Twilight

               See that title? These days, that word seems to spark either a slew of insults or a bombardment of defensive gushing. My own personal opinion is a definite middle- as Isabella Swan says, "I am Switzerland." A few years back, I was definitely a die hard twi-hard, but I fell back from the girlish, squealing fan base when I figured out what the Twilight saga really is: pretty fun to fall into, but not so great as your life's passion. I have to admit, the series is fun to make fun of, but I don't think it deserves total, immediate rebuff. You can say what you want about the flaws of Meyer's writing, or the complete lack of flaws in the main characters, but the fact remains that Twilight got people reading, people who otherwise might not have picked up a book. The series has acted, for some, like a gateway drug (in a good way!) to better novels.
               Besides, Twilight never claimed to be the next great American novel: it's a overly dramatic teen love story, complete with sparkling vampires, and a public service announcement about abstinence. It's a fad like any other, whether it's acid-wash jeans or Flowers in the Attic- liking it doesn't make you stupid or a conformist, disliking it doesn't make you cool. All of the open, cynical hate against Twilight has, for one, flamed the fire and drawn even more attention to the series, and two, made people who like it feel insecure about something they enjoy. That's something I don't think reading should be about. One of the best things about books is the fact that there are so many different ways to interpret them; you should brand a story good or bad depending on whether or not you liked it, not because of the opinion of the media or other teenagers who are just as obsessed about something else.

"Please, go take an AP Lit class or pick up a novel by Austen or Hurston and you'll understand...or maybe you won't, Twilight Fans tend to be lacking in brain cells." - user submitted definition from urbandictionary.com

How is all that negativity and hate better than a simple trashy romance novel?

               I am here to say that there is a poster with Edward Cullen's face on it on my bedroom wall, I am awaiting the finished Midnight Sun, and I will be seeing Breaking Dawn with my friends after its release. I am a literary savvy bookworm who happens to like Twilight, and I am PROUD! 

p.s. And for crying out loud, people- in no way does it threaten (or in any way compare) to Harry Potter! 

NaNoWriMo

I signed up for National Novel Writing Month today. If you don't know what that is, go here. (From here on, I'll assume you know why I'm suddenly pulling my hair out in anticipation.)
Now, I'm not expecting to win, since this is my first attempt, and I have school to go to, but I'm going to try and get as far as I can. I've always liked the idea of NaNoWriMo- trying to put together a book in 30 days means, for one thing, NOT EDITING what you write. I expect that this part will be the most difficult for me: whenever I get an idea for a story, I try to start it, but I always get so caught up in making it perfect that I never get past the first few pages, until I don't like the idea anymore and give up. But not this time! I've been sitting on an idea for a while now, and I think I can roll with it all the way to 50,000 words. The basic premise is your run-of-the-mill, post-apocalyptic, a-virus-has-turned-everyone-into-(insert zombies/insane cannibals/creepy lepers here) story, except the main character has taken up refuge in a high school, using all of the supplies there available to her (think JROTC practice weapons, stale frozen pizzas, science project hand-powered generators.) Her companions may or may not be hallucinations. I'm hoping to answer some of the questions I've always wondered about post-apocalyptic stories: for instance, what happens to people who had braces? Assuming you don't want to take them off with your dad's pliers, would you walk around for the rest of your life with correctional orthodonture?
Anyway, I'm really excited for this. Even if I don't finish by November 30th, I think it will be a good exercise. Anyone want to join me?

Fifty Things

Got the idea today from a trend on YouTube to write down 50 things I have done in my life. So, here goes!
            1.      I have read an entire book in a single sitting. A few times.

2.      I have been to Alaska.

3.      I have seen over 7 Broadway musicals

4.      I have kept a journal named Prudence on and off for the past three years.

5.      I have read...well, I have no idea how many, but just take my word for it: I've read a lot of books.

6.      I have eaten green pancakes.

7.      I have been to Vancouver.

8.      I have learned the same facts about the American Revolution in six consecutive grades.

9.      I have bitten through my upper lip. If we went further into that story, it'd become apparent that I have a pathological fear of dolphin shows.

10.  I have read a poem that I wrote in front of a crowd.

11.  I have played a poppy flower in the Wizard of Oz.

12.  I have read one book and loved it only to find out years later that it was part of a series. Oops.

13.  I have occasionally misspelled my own name.

14.  I have competed in a writing contest, and won.

15.  I have successfully edited a friend’s story.

16.   I have been to over a dozen funerals and unveilings.

17.  I have changed my career plans over a dozen times.

18.  I have made fake blood, vomit, and scars at summer camp.

19.  I have created a catapult out of paper and duct tape.

20.  I have overheard way too many secrets in the girls’ bathroom.

21.  I have been head butted by a goat.

22.  I have read the same book annually since I was eight. Chasing Redbird, by Sharon Creech.

23.  I have built a castle out of Styrofoam pieces.

24.  I have seen every single episode of Scrubs. At least twice.

25.  I have tried to knit a square, and had it come out a circle.

26.  I have attempted to ski. And failed in that attempt.

27.  I have learned how to say I like hot dogs in Spanish. Me gusta los perritos calientes.

28.  I have memorized Ode to Joy for the piano.

29.  I have put up with something I hated to appease someone.

30.  I have written a vast amount of completed stories. In my head, at least. On paper? Not so much.

31.  I have done my homework in the hallway five minutes before it’s due.

32.  I have loved every one of my math teachers, and hated their subjects.

33.  I have been on a cruise.

34.  I have petted an alpaca.

35.  I have had entire conversations with people that I’ve supposedly met before, and yet can't remember them in the slightest.

36.  I have been CPR certified.

37.  I have let my pierced ears close up by accident.

38.  I have been thrown off a horse.

39.  I have edited published novels, and found a lot of mistakes.

40.  I have told friends that I like something they’ve made, when truthfully, I thought it was really bad.

41.  I have made friends with an 80 year old woman named Dorothy at a retirement home.

42.  I have helped clean up a pond.

43.  I have sang songs that I do not know the words to.

44.  I have slept for three days straight.

45.  I have cut my own bangs. Horribly.

46.  I have seen friends move away.

47.  I have taken a haunted city ghost tour.

48.  I have written to Santa.

49.  I have used up entire pens in one sitting.

50.  I have lost over a dozen pairs of prescription glasses. Whoops. 

Here's to another (better) fifty sometime soon! *Raises celebratory goblet*