I was looking through a writing website that some of my friends set up. I'm guilty of not checking it so much anymore or posting anything new in such a long time, but I did look through some comments from a long time ago. They're quite hilarious. I'm using codenames for my friends since some of them might not be happy for posting their names in blogs. And I have a refrence link to Briele's Blog: http://brielesthoughts.blogspot.com/
Me: I have a guess where the name Aly came from . . . . did you start Trickster's Choice YET?!
Briele: Actually I started that AFTER I came up with Aly's name! Celia is really nice to Aly and Amber but pretty mean to everyone else. I really like Celia, so don't get too attatched to her (YOU WILL) cause I normally kill the peeps I like.
Jacki: Waaaaaaaaaaah! Don't kill people off! But if it means writing more - THAN DO IT!
Me: Wait . . . Aly U . . . I sense a little coincidence here . . . Oooh! I like killing the best characters! It's like letting Ty die (and in *****'s story, I think Randy's gonna die)! OMG did you notice that?! I said Ty die! Say it really fast out loud and you'll get it if you haven't already! KILL OFF THE CHARACTERS! KILL OFF THE CHARACTERS!
Iris: DUDE all my stories have deaths or tragedy. I am a really morbid person... let's just hope none of the deaths happen to me in real life lol :) :(
Briele: What do you guys think of me using my story for the book?? I can probably keep it down to 10 pages!! :)
Kay: Is this based of the other one?
Briele: Yep
Me: Yay! There's a Ben in this story! Like Ben Dine, Pierce's dad? Or a different personality?
Briele: Uh this ben has a temper and likes amory
Kenzi: gosh darn it!!! BRIELE!! you sucked me in!! now. you. have. to. write. MORE!!!!!
Me: Well that's REALLY different than Ben Dine. He's got no temper at all. This Ben reminds me of Verie. The characters with a temper are really the best! Though, I like him more than Verie cause Verie doesn't think about anyone but herself, poor girl. Keep on writing about Ben!
Briele: Definitely.
Kay: What is the picking? This isn't going to be like the lottery is it?
Briele: Nope the Picking is where their jobs are picked!
Me: You could make a picking like the lottery (the one where people throw rocks at someone until they die for good luck in that year's corn harvest. The person was picked from a little black box of slips with names on them, and then SACREFICED).
Jacki: Read the top Alex! Oh and good job Briele I love it - keep writing it!
Briele: Oh if you haven't noticed Dillon is in Amory's story, too.
As you can see, we're a funny bunch. And this Verie character is now one of my favorites, after I changed her up some.
Post-ly Question #4
How does someone pick a favorite color?
Friday, July 16, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
FW: The Revelation of the Amateur
I've started a rewrite on the book, Bell, that I've finished writing the first draft of last summer. I have to admit; when I read through it the first few times after I finished it, I thought it was a beautifully written piece to begin with.
But a recent read-through last week really hit me. After two chapters, I needed to whisper to myself: "This actually sounds like amateur work!" Well, I can't complain. I'm an amateur at my age with everything in the adult life. But I also knew I could rewrite it better and longer. Maybe long enough that my publishing company pool will almost double in size when the manuscript goes over teh 70,000 word mark.
I have to say it; I've only been working on this rewrite since last Saturday, and I'm already proud of it. I'm working on my favorite story again. Next thing I knew, I was thinking up new events and challenges for my characters at those odd times like I had last summer while I was writing the first copy.
There's so much to add. I've gotta go write if I keep rambling on like this!
I wrote all that in an old blog that I never really cared about, just wanted an excuse to write it. It was posted on December 22, 2009. It's been more than six months since then, and I still haven't gotten any farther on that rewrite. I've been working on other stories lately.
Post-ly Question:
3. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
But a recent read-through last week really hit me. After two chapters, I needed to whisper to myself: "This actually sounds like amateur work!" Well, I can't complain. I'm an amateur at my age with everything in the adult life. But I also knew I could rewrite it better and longer. Maybe long enough that my publishing company pool will almost double in size when the manuscript goes over teh 70,000 word mark.
I have to say it; I've only been working on this rewrite since last Saturday, and I'm already proud of it. I'm working on my favorite story again. Next thing I knew, I was thinking up new events and challenges for my characters at those odd times like I had last summer while I was writing the first copy.
There's so much to add. I've gotta go write if I keep rambling on like this!
I wrote all that in an old blog that I never really cared about, just wanted an excuse to write it. It was posted on December 22, 2009. It's been more than six months since then, and I still haven't gotten any farther on that rewrite. I've been working on other stories lately.
Post-ly Question:
3. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Why Kids Dislike Common Schools
A list to explain why most fellow students that I know don't like the common education system in America. Here are the main reasons that they said.
-Classes. The American school system separates kids into groups of 15-30 students, and usually there's only one teacher per class. The students are put into groups and limitted to what they can and can't do. It seems to the students with no specific difference from the majority that only the kids who need more help get the teaching that they understand the best. The classes are generalized to the majority, and teh minorities are ignored. For example, everybody but three students do the best work through group projects. Since the teacher focuses on the majority of their students, most projects will end up being group projects. This denies those three students the most enjoyable and understandable learning that they can get.
-Grades. The schooling system isn't focusing on what the students learn, but what they score on tests. There is no proof that the student has 'learned' anything, only proof that they had memorized a certain criteria long enough to take a test on it. Why do you think school is entirely review from the year before for the first month?
- Rewards. It seems that only the people who rarely show good behavior get rewarded when they do so. The students who always get good grades, score well on tests, show good behavior, and etc., aren't rewarded as easily. For example, the teacher sees a student--who almost never behaves--helping another student in class. They get rewarded with candy or something. But the student who always behaves and helps others isn't rewarded for the same behavior. It seems the misbehaved kids get more attention from the teacher, and many times they misbehave to get that attention. But the student who tries to get attention by doing positive and productive things almost never gets it.
- Subjects compared to real life. In real life, math, science, history, reading, and writing are all mixed together in various situations. Yet in school, those subjects are separated, even though they tie together so closely. It makes kids think that you only use certain subjects in certain classes, so when they leave that class for the day, they feel they don't need to use that subject until they have that class again.
- Homework. Mostly, the purpose of homework is to teach the students responsibility. But by middle school, it's gaurunteed that the kids know responsibility enough. Also, some teachers give homework just because they feel they have to. And, many times the homework is just review that only a portion of the class may actually need. I have been told by teachers that they want their students to have free time after school. It's just that we need the whole night of free time without any homework to worry about. It's possible that kids would play more sports and join more clubs it they didn't have so much school work to do while they aren't at school.
So, there's my list. I mean no offense to teachers or any other officials in the educational world. This is simply the students' point of view, and it may be biased in some ways.
Post-ly Question:
2. How was the Research Process created?
-Classes. The American school system separates kids into groups of 15-30 students, and usually there's only one teacher per class. The students are put into groups and limitted to what they can and can't do. It seems to the students with no specific difference from the majority that only the kids who need more help get the teaching that they understand the best. The classes are generalized to the majority, and teh minorities are ignored. For example, everybody but three students do the best work through group projects. Since the teacher focuses on the majority of their students, most projects will end up being group projects. This denies those three students the most enjoyable and understandable learning that they can get.
-Grades. The schooling system isn't focusing on what the students learn, but what they score on tests. There is no proof that the student has 'learned' anything, only proof that they had memorized a certain criteria long enough to take a test on it. Why do you think school is entirely review from the year before for the first month?
- Rewards. It seems that only the people who rarely show good behavior get rewarded when they do so. The students who always get good grades, score well on tests, show good behavior, and etc., aren't rewarded as easily. For example, the teacher sees a student--who almost never behaves--helping another student in class. They get rewarded with candy or something. But the student who always behaves and helps others isn't rewarded for the same behavior. It seems the misbehaved kids get more attention from the teacher, and many times they misbehave to get that attention. But the student who tries to get attention by doing positive and productive things almost never gets it.
- Subjects compared to real life. In real life, math, science, history, reading, and writing are all mixed together in various situations. Yet in school, those subjects are separated, even though they tie together so closely. It makes kids think that you only use certain subjects in certain classes, so when they leave that class for the day, they feel they don't need to use that subject until they have that class again.
- Homework. Mostly, the purpose of homework is to teach the students responsibility. But by middle school, it's gaurunteed that the kids know responsibility enough. Also, some teachers give homework just because they feel they have to. And, many times the homework is just review that only a portion of the class may actually need. I have been told by teachers that they want their students to have free time after school. It's just that we need the whole night of free time without any homework to worry about. It's possible that kids would play more sports and join more clubs it they didn't have so much school work to do while they aren't at school.
So, there's my list. I mean no offense to teachers or any other officials in the educational world. This is simply the students' point of view, and it may be biased in some ways.
Post-ly Question:
2. How was the Research Process created?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
100 Questions, a Project For Gifted Children
I had learned that the eighth graders at my old middle school have a new project at the beginning of their REACH unit, to write a list of 100 questions! I tried it out myself, and I have all of these questions written down in a spare notebook, with room to add more as I think of them.
Personally, I think it's a good thing kids are forced to think of an ask questions in a class like this. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that's because that killed cat never asked its questions until after it died. I know, that last sentece sounds terrible. Though, it's still true, all the same.
Curious people are smart people, because they're always striving to discover more. Young children are, in truth, geniuses. But as they grow up, they're taught that their curiosity is a bad thing, and they stop following it. They learn to accept everything for what it is without further questioning. And when they're adults, their curiosity and imagination is nearly ruined, and it's much more of a struggle to use those things again.
So, with every post, I'll put a question from the list at the bottom for my readers to think about. Increase your curiosity every time you get the chance, because every time you try, it gets easier. Learn to think like a small child again.
And I'm sorry, but the first few questions are really silly. Try to make the question's meaning different than the common thought. It makes the questions more meaningful.
1. How many squirrels does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Personally, I think it's a good thing kids are forced to think of an ask questions in a class like this. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that's because that killed cat never asked its questions until after it died. I know, that last sentece sounds terrible. Though, it's still true, all the same.
Curious people are smart people, because they're always striving to discover more. Young children are, in truth, geniuses. But as they grow up, they're taught that their curiosity is a bad thing, and they stop following it. They learn to accept everything for what it is without further questioning. And when they're adults, their curiosity and imagination is nearly ruined, and it's much more of a struggle to use those things again.
So, with every post, I'll put a question from the list at the bottom for my readers to think about. Increase your curiosity every time you get the chance, because every time you try, it gets easier. Learn to think like a small child again.
And I'm sorry, but the first few questions are really silly. Try to make the question's meaning different than the common thought. It makes the questions more meaningful.
1. How many squirrels does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Welcoming Myself
Well, this is my first post on this blog. *sighs and purses lips* It won't be very interesting for a while, because I'm going to be putting in those kinda boring "Biography", "Praise", "Writing Process", and "FAQs" things that I can put links to on the side of this blog sometime soon.
But, this blog is supposed to be FUN! And the better I get at it, the better it will be for my readers. I'll put up a new post every Tuesday and Friday of each week that I can, unless otherwise noted. Many of the posts may be posted on the site long after I wrote them. Well, um, here I go. Wish me luck!
But, this blog is supposed to be FUN! And the better I get at it, the better it will be for my readers. I'll put up a new post every Tuesday and Friday of each week that I can, unless otherwise noted. Many of the posts may be posted on the site long after I wrote them. Well, um, here I go. Wish me luck!
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