Tags

INSPIRE ME - a tag of my own creation

6:00 AM

That's right. I HAVE INVENTED A TAG. MWAAAAHAHAHA.

Ehem.

This is my fiftieth post here on Stan, so I felt like I should celebrate. Fifty posts is a LOT. And It's been almost a year since Stan was born to the Blog-o-sphere, and well ... *sniffles*

GETTIN' ALL EMOTIONAL HERE. DON'T MIND ME.

Ehem. As I was saying in very clear, understandable writing, I have composed a tag for you all.



Inspiration fascinates me. It's such a fleeting thing, and very difficult to find. And since we bloggers are all lovely, creative people, I thought it might be interesting to see just what kinds of things inspire us.

So. Here's how this is going to work. (AKA. Here are the rulz)

1. Copy these totally amazing and spectacular rules onto your post
2. Smile and twirl in a circle and look at your favorite inspiring thing and take deep breaths as you prepare for my amazingness
3. Thank your gorgeous, lovely tagger (*flips hair* which would be me, in this case. Look at me, being all pushy and demanding your gratitude)
4. Tag five other bloggers (or more. or less. or none. just whatever you want.)
5. Have fun and be honest and answer alll da questions (and feel free to add some of your own!)

The rules are really just guidelines, as the pirates say. XP Feel free to spread your wings and be free little pumpkin nuggets.

And now for the questions!


#1: What is one of the most inspiring things to you?

There are so many things that inspire me. But I'll list two: sunsets are my favorite (not sunrises. they're too early in the morning.) They put me in this "oh-my-goose-the-world-is-so-big-and-complex-and-I-am-such-a-small-human-what-am-I-even-doing-with-my-life" moods, which open me up to lots of big questions.

As for bookish inspiration, I find that words inspire me a lot. Phrases that are uttered without much though will send me running to my notebook and scribbling for the next thirty minutes. I still remember when my little brother dropped something down the stairs, which are hollow, and my mom said, "Down the shoot it goes!" Cause we have these boards that keep toys from falling under the stairs, and they slide along and come out at the bottom. And just that one sentence triggered the inspiration I needed to build the ENTIRE STINKING CULTURE of the kingdom my WIP takes place in.

this is just one of the many pages that sentence spurred

There are so many more instances I could recount. My WIP was inspired by a line from Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief when the Magus says to Gen, "Do you announce that you're going off to steal something before you start?" And then he hesitates and says, "Yes. You do. Well, I don't." And I halted and just kind of screamed for a few minutes as ideas flooded to me and then I wrote a scene that started the development of the book.

I'll move on now, before I go on a rant on that one sign in town that said, "We can fix tablets!" *zips lips to keep from going on*


#2: Where do you look for inspiration?

Pinterest. Always Pinterest.

And also books. They usually do one of two things to me when I read them. One is that it draws me so completely and utterly into its grasp that I cannot function for the day that it takes me to read it, or the week following.

Two is that it makes me want to go and write. Sometimes this happens because the book is bad and I want to do better. (I know, I know. How arrogant of me.) But sometimes it's simply because the creativity of the author just oozes off the page and I want to create world building as intricate and fascinating as theirs, characters as deep and flawed, plots and unexpected and intricate.

Books are often what I turn to when I am stuck. That, or the sunset. Just sitting and watching a good sunset will set your mind up for brainstorming.




#3: When and where does inspiration tend to hit you?

The shower. While I'm cleaning. When I'm driving. (Assuming this is the kind of inspiration that I don't get from books.) I like to stalk watch people go about their days and try to figure out what their stories are.

Ideas usually come when I'm out and about. I guess it's all the people. But when I leave the house, I'm usually leaving my writing behind. So it settles and pools in the back of my brain, and when I'm doing something like driving, I have plenty of time to be mulled over and struck with genius.

I also find that talking to another writer friend helps. I go to my cousin. Just the other day, I figured out how my WIP was going to end (mostly, at least) and all I did was mention to her that I had a new idea of how a certain scene could happen. And then as I explained further, it brought the rest of the ending falling into place.


#4: What's the first thing you do when inspiration strikes?

Ahaha. Ehem. Well, if we're being honest here (I guess it was one of the rules ...) I stand with my mouth hanging open like a beached gold fish as my mind back flips and front flips and side flips and tries to figure out what just happened. Then I grab the nearest writing utensil and the nearest remotely writeable surface (paper, notebook, napkin, hand, table, receipt, etc.) and scribble furiously until I am satisfied I have all the essentials down.

If it's a book idea, I like to get on Natasha and create a new document for it in my "She's an Author" file. There are ... 42 book ideas in there right now. Not counting random characters.


#5: What's the most inspiring book/song/website/etc., you've found?

There are so many good websites out there. And books. And songs. I think I'm going to choose a book for this question, and I think that book is going to have to be the Go Teen Writers book. This covers just about every step of the editing process. It challenges you with hard questions to ask about your story's characters, plot, structure, etc. It's just brilliant. I've read it and scanned it and referred to it countless times. It really gets the brain wheels turning.


#6: What's one piece of advice you would give to people struggling for inspiration? 

Ask questions. That's the big thing. Stop and ask questions.

"What if ...?"

Just that simple question can trigger so many ideas.

Also, be open. Some ideas my seem ridiculous and stupid on first appearance, when really you just need to tweak them or look from a different angle to see how much potential they have. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions too. Things you might not want to think about. Explore. Be creative. We're writers, after all. ;)


And there you have it! My first tag ever. *happy smile* No pressure to do this if I tag you, but I'd love for you to participate! I'm going to tag 5 specific people, but if you liked it please please do it. <3






Please don't feel like you have to do this if I tagged you! And if I didn't, please join in! Put the link to your post in the comments so I'll be sure not to miss them! I'd love to read about what inspires you.

ALSO. Today I also put up my first post on Walking in the Light. (And you can take that both ways, cause it's on the blog Walking in the Light and it's about Walking in the Light) XP So, if you have time, I'd love for you to bop over and read it. It's on a topic very close to my heart. Hence, the blog.

What inspires you? 

<3

Tags

The Authors are Rising Tag

6:00 AM

I have a big test coming up tomorrow and I wasn't really feeling the 'author interview' post (hey, I kept my word on the bunnies so that cancels this out, right? XP ) So it's time for another tag!


I just did a video interview, so I might be stretching it on the personal level, but this looked so much fun I just couldn't resist!

I was tagged by Rebekah @ Rebekah's Remarks. (thank you, Rebekah!)



Da Rules: (I will admit, "da rules" confused me on my first read)

 >>Write a post thanking the person who tagged you; include the tag, the 11 questions asked, your answers, and in reply to the request of a small piece of poetry or writing, write a brief 150-word story.
>>At the end of the post, provide 11 new questions.
>>Request a brief 150-word story from the people you tagged.
>>Tag at least one person, and include a link to their blog.


DA QUESTIONS:

How long have you been writing? 
I've been writing for about five and a half years. (I started my first book when I was eleven.)

What made you decide to become an author? 
My big sister told me I should write a book, so I did. And I fell in love with writing and never really stopped.

Where do you find inspiration? 
I love to find inspiration wherever I can. In every day little things. In the sky and clouds and trees and the rest of the world around me. In the people I see in the stores, in the clothes they wear and the expressions on their faces. I love finding inspiration in music. (instrumental tends to be my favorite for bookish inspirations, but vocals are sometimes really good too.) There are so many other places to find inspiration, but I'll end with Pinterest. All the pictures just blow my mind, and I love the creative juices they kick into action!
What's a favorite quote from a book/story you've written? 
OH OH OH. Ohhhh. Okay so I have two. I will share them now.

"There is no freedom but death."

and

"She wished she could tear her heart right out of her chest. Maybe then, with it gone and done away with, things wouldn't hurt so much."

I know those are both, like ... really sad but I LIKE THEM OKAY??!?! DEAL WITH IT.


What's the title of the favorite story you've written?
Well, I haven't written that many stories. I don't think I can pick a favorite of the few I have written, but the most fun project I've ever taken on would be the first book I co-authored with my cousin. We titled it, The Call of Atlantis, and I love it so much!
Do you prefer writing in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person? 
I think my favorite will always be first, even though my WIP is in third. I just love how deep you can go into your character's head and how you almost become them as you write.
Who's an author you tend to write like?
I remember back when I first started writing and I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians. From that moment on, my sass tripled and really began to show in my writing. My first projects were like this, but my WIP is a much darker story and I'd say is more of a Suzanne Collins style, almost.
Do you write in short bursts fairly often, or several thousand words in one sitting but with larger breaks between sittings?
These days, I write several thousand words in larger sittings, generally. Usually at night. In my room. With the door shut and everyone sleeping. 
Have you ever had scenes (usually written late at night and discovered the next morning) when something happens in your story that you weren't expecting? If so, could you tell us what it was?
That would have to be the time I killed off a VERY IMPORTANT CHARACTER along with the one death I had originally planned. After I wrote the scene I kind of did a double take like, wait, so-and-so dies too??? WHAT? WHAAAAT? And then I wandered around in a confused author daze for a while and ate ice cream. 

What's an odd writing quirk you have?
*sniffles and cries because I am not interesting and do not have any quirky writing quirks*

What's the weirdest thing you've researched for a story?
UMMMMM. I don't ... know? I've had to do research on Russian accents, Russian fighting styles, tigers fighting, and a deaf child laughing. 
And...one last thing: Give us a peek into how you write by sharing either a 150 word story/poem or a snippet from one of your longer stories.
I'm a liiiiitle nervous about this one because I don't think I've ever actually shared any of my writing here? And I've been blogging for a little over half a year already (wow) so like...I think it's about time I share something. XP

Here you go! This is a song/snippet from chapter three of my WIP, The Thief's Conspiracy.

~~~

Bowing her head, she began the Hunter’s Lament.
“This day I take a life,
I beg to be forgiven.
I have no choice in this,
This sin I must commit.
Please, please, Fair Mother,
Shroud me not in death.
Forgive me,
Forgive me,
Forgive this cursed deed.”
Rissa finished the song with the usual, stupid tears in her eyes. She swiped them away with the back of her arm and covered the grave. Taking the other half of the arrow, she laid it on the top of the dirt and covered it with the rest of the soil.
She wiped her filthy hands as best she could in the grass. Dried blood and murder stained her skin, covered by the smeared dirt the grass could not wipe away.
She took the rabbit and, after placing it in the sack, headed back for the Festival grounds. The sun’s first rays broke out across the earth in warm greeting. The bag over her shoulder hung far heavier than it should have.
Forgive me.
If only she could set her arrow on Greer instead of the innocent creatures of the forest. How much easier her life would be.

~~~


Okay so, that was a liiiitle bit longer than 150 words but oh well. I hope you liked it! (This is also part of what was sent to HarperCollins *screams*)

*EDIT* I completely forgot to tag people. *face palms* I'm going to tag five, like Rebekah. If I didn't tag you, and you want to do it, please feel free to do so! <3

I TAG: 






If I tagged you, no worries. I'd love to see you do it, but you don't have to! And you can answer the same questions I did because I'm too lazy to think up more. Please do comment to let me know you saw this, though. If not, I'll come find you *innocent smile*

Enough about me. What about you guys? How long have you been writing? What's the title of your favorite story you've ever written, or the most fun? What's the weirdest thing you've ever had to research for a project? 

<3

Tags

I Have Been Tagged (again)

6:00 AM

Hai guys!

So, this is a tags post (YES I DID NOT FORGET I LOVE ALL OF YOU AND AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE BEEN TAGGED AHDSLFASDLKJF).

Ehem.

If you don't want to know more about me, feel free to just ... leave. *sniffles* I'll get over it. *flips hair*

I have four tags I've been nominated for. I will try to be brief, since I'm mashing them all into one big post. The fourth one I will do next week, seeing as it's a three day challenge thing.


So. First tag is from Abigayle Ellison at The Left-Handed Typist!


~Rules~
 
 
  • Link back to the person who tagged you
  • Answer all 11 questions
  • Tag 11 bloggers who have less than a thousand readers 
  • Ask them 11 questions
  • Let them know you've tagged them through social media I will try to be brief, since I am covering multiple tags today!
  • Bend these rules as you see fit

(okay that last 'rule' was not really on the original set of rules, but I can do what I want.)


1~ What's the story behind your blog's name? Stan was determined to be Stan. I don't know why. (As for the official name, ink blots and coffee stains are something I see quite often, so it seemed fitting. XP And as for my url, well ... all the urls were taken. Seriously. Even whyarealltheurlstaken.blogspot.com was taken.)
 
2~ What is your favorite stage of writing? AHHHH FIRST DRAFTING. DEFINITELY THE FIRST DRAFT. But I love planning, too (MAPS, GUYS. YOU GET TO MAKE ALL THE MAPS. AND BUILD THE WORLD. AND AHFKJSDHFLAKSD) Ehem. I love first drafts because when I start the book, I usually have a general idea of what happens, but I have no idea how. So it's so fun to see how everything just ... falls together. XP
 
3~ Where/in what conditions do you write the best? In the dead of night, when everyone is asleep. Tucked away in my room, I can write with or without music. I often like to write to silence, since it's so rare in our house XP (I'm sure you guys with big families feel me on this matter)
 
4~ What is a country you would like to visit? I WANT TO GO EVERYWHERE. But if I had to pick just one, I'd probably go with ... Ireland. Or England. Or Scotland. Somewhere British. Although, New Zealand would be amazing too ... JUST DON'T GET ME STARTED. I WANT TO GO EVERYWHERE.
 
5~ What is your favorite historical period? I actually really love bible times. That's the time period I would study if I had to choose. I love hearing about what it was like when Jesus walked the earth.
 
6~ What is your favorite dessert? ICE CREAM CAKE FOREVER, MAN
 
7~ What's the furthest you've ever been from home? Hong Kong. But sadly, I don't remember it. *heavy sigh* I was just a year old.
 
8~ What is your earliest memory? Oooof. Probably when my mom was trying to get me to eat baked beans (you know, the sweet kind) and I really didn't like them but she told me they tasted like sugar so I should eat them. But I really just didn't like them. At all. I still don't. Either this memory, or the morning of my fifth birthday when I ran to the bathroom mirror, terrified I had turned into an old woman (someone must have told me since I was turning five I was going to be a 'big girl')
 
9~ What is your happy place? Either in my room (I know, so sad) or up in the top of a tree on a cool, sunny day. I love climbing trees. *dreamy sigh*
 
10~ If you could pick one author/screenwriter to meet, who would it be? JENNIFER A. NIELSEN AND I'M MEETING HER THIS SUMMER AHHDSKJFALSDKJHAKJFHSDA. Ehem. Aside from her, maybe Jonathan Stroud because HIS BOOKS ARE WONDERFUL. Or Gail Carson Levine, because she's very wise and teaches creative writing and I love her books. There are so many more but I will stop now.
 
11~ What is your favorite book adapted movie/show? Lord of the Rings, hands down. THEY'RE SO GOOOOOOOD. (confession time: I haven't read Lord of the Rings yet. *sad sigh* I will soon. But I am a huge fan of the movies!)
 
Okay, that was kind of long. Oh well. Have some coffee or hot chocolate if you've made it this far! *hands out all the things* 
 
 
 
The next tag is from S B Williams at Life, Love, Writing and called the Writer Q and A Tag.
 
 
Tag info/rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog in your post. (THANK YOU SARA!)
2. Answer the questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
3. Nominate up to 10 other bloggers.
4. Create ten questions for your nominees and notify them of their nominations.
 
 
Alrighty. *cracks knuckles* LET'S DO THIS THING.
 
 
1) How do you organize your writing projects? I have a network of files on the computer. I'm very proud of them.
 
2) Has an author you formerly respected/loved ever disappointed you somehow? Rick Riordan. For a thing that happened in The House of Hades. *sad sigh* It was unnecessary but I don't really want to get into it. I just felt very betrayed and the series was ruined for me.
 
3) What is easier for you to develop, your characters, or your plots? Why? Probably characters? I never have much trouble. Once I figure out the plot, the characters just sort of fall into place.
 
4) Do you have a Fandom? If so, what is it? HAAAAHA. Do I ... Do I have a fandom? *giggles* I have a fan shirt, girl. On it are the logos for Captain America (*shriek*), Narnia (*screams*), Harry Potter (*faints*), Sherlock (*flails wildly*), and Lord of the Rings (*dies*). There are some more, but those are the favorites. XP
 
5) Do you read fast or slow? Kind of both ...
 
6) Describe your most recent Work in Progress in one paragraph. Oooh fun. I'm going to make it funny. A sad girl gets blamed for making a tiger go crazy and has to steal a very important thing to save her sister who is sold. Meanwhile, a prince is going crazy trying to find a man who's not very nice and killed lots of people, and he and the whole castle staff have to jump and hurtle cats along the way.
 
Yup. That's ... my book. In a nutshell.
 
7) Why do you write? Getting deep here. Oof. There are a lot of reasons I write, but the main reason, the reason I started, can be summed up in this quote from Carol Shields: "Write the book you want to read, the one you cannot find." When I started writing, the book I wanted so desperately was nowhere to be found. So my sis told me to write it. And here I am :)
 
8) What inspires you to write? Eh. Coffee. Always coffee. But also music. And scribbling various notes in Bentley (my journal). And playing Sudoku.
 
9) Name a bookish pet peeve that you have. Oh goodness. I have a lot since becoming a writer. But one of the main ones are typos or weirdly phrased sentences that I have to reread and the confuse me. Like, you had an agent and an editor and betas (at least, I think you did ...) HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
 
Thanks for tagging me, Sara!

 
 
And for the last one I will do today, The Infinity Dreams tag. I was nominated by Emily over at A Purpose and a Promise. Thank you, Emily!


~Rules~

 
1. Thank the blogger who tagged you. (THANK YOU EMILY!)
2. Tell us 11 facts about yourself. (I'm going to skip this, since this post is already so long.)
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Tag 11 bloggers and give them 11 new questions to answer.
 
 
~Emily's Questions~

1. What is your favorite name that starts with K? Kate. I don't know why. I just love the name Kate. *proceeds to mutter Kate a gazillion times*

2. What are your birthday traditions? Our family isn't crazy about traditions? We always get to pick our cake, of course, so that's nice. (*screams quietly* ICE CREAM CAKE ASDFKJASDLKJF) OOOOh and funny story: on my tenth birthday, I waited in bed for like, an hour because I hoped someone would bring me coffee. Pretty sad, right? XP

3. Do you prefer to write by hand, or type things up? Lately I've been typing just about everything. I want to get away from screens for a bit though, so I'm seriously considering writing my next first draft by hand. I like to make all my notes by hand, too.

4. Do you collect anything? BOOOOKS. And coffee mugs.

5. What is your least favorite chore? BATHROOM UGH

6. How long have you had your blog, and what is one tip you would share? I am a newbie to the blogosphere. I started back in February. And one thing I'd say is, go comment on other blogs. I didn't realize how big of a deal comments were until I started blogging, but they make a big difference to the blogger. I have no idea if anyone liked what I posted, or even read it, unless the person comments. So when they do, I'm like, AHHH PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKED IT ADSJKFLSDJKFHS. So SHARE THE COMMENT LOVE, PEOPLES.

7. Do you prefer to read short blog posts, or long ones, and why? I prefer medium length. Long ones just take too long and it's hard for me to get much time for them, and short ones just seem like they're missing something. A happy medium is my favorite (unlike this post. HAAA SORRY GUYS I KNOW I'M BABBLING)
8. What is your favorite month of the year? Probably October. I love autumn.

9. If you were given $100, what would you do with it? Put it in savings to buy a laptop. (but let's face it -- I'd probably raid it within a week for emergencies like more books and coffee) 

10. If you could visit one fictional world, which would it be? AHHHH I DON'T KNOW. HOW COULD I PICK ONE??? In all honesty though, I would probably end up visiting the world for my current project. I mean, who wouldn't want to walk the lands of their own creation???

11. Do you write your blog posts way ahead of time, or do you tend to write them on the spur of the moment? HAAAA. Ha. Well. The first month of blogging, I was always right on schedule. Now ... well, I'm pretty much always up late on Fridays XP
 

 
That was fun! *dances* It took a while too. *stares at clock with wide, sleepy eyes* I'm going to cheat, sort of. I'm going to tag just five people, and I'm going to say, pick your favorite eleven questions or all of them! And you can take whichever tag you want, Liebster or Infinity Dream.
 
~I tag~
 
Rachael Steele at The Art of Writing for Him
 
Petra Grace at Noveling Novelties
 
Anna Holden at The Everstorm Comes
 
Aimee Meester at To the Barricade!
 
Jonathan Trout at Fishing for Ideas 

 
If you read this and I tagged you, please comment to let me know! If you don't, no worries. I'll just hunt you down bop over to your blogs and let you know there.
Thank you again, Abigayle, Sara, and Emily for tagging me! *hugs all of you* And thank you, my lovely stalkers, for reading this! If you want to do this and I didn't tag you, please feel free to do it anyway!
And now it's your turn. Where would you love to travel? What's your favorite part of the writing process? What fandoms are you a part of? What fictional world would you travel to, if somehow given the chance? TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELVES, LOVELY HUMANS.

Tags

I Have Been Tagged

1:00 PM


Cool, right? I mean, I just started a blog and BOOM CRASH POW I get tagged by three lovely writer peeps. I figured, what a better way to get Stan on his way in the Blogosphere? Fun fun and cool beans and mushy gushy happiness and flutter muffins. (That didn't make sense? Sorry. Oh well.)


Before I begin my Happy Tags of Life, I want to thank you all. Stan and I were not really expecting much of a response, but a lot of people commented nice and sweet things and warmed me right up and welcomed me into this new, crazy field. I am so thankful to you all and very encouraged. You guys are the best. <3


*NOTE: these are blogger taggy things, and you totally don't have to read, as they have nothing to do with writing (actually, they are about me, so they do have to do with writing a little bit, but they do not contain constructive advice on writing)


Now, for tag #1, which is from the lovely lovely beautiful writer bean Sierra Abrams (whose blog and website you should totally check out by the way). I'm not going to answer all the questions, but I will answer a few.



Name: Hannah Elizabeth White

Nickname: Ohhhhh boy. I have been dubbed many. Liz, Nena (nee-nuh), Han, Hanner, Hanpantrantan, Agent Porpoise, and (probably the most legendary, the nickname of all nicknames) ... Princess Ermenguard (yes, cousin dear, I am giving you a look).

First best friend: When I was little, everybody was my best friend. XP But some of my closest friends from birth include Mary Brook and my cousin (duh).

First award: I don't remember, honestly. One of my first awards was a plaque for scoring a 91 on a 100 question quiz (known as the Bible Bowl) which covered the text of 2nd Samuel. That was fun.

First sport: I played soccer for several years, and my dad was my coach and it was awesome. I also took tiQuanDo. That was fun. I don't remember anything though. I would benefit much more from it now. It would really help in writing those fight scenes ...

First real holiday: It probably wasn't my first real holiday, but the biggest one I remember was our trip to Florida. I still remember seeing the beach from the first time and just staring in awe, digging my toes into the sand and trying to see beyond the horizon (it was also the summer I started writing, and my cousin and I sat on the deck of our beach house everyday and brainstormed stuff for our books together).

Favorite film: Oh boy. Pride and Prejudice (the short version), Inside Out, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, and Into the Woods (the Broadway play, NOT the movie) are some of my favorites.

Favorite TV show: Criminal Minds (REID FOR LIFE) and BBC Merlin (*sob*) tie on that one.

Favorite color: This one is so hard to explain. It can't be captured on paper or screen, because it's more a type of light than a color. It's this beautiful golden glow that happens twice everyday for about five minutes. Once at sunrise, once at sunset. It coats the trees and grass and slips through the windows and into all the corners of the house and lights everything up and it is beautiful. (That, and I also love blue.)

Favorite song: Oooooh. Um, how can I pick a favorite song? Probably What Do I Know of Holy by Addison Road and Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave. And some of my favorite artists are The Civil Wars, Josh Groban, and Ludovico Einaudi.

Favorite books: ALL OF THEM. *clears throat* But my favorites are The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co.) by Jonathan Stroud, The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen (WHO I AM MEETING THIS SUMMER AHHHHHHAFSDFSDJHFALDKSLJHV), Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (ugh. There are so many mooorrrrre but I shall stop now).

Where you want to live: I would love to live anywhere, really. Cities are exciting. A quiet cabin in the mountains or woods would be lovely and beautiful. My heart longs to travel the world, so anywhere on the globe would excite me.

Do you believe in ...

God: Absolutely.

Miracles: Of course.

Love at first sight: Hahaaaaaaa nope. The world's view of love is so warped, so if you mean attraction, then, well, duh. Attraction is just skin deep. Love, true love, takes time and commitment.

Ghosts: Um ...

Aliens: UMMMM ...

Soul mates: Kind of. I think so. Yeah, probably. *nods slowly*

Heaven: Oh yes. Lord, take me.

Hell: Something I've struggled with for so long, but yes, I do. If you believe one, you have to believe the other.

Kissing on the first date: (initial thought: are you kidding me?) Um, no. Honestly, that would lower my opinion of the guy I was with (unless we'd known/liked each other for a long time already, then maybe) but if it was a new guy I didn't know that well...

Yourself: Is this a trick question? XP I believe in myself, because Jesus has saved me from my sins and made me a new, pure creature.




Well that was fun. I’m sure you really were dying to know all that stuff about me and now your life is complete.

Time for tag #2! (It’s much shorter, I promise.) This one was from the lovely, beautiful Kristana Aleman (whose blog you should also check out because it is amazing).

This is called a Happiness Tag, containing things that make me happy.  

Books: All books make me happy. So happy. I mentioned my favorites above, but some others are Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, the Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale, Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Myer, The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin ... I can name so many others, but I’ll stop there for the sake of your sanity.

Films: Pride and Prejudice. Inception (which I just saw for the first time last Saturday and YOU MUST GO WATCH IT NOW.) How to Train Your Dragon. Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. The Princess Bride. Inside Out. Rise of the Guardians.

Words: Aesthetic. Quiddity. Scripturient. Sobremesa. Beauty. Wanderlust. Life. Faith. Hope. Love.

Scents: Freshly ground and brewed coffee. Tea. Peppermints. Chocolate. The salty ocean breeze. Warm, orange-zesty Christmas cookies baking. Rose candles. Vanilla. Coffee shops. New books. Old books. My nana's perfume.

Songs: Demons by Imagine Dragons. The One that Got Away and Kingdom Come by Civil Wars. Run to You by David Wesley (Pentatonix does a good cover, too), Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift and Civil Wars. Junischnee by Dirk Maassen. Light in the Hallway, New Years Day, On My Way Home, and Royals, all by Pentatonix. (Plus the ones mentioned in previous tag.)

Random: Camping trips with the family. Sleepovers with lots of late nights and giggles and card games and warm fires. Cookies. Coffee. Books. Family. Friends. Laughter. Cello music. Piano music. Faces. Smiles. Quiet solo car rides. Sitting in a coffee shop or bookstore and watching people go about their lives and listening to the sounds of life.


This tag made me warm and fuzzy by just writing it. XP

Last tag! This was from lovely beautiful Caroline Meek (LOOK AT HER BEAUTIFUL BLOG, PLEASE), who is my clone.

Here is her picture tag thing-a-ma-jig.


These are the rules given in her post:

1. Grab the graphic above
2. Stick it in a post about your thoughts: thought process, deep thoughts, trains of thought, imaginary worlds...(don't forget to include a copy of these rules).  You can personify your Brain, have a conversation with it...the possibilities are endless.
3.Then tag other friends to do the same and thank the person who tagged you!

Thank you, dearest Caroline. I shall have fun with this.


And here is my response:


My thought process? Ha. Are you sure you want to know?

...

Well, you asked for it (actually, you didn't. Caroline did. So you can flee now, if you want. While you still have the chance).

I ... can be inspired by just about anything. Often I will get an idea from something someone says. Which makes me think of ... okay, STORY TIME: I am one of seven, as I have said before, and we have this thing on our stairs so that, if we drop something, it falls through and comes out at the bottom. I was walking up the stairs with my mom and she dropped something and said, "Ooops. There it goes down the shoot."

At the time, I had just gotten the idea for The Thief's Conspiracy, my WIP (which you can read a blurb for here) and my creativity was going crazy. So when my mother said that, my brain exploded (thankfully not literally, but you know what I mean). It jumpstarted the culture of not only the kingdom my story takes place in, but the culture and history of my entire story world. Just those simple words and I was off like a rocket to my journal. I filled over five pages that day (and I mean filled) with ideas and notes on culture and the structure of the society and history and everything.

That is one of my favorite inspiration episodes. But wait, you asked for my thought process, didn't you? Not what inspires me?

I suppose this goes to show my thought process better than I could tell you. I like to bound down rabbit trails and I tend to lose my original train of thought quite easily. I can go from wondering how a hair got in my food to thinking about how you would break out of a prison cell with a twig and a bobby pin.

My thoughts are all over the place, but there is a beautiful messiness to them. I love capturing what I can of them in my notebooks (Notebooks are my faaaavorite).

And ... well, I could go on. Because, you know, that's how my thought process works. But I think I'll stop here. XP



Big thanks to Sierra, Kristana, and Caroline for tagging me and making me feel even more welcome in the blogging world! And thanks to anyone else who read this whole thing. You now know way more about me than you probably wanted to.

I now tag Katie and Olivia to join the fun. You can do one, two, all, or none of them. :) And Carlyn I think you should do the happiness tag to bring you some happiness (I know you've already done the other two, so I won't make you do them again ;P ). If I didn't tag you but you'd like to participate, please do so. Have fun guys!

What brings you happiness? How does your thought process go? If you don't want to write a whole post, please share in the comments!

Drop in again on Saturday for a post that will actually be useful to you (hopefully).

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