In Which This Blog Turns Into A Not-Strictly-For-Writing Blog

This is a post that I've been sitting on for quite a while now. I know that, thus far, this blog has been strictly a writing blog. But this is an issue that I feel strongly about, and I didn't think it would be reasonable to make an entirely new blog just for the sake of a single post (besides what would I call a new blog anyway). So with that said, here we go.

Petition to stop teaching the modesty lesson to young women as “you need to be modest so that the boys won’t be tempted”.

Seriously, it’s awful and it’s not doctrine. The big problem, though, is that people don't even realize how awful this kind of talk can be.

And for those of you who are thinking "what the heck is this girl talking about"-- you probably weren't raised a Latter-Day Saint, ergo never had the "modesty lesson". That's fine, and all you really need to understand here is that at some point in their church-going career, the girls get a lesson about the clothes that Latter-Day Saints wear, i.e. modesty.

Anyway.

When you teach the lesson like this, you teach a girl-- a young, impressionable mind-- that it is her responsibility to make sure that the boys are doing what’s right. You are teaching her that when a boy looks at her butt (which, let's be honest, will inevitably happen), then it’s her fault. You’re teaching her that if a boy says something about her body that makes her uncomfortable, then it’s her fault. You’re teaching her that if a boy touches her inappropriately, then shame on her, because she should have worn a shirt with a higher neckline. You teach her that she's responsible for Everyone.

And it might be Just One Lesson, and Not That Big Of A Deal. And, as a solitary case, it is, as they say, NABD (Not A Big Deal). But it's a mindset that we have come to accept in teaching young women, and I want it to stop.
The best way to get it to stop is, obviously, to teach the modesty lesson differently. But the thing is that I don't think certain people know how to teach it differently. So let's just sit back and just Think About It for a bit.

How About This:

Instead of teaching a girl that it’s her responsibility to keep boys’ minds out of the gutter, teach her that she should dress for nobody on earth but herself and that, frankly, the clothes she wears are nobody's business but her own. Teach her that her body is sacred, and that modesty is a way to respect that. A girl’s modesty is not between herself and a boy. It's not between herself and her Young Women leaders. It’s between herself and God.

And for crying out loud, enough with the phrase “modest is hottest”. Please don’t teach my future daughters that their only purpose in this world is to be hot.

Seriously.

Querying and How To Make It Not So Hard

Hello!

I've been writing my (assigned) query letter and this fine lady recommended that I use this fine website to help me out (because writing a one-page letter is harder than writing a 400-page manuscript. True story!). Specifically, there is a section in the sidebar that is dedicated to everything you wanted to know about queries. I've only read a few articles and already it's been hugely helpful, specifically this article. So here's a little plug for KidLit. (because that's what I've been talking about this whole time. For those of you who have been too lazy to click on the link above. Shame on you.)

Lama Glamas

HEY GUESS WHAT. Remember the plot for my original IP?

Turns out it wasn't working. At all. Maybe I'll go back to it later. I still really like my characters, but they just... didn't do anything. And that's no good for novel-writing. So we'll just put them on the backburner for a while (sorry, Virginia).

My new IP has...

(drumroll)

llamas.

It was really late at night and I just needed a chapter and my other story wasn't working so I just found an online prompt generator and it told me to put llamas in my story so I did and that's just how it happened OKAY.

We had a good discussion about it in class, though. They gave me a lot of good ideas about where I can go with it. So now it doesn't sound quite so stupid anymore.

Well, no. It's still about llamas. So it's still pretty stupid. But hopefully in a good way. Can that happen?

 Also, Becca recommended that I read this book, which is Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs. She said it had the same feel as the beginning of my story. So that's what I'm going to be reading next week! And maybe that will inspire me as I write my IP.


Hey, I just realized that this is my last (required) blog post of the semester. Weird! This semester has gone by so quickly, which is sort of a cliche thing to say, but it feels especially true in this case. Part of me feels like I should be going back to the same classes after Christmas. But I won't.

Oh dang, now I'm getting all sentimental/emotional. (What exactly is the difference between those two words? I guess I should look it up.)

Anyway, for the people in my class that read my blog: I'll probably keep posting updates semi-regularly. Even though I think only two people in my class read this, one of those being my sister. But I digress. Writing about writing makes you want to keep writing, you know? It's like I'm accountable to my audience (even though there are only two people out there) and I can't let my "fans" down, so I have to have at least a little writing to share with the world.

 Does that make sense?

But in any case. It's been a blast, Fall Semester. Thanks for the good times.

And the llamas.


P.S. "Emotional" refers to feelings of joy, sadness, love, hate, etc. While "sentimental" can also refer to these same feelings, it usually has a connotation of remembering the past, or nostalgia.

Curtain Call

For some reason, this blog post has been really difficult to write. I don't know why though! It's just not coming very easily today.

I started my IP this week! I'm really excited for it, because my main character is a bit of a snot. Gotta love those. But also because it's about theatre. And that, dear readers, is my secret love.

I love the painted sets, and obviously-not-real props, the garish costumes. I love memorizing lines, and going to six-hour-long rehearsals, and even sitting doing nothing because all you got was a tiny supporting role. I love opening night, with the bright lights and the where's-my-prop-I'm-in-the-next-scene panic and the (hopefully) deafening roar of applause as we all make our bows.

I love it and it's ridiculous.

Ergo, my IP.

Virginia Claremont (still not certain about that last name-- it might need to be a little more flashy) has a passion for acting-- and she's good at it, too. That's how she lands the lead female role in the school musical. It just so happens that Bob*, the most gorgeous thing to ever walk on a pair of legs, is cast as the lead male, and, as I mentioned in a previous post, shenanigans ensue!

*Note: Bob is not his name. Sooooo not his name. But he's such an obvious nod to a real-live person that I'm slightly embarrassed to call him by his name. Because it's the same name as the real-live person is what I'm getting at. I'll probably change his name. Later.

Anyhow. There's my IP, a tiny bit more fleshed out!

Also, I always forget to put in a little segment of my writing. So! Here's some writing. It's a tiny interaction between Virginia and the love of her life (as she likes to think of him). It's not really a hugely fleshed-out scene yet, so. It might seem... odd. But I love these two.


“‘ey, Virginia!”

I jumped. I knew that voice. I plastered a confident smile onto my face before I turned. “Hey, *Bob*!”

There he was, standing there like a Greek god. The most wonderful man on the face of the planet. The answer to all my prayers. And the lead male role in the upcoming school musical.

“Heard you got the lead in the musical.” His smile was so adorable, sitting on his face, crooked and relaxed, like it could stay there all day.

“Heard you did too,” I said, grinning back.

*Bob* shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, tousling his dark curls. My heart fluttered.

Sweet heaven above that kid was beautiful.


I know that putting the name "Bob" in there kind of ruins the effect a little bit, but oh well. That just shows the importance of good names, I guess!

OK that's all I have for you tonight. Gotta get back to writing.**

**I so wish this were the case. I actually have to study for a chem exam. Which is ridiculous. Seriously, scheduling an exam when the final is only two weeks away, I ask you, grumble grumble...

Thankful

I don't think anyone is surprised that I forgot to blog today.

doh.

Anyway. First things first: my individual project.

Still stressing out about this. But I have an idea, and I think it might be a good one. So here's the pitch:

I want to write (two chapters or so) about this person (still trying to decide girl or boy-- girl is easier, and might make more sense, but I've never written a boy for this class) who is in theatre. Shenanigans ensue! I like this because maybe I can play with form with this one! And that's fun.

So: who's excited for Thanksgiving? I am. Here is why:

food

that's all.

No, it's not. But it is a lot of why I'm excited. But also I'm excited for time. What with all the work my chemistry class piles on me I rarely have time for anything other than homework.  So! It is lovely to have time for things that are a little more fun and exciting.

Like reading or playing my guitar or drinking hot cocoa without abandon.

...this sounds so lovely that I am going to do all of these things right now.

ok probably not right now but definitely when I wake up

In Which I Berate Myself In The Third Person

Guess who forgot to blog!

Yeah, Heidi, how is this any different than normal

So we won’t dwell on that.

Finished my short story! Well, “finished”. There are still things I want to change about it, but I’m pretty sure that even published authors feel that way about their work. But it’s a good, solid draft that I don’t feel absolutely terrified to turn in. So that’s what I’ve been writing this week.

I’ve been thinking about what to do for my Individual Project and I have

no

idea

at all.

This is frightening, because I am a slow writer. I can’t word-sprint to save my life. Not even if a giant word-bear was chasing me through a thick word-forest. Deadlines are my writing downfall.

Wow, Heidi, that’s surprising and no one could have guessed this

Let’s move on to what I’ve read this week.

I bought and finished Crossed, by Ally Condie. I also got to meet her (again!) and she is

so

nice.

How can a person be so nice? It’s ridiculous.

Anyway, I would recommend Crossed, especially to people who liked the first book, Matched. It is a sequel that does not disappoint.

I haven’t started M is for Magic yet (sorry Becca) but I definitely will this weekend.


Oh are you, Heidi, or are you going to watch cat videos on youtube instead of doing anything productive


...I really shouldn’t let you guys see me talk to myself. It’s embarrassing.

Get Lost or Get Back

This week I finished my ghosts story

and I hated it so much that I wrote "and it was all a dream" at the end. Because it was that stupid.

Well, maybe not, though. Three people in class today came up and told me they really liked it. So maybe it's not hopeless. I guess I'll keep working on it.

Though if I still absolutely hate it after reworking it, then I am dropping it faster than a hot potato after it's been sitting in the core of the Earth for 3,000 years a baby giraffe a suspicious pebble on the ground that actually turns out to be a bug something fast.

...just kidding. I just wanted an excuse to make up a ridiculous comparison.

(kind of a weak comparison though. Check back sometime over the course of this next week. I'm sure I'll have changed it at least three times)

Anyway. I've been thinking about what to write for my final project in this class of mine. I'm still trying to decide if I should whip up something new or reuse one of my old projects.

(by the way now I'm thinking of those pineapple dole whips from Disneyland)

(yum)

(anyway)

We'll see where that takes me.

Well, I suppose that was a little update about my writing life this week. Here's been my reading life:

my chemistry book

yaaaay

I went to the library yesterday, though, and got a collection of short stories called M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. I've heard some good things about Mr Gaiman, so I'm excited to read this. That'll probably happen on Friday after my chemistry test. In that after-test stage where you want to do nothing so you sit in your room and eventually you get up and wonder what you've been doing with your life for the past four hours because you can't really remember but you think that maybe you watched some cat videos on youtube

or is that just me

that's probably just me isn't it