Did You See This?!?!?

If not, just watch. 

March 23rd, 2012 baby!  (And Jennifer Lawrence looks like she's gonna pull this role off PERFECTLY.)  

Wait, what's that?  It's August?  

Crap.       

Defying Gravity

Yes, actually, this post does relate to the song from Wicked (which I want to see SO bad!  I've heard it's mind-blowingly incredible.) 

Ahem.  Ignoring my ramblings...   

I've been an avid follower of author Kody Keplinger (ya know, who wrote The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)) for probably about a year, and I just love her humor and YouTube videos.  She's such an inspiration to aspiring authors, and gives fantastic advice. 

Take, for instance, what I'm going to post. 

In this video she discusses rejection, and how defying a little gravity can do loads of good for you when pursuing that elusive, fantastic, published author dream. 

It's basically one of my favorite videos to watch when I feel down, or when I need to rid of some stress and get myself inspired.  Enjoy!  (And make sure you check out Kody's blog if you've yet to already; you won't regret it!  It's http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/.)   

On a different note, Harry Potter was AWESOME!!!  It's been two weeks since my last post, and--whadaya know--I've seen it two times since then!  Yes, there were things that could've been done slightly differently, but that's just the nature of the beast when dealing with movie adaptations of books.  I still give it a glowing 5/5 stars, and still completely, wholeheartedly, undoubtedly LOVED it.  =D  Make sure you see it too! 

And that's all I have.  Have a great day!  :)

In Which I Blab About Harry Potter

So, anyone else terrifically excited for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2?  I know I am!  And I'm like, SO very excited, because, for the first time, I'm going to the midnight premiere!  I'm completely psyched, and cannot wait!  The movie's going to be completely EPIC (I mean, did you see the trailer???).   

So, anyone else been to a Harry Potter midnight premiere?  I'm a little unsure of what time to get there.  We were thinking 9 but that seems almost too late to me...I've looked it up on Google, and a lot of people were saying to get to your theater at 2 or 3, or sometimes even earlier (unless you live in a small town...which, we don't).  So, if anyone could give any suggestions, that'd be great.  :)  Also, do people dress up?  I suppose if you're a true Potter fan you do, but I'm not so sure I want to (and I don't even know who I'd go as!).  =P  I guess we'll see...

Well, that's about it.  On a random note, I'm like completely in love with Stephen King's stuff.  I'm only about halfway through my first novel of his, and I've already bought another...and I'm just totally blown away.  No wonder everyone praises him so much.  :)  Certainly a writer all aspiring writers should look up to...

And now, I post one of the trailers for the amazing, the epic, the LAST of them all: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (can't believe this is it already--sob face) and watch it a trillion times and get all jittery and crazy...  =D 

SO EXCITED!!!

One Year Already?! My 1 Year Blogiversary!

So, being the incredibly attentive person that I am, I went on through my day, doing this and that...and then, suddenly, I paused, said crapcrapcrap, and realized today was the 1 year anniversary of my blog!  =D  My little baby An Author's Quest has turned the big 1!  [insert confetti and roaring applause here] 

So, as I did when I hit fifty followers back in October, I decided I'm going to write another poem to celebrate such amazingness.  (I unfortunately don't have any cool prizes to give out, or really any imagination at the moment since it's now 10:30--I'm such a party pooper--so I hope this suffices, though, trust me, I'm truly ecstatic that it's already been a whole year!) 

So, here we go again.  I think I'll call this one An Author's Quest Hits One Big Year.  Enjoy! 

My oh my the time has flown 

Through twelve short months our words have grown 

I've met new people on these blogs

And gobbled up your posts like a flock of ravenous hogs (okay, that one was bad) 

Being writers we're all so cool

And one day all our books will rule 

I'm proud to annouce and be so clear

That An Author's Quest hits one big year! 

I thank you all it's been so fun

And look, another year's begun! 

So, there you go.  Oh, and thank you thank you thank you!!!  =)  I really couldn't have pushed onward and gotten where I was without all of you behind me, leaving comments and being genuinely good people (and writers) as I moved forward on this crazy (understatement anyone?) journey.  I can't wait to see where this new blog year takes me, and I can't wait to see what you guys all have going on as well!  

Again, thank you so much!  Now, if I could just figure out some way to better remember things...  ;)   

Why the Book Hate?

Ugh.  I'm a little angry right now...  One of our friends was over a few hours ago, and--for whatever reason--said she hates books.  Just hates 'em.  I kept my curious composure after she'd said it, and just sat there (shaking my head inside) as my brother showed her a few of our books, trying to convice her to read at least two before summer's end.     

She agreed, though I remained suspicious, and then, five seconds later, decided she didn't want to read them anymore.  She said, expressionless, "I hate books."  And, don't get me wrong, I'm not just pointing her out...because, sadly, I've heard this more times than I can recall. 

It greatly angers me when I hear that, and saddens me.  Books can do so much for someone, for anyone...and even if you're not into that whole intellectual aspect of them, they're still most definitely a source of incredible entertainment.  I honestly don't know why people say this.  In fact--perhaps there are others--I can really only think of one reason, and it's unfortunate.  That reason--the only real thing I can attribute it to--is school.  Because we are given required books we (most of the time) don't like, or barely even read (or just don't read at all) through our years of school, I suppose a bad taste is put in our mouths about books, and thus makes various people "hate" them as a whole.     

I still don't understand, though.  Go ahead.  Don't read whatever you're being "forced" to read.  Fail your test.  Whatever.  But don't say you hate all books because of that. 

Yes, there have been numerous things I've read in school that I haven't liked much.  I haven't hated them completely, but I've certainly disliked them.  But so what?  Everyone has books they don't like.  On the other end of the spectrum, though, there have been other books that---had it not been for school--I probably never would've heard of, never read, and never fallen in love with.  "School," to me, seems like a sorry excuse for hating books, yet it's unfortunately the only one I hear every time I ask why, and that's the truth.   

So, that's my little angry rant for the day.  I can't figure out how you can hate an object that's done nothing to you, something so glorious as a book, no less.  You don't have to like reading, but don't just hate all books because of one experience or what you're being told.

So, what do you think?  Is the reason I run into so many kids and teenagers who "hate" books school?  Do you know anybody who hates them as well?  Maybe there are other contributing factors...?      

I'm a Little Behind, Yes...

...but for good reason. 

I began a new novel a week or so ago, and though there's always that underlying, seemingly elusive this-is-the-book-I-can-feel-it-deep-down-inside kinda feeling with everything habitual writers write, I sorta wanna admit that I get that feeling with this one, too.  But I think it's pretty strong.  Maybe stronger than normal.  *sounds really stupid and realizes it* 
 
Funny thing is, I hadn't even been intending to start it when I did.  Heck, I didn't even plan on writing something new that day, or for a long while, for I already have a few WIPs (that I'm beginning to lose touch with--cue sad face)...but of course I only want to work on those projects that I'm most passionate about.  So I was mindlessly checking my email, laughing through some YouTube vids, and checking up on everything else--and suddenly, I was wrought with an itch to write.  So, naturally, I opened Microsoft Word and started something...and kept going...and going...and going.

And here I am, blogging about how awesome it is to have something I'm so excited to get going on!

I don't have a plot.  I don't have an ending.  I'm only a few pages in.  But it's started.  And I don't plan on stopping.

So, yes.  I'm incredibly excited to see where this project goes...or doesn't go (though I'm rooting for the former, of course!).

In other news (I believe I can safely say I'm a little behind on this one, too), I was checking up on Beth Revis's website and blog (Across the Universe is looking so enticing on my TBR pile right now...), which led me to her helpful things for writers page, and thus to Authoress's blog, a.k.a. Miss Snark's First Victim.  I think I'm falling in love.  It's a fantastic blog for aspiring authors where monthly "Secret Agent" contests are held, among other things, and where success stories are beginning to become abundant!  Go check it out, if you haven't already (which, considering there's already over 400 followers, I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't already been loyally following)!  You won't be disappointed.  And what more, but Authoress and I share somewhat of a common trait: we're both a little mysterious, and haven't fully given our true identities away (though she's an agented YA author, and may be revealing herself anytime now...). 

So, that's it for now.  Thank you for reading; I aim to be back soon!        

Some Short Advice

I often write short stories (page or two long, or at least until I lose interest in my practice characters, practice plot, etc.) and get to thinking about the best (and worst) ways to begin a piece.  Book, blog post, newspaper article...  The list goes on and on.  But, of course, I'm speaking more toward novels. 

So, the best way to start your tale?  Or, rather, the way you NEVER want to... 

DON'T START YOUR NOVEL WITH YOUR CHARACTER WAKING UP. 

Don't.  Don't EVER.  If there's one piece of writing advice I've seen everywhere, from literally every agent that's ever spoken on the topic to other writers' blogs, it's that you do NOT ever want to start your novel with someone waking up.  Why?  It's a cop-out.  No, really.  As other agents have said in one way or another, surely there's another way you can start your story.  Surely.  And trust me, it'll do you loads to make this fix.  In fact, agent Mary Kole once said that if your story does not begin with someone waking up, you're already a caliber above 50% of the submissions she sees.  This, of course, does not determine whether or not she chooses one submission over the other, but it most definitely places you in a better light, so-to-speak.   

In other news, I recently began The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.  And I'm not lying when I say it's AMAZING.  I can't put it down.  And the weird thing is, it's a war story.  I don't like to read about war when it so abundantly (and unfortunately) happens around the world, for death is not exactly a happy topic, but it's so heartfelt and sincere a work that I just cannot get away from it.  Go check it out from the library or read some reviews online.  You'll know what I'm talking about. 

Well, that's it for now.  =)  (Oh, sidenote: I don't exactly know why the date on my last post says April 4th, because I most definitely posted it around the 20th.  Just something that was bothering me, and something that I wanted to make note of.  Hopefully this post has the date right...even though if it doesn't it's my fault in the first place, for I should be checking things more thoroughly; today's May 22nd.) 

I leave with this unusual fact (who doesn't like random, unusual facts?):

When glass breaks, the cracks move faster than 3,000 miles per hour. To photograph the event, a camera must shoot at a millionth of a second!  (http://www.strangefacts.com/facts1.html)