thought of the day

I hope never to write an anticlimactic novel. They are quite depressing. You’ll go days or weeks investing yourself in a novel, getting excited or scared at all the right parts, and then they’ll end on the brother’s cousin’s niece who supposedly saved the kingdom from utter peril, even though it’s what the protagonist has worked for all his life. Blah. My real problem is if they build up this whole beautiful romance that I’ve put my heart and soul into and they close it with an offhand word and the couple doesn’t even kiss! Stupid, stupid, stupid! If there is going to be any kind of romance in the first place, a novel should end with either a kiss or death, depending on the emotion to be evoked in the reader. Personally, I prefer a kiss, but that’s just me. If I ever write an anticlimactic ending that puts the romantic aspect out in the cold, I want someone to personally come and smack me with something hard near the back, flat region of my head. If you would be so kind.

name that tune--calise style pt. 2

Okay, so it's bugging the heck outta me that no one has guessed what any of the songs in my beautiful cacophany of songs were. I know it was mostly rhetorical, but I still wanted at least one person to guess. So, I'm just going to tell you. Hah.

Collide~Howie Day
I Got You~Nick Carter (I know, I'm pathetic. It's a good song!)

A Little's Enough~Angels and Airwaves
How to Save a Life~The Fray
Boys of Summer~the Ataris
Natural Anthem~Postal Service

Surprise Ice~Kings of Convenience
Paper Airplane Dream~The Lyndsay Diaries
Always Something There to Remind Me~Naked Eyes
Just Can't Get Enough~Depeche Mode

Only Hope~Switchfoot
The Adventure~Angels and Airwaves
Bittersweet Symphony~The Verve
Speed of Sound~Coldplay

I Want It That Way~Backstreet Boys
Friday I'm in Love~The Cure
Perfect Situation~Weezer
Chasing Cars~Snow Patrol

Vindicated~Dashboard Confessional
Time Stands Still~All-American Rejects
You and I Both~Jason Mraz
You and Me~Lifehouse

From California~The New Amsterdams
Everyone~Backstreet Boys
Soul Meets Body~Death Cab for Cutie
Another Perfect Day~American Hifi

Embers and Envelopes~Mae
The Best of Me~The Starting Line
Sunshine~Keane
Song 2~Blur

Save Yourself~Sense Field
Such Great Heights~Postal Service
The Frog Prince~Keane
Spitting Games~Snow Patrol

Nothing in My Way~Keane
Is It Any Wonder?~Keane
People Are People~Depeche Mode
Crooked Teeth~Death Cab for Cutie

All These Things I've Done~The Killers

Man, I need to get a life.
In other news, I am making good progress on my happy little book. I'm going to break it into workable sections tonight then write like...like...dang, all the good similes are taken! I'm going to write like someone stuck at the bottom of a well, clawing desperately at the muddy walls with shaky fingernails and all she can do to get out is to write! Ha! Now tell me if that's a cliche! Okay, so it was a little weird and made absolutely no sense but at least it wasn't "like the wind."

the one minute blog

I'm writing this blog in one minute and I'm not editing it or anything. I'm having a crazy week and I really haven't had time to post. I'm trying to finish revamping my novel by March 12 (1 week).

(That's really all I could get to in one minute)

i ♥ nerds

*Sigh* I was reminded tonight about just how much I love nerd boys. I spent the evening playing *cool* games like Cleopatra--where you get to build fun temples--and some really long-named game where you're in a haunted house--I found the Mystic Elevator...it was pretty exciting. When I first went over to ask if I could play, I thought I was doing it for observational purposes--a fantasy novelist should know what her target audience is doing--but it ended up being really fun. Plus, I felt like I could relax and be myself because I was really not trying to be cool. That says something about me on a regular basis, I know, but it's hard to not try and prove yourself normal among people who are apt to think you strange.
So now there is a battle raging in my mind:
In the long run, do I go for guys that are "nerds" and don't think it's weird that I'm weird and can be pretty cute if you get the right mixture of charm and social ineptness, or do I go for "normal" boys that can balance my odd tendencies with some semblance of normality and appreciate me because I'm different?
There are debates for both. If I married a strange guy I'm afraid our children might have problems...not serious problems, but life might be easier if they didn't have two very strange parents. I've got to watch myself as it is not to name them anything too far out there (although I think Storm is the coolest, manliest name I could think of. There are some who disagree with me. All I know is that if I ever met a guy named Storm, I would be instantly enamored).
Boys are so cute when they go off on random nerdy tangents or when they get really wrapped up in something *besides* sports. Plus, glasses can be so darn attractive (especially with a large nose, but I believe I went over this in another post).
Okay, now I'm gushing. I really need to stop that. I'm going to lose any readership I had...if there was any. I'm seventeen and have far too much estrogen for my own good! Give me a break!
You know what really gets me giddy though? Of course you don't. It would be a tad scary if you did. I'll tell you so you can go, "Calise, would you please shut-up!"
It's either boys who seem really masculine and tough having a vulnerable, even embarrassing side *or* nerdy, even socially inept, boys who have a strong, protective side. Believe me, when you write this stuff you have to make extensive case studies (well, you don't have to, but it's fun). I have limitless examples.
One of the best is blushing. Blushing is, for me, one of the cutest things a guy can do. Other good examples are superheros (Peter Parker/Spiderman is my favorite),
self-consciousness (although I should probably not wish that upon anyone), phobias, and lots of the male protagonists I write, of course.
This single element is what makes most romantic books and movies exciting to me. I love that the frog is actually a prince or the masked man is really just a farm boy who learned how to play with a sword. You want to write a story that will make Calise Acree grin until her face is about to burst and hear her make odd noises in the back of her throat, write romances where people have secrets--not nasty, ugly secrets, but "oh, gosh, she'd laugh at me," secrets. Strip your characters naked for the world to see--*not literally* I just mean expose them. Perhaps that's why I like YA so much. Teenagers are so unsure of themselves (myself included) and I love to read about people who feel just as gawky in the world as I do, and I love them for it.
Dang, this is long, again...and about my love life, again. I'm sorry I have such a limited focus in life. I talk to boys, I write, I think about boys, I write, I write about boys...

life, the universe and everything

Do you have any idea how insanely exciting it is to go to a writing symposium, meet your favorite author and have him tell you he likes the concept for your novel? I bet you don't! But let me tell you from experience that it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Yes, this happened to me this past weekend.
I attended Life, the Universe and Everything, the science fiction and fantasy symposium at the Wilkinson Center (hereafter called "the Wilk" as it is termed) which was really neat to begin with. The classes and panels were excellent. I wish I could have spent more time at the symposium, but I had this pesky little thing called college going on. Who invented that?
I learned about everything from collaboration with editors to the science of magic. I also went to an internet advertising class that is making me question every thing I write down here.
It might interest you to know that I spent the better part of an hour writing the beautiful tale of what happened in the first paragraph, but read it back over and realized, "Calise, no one cares." If you do care, I feel loved and you can comment or email me for the whole story.
The good news is, I've gotten my second wind...or eighth breeze, really, and I have a great determination to press onward now. I'm going to get published. I'm going to be a novelist and be a great influence for good in the world. This is my dearest ambition.
Oh, I should tell you, I've come up with my own personal mission statement of why I am supposed to write. Are you ready?
In writing I desire to illuminate life, to help people come to the wonderful knowledge I've been blessed with--that we can be happy here on earth despite the nasty things that happen. I truly believe that. I also want to find beauty in unexpected places.
That sounds pretty good, huh? sstm Well, it makes me happy anyway. Do you like the word "illuminate?" I worked a long time trying to put my finger on that one.
So, once again, life is good. I'm going to write and do what I love and go to school so I can make book to movie adaptions better than Eragon and life will still be good. Although I did get rejected by a guy this weekend. *Ouch*

college and way too many thoughts on writing

Well, I feel like it's been forever since I posted and, essentially, it has. It's amazing what can happen in just a few weeks. I'm a college girl now, true blue through and through, and like my sister always told me, college is both harder and more fun than you would ever imagine. You have what feels like the most fun you've ever had one day and the next you're bawling, wishing to go home...metaphorically speaking of course. Overall, it's great and I'm really beginning to enjoy it. But what I really wanted to confide in this great expanse they call the internet, is how absolutely terrified I am about something else. I change focuses quickly, I know.
Last night, on my way home from Aerobic Dance where I became buff, my dear, sweet mother called me (or maybe I called her...that's really beside the point) and informed me that my writing mentor--Valerie Clark, a published author who sort of took me under her wing--had called. Ms. Valerie, as I call her, told Mom that one of the publishers she's in contact with is looking to represent more authors of young adult novels and Valerie wanted to recommend me. I almost fell down in the snow (it's below zero outside btw and I have a terrible cold which may be turning into bronchitis and I need to go to the clinic tomorrow) because I was so astounded. I mean, it may not actually come to anything, but it gave me hope. I'm coming up on my third anniversary with Ellic. March 2nd. It'll be epic. That means that March 2nd, 2004 I began a journey with a boy who was far from your average protagonist. He wasn't cool and he wasn't anybody's hero, but he was genuine. He was charming and you could feel it radiate from him when you read him...or at least I could. Really, that's the problem. I know Ellic but I can't seem to get him down on paper. He's there, I can feel him. He's my best friend. I know that sounds really dramatic...really, really dramatic...and I'm kind of embarrassed to actually post all this because it sounds cheesy, but isn't that what a good writer does? Puts herself into her writing to the point of awkwardness then hangs it out to dry for everyone to look at? This is a really random tangent to go off on in this post. I was originally just going to say "I have to do some rewrites and I'm scared," but it didn't really turn out that way. Anyway, I just want my writing to be my voice again, like the voice I use here in my blog. It's just me and it's different and you can tell. I want my characters and plot to be magic for me again. That's all. I think I'm in for a long weekend.

calise has waaaaaaay too much time on her hands

If you want to see something severely complicated that someone does when they're not in school, click here. Yes, hold the applause please. This is what staying up until after 3:00 am when you have to go to work in the morning does to your brain. For those of you still wondering what this is, it's basically a list of everyone related to Prince Ellic of Dallania (my dear little protagonist) and his family including their birth and marriage dates and locations and "family codes" that can help you see which line everyone comes from. It took me about 36 hrs. And if you think that's impressive, you should see their Personal Ancestrial File.