A tough decision.

Hey guys. It's been a few days since I last wrote, when I was so excited with my progress with my NaNoWriMo story. I want to thank those couple people who encouraged me, but I have something to say. It isn't easy to say it, but I have honestly thought long and hard about it, and I think I'm making the right choice.

I'm doing the unthinkable... I'm dropping out of NaNoWriMo. In my first week, too.

Now please don't make me feel bad about this. I know I promised myself I would write a 50,000 word story in 30 days, and I truly think that if I had to keep at it, I would surely make my goal. But all that writing took up sooooo sooooo MUCH of my time! Honestly, I don't know how everyone else does it. Maybe it's because I've been pretty much out of practice writing under a structure, but I really didn't like the self-imposed pressure that I'd put on myself, because I was always a little bit behind in my quota. Here's what my daily word count was:

Day 1: I wrote 1,023 words.

Day 2: I wrote 805 words. Hmph. That wasn't a good day at all. But at least from then on I always improved my number. See?

Day 3: I wrote 1,325 words.

Day 4: I wrote 1,493 words.

Day 5: I wrote 2,454 words. This was the day I was most proud of myself. Obviously. ^_^

In the end, I wrote a total of 7,100 in under a week. I didn't write any words for my story on the 6th, and I haven't written anything today. I've decided that I will not participate in NaNoWriMo any further than I've already done this year. (I'm not sure how to delete my account, so I'm just not going to use it.) Don't get me wrong, it was quite fun trying to bang out a brand new story and not caring whether it was any good. What was also good about it was that my sister Annette decided she would do this thing with me. We both had fun for a while. I happened to write a thousand or so more words than her, but I think we both wrote decent material. I especially like what my twin wrote. ^_^

But as much fun as it was, the two of us decided that we were getting a little fed up with this activity, and that we could direct our time and energy on more fulfilling things. I mean, we're both 18 years old, and we're still in this weird little rut. Besides writing, I'm not sure what I want to do with my life. How I want to make money, what I want to use money on if I happened to have a lot of it, where I want to travel, what crowds I want to mix myself in. It's still a big mystery to me. I need to figure out the answers, and not get distracted anymore.

I'm not putting down NaNoWriMo. It was sure a lot of fun while it lasted, but to me it just felt like one giant distraction from my real goal in life. Not that I know what that is, but I know that I feel a lot better and more in control of my destiny now that I've decided to relax and stop writing so fervently. So I won't get the honor of turning out 50,000 words in a month. Big deal! I can write any time I want. In fact, if I have any story writing to do, it should be in my own original Imazia novel that I have sadly been neglecting for months on it. ~,~ I am so sorry, Maggie! And Flora, and my squirrels Mac and Dameon! I have failed you! But hopefully I hope to turn that around very soon.

And even if I don't get back to my Majik story immediately, I can write sooooo many other things besides! I don't have to put all my eggs in one basket, and let it all ride on one novel. I can write poems and short stories to start, and hone my craft a little bit. I think then I'll feel more inspired than ever. The point is, I will try to write something good every day, but I do not, I repeat, DO NOT have to write exactly 1,667 words for me to feel like I did a good day's work. I wish good luck to my fellow writers who still hope to reach 50K by December 1st, and I hope you aren't too disappointed that I'm dropping out of your ranks. I may be giving up, but it's not because I'm a chicken or don't think I can make the grade. I simply think I can use my time a lot more productively. So there.

(btw, I'd actually like to credit Annette with coming up with the idea that we quit. Thanks a lot, sis. I couldn't have agreed with you more. I mean, at first I was against the idea of not finishing what we started, but I think this will be all for the best.)

In other news: The weather has been wonderful today! It's finally getting cool again after so much warmness. ^_^ Me so happy! After that brief little stint of bracing coldness, it's not been the same. But now I think the weather will be very pleasant now. Also, here's a link to a particularly cool and awesome piece of technology that I think you will enjoy. ^_^

Official NaNo Post #1

I just wanted to announce that I am doing incredibly well in this NaNoWriMo thing. In fact, I'm doing a whole lot better than I expected myself to! I was a little anxious when just starting out, but since then I've learned that the best thing a writer can do in NaNoWriMo is ignore all the junk you might be dying to go back and rewrite and simply press ahead, so you can just keep adding your words and discover more of your story.

This morning I woke up early and had a pretty explosive writing session. ^_^ My official word count is now 3,000 words strong! I need 5,000 to meet my quota today, but hopefully I'll have time to enter the rest in later.

I am soooo proud of myself. This session has suddenly instilled the belief in me that I can actually do this thing! I will succeed!

To track my progress, this is my total word count after each day:

Day 1: 1,023.

Day 2: 1,828.

Day 3: 3,000+. ^__^

I am definitely not finished with writing today, but I think it's a good time for me to take a break now. O,o

oo

Okay, this was really funny. ^_^ Today, while I was reading the book I'm reading all about the Simpsons, the author mentioned this hilarious site that he found when the internet was just getting started:
http://www.alcyone.com/oo/index.html

I decided to check it out. Man, you won't know what hit you! My bro, sis and I clicked on all the links already. Each one is an incredible joke that all has to do with 2 little "o"s.

For example, this was one of my favorites. It's called "The Band"

There were four:
oooo
Then, in 1980, there were three:
ooo
In 2001 there were two:
oo

Now, one has to be very smart, extremely well-versed in pop culture, to recognise this little insider's joke. But I will let you in on the secret: "The Band" is referring to the Beatles! I'm positive, because there where 4 Beatles, John, Paul, George and Ringo. John died in 1980, then George died in 2001, and Paul and Ringo are still alive and kicking.

I just thought it was an incredible phenomenon, that these weird jokes could make me laugh when they are nothing but cleverly arranged pieces of text! All having to do with oo, in some weird way.

Here's another of my favorites that made me groan at myself. "The Agent":

007.

Again, I highly recommend someone checks this site out! http://www.alcyone.com/oo/index.html

Comment with your favorites! Make up your own, if you can! Yes, that is a challenge. ^_~ So I can get you to play along, I promise that I will try and make up my own if you do.

Late Halloween/ NaNoWriMo post

Well, this may be a little late, but I just wanted to say it anyway... Happy Halloween!

I've had a wonderful, spooky, candy filled weekend. And I do mean candy filled. I hope everyone else had as good a Halloween as I did. For one thing, I got to dress up as 2 things for Halloween, not just 1. Yeah, I got to be a hippie and Michael Jackson. Jealous?

^_~ I didn't win any prizes for either costume, but I had tons of fun anyway. It's liberating, isn't it? Pretending to be someone else for the day? Forget trick or treating. Being another character, someone who isn't me, is just such a fun feeling. It's a pretty good high.

So here's something else. I told you my brother Adam was going to dress up as something totally wicked awesome, didn't I? Well, I couldn't have predicted the response he got from everybody... See, he dressed up as Edward Scissorhands! Doesn't he look so cooool?! Just check out the comparison between him and the real thing:

Pretty cool, huh? He won 1st place in a contest. $25 for a Walmart card! Okay, granted, that isn't that big a prize, but we're still excited that he got it. Anyway, it was fun to see everyone recognizing him. Total strangers kept pointing at Adam and whispering to themselves, "Look, it's Edward Scissorhands! How creative!" Mostly, this was grown-ups talking to their little kids, who probably had never heard of Edward Scissorhands. (Huh, probably the only other Edward they ever hear about is Cullen. *pff*) It was such a thrill. Adam couldn't smile a lot, because of his makeup, but I know he was excited to hear people appreciating his costume. I felt like I was walking next to a movie star! ^_^ I guess the only thing missing was the paparazzi. (Well, actually, several people did feel compelled to ask Adam to take a picture with them, so...)

When we got home, I taped all the candy wrappers of the chocolate and stuff I'd collected from "Trick or Treating" in my little scrap-book. I'm not sure why I want to save the candy garbage, but I do. Maybe some time in the future I'll need to be reminded of all the brands that used to exist. Who knows what kinds of chocolate my kids or my grandkids will be offered? I can show them what we used to have. Reeses, Milky Way, Snickers, Tootsie Rolls... all that jazz. Also when we got home, we watched a bunch of Halloween specials on TV. My favorite shows were the Rosanne specials. I don't normally watch that show, but that woman and her family are so passionate about Halloween and playing gory tricks on each other, and I really respect that. It's funny stuff.

Yesterday my family relaxed after all the Halloween madness, and went to the beach. Since it was the official start of NaNoWriMo, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to write anything, but I soon solved that. I brought a notebook with me and wrote in that, to be copied on computer later when I got home. Now, I was unfortunately unable to reach 1,667 words my first day, but I did at least break 1,000. I promise I'll do better tomorrow. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on my progress as much as I can.

Well, looks like the next thing to look forward to is Thanksgiving! ^_^

Whisper of the Heart

Yesterday I saw an incredible anime film! Another brilliant masterpiece by Hayao Miyazaki. ^_^ I think this was my favorite Japanese film ever! Yes, even better than Ponyo, Spirited Away, and Castle in the Sky. The movie is called Whisper of the Heart. As might be apparent from this cover picture, it's about a couple young people who fall in love. But the story is a lot more involved that that. Hmm... to show you how much I loved the movie, here's as brief a summary as I can make of it:

-----------------------------------------

The girl, Shizuku, likes to read a lot, and soon she discovers by looking at the books' index cards that someone is always checking out the same books as she does. She wonders what kind of person he is, this Seiji Amasawa. Later she meets a friend to share some song lyrics she wrote for their graduation. Her friend thinks the song is good, but Shizuku doesn't believe she's any good. There's a little sub-plot where her friend has a crush on someone, but Shizuku forgets her book and when she comes back for it she sees a boy her age reading it on a bench. When he looks up, she says she forgot her book. He hands it back to her, also saying her name, which he must've read on the index card. Before leaving, he also comments that her song was corny. This puts her in a pretty funky mood, and she calls him a stupid jerk many times in quick succession to herself. ^_^

The next day, she has to take lunch to her dad at the library, and while on the train, she sees a cat traveling by itself. When it gets off at the same stop as she does, Shizuku feels compelled to follow it through a neighborhood she never knew about, all the way to a quaint antique shop. Looking inside, she sees a nice statue of a cat dressed in human clothes. The old man who works there tells her the cat-statue is called the Baron. He shows her a nice grandfather clock that tells a story too, but Shizuku finally realizes that she's been wasting too much time and dashes off to the library, which just happens to be nearby. When she gets there, she recognizes the boy who'd made fun of her song biking over to her, because she forgot the bag of lunch in the shop. Hmm, so he must've been related to the old man somehow. Before he bikes away, he says there's a lot of food in there, and does she eat like a pig? Once again, the boy leaves Shizuku in a foul mood, but she notes that the cat she'd been following was riding on the back of his bike. Mysterious...

Some other time, after a little bit of unimportant teenage drama at school, she goes back to the antique shop, but sees that it's closed. The cat is there, though, and she talks to it and pets it for a minute, until she sees the boy coming. He tells her the cat usually doesn't let people pet him, since he's a vagabond, living in a different house every day. Shizuku says she wanted to see the Baron again, but the store was closed. The boy is nice and lets her in to see it, showing her the way the statue's emerald eyes glint in the sunlight. Later she follows him down to the basement, where he's whittling a violin by hand. She greatly admires his skill, and asks him to play for her. He doesn't think he's any good, but is soon cajoled to play, on the condition, however, that Shizuku must sing along. Automatically, she says she's not a good singer, but when he starts beautifully playing the song she'd written lyrics to, she feels moved to sing.

In the middle of the song, the old man and a couple friends come into the shop and they hear the kids playing music, and for some reason they pick up their own instruments and start playing along. Shizuku and the boy are surprised, but they keep playing along until the end, where everyone chuckles at such an unlikely scene. While talking, one of the men says the boy is named Seiji, who Shizuku immediately recognizes as the name on the index cards, and for some reason she's mad at the boy again, because she never expected that Seiji was anything like him. Later she calms down enough to apologize to him while he's walking her home. Seiji in turn apologizes for calling her song corny, actually complimenting her on how good it was. He talks about his dream of going to Italy to study violin making, but his parents won't let him. Shizuku envies him for knowing what he wants to do in life.

The next day, Seiji comes to see Shizuku while in school, and she's mortified when he asks her, in front of her whole class, if he could have a word with her. A rumor had already gotten around the school that she's been seen with the boy and that they were dating, so she's duly embarrassed. On the roof, Seiji tells her that his parents said he can finally go to Italy to apprentice, but he has to be away for 2 months. Shizuku is happy for him, but sad that he has to leave so soon, since she's started to actually like him. Seiji admits that he'd noticed her long ago, and that he'd taken out the same books as her so that she might notice him. By this point, a whole bunch of kids were spying on their conversation and everyone accidentally falls down. They run away before Shizuku can catch them. (How immature.)

Shizuku soon decides that she's not good enough for Seiji, and must do something to prove herself worthy of his affections while he's away. So what does she choose to do? She writes a fantastical story based on the Baron statue and his lost partner. She asks the old man permission to write about the Baron, and he says she can, on the condition that he is the first person to read her finished product. She eventually agrees and gets right to work, researching for her book and writing day and night. All this writing interferes with her normal life, and her school grades start slipping. Her family worries that she won't be able to get into a good high-school, but let her continue with her mysterious project, since it's only for a couple months.

At long last, she finishes her story, which turns out to be a good-sized novel. (Unbelievable! In just two months?! This reminded me of NaNoWriMo.) The old man reads her story, as promised, and says that it's a wonderful read and congratulates her for all her effort. Despite all her hard work though, Shizuku is positive that he's lying, believing that her writing is terrible and that she'll never be good enough for Seiji. The man reassures her that she did incredibly well for her first time, and though it was a rough work, all she had to do was polish it a little. No one is required to be good at anything when they're just starting out. All she needs is some practice.

After some reconciliation, the old man tells her the real story of the Baron statue, which I'll let you discover for yourself. That night she goes home and sets her priorities straight, deciding to go back to studying hard for high school, rewriting her story only on the side. Quite early the next morning, Shizuku wakes up and incredibly sees Seiji below her window, come home a day earlier than expected and saying she must come down to him. Rushing outside, he takes her on his bike all the way to a steep hill, which he intended to ride up with her, but she gets off the bike and helps push him up instead, not wishing to be a burden to him. When they get to the top, they see a wonderful, perfectly animated sunrise. This was my most favorite scene in the film, because of how very real it seemed! Seiji tells her the good news that he's decided to stick in high school too and pursue his violin making career after he graduates. At the very end of the movie, Seiji goes so far as to hug Shizuku and tell her that he loves her. ^__^ What a finale!

-------------------------------------------------

Yes, I know that this post is full of spoilers, but the story was so wonderful that I had to share the whole thing. I loved it so much, because it seemed to parallel a lot of my own life and my own dreams, and because it's a wonderful slice of Japanese culture. What school is like, how the people interact with each other... it's just so different from American culture. Again, I loved, loved, LOVED this film, and even though I gave away the whole thing, I insist that you absolutely must see it, because it's heartwarming and fun and simply an incredible movie-experience.

I've just reserved a bunch of other Miyazaki movies from the library. Can't wait for them to come in!