BROOKLYN RAEG!!

I was just working on a haunted gingerbread house for my party and it is HARD. I didn't think it'd be too difficult because, hey, it's cookies that one sticks together with icing. WRONG! Of course it couldn't be simple. And you know what caused the most tears from us? One word: Fondant. And it took me an hour to realize I needed a toothpick! I ONLY WORKED ON TWO THINGS AND I HAD A BREAKDOWN!!!! /raeg

Really. It's not cool. But I can't wait for my party. I always throw the best Halloween bashes according to strangers who ask me if they can come, and I really go all out. I'll post pictures when it's all decorated, because it looks great afterward.

But I'm a little stressed out. I got started really late and I'm feeling unprepared. Oh well, it's going to be a fun night!

Little Red

A little something something, because I want to get into the habit of blogging every day.

I finally signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, fewl!) and I have an idea for a novel I'm outlining right now. I'll give you a short tidbit, since the idea is still nebulous:

A young girl travels into the forest to visit her ailing grandmother. She meets a man who suggests she picks some flowers after the girl tells him where she is heading. When she reaches the cottage, her grandmother behaves strangely, and attacks her. Out of self-defense, the young girl takes the knife she had brought in case she met any creatures in the woods and kills her "grandmother" who changes into a wolf as she dies.

The werewolves of the forest are angered, as the "wolf" she killed had gone missing from the pack a few days before. And so, their campaign against the girl begins as she struggles with the truth about who the werewolf she killed really was and how to emerge from the forest alive.

Guess what it's based off of... If you guessed The Little Mermaid, you are correct! :DD fr srs There are no names as of yet, and the idea feels blegh to me, so I don't know if I'll run with it. Right now, I'm thinking the title will be "Red", but her "riding hood" is actuallly white. bloodstains! I really shouldn't be starting a new project right now, but hey! It's NaNoWriMo!

You are officially NaNoWriMo's bitch.

NaNoWriMo is coming, NaNoWriMo is coming! *Shot*

Yes, NaNoWriMo is creeping up on us like a ninja in the dark. What is NaNoWriMo, you ask? Fool, I shall not answer such questions. Instead, I'll let the website answer them for you:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Exactly what it says on the tin, my friend. Basically, it's a way to get your plot bunnies on paper. I will be participating, because last year I had intended to, but...well, I'm lazy. This year I hope to do it, but so far, I have zero ideas other than the ones I have already committed to paper and am working on finishing.

But it is definitely something to consider. I can't tell you much now, since I've never done it myself but it sounds like hard work fun. Lots of fun.



-Because Marisa Says So

P.S. I be working on my blog. Bear with me, mmkay?

Listen to My New Playlist

Baacck~

Yes, something new after a veerrryy long absence. I've been thinking of switching the style up. Looking at my old posts, I've changed a lot. And I'd also like to use this as a sort of personal blog, too, instead of making a completely different one.

The reason for my absence was the fact that I didn't have a computer. But now that I have one...well, yay! Here I am in all my blogging glory. I hope to frequent this more often. As a matter of fact, I'll probably post something later today.

-MS

Ps. I've just figured out how much of a noob I am when it comes to designing things such as blogs. Oh jeez... I wish I could make everything more interesting.

And Then He Died

There is something a lot (okay, most) readers hate. When this main character dies. Unexpectedly. Think about it. You've invested all this time into a characters, rooting for them and cheering them on, and sometimes hating them for the foolish decisions they make. At the end of the day, you care about them (or at least you should). Then, at the end of the book, the character dies. Now why I say "unexpectedly" is because I can handle when there is foreshadowing, like prophecy saying that the character will die. But still, I've grown to like this character.

A lot of times, authors kill their MC to get an emotional reaction out of readers and nothing more. I have a big problem with that. When your main character dies, it should bring about a major plot point. Not just so your characters can mourn. It especially irritates me when the character dies and the story is in first person. That's a real issue.

Some authors can pull of killing their MCs. Shakespeare did it, but to teach lessons. Otherwise, avoid this. No one wants to see Johnny Howard shanked in the head to get a emotional reaction.

Character Names

I recently logged on to Yahoo Answers, and clicked on my favorite section: Books & Authors. I've neglected this section because of Twilight and the overall redundancy of most questions. One of them: Can you help me name my character?

My answer: Nope. Sorry, I can't do that. But you can since it's your character.

In most instances, people write a description of the character in the additional details, as if to help me name the characters. Here's the thing: the parents didn't know what their child's personality was going to be like when they named them. So naming a character "Raven" because they're dark, is a no-no (the name is a no-no in any case).

Here's how I was named: My mother was completely unprepared when I got sick of her and decided to pop out. And it was a few weeks late, too. So, she rounded up some of her closest, half-wit friends to come up with a name. "Well, I like Marisa Tomei," my godmother said. "Let's name her that!" And of course my mother went along with it. Honestly, I love Marisa Tomei and I'm glad I was named after such a great actress, but sometimes I wish my mom would have put a little more thought into naming me.

Stories like that are actually what happens. Maybe a parent has a relative they'd like to name their child after, or maybe they have a place in their heart for a name they adore. However, babies aren't named because their non-existent personalities.

Here's a list of no-no names:
Raven.
Don't even try it. Do you know how many characters are named that? Especially pseudo-goth ones? I've only met one person in real life named Raven, and she was rather happy-go-lucky. The only reason she was named that because her mother saw a painting she loved with that name. Only one person I have ever met owns that name. So, don't do it. EVER.
Anything Japanese in a non-Japanese setting.
Is your character Japanese? If not, they shouldn't have Japanese names, especially if everyone else is named "Bob" or "Kelly". "Tsumi" tends to stand out. So, unless your character is Japanese, no Japanese names (especially if they're uncommon names found in anime i.e. Rukia, Naruto, etc.)