Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Philosophical Thought of the Day

Writing is like climbing mount everest, but in many ways harder. It's not something physical that you can push yourself and practice on. Climbing mount everest doesn't feel like you are revealing part of your soul to every single person who watches or hears about your climb. Writing is, and you also have to balance the line between not copying something else that someone else did and feeling confident in your own idea's enough that you feel confident to show someone. Writing means that you have to keep going, even when it's so easy to give up. There is no end in sight, no-one who can accompany you on your work, and no amount of training can prepare you. You have to balance your time, make sure it's not too long or too short. You have to make sure you have a story line and you also have to accommodate to your audience.



Climbing mount everest is a test of physical endurance, but writing is part of my soul, my genetic makeup. It's hard to let that out and share something so personal with people I don't even know. There is no end in sight, and only the strong will make it. It is survival of the fittest, and our doubts place the weight of the world and anybody around us' problems on our backs. It stresses us out more and makes us overreact to things we normally wouldn't. It can mean that we are in a constant dreamland, can make it hard to have relationships with others, and can make you really sensitive. This is the price of writing, and I have accepted it and I want to do it. But it can in no way compare to climbing mount everest (although I am much happier sitting at my keyboard wrapped up in a blanket than I am on a freezing cold, steep mountain.)

Has anyone died by writing??

Well, that's my philosophical thought for the day :P
g'night and have a nice day :D

Kat x

Friday, July 20, 2012

By The Eye and the Lucky 7

Yeah, so hi.

BTE is my newest idea, and as much as I want to give away the whole plot from beginning to end (which I SO want to do) I'm not gonna.

I can't say anything, 'coz it's top secret, but I looked at that luck seven thing, you know? and so I'm gonna do the challenge. But I have my own challenge for you. What do you think my books going to be about from looking at the title??

Have a guess :)

Lucky 7




So here's the rules:
Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
Go to line 7
Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences exactly as they are
Well, I haven't got t 7 pages with BTE yet, and I'm pretty sure I've posted the 7th page of EOTW (End of the World) so that leaves Maylie and Me, which no one knows about MWAHAHAHAH!!

So here goes. The 7 page from the 7th line to the 14th. Here you go peeps :)

I feel the subconscious need to comfort my wife flee for it’s life. I feel the hardening of my heart take a step closer to completion and the small part of me that was unaffected clenched in fear of what complete hardening would do to me. I felt this reaction but was so far gone that it didn’t make a dent. I don’t care.
 I slowly float back to my body and as I do I hear my wife’s distressed whimper and my daughter’s cry of despair and rejection. I know both are caused by me. I freeze when I realise that this decision could impact the hardening of my heart.
Kat x

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Medusa

Hey ya'll (I always wanted to talk like I was from tenesee)

So, who likes Medusa and the greek gods? Huh? What's that I hear? I think that's everyone shouting "OOH ME! ME!"

So I have a challenge for you all this week. If you get a chance then I want you to research Medusa and the Gorgons and see what you can find. Her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, are pretty awesome, and I've already done research so I'm only looking for out-of-the-way facts. I know that everybody has busy, busy, lives, so don't worry about it if you can't do it :D

The only thing you need to know is that Medusa is not so evil, in my mind....


and with THAT cliffhanger fact I hereby dismiss you from reading this post as of... NOW!

G'day Mayte

Monday, July 9, 2012

sneak preview and my block

Hey guys,

I felt really weird writing everyday and I checked out some other blogs and most people didn't write every day so I decided I shouldn't. Yeah, I know :P

So, I'm up to 25 pages and 12,096 words but I've reached a block, urgh, and I'm lost. If anyone has any idea's as to how to overcome a block, well i'm all ears, but at the moment I have no idea how to get past it. There's a point in my writing when I just get bored with my story, but somehow I don't think i've reached that point yet because I still think about my story quite a lot.

I can't really call my situation a block, because I have lot's of idea's, but the part i'm at has reached a dead-end, and i can reverse and change it but I can't see anything else working better. I'll give you some background, so you understand, although no one really reads this.

Ok, so to help you understand I'll post the first chapter :) hope you like :P


Chapter One: An Abrupt Chang In Plans I groan and roll over to face the annoying monotone that is emitted from my clock. I would call it an alarm but the clock is so old that the sound that comes out of it is nothing like the computer generated sound that is an alarm today, but my ‘alarm’ is effective so I can’t really complain, though I’ve tried.
 I grudgingly sit up and get dressed. The normal background sound of my mother shouting at my brother to wake up and my dad downstairs making breakfast is so familiar that it’s almost comforting. I trudge downstairs and slop onto a seat at the breakfast bar.
 ‘Morning sweetie!’ My dad’s enthusiastic voice elicits a groan from my throat and he chuckles in reply. Even though my face is in my hands I know he’s moved so he’s opposite me. He keeps watching me and I look up in curious annoyance. The image I receive is much like normal and makes me groan again and comment ‘how are you so happy and awake at this time of morning?’
 My dad glances at the clock and replies ‘it’s only 8. When I was your age…’
‘ I know, I know!’ My tone relays my exasperation ‘ When you were my age you would get yourself up at 6:30, be on the public bus by 7 and then would have to walk to school to get there by 8’
‘AND my parent’s were asleep.’ He adds. I laugh and we get on with breakfast. At 7:15 Austin walks downstairs.
 ‘Hey Australia, what’s up?’ My little brother, Austin, throws me a death stare at the use of his nickname and turns away from me, folding his hands over his chest defiantly. ‘Naww, sorry Aust. I didn’t mean to tease you. Forgive me?’ The good thing about having bar stools is that they turn. I turn him to face me and stare at him with my eyes, which I know he can’t resist.
‘Okay.’ He concedes and I ruffle his hair and skip into the kitchen. Austin scrambles after me and tugs on my ponytail. ‘NOT!’ he screams. I turn around very slowly and stare at him.
 I make sure to give him a head start before I start after him. We are running around the downstairs and screaming after each other, him shouting back that I can’t catch him and me telling him what I’m going to do to him when I do. We have made 5 or 6 rounds of the down stairs before we are intercepted.
 ‘STOP!’ My mother’s loud boom has us stopped in out tracks and staring guiltily at each other. ‘That’s better. Now, we have 5 minutes until we leave and I expect you to be fed, dressed and in my car in four minutes, understand?’ We nod mutely. ‘Good, now GO!’
 As we turn around I stick my tongue out at my brother. Immature, maybe, but it makes me feel good, so whatever. We slip on our shoes and grab our bags. Checklist.
‘Bags?’
‘Check’ times two.
‘Lunch?’
‘Check’ times two.
‘Phone?’
‘Check’ times two.
‘What day is it today?’
Stunned silence.
‘Tuesday!’ I answer proudly.
A laugh from my mother.
‘All right, let’s go.’
 Driving with my mother is much more fun than driving with my dad. Although mum may be stricter in getting us into the car we generally have a more fun ride. We listen to the radio and sing along and we chat and things like that. With dad we listen to the news and we have to be quiet so he can listen.
‘Bye Mum!’ I shout over my shoulder as I shut the door and run to meet Allie.
 ‘Oh my god, Cal, HE ASKED ME OUT!’ My stunned expression must convey my delay as she gives a sigh and starts again. ‘So there’s this guy, Brody. He came to this school about a month ago and I’ve been swooning over him for ages. He’s British an his accent is so hawt, you would love it, Cal. And his eyes…. so dreamy!’ I start to drift off as I get the gist of her message. I nod in the correct places and try and wake up my brain.
‘When did he ask you out?’
‘Friday?’
‘And…’
‘And what?’
I stare at Allie. It’s so unlike her to be unfocused, especially when it’s a topic she likes. She must really, really like this guy.
‘What happened?’
‘Oh, it was AMAZING!’
I smirk. ‘You say that about all your dates.’
‘Yeah but this one was special.’ The indignant look on her face provokes me to agree and comfort her.
‘What’d you do this time?’
‘Dinner and a movie.’
‘Classic!’
‘Yeah, and DREAMY!’
I roll my eyes and laugh at her.
‘What?’ Her eyes go wide and she looks at me innocently.
‘Ha! C’mon, let’s get to class!’
 As we walk to class she continues to talk about Brody. Brody this…. Brody that… Oh my god, Cal, can you believe that Brody… I agree and when she walks past Brody in the hall she gives a flirtatious smile and he grins at her like an idiot. As he passes I nudge her and stage whisper ‘So, have you booked a room yet?’ She elbows me in the stomach and we laugh and continue on our way.
 ****
The bell; saviour of all those poor children who are forced to sit in stuffy classrooms for 6 hours a day and learn. The bell is their hero, their one true love, or at least it is until they are outside with their food and their friends. Once they are with their friends the bell is forgotten and, unfortunately for the bell, when it rings next the thoughts of those poor children will be distaste.
 Toady when the bell rings I think about it neither with joy or despair, as I am going to a meeting at lunch, although I can’t really call it lunch because it starts at 10 in the morning.. Allie meets me at my locker and we start our leisurely walk to the meeting.
 ‘Hey guys! Wait up!’ Jan’s voice calls from behind us. Jan is one of my other best friends, though she’s not as close as Allie. Allie and I have been friends since kindergarten, when she saw me crying one day in the sand box and came over to comfort me. Since then we’ve been inseparable, and when Jan was the new student at our school in year 7 she kind of attached herself to us. I guess we kind of look at her as a little sister; we love her, but sometimes it’s nice to be alone.
 ‘Hey Jan. How ya going?’
That’s my Allie, never one to ignore someone’s feelings.‘I’m good. And you two?’
Jan always does that, categorising us together.‘I’m good, how ‘bout you, Cal?’
Allie knows me so well.‘I’m good.’
Short sentences are my thing.‘That’s good! You excited for the meeting?’
Eye roll. Allie can answer anyway.‘Yeah! I’m pumped!!’
Totally.‘Yeah. Last years was really good, it’s gonna be hard to beat.’
That’s Jan… always the optimist.‘Yeah, maybe, but our year’s pretty smart, I think we can do it.’
Allie-the-pep-talk-queen.‘Really?’
Jan-the-timid.‘Totally!’
All right, all right, all right, that’s about enough!‘Argh! How are you so enthusiastic? It’s a Tuesday!
That earns me a curious glance from Jen and a half-frown from Allie.
‘C’mon Cal! Cheer up!!’
 At this point Mr. Torelli, the teacher running the meeting we were heading for, runs out the door and ushers us inside. I couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped when he ‘ran’ out the door. Mr. Torelli is a short teacher and his feet are very small. Consequently, his run is more like a shuffle and his feet barely lift up off the ground. It may be slightly rude but I can’t exactly help it. Unfortunately.
 I take a seat and glance around me at the 20 or so other students in the classroom. I recognise a few from my classes but couldn’t name them, but one particular boy catches my eye. I don’t know him from anywhere, but he captivates me and we stare at each other, unable to look apart. Allie obviously recognises someone and she leaps into his arms and gives him a big, sloppy kiss.
This must be Brody. That’s my rational voice speaking.
Or maybe Allie’s a slut. That’s my stupid voice. Oh how I sometimes I wish it wouldn’t put ideas into my brain. My stupid voice is like a little child, the more you ignore it the less it speaks. But I’ve never been good with kids, so…
‘EARTH TO CAL!! CALLISTA VANESSA GREEN!! ARE YOU IN THERE?’
 A loud whisper breaks into my internal rant.
‘What?’ I look around and realise I’ve taken a seat next to Allie and everyone’s looking at me expectantly. I look at Allie helplessly. ‘YOUR NAME!’ she mouths as subtly as she can. ‘Oh, right, yeah. Sorry. I’m Callista, but please, call me Callie or Cal’ I smile and everyone laughs, easing the tension. We continue with our introductions around the classroom and I spy, out of the corner of my eye, Mr Torelli tapping his foot impatiently as we continue.
 As soon as the last person has finished Mr. Torelli starts. ‘All right, now that we’ve done those very long introductions,’ he pauses to give us all accusatory stares, ‘let’s get down to business.’ He glances at the clock and mumbles a curse under his breath. ‘Does everyone know why we’re here?’ He barely pauses before sighing in exasperation. ‘Okay, I’ll remind you again. This meeting has been assembled so that we can prepare for the year 12 final assembly. You select few’ he gestures to us with his hands ‘have been chosen for your talents and so this responsibility falls to you.’ The way he emphasised talent made it sound dirty, almost as if he resented us for having these so-called talents.
 ‘Um excuse me, Sir?’
The voice comes from the other side of Allie and has a strong British accent. Allie nudges me and then wiggles her eyebrows, causing me to giggle.
‘Yes Mr…’ Mr Torelli looks uncomfortable at his memory, or lack thereof.
‘Allen. Brody Allen, sir’ Brody clarifies.
‘Yes, yes. I knew that. Now, what do you want?’ His tone conveys his annoyance and embarrassment.
‘Um, I only came to this school a month ago so could you clarify, what’s a final assembly?’
‘Each year the year 9’s organise a presentation to say goodbye to the year 12’s at their last assembly, hence the title ‘final assembly’. Each year the year 9’s come up  with something creative, using photo’s and memories given to us by the year 12’s, to commemorate their contribution to the school.’ I add hastily, knowing how passionate Mr Torelli is about the subject.
‘Oh I get it, thanks Cal.’
Mr. Torelli snorts in indignation. ‘Thank you very much Callista Green, but I didn’t ask for your input.’
I only interjected because we all know that you would have gone on about it for ages! Instead of saying that, however, I subtly roll my eyes at Allie and then cross my hands over my chest in quiet anger. She pats me on the back and we move on.
 ‘Anyway, so you guys are the committee and we need to start – ‘ Mr. Torelli is cut off by an abrupt alarm that sounds over the speaker system. The alarm was a bell but one that was different to the normal bell. It was a computerised sound that went beep beep beep pause; beep beep beep pause. We all looked up in surprise and then around in curiousness.
 Attention all students, teachers and visitors. The lock-down drill has been activated. We require your assistance in making this process as smooth and as safe as possible. I roll my eyes at ‘smooth and safe as possible’. If anybody is still outside could you please make your way to the nearest building and follow the instructions of the teachers. Note to all teachers: Follow the E.W. procedure and keep everyone calm. Have a nice day!
 At the have a nice day Mr. Torelli snorts and everyone looks at him as if a switch has been flipped. ‘Have a nice day my ass-‘ I look at Allie in amazement and timidly stick up my hand in the air.
‘Mr. Torelli?’
He stops his pacing and nods at me to continue.
‘What does E.W. stand for?’
His eyes go wide before he answers me. ‘Extreme weather.’
A collective gasp can be heard from everyone around the room and one of the students in the room that I recognise from my English class asks ‘So what does that mean?’
 ‘Oh you know.’ He waves his hand in the air as if dismissing the idea as unimportant. ‘It happened a couple years ago in Cairns. There was a hurricane heading towards them and at the 5-hours-to-go mark the government issued a warning throughout the city and everyone locked down. 12 hours later and BOOM, the whole city was gone. They only sound the alarm when there’s no way to escape.’
‘Is this an Australia-wide thing?’ The question that we’re all thinking comes out of Jan’s mouth.
‘Yes. The time differs for each state though, here in New South Wales it’s 12 hours.’
 Awkward Silence fills the room and we all glance around at each other.
Let’s just chuck it out there! Welcome to the last twelve hours of your life, everyone! I realise I muttered this out when everyone stares at me with wide eyes, except for Allie who glares.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Writing Update

Heyya everyone and no one who reads this blog ;)

I've got a big party coming up for my little brother so writing's kinda been put on the back-burner for the moment, sadly. I've spent tons of time going through old family movies from when we were 2 and 3 and we were so adorable, I want to eat us up. Sadly, we grew...

Well, writings going well, I guess. In the spare hour I had I wrote 2 pages, which is quite a lot, i guess. I have an average of 475 words a page at the moment, so that's like 900 words in an hour, which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

The hardest thing for me is editing. Idea's come to me really easy so but once I have an idea I don't want to change or edit what i've done. and THEN i hit a block and get so frustrated that I stop writing until I get another idea and start the process again. 2 full chapters and a prologue so far -- the most i've ever done, and i'm proud.

You know, I think I'll throw a party when I hit 50 pages... or maybe 20,000 words, whichever comes first. I'm currently on 8,408 words and i'm about half way down my 18th page so feel free to guess which will come first ;)

Well, since I have free time and I am obviously stalling by writing this kinda pointless blog since no one will read it and I don't want anyone that I know to read it but it's fun anyway.  I'm also planning to be like some of my favourite authors: Shelly Crane and Nicole MacDonald to name a few, and write a blog so if I ever become famous people can read my blog!

I really don't know how often you're supposed to blog, but we'll see how i go!

Just for everyone, a song that I think could have something to do with my song, it's the first song on my EOTW playlist, soon to have a different name *grin*


Reader_Writer
have a great night/morning...depending on where you are in the world :P

Monday, July 2, 2012

First Post *yay me*


Hey all,

not really expecting anyone to read this but maybe one day, if I ever publish, people will want to read it. Either that or people read it now and then later when i've published they'll be like 'oh yeah, i was pro-her since, like, the beginning! It's always good to have support, even if you don't know who it's from ;)

So, the other day I started my umpteenth book (probably the furthest i've ever gotten is with this one - 16 pages *grin* ). So here's a brief blurb that i wrote just this minute.

While we proceed with the normal activities of our daily lives we always know in the back of our mind that there is tomorrow. They say do as if you'll die tomorrow and dream as if you'll live forever. What would you do if life had a time limit? Callie has just had a time limit put on her life - 12 hours to go - and to top it off she's stuck in a room with a group of peers she doesn't know.

I don't know if that blurb will stick, it's so rough! I basically got the idea from school when there was a lockdown drill, and i was like: what would happen if you were under lockdown and were then told that you only had a couple hours to live.

There are 21 characters in the room, Callie included, and it's written in first person. The prologue is a note that she writes when they are going to die, and i understand that it's kinda unrealistic that they die exactly on the dot of 12 hours but...hey! this is my imagination and i'm gonna let it run wild! :P

Well, that's me for tonight. I really don't know how much to post, like i don't want to put my whole book on the web if ya know what i mean, and i'm so new to this but, oh well!!!

Night :)
reader_writer (my alias. real smooth huh *wink wink nudge nudge*)