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Wednesday Word: Things I Thought As A Kid

9/26/2018

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Jenna Marbles is my hero and role model. So, inspired by her "Things I Thought As A Kid" video(s), here's a silly little list of things I thought as a kid:

  • I, like Jenna, thought that if you didn’t want bangs anymore, you could just cut them off.
  • “Tofu” was actually “toefood,” just because I thought it should be pronounced that way. I didn’t have strong feelings about whether or not it was food because I wasn’t really forced to eat it.
  • I thought grown-ups never cried or lost their tempers at all.
  • My parents had this pendant for us to wear outside—I don’t remember if they told us, or if we made it up, that it would protect us from being stung by bees. I was never brave enough to find out if this was true by bothering bees, but it did feel better to wear the pendant.
  • Mary-Kate and Ashley were triplets, not twins. I never watched their show or even knew who they were at all, I just heard the names spoken. To me, it sounded like Mary, Kate, and Ashley. I didn’t know for the longest time that Mary-Kate was one single person, because she has two first names. 
  • I never asked where babies come from. I knew they came from pregnant women and that answer was good enough for me. I never thought about how those women got pregnant.
  • I took certain words too literally, like, I thought the word “kidnapped” only applied to kids, and wondered what it was called when adults got kidnapped. Actually, if I remember right, I just thought that didn’t happen to adults.
  • Another case of the too-literallys: Once my sister was pretending to be on a boat, and when I walked into the room, she yelled “man overboard!” I angrily shouted back, “I’m not a man!”
  • Clouds were soft and fluffy, and I continued wanting to believe this even after learning how rain worked.
  • I hated getting up early so much I literally thought “morning sickness” was just not feeling good in the morning due to not getting enough sleep.

Happy Wednesday!

Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Tuesday Tips: Assuming the Intelligence of the Reader

9/25/2018

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One thing I've always found challenging about writing is the fine line between making sure I'm getting my point across, but not overdoing it. There's no need to explain every little detail, but it's so easy to get carried away.

Assuming the intelligence of the reader is like telling a joke into a void. It's very tempting to yell "did you get it?" minutes later, because we don't get any response back. At least, not until we get reviews.

I came across this, and found it helpful.
Picture
The best way I can think to do this is to remember, "always leave them wanting more." Think about your favorite books, movies, TV shows, and the moments you so badly wanted to see, but they never gave you. What happened? You filled them in inside your head. This is where a whole lot of fanfiction comes from.

How do we know we can trust our readers? Well, remember that these people are readers. Sometimes, when I'm out in the world, I don't exactly have a whole lot of faith in people's intelligence (I work retail). But people who read books for fun tend to be on a higher level than those who don't. They will get it.



When in doubt (and especially when you're 100% confident), always find someone willing to read your work, and get their opinion.
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Monday Music: "Alexander Hamilton" - ASL

9/24/2018

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So, I've been trying to teach myself American Sign Language, and falling into internet vortexes while I do so. ASL song covers are a lot of fun, and this woman is AMAZING. Her name is Sarah Tubert, and she's LEGENDARY. 
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Wednesday Word: Just having some fun

9/19/2018

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I was thinking about the pressure we face in life, trying to figure out what we want to "do." It's been so much easier for me to actually figure out a potential career path once that pressure let up.

Every time we, or someone we know starts a new project or hobby, it's hard not to ask, "so, you want to be this later, or what?" And I really wish people would stop it. I mean, it's literally turning fun into work.

I painted this:
Picture
We were stranded indoors and had watched a bit of Bob Ross, so I decided to try out some techniques. I'm not a painter. I'm not even an artist. But I don't have to be to have fun trying out stuff like this.

I think we limit ourselves when we start thinking about making careers out of everything we try, or ask kids if they want to "be" everything they're trying. Suddenly it adds this pressure to take it more seriously, be super good at it, and it's not as easy to let it go, or try something new if the opportunity arrises. This kind of discipline and dedication can of course be good, if the hobby is something we want to be that dedicated to. But sometimes, especially when we've just started something, it's better to take things lightly. Sometimes we want to try a bunch of new things just for fun.

Things aren't "worth it" only if you can make money off of them. Taking that pressure off and having some fun will help us try new things without fear of failing, open ourselves up to more creative ideas, and surprisingly, we might actually find that thing we want to "do." It's like how they say you'll only find that perfect person when you stop looking for them.

Stay open to experiences and adventures, and just go out and do stuff for fun. Even if you don't "find" anything, you'll make some great memories, which is what life's all about.

​Happy Wednesday!
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Tuesday Tips: Training Your Inner Critic

9/18/2018

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I was listening to Jenna and Julien's podcast, and they were playing a game involving movies and movie titles. They went on a brief tangent about how they judged movies when they were younger, and something Julien said stuck with me. He and his friends would watch movies together all the time, and at the end of every movie, they'd always had a lot of fun. So, their assessment of the movie would always be positive. Jenna said it sounded like he never had a movie hit him in that "hate spot," because they would always end with "it was good, it was a movie, we all had a good time."

It got me thinking about how our inner critics are made, not born. We need to learn to train ourselves as critics if we want to become better self-editors. So, I decided to start a series of Tuesday posts with some quick tips to help tune up your editing brain.

First of all, start reviewing books and movies after reading/watching them. You don't have to sit down and write an article about them, just think over what you liked and disliked. What made you feel things? What changes would you have made yourself? Some of you might say, "well, duh," to this tip, but I suppose it is more for the Julien's among us. I think I used to be that way, believing that everything that made it to print or to the screen had to have made it for a reason. But I do have another tip for those less-than-ultra-casual viewers.

Another great way to begin training your critical brain is to go to the library or bookstore, and assess a book as though it was by a first time, self-published author. It's easy to be less critical of a traditionally published book, because we trust that it went through an intense screening, and intense editing process. But traditionally published certainly doesn't mean perfect, and we as readers can let a lot slide by accident when we trust in those words. I do warn you though, this game can be as frustrating as it us fun for those of you planning to self-publish in the future!


Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Monday Music: Dream On - Postmodern Jukebox ft. Morgan James (Aerosmith Cover)

9/17/2018

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I don't always listen to things that aren't acapella, but when I do... Sometimes I discover really incredible stuff. Postmodern Jukebox is one of those rare finds, where everything I've listened to from them is absolutely incredible.
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Wednesday Word: Too Many Hobbies

9/12/2018

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I'm always super busy, even when I'm busy doing "nothing." One reason I stopped posting for the summer is because I have too many things I want to do, and I'm not willing to give up any of them.

1) Crossworlds. I want to finish my updated versions of the first few books in the series, mainly the first one. But in the subcategories of Crossworlds I also have blogs, drawings, social media/marketing, and moving forward with the series, working on Sent From a Dream. Also, I may or may not have a new short story to post this October (because it's spooky!). This has always been my lifelong dream, and I'm not willing to stop working toward it. 

2) Acapella. I'm joining a quartet! I am so excited. Soon I'll be leaving for a weekend of "Adventures in Music," in Sacramento. I can't wait. This has been a secondary dream for a long time, and now that I finally get to make it real, I don't care if it's too much.

3) ASL. I've been teaching myself sign language, and it's SO FUN. Also, this might possibly be something I could maybe think about potentially turning into a career someday in the future perhaps. I've always been searching for that middle ground of something more practical than being a famous author, but that still carries meaning and makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile and real. Is this practical? Maybe not. But I'm not willing to give it up.

4) Okay, this one's a little silly, but I spend too much of my day staring at screens, and since I couldn't go outside for most of the summer I needed a nice, indoor activity. I'm been making a dollhouse, because I'm an adult. And I'm not going to sit here and say "I'm not willing to give it up!" even though, no, I'm not. But I'm 100% okay with making slooooowwww progress on it. 

So, I'm having fun going into the busiest time of the year. We'll see where it all takes me.


Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Tuesday Tips: Handling the Everyday Extremes

9/11/2018

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That's a weird title, isn't it? What exactly do I mean when I say "everyday extremes"?

Well, some things in fiction walk the line of being too fun in the real world or too unpleasant in the real world to enjoy reading about. Like, I don’t like reading about people on extravagant vacations, living their dreams, because they have the money/opportunity, etc, and now this beautiful girl gets to go somewhere beautiful and meet someone beautiful and fall in love, and I’ve just reading in my room on another totally ordinary day. No, I don’t feel bad for you when you’re crying on that beautiful beach because something went ever so slightly wrong. I can’t enjoy you at all when everything is too perfect.

But I also can’t enjoy problems that are too real all the time. Of course everyone gets stressed over work or school, of course everyone has financial trouble now and then, but sometimes seeing characters worry makes me worry. Like, I’ll have a headache and decide to read a book to distract me. If a character also has a headache, it makes mine worse. Silly, I know, but sometimes it happens.

So, are these weird personal peeves, or do I have tips in here for you? Maybe think about how these things make you feel as a reader, and write accordingly. It's not always smart to erase these kinds of things entirely. Sometimes those extravagant moments are beautiful, just make sure it's appropriate. How did they gain the means for it? Is it well-deserved? Did you make readers wait for it?

It's no good to delete everyday worries from character's lives altogether, after all, you still want to keep it real. Just make sure those issues don't shadow the story. Maybe a character needs money, and the story is about an extravagant plan to get it. Keep the focus on the plan, not the financial stress. Of course you can bring it up, but remember to assume your reader's intelligence. We’ll remember well enough ourselves. The plan is far more interesting anyway.
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Monday Music: LoveNotes Quartet - Phantom of the Opera cover

9/10/2018

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Another song from the legendary quartet, "Love Notes." I'm so excited, because this coming weekend, I actually get to be coached by these legends at an excited event called AIM (Adventures in Music). It's great to be a Sweet Adeline!
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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Wednesday Word: Tell Me About Your Summer

9/5/2018

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We’re back! Fall is here, I mean, on it’s way. I mean, it should be. I think it’s coming. Maybe not though, but either way, we’re back.

Ever had to write about your summer during the first week of school? I mean, I guess it’s fine if you have something to write about, but the whole point of summer vacation was to not think about school at all. And thinking about summer during the first week of school is even worse. It’s like, yeah, now that I’ve finally made peace with coming back here for another year, you’re making me daydream about my blissful vacation again? Rude. Now I just wish it was next summer.

I, for once, don’t wish it was summer again. Summer was cancelled for me because through most of it we were surrounded by fires. It was so apocalyptic, a newbie to my town actually asked me if this is why they call it “Ashland.”

Good thing I appreciated spring this year. But most of my indoor days were productive. I’ve been attempting to teach myself American sign language. Also, I’ve been updating The Mansion’s Twins. Which is, as I’ve said before, the reason I took this little break. Soo, the question is, is it done yet?
​
Well… Almost. Changes affect the other books in minor ways too, so I don’t want to update it until I can update all of them at the same time. But it’s coming soon, as are many things.
​
I think I will keep this as the format for my blog. Post September through May, and take three month summer vacations. So until next June, we’re back with more music, hopefully helpful tips as well as silly ones, and of course, long winded mid-week ramblings. Maybe some sort ones, too. We might even do some weekly (or almost weekly) photo-features. Who knows? This year has been rather crazy so far, and it's not over just yet.

​Welcome back to the magical lands of Crossworlds!
Mansion's Twins
Mansion's Family
Dawn's Acapella
Acapella Angels
Stories of the Early Days
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