's just what she did.

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch by Daniel Kraus

I haven't read this one, actually. The marvelous Victoria Schwab mentioned it on Twitter and it seemed like a good read. TDLZF focuses on seventeen-year-old Zebulon Finch after he is introduced to the gritty, dark vamp life. It's definitely next on my TBR list.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Mini review: While Paranormalcy isn't a vamp-centric book, they're featured a couple times. Evie, a sparkly pink taser-wielding agent, has a few memorable run-ins with vamps. She's an agent without question until a mysterious boy shows up at Headquarters and turns things upside down. I love Kiersten's vampires in the trilogy--they're not quite Dracula, but not the famous creatures of legend as they're made out to be. DEFINITELY read this trilogy and have chocolate on hand because it's BEAUTIFUL.

Enjoy!

Thankful with a side of PIE

    As we all know, it's Thanksgiving, a time for thanks, giving, and good food, specifically turkey. I owe so many people thanks: for support, for love, for kindness, for changing me for the better. Mom, who makes me tea after I kill a character because she knows I need the soul-support. My dad, who never refuses to help me with math homework and listen to my highschool woes.Friends reading the blog, you know I love you and thank you so, so, so much for accepting me & all the trouble that comes along. You're the best, FAM.

    But I especially owe a HUGE thanks to the YA community on Twitter. Ladies and gents, y'all are the best support system and network of friends a reader and writer could ask for. I hope someday to join your ranks, to cry over character death and admire all the awesome. I nearly quite writing last year after a certain event happened and through reading your books, seeing your friendships, I knew I couldn't quit. That, and the ideas wouldn't stop coming.

   I must also thank my cello squad. Y'all have a special, cello-shaped space in my heart.
  
   Thank you, too, readers, for clicking on the link time after time, reading the stuff in my head that splattered on (virtual) paper. You guys are amazing.

   So, on this day of Thanksgiving, tell your family and friends you love them. Just hearing it, those three words, can turn an entire day around.

   There's a hashtag on Twitter that is ALL ABOUT ThanksGIVING called #GiveABook. Penguin Random House started it, and for every tweet, they'll give a book for a child in need. It's simple, those three words. But they make a huge impact. As we enter the season of giving, Tweet the hashtag. Reading saves lives. (Another three words to take note of.)
 
   Happy Thanksgiving,
         Kaelyn

P.S. PIE is also life, particularly pumpkin pie.
   

Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Note: the events of yesterday were incredibly horrific and shocking. I'd write a post about it, but I have no words, only feelings of sorrow for France and the other countries who experienced tragedy yesterday. Now, onto the actual post.

Here it is: my first book review post!

Simon Versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met. (Synopsis taken from Amazon because I can't summarize.)

I finished this book around 8:42 this morning and promptly exploded from that rare, awesome feeling that comes from truly great books. Simon is such a compelling character; written in first person, it's never boring as Simon actually feels things that teenagers like myself feel. I noticed myself nodding along to his thoughts, thinking "yes, I've thought that, hang in there buddy." It's not a book that's strictly comedy or drama--it's believable. This is a story that could happen, could be happening anywhere and all over, perhaps playing out at this very moment.

The story kept me guessing as to who "Blue" (Cute guy at the other end of Simon's emails) was in real life. While Albertalli gave enough clues to his identity for the reader to figure out who he was, it's not something you could figure out right away. I actually found myself waiting for the big reveal; I wanted to observe it like Simon would, to be fully immersed in his thoughts and feelings instead of my own. Albertalli didn't disappoint, let me tell you.

While reading Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, it was impossible to stop turning my (virtual) pages. Albertalli's fantastic at creating those tense scenes, where the tension is completely in the MC's head and everything seems fine on the outside to his world. Also, the complete adorbs of Simon and Blue via email is EVERYTHING. I blushed, I cried, I laughed myself silly on a bus full of high schoolers.

My favorite part is ---------. Sorry guys, spoiler right there. But I'll say it's deliciously romantic and OMG SO CUTE SHIPSSSS.

I'd recommend this book to everyone I know--teachers, friends, strangers at Starbucks, anyone and everyone who will listen, but especially my fellow teens. This, dear friends, is a book that gets it. It's realistic about being a teen and how school is hard, friends are hard, being yourself is hard.

So get thee to a library! Read this book!

Stalling for Time

As you all know, I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That's been going well; after four days I realized high school + NaNo + a truly insane amount of homework meant I'd need to cut back on writing so I could actually get sleep at night. At least, enough to function on a level higher than "extra on The Walking Dead." Overall lesson? Don't bite off more than you can chew unless it's your absolute favorite dessert and you can swallow it all at some point.

NaNo's taken me through some of the harder parts of my story, through scenes that didn't automatically write themselves (every single one of them except that slightly good bit in the middle). Now, I've reached the dragon to slay: the scene that I don't want to write because it's scary/I'm inexperienced/oh gods why must I torture my characters this way? It's painful.

So I'm being human and stalling.

I've been stalling for two days (not doing anything nice to my wordcount, I tell you) and the fear of writing this scene is nearly crippling. I can't continue past twenty words--it's awful.

Then I remembered something I read on the Internet somewhere, something about many tiny words + time = eventual progress.That sounds great, but I'm more likely to put the writing off for years and years instead of contribute consistently. Then came my dad's favorite piece of advice to give: eat the frog. It's very similar to "bite the bullet" except it conjures a mental image that's nearly as revolting as whatever you're stalling for. Also, don't play with your food before you eat it, though I'm sure that doesn't apply here.

The stalling ends now. I'm not particularly hungry but there's always room in our stomachs for a frog.

Still stalling.

Can't stop stalling.

Maybe I have a problem.

This scene is a problem.

Urgh this frog's going to taste nasty. Dad didn't mention anything about frog stir-fry...

No Energy

Blah.

Blah blah blah.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

Some days, that's how we feel. No motivation to write; no excitement. That's me today, on the 3rd day of NaNo.

I don't even feel like writing this blog post, but I still have a word goal to reach. I'm discovering the varying types of writing days: good days that go downhill, bad days that go up, some that stay the same, and the rare, golden writing day when the words seem to flow effortlessly.

This is not a post telling you how to get a rare, golden day. This is a post for getting over road blocks with. What's keeping you from writing?

1) Time

Time is one of the biggest factors in writing progress. Writing takes time. And if you don't have much of it, there's not much time for words. I've often read on Twitter that writing takes the time you make for it; it lives in the handful of minutes scattered throughout your day while you juggle fifty billion other things.

2) Enthusiasm

I think this one's blocking me today: there's no excitement for what you're writing. You just don't feel like it today. And somedays, I'll give myself a pass and say "tomorrow." But all too easily that turns into a string of tomorrows and no words written. This is the time to eat the frog, as my dad would say. Eat the frog and get it over with so later you can have chocolate.

(Don't actually eat a frog guys, at least not raw.)

3) THE UNIVERSE doesn't will it

At least, that's what we think, that the entire Universe is conspiring against us and that no matter how much we want to write, everything is standing in the way of you and your computer/notebook/fancy-speak-into-and-write thing.

How do we combat this?

I'm all in favor of a change in scenery; sitting at a desk/on your bed for hours at a time looking at nothing but a computer screen gets pretty boring after while. Go for a walk. Ride your bike. Take your kids/spouse/pet/someone out of the house and out into the world. It's a different set of stimuli to refresh, focus, and pick up where you left off. A few days ago, in dear old October, I shuffled to my desk, ready to shackle my hands to my notebook and focus solely on NaNo prep until I fell asleep. I could hear every word of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie my littlest sister, here known as G, was watching in the living room.Then my dad asked if I wanted to go to the gym with him for a change in scenery.

At first, I thought, no way. It'll be smelly, loud, and I'll never be able to get anything done. But I'd been spending so much time trying to prep for NaNo that I'd been neglecting my family. So I went, sat down at a round red table, and wrote for a solid two hours while Dad worked out.

Discovery? Football games make excellent white noise. Movies? Not so much. The gym was also a lot cleaner than I expected and smelled rather nicely of Febreeze.

A change in scenery is one option; another one I've heard of is Taking A Break. This, dear readers, is when we pry ourselves from our desks and Do Other Things until we feel ready (ish) to get back to writing. Constant writing or forced writing without a break or two is a good way to start the path to burnout and guilt because you want to write but don't have the mental energy.

I think I'll go change my scenery and Take A Break; the AP European History homework is really piling up.

Then I'll sit down, get my head in the NaNo game, and make up for the four hours of nothing this morning.

This is a test run for my new recipe of ifttt.com. Ignore. Will delete later. With laser llamas from outerspace.