Thursday, May 26, 2011
Addicted
I have a problem. It's called I want this guy's CD. Like now. Just take this song and apply it to any given book couple, and make it their theme song. Which couple do you think fits it best?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
You Know You're a Writer When:
My English class today was talking about Active and Passive voice. My TA taught simply that in that class, we should always use active. One kid asked her when it would be a good time to use passive, and she was a little stuck. My teacher liked the question so much that he posed it to the class. Kids came up with answers like, "Well, maybe on a research project," or, "Maybe when looking back on an event," to which my teacher only noncommittally agreed to. Then silence. Meanwhile, my brain's going, "Oh, like in The Cold Equations, and other stories like it. No one's saying anything. Maybe I should speak up. No one else is...". So, I spoke up.
"In literature, passive voice is used to create distance between the reader and the subject." I said, full of confidence.
"What?!" My teacher cried, using his usual 'where'd my student learn that' exclamation.
"I should have put that in my powerpoint," the TA said in awe.
"Sorry," I mumbled, not pleased that such a big deal had been made out of it and that the entire class was now staring at me. My cheeks flushed and I could feel her heart pounding.
Later, my teacher mentioned that he has written a book, and is working on getting it published. "But it keeps getting rejected," says he.
I decided then and there that I want to be published, if only so that I can go up to a teacher I disagree with, hopefully one of the English-teaching persuasion, and proclaim snidely, "Yeah, but I'm published," in a 'beat that' sort of way. Doesn't that sound fun?!
"In literature, passive voice is used to create distance between the reader and the subject." I said, full of confidence.
"What?!" My teacher cried, using his usual 'where'd my student learn that' exclamation.
"I should have put that in my powerpoint," the TA said in awe.
"Sorry," I mumbled, not pleased that such a big deal had been made out of it and that the entire class was now staring at me. My cheeks flushed and I could feel her heart pounding.
Later, my teacher mentioned that he has written a book, and is working on getting it published. "But it keeps getting rejected," says he.
I decided then and there that I want to be published, if only so that I can go up to a teacher I disagree with, hopefully one of the English-teaching persuasion, and proclaim snidely, "Yeah, but I'm published," in a 'beat that' sort of way. Doesn't that sound fun?!
Monday, May 23, 2011
One Last Picture...
...today.
I think.
But this just makes me so happy, I had to share!!!!
You don't even really have to scroll down to see it!!
Oh, if this isn't the way to start a Monday, I don't know what is. You guys rock!
-Jordy
I think.
But this just makes me so happy, I had to share!!!!
You don't even really have to scroll down to see it!!
Oh, if this isn't the way to start a Monday, I don't know what is. You guys rock!
-Jordy
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Too Much Time On My Hands
I've been trying to create Sascha's parents' house--her mansion--in words all weekend, and the words have been failing me. To remedy this, I busted open the computer programs and did my best to recreate what I think the mansion looks like.
Without further ado, I give you:
The First Floor:
The first floor mostly consists of rooms for the private view: a ballroom, a library, a music room, a dining room, etc.
The Second Floor:
Mostly, the living area of the family. Tons of bedrooms. I don't know what belongs in that long room on the side. Not yet anyway.
The Third Floor:
These are a series of great rooms. When the house was first built, they were used as servants' quarters, a school room, and other things like that.
The property is vast, and Sascha's land goes far past the house itself. Cool huh?
Without further ado, I give you:
The First Floor:
The Second Floor:
The Third Floor:
The property is vast, and Sascha's land goes far past the house itself. Cool huh?
Friday, May 20, 2011
They're Back!
Moment of truth: I have had Diary block since I ended Diary of an Agent's Sister. It's not writer's block, because I've been able to write Ryan and Lucy. Sascha and Alex have just been suspiciously silent for almost a month now. I discovered the problem in English (hey, I learned something. Who cares if it wasn't what was being taught?) in an essay by Nicholas Carr called "Is Google Making us Stupid?" The influence came from:
Sometime in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter—a Malling-Hansen Writing Ball, to be precise. His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful, often bringing on crushing headaches. He had been forced to curtail his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The typewriter rescued him, at least for a time. Once he had mastered touch-typing, he was able to write with his eyes closed, using only the tips of his fingers. Words could once again flow from his mind to the page.
But the machine had a subtler effect on his work. One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic. “Perhaps you will through this instrument even take to a new idiom,” the friend wrote in a letter, noting that, in his own work, his “‘thoughts’ in music and language often depend on the quality of pen and paper.”
“You are right,” Nietzsche replied, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” Under the sway of the machine, writes the German media scholar Friedrich A. Kittler, Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”
A long English lesson, I know, I'm sorry. But it told me the problem! I'd always written Sascha's Diary on pen and paper. I'd been trying to write Diary 2 on my laptop, and it wasn't working. Why? Because Sascha's Diary isn't typed on a computer, it's handwritten! (face palm)
So yes, finally I got through to Sascha, and even Alex was pretty vocal tonight. I learned Sascha's call sign (it's a secret). Alex and I are still hashing over his call sign (what do you think?). I also think I have the name for the Agency headquarters, which I think is also secret.
Of course though, Sascha could never come back into my life easily. OH no. When did she decide to come? In the middle of my early Biology class, when I had to shield my crazy writing so the cute boy next to me wouldn't think I was keeping a journal about my own personal adventures in a secret government training facility. I am not that cool. Oh well.
So the writing is back into the swing! YAY! Hopefully you guys will hear from our favorite friends soon.
Love, Jordy
Sometime in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche bought a typewriter—a Malling-Hansen Writing Ball, to be precise. His vision was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and painful, often bringing on crushing headaches. He had been forced to curtail his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The typewriter rescued him, at least for a time. Once he had mastered touch-typing, he was able to write with his eyes closed, using only the tips of his fingers. Words could once again flow from his mind to the page.
But the machine had a subtler effect on his work. One of Nietzsche’s friends, a composer, noticed a change in the style of his writing. His already terse prose had become even tighter, more telegraphic. “Perhaps you will through this instrument even take to a new idiom,” the friend wrote in a letter, noting that, in his own work, his “‘thoughts’ in music and language often depend on the quality of pen and paper.”
“You are right,” Nietzsche replied, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.” Under the sway of the machine, writes the German media scholar Friedrich A. Kittler, Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”
A long English lesson, I know, I'm sorry. But it told me the problem! I'd always written Sascha's Diary on pen and paper. I'd been trying to write Diary 2 on my laptop, and it wasn't working. Why? Because Sascha's Diary isn't typed on a computer, it's handwritten! (face palm)
So yes, finally I got through to Sascha, and even Alex was pretty vocal tonight. I learned Sascha's call sign (it's a secret). Alex and I are still hashing over his call sign (what do you think?). I also think I have the name for the Agency headquarters, which I think is also secret.
Of course though, Sascha could never come back into my life easily. OH no. When did she decide to come? In the middle of my early Biology class, when I had to shield my crazy writing so the cute boy next to me wouldn't think I was keeping a journal about my own personal adventures in a secret government training facility. I am not that cool. Oh well.
So the writing is back into the swing! YAY! Hopefully you guys will hear from our favorite friends soon.
Love, Jordy
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Jeepers, Mister
I received a very wonderful surprise over the past week. It currently takes the form of One hundred and six emails titled "____ likes your chapter" sitting in my inbox. Because of this lovely surprise, Diary of an Agent's Sister is now #7 on the Popular This Week list, pretty darn high on Popular This Month and All Time, and if you do a keyword search for both 'fiction' and 'high school', Diary is the first response. My stats have never been that high, and it's an amazing thing for publicity. The higher I am, the more people see it and choose to read it. This is a good thing.
Readers, you amaze me.
By way of announcement, I've decided that if I ever get Diary published, I will include an acknowledgment page that includes everyone's name who has ever read the novel while it was still on Goodreads. That being said, if you've read the story and not 'liked' or commented on it at some point in time, I won't know that you've read it. IF you want your name in a possible future novel, PLEASE 'like' or comment!
Another announcement, I have more chapters of "We Never Knew' posted. I'm rushing, so don't have time to link, but it's on goodreads. Go check it out!
-Jordy
Readers, you amaze me.
By way of announcement, I've decided that if I ever get Diary published, I will include an acknowledgment page that includes everyone's name who has ever read the novel while it was still on Goodreads. That being said, if you've read the story and not 'liked' or commented on it at some point in time, I won't know that you've read it. IF you want your name in a possible future novel, PLEASE 'like' or comment!
Another announcement, I have more chapters of "We Never Knew' posted. I'm rushing, so don't have time to link, but it's on goodreads. Go check it out!
-Jordy
Friday, May 13, 2011
: O
Last night I pulled up my blogs to show my roommates. Everything was fine.
This morning I pulled up my blog to see what was up. Every change I'd made in the last week, including backgrounds and changes to my Bio, was gone. It was dreadful. Just thought I'd let you all know how upset I am with blogger. In the words of Gru, "Not Cool." I put a lot of work into trying to make my blogs pretty! Grr.
This morning I pulled up my blog to see what was up. Every change I'd made in the last week, including backgrounds and changes to my Bio, was gone. It was dreadful. Just thought I'd let you all know how upset I am with blogger. In the words of Gru, "Not Cool." I put a lot of work into trying to make my blogs pretty! Grr.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Because I Have A Few Minutes...
...I shall blog.
You might have noticed that lately on goodreads there's been a different story in the works. It's incredibly different from Diary of an Agent's Sister, and in my mind, it's more...possible? Diary is fiction, pure and simple. We Never Knew is more a work of realistic fiction.
We have Lucy, the good girl who just graduated high school and is trying to figure out where her life is going. Balancing between the religion she was raised in, her parents, and her own personal feelings, she must make some choices that will change her life forever.
We have Ryan. At about two years older than Lucy, he never had the opportunity to attend college, and thanks to some choices made on graduation night, he's now a single father. With his mom and three brothers for support he makes it work, but he can't help but feel like something is missing from his daughter's life.
Then there's Melodie. At fifteen months old, she's at a fun stage of growing and exploring the world around her. Should Ryan be concerned that she hasn't started talking yet? Why does Lucy find herself missing the baby after spending only a day with her? Why does she feel like she's meant to be a part of Melodie's world...forever?
Unlike Diary, I plan on making this a work of LDS fiction. If you have questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can go to this site. Or you can ask me, and I'll do my best to help. Why am I choosing to make this story with religious themes? Because there are good works out there that everyone's read about Catholic girls, Muslim girls, Jewish girls, and Atheist girls. I want my story about a Mormon girl to have a chance to be mainstream, too.
There are three chapters up right now, and hopefully more on the way.
For those of you who follow me because of Diary of an Agent's Sister, Diary 2 is still there in my mind. I'm simply waiting until I have more written of that one before I post it on GR.
Peace, love, and wishes that your weather is better than mine,
Jordy
You might have noticed that lately on goodreads there's been a different story in the works. It's incredibly different from Diary of an Agent's Sister, and in my mind, it's more...possible? Diary is fiction, pure and simple. We Never Knew is more a work of realistic fiction.
We have Lucy, the good girl who just graduated high school and is trying to figure out where her life is going. Balancing between the religion she was raised in, her parents, and her own personal feelings, she must make some choices that will change her life forever.
We have Ryan. At about two years older than Lucy, he never had the opportunity to attend college, and thanks to some choices made on graduation night, he's now a single father. With his mom and three brothers for support he makes it work, but he can't help but feel like something is missing from his daughter's life.
Then there's Melodie. At fifteen months old, she's at a fun stage of growing and exploring the world around her. Should Ryan be concerned that she hasn't started talking yet? Why does Lucy find herself missing the baby after spending only a day with her? Why does she feel like she's meant to be a part of Melodie's world...forever?
Unlike Diary, I plan on making this a work of LDS fiction. If you have questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can go to this site. Or you can ask me, and I'll do my best to help. Why am I choosing to make this story with religious themes? Because there are good works out there that everyone's read about Catholic girls, Muslim girls, Jewish girls, and Atheist girls. I want my story about a Mormon girl to have a chance to be mainstream, too.
There are three chapters up right now, and hopefully more on the way.
For those of you who follow me because of Diary of an Agent's Sister, Diary 2 is still there in my mind. I'm simply waiting until I have more written of that one before I post it on GR.
Peace, love, and wishes that your weather is better than mine,
Jordy
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