I’m pretty sure all of you know this, but for anyone who doesn’t, I’m a writer. Most of the time, that’s pretty cool. Sometimes, it’s nothi...

I’m pretty sure all of you know this, but for anyone who doesn’t, I’m a writer. Most of the time, that’s pretty cool. Sometimes, it’s nothing short of glorious. More often than that last one, it downright sucks.

But today, we’re only discussing the good things about writing (we’ll get to the bad next week, so stay tuned ;) )

1. The Questions

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a pantser, and as such, I’m never really sure where the story’s going during the first draft. Often, I have a beginning and an end, but getting from point A to point B is as exciting and unknown for me as for the reader the first time around. Sometimes, I don’t even know the ending. I recently started a Harry Potter fanfic with a simple question “What if Lily had forgiven Snape?” I started writing because I wanted to know what would happen, how their whole universe would change. Truth is, I’m still not sure, but I’m having fun finding out.

For me, it’s more like I’m discovering the story, rather than taking an active part in writing it. Sure there are times when I have to stop at a fork in the road and decide which way the characters will go, but more often than not, they tell me.

Normally, I hate not-knowing. But for writing, I adore it. I love the feeling of just being along for the ride, as unaware of what will happen next as the people I’ve created and come to love. A bit nerve-wracking? Well, yes. But still, it’s kind of awesome.

2. The Characters

Speaking of people I’ve created and come to love, character creation is one of my favorite parts of writing. Just the idea of being able to create a person, that does not by all technical laws of the universe exist, is amazing. That I can conjure up a being with my brain, get to know them until they feel as real to me as I do, then pour them out on a page for other people to (hopefully) love and fangirl over, is astonishing. That I have the audacity to try, and yet the potential to succeed, is one of the most magnificent and empowering feelings I’ve ever experienced. These people will make me smile, make me laugh, make me groan in frustration, shake my fist at the sky, and maybe even shed a tear or two. They will become real; they will become known; they will become alive. At least to me, if never to anyone else.

It’s mind-boggling. But it’s also beautiful.

3. The Unlimited Quality of the Imagination

This one kind of goes with the two above, but it encompasses them both and more. When scientists say that people only use 10% of their brain, a part of me believes them. Now I’m not sure we can all levitate or read minds or see the future, but when I use my imagination to create pictures and places, persons and predicaments, I’m amazed at the power of the human brain and imagination.

It’s like there’s something more for us. Like even if we can’t do anything from Race to Witch Mountain or I am Number 4, when we use the imagination, there are literally no limits. There is nothing, nothing, that you cannot do. Sure it’s not technically real, but that doesn’t mean it’s not incredible.

Maybe that’s why I write, to experience that unlimited quality of the imagination. To dive into worlds that don’t exist, to see into things that aren’t real, to become someone who never was, and share all that with the rest of the world. To tell all the stories running around in my head, then spread them across the globe.

And that, to me, would be the most wonderful thing of all.

Well, hopefully that didn’t sound too insane, but I think my fellow writers will get what I’m saying. ;) What are your favorite things about writing? Tell me in the comments!

My favorite thing about this song is that it tells a beautiful story. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the romance genre (I generally like ...

I saw that Aimee from To the Barricade did this tag, and it looked pretty cool, so I decided to give it a go. 1. You have 20,000...

I saw that Aimee from To the Barricade did this tag, and it looked pretty cool, so I decided to give it a go.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How do you choose what to read next?

Haha, this is so accurate for me right now! I don’t have 20,000, but with all the freebies I’ve downloaded to my Kindle lately, I feel like I’m pretty close.

That said, I have a kind of complicated system, but basically, books from the library take first priority. After that, books I’ve been asked to review, one a week. Then, I add in a title from my shelf, either one I’ve been dying to reread, or one I just got and have been dying to read (Lots of dying going on. Life of a reader, don’t ya know?).

I’m very organized when it comes to my schedules and such, so I set up my reading plan a week in advance, trying to get in about 100 pages a day. Between that and 150 if I’m doing two books at once.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Quit or commit?

I go by my 100-pages rule: if I’ve spent a day’s reading time on this story, I’m around 100 pages in, and nothing about it has me hooked, then I’ll quit and move on. Unless the book is really short, say 200 pages. Then I figure, “Well, I’m only wasting two days, so I’ll go ahead and finish.”

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close yet so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I’d buckle down and read like all the books will be burned on New Years’ Day. I cannot stand failing a commitment, even if it’s one I made to myself like the Goodreads Challenge. It would kill me to not finish before the 31st, so I’d just read like crazy. I’m homeschooled, so if necessary, school would stop, writing would stop, everything would stop, until I met my goal.

I might even call up this wonderful individual to give me a TARDIS ride so I could be paused in time for a couple days.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

Honestly, this doesn’t bother me. You’d think it would cuz I can be kind of OCD about a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. I might notice it, but I’d probably just shrug and move on with my life.

5. Everyone and their mother love a book you really don’t like. How do you cope?

Well, if I can’t find anybody to whatever-the-opposite-of-fangirl is with me, then I will probably have a very long conversation with myself about why I didn’t like it. I may even have more than one conversation, depending on how deep my animosity for the book runs. Once I in general feel better about life, I’ll post my Goodreads review and go on to the next book. Though I’ll definitely think about it from time to time, trying to figure out why in all the worlds the book was such a hit.

6. You’re reading a book and you’re about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

The likelihood of this is very small. I’m the sort of person for whom tearing up pretty much amounts to most people using half a box of Kleenex. Most of the time, I just don’t cry. In fact, the last few times I did cry, I remember in detail, because it just doesn’t happen often.

Now, tearing up will happen, but that can generally be hidden with a covert wipe across the face and “Oh think I’ve got something in my eye.”

From giphy.com

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip to the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!

I might reread the first book. If that’s not an option, I’d skip to the sequel, and try to remember things as I go along. Though the “finding the synopsis on Goodreads” is a good idea. I might have to try that.

Though honestly, if I loved the book, I likely won’t forget the major events. Things I love kinda make a huge imprint in my mind.

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. Borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

I don’t. Politely, I mean.

From degrassi.wikia

Okay honestly, that’s a little exaggerated. I don’t mind my best friends borrowing my books, because 1. I borrow theirs, and 2. I know they’ll be careful with them.

It’s... other people, who get the above gif reaction.

9. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

This has never happened to me. However if I ever ended up like this, I’d probably snag the chance to hole up and reread everything, then see if anything good has come out in my absence.

10. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

None if I can help it. As much as I love books, I’m pretty tightfisted with my money. I always check the library first, and even if there’s like 20 people who’ve requested it (true story), I’ll scream in frustration, mentally curse the other readers who intentionally did this just so I couldn’t read the book, and then wait impatiently for my turn.

If it’s not at the library, then it depends on how desperate I am. I recently bought Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans and Tiger’s Promise by Colleen Houck, because I really really really really really really really desperately wanted to read these books and my library didn’t have them.

11. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Heh, heh, possibly a long time. See, my mentality is, once I’ve bought it, I can read it whenever I want. So it’s not really a priority anymore. 

That said, see my answer to question 1. From there, it depends on how many rereads or other new books are ahead of it.

***

And there you go! That was pretty fun! Like Aimee, I’m not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you’d like to do the tag, do it, then let me know so I can see your answers.

Any other bookish habits you lot have? Anything from mine you agree on? And last, but certainly not least, what’s the last book you bought and did you like it? Comment away, lovely people!

It’s a kinda crazy song, and the music video’s downright insane. But the lyrics! The lyrics are brilliant. “Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed...

Heyo, readers! Lucky you, you guys get an extra post this week: a cover reveal from a writer friend of mine: Looks cool, yeah? The ...

Heyo, readers! Lucky you, you guys get an extra post this week: a cover reveal from a writer friend of mine:

Looks cool, yeah? The book is being published by Kingsnake Publishing and it comes out on February 17th. Seems like forever, I know, but in the meantime, you can check out the author on Facebook.

See you guys tomorrow for my Monday post!

So I noticed the other day that it mentions “movies” in my blog description, yet I haven’t talked about a movie in months. Mostly because I...

So I noticed the other day that it mentions “movies” in my blog description, yet I haven’t talked about a movie in months. Mostly because I wasn’t watching that many.

But anywho, I decided to rectify that by writing a review of Night at the Museum 3.

Description: When the exhibits at the Natural History Museum go crazy, Larry Daley has to find out why. He learns that Ahkmenrah’s tablet, the source of the exhibits’ magical life, is decaying, and even Ahk doesn’t know why. Only his father, the Pharaoh Merenkahre, might know how to fix it. So Larry, his son, and a host of their museum friends must travel to the British Museum, find Ahkmenrah’s father, and learn the secret of the tablet. If they fail, the magic ends. Forever.

Review: I really enjoyed this movie. I’ve loved the Night at the Museum franchise since the beginning, but often, when Hollywood gets into sequels and spinoffs, things start to spin out of control. This movie didn’t disappoint, though. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as the first NatM, but I do think it was better than the second one. The storyline was fun, exciting, and chock full of the humor we’ve come to expect from the series. There were as many moments of wonderful suspense as Rick-Riordan-level laugh out louds. Which is my kind of movie. If you can make me cheer for the action and choke on my chuckles at the same time, I’m probably hooked.

The characters were a lot of fun, too. Not my favorites ever, and not the kind I’d spend days fangirling about, but they were pretty cool. Almost all the old people came back, as well as several additions, like Nicky’s new actor. His appearance shocked me at first because I didn’t realize it’d been that long since the last movie. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, but I’d assumed that Battle of the Smithsonian and Secret of the Tomb were only a year or two apart by the characters’ timeline. So when this freckle-faced teen showed up rather than the curly-headed kid I was used to seeing, I was, admittedly, a bit surprised.

Ultimately though, he did a great job, perfectly capturing the awkwardness and style of today’s teens. Once I got used to his not being the same actor, I really enjoyed the performance.

Of course, most of the returning actors are pretty famous, like near the greats, if not already one of them. And their acting was, well, great. What else would it be?

Although, it is sad that this is the last on-screen role for Robin Williams. And the way they edited the movie, it almost seemed like they knew. Don’t wanna give spoilers, but some of things that were said and the way the movie ended, almost made it seem like we were saying goodbye to Teddy/Robin. Which was brilliant in a heartrending kind of way.

***

Overall, I give the third Night at the Museum four Ancient Egyptian Tablets out of five for hilarity, fun, and general coolness.

Have you seen this movie or any of the Night at the Museums? What did you think of them? 

Bonus question: what would you do if you found an Ancient Egyptian Tablet that could animate inanimate objects? I’d probably see if it could give life to my favorite fictional characters, then throw wild parties with the Star Wars gang, the Tiger’s Curse people, every demigod in Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus, and all my peers from The Safe Lands.

I like this band, okay! Seriously though, they’re amazing and so is this song. But rather than gush about  “Follow Your Heart” myself,...

Hello everybody! So I’m doing something a bit different this week. About 3 months ago, I was nominated  by Heather   for Watch Me Write , b...

Heyo, peers! It’s my one-year anniversary! Huzzah! Can you believe I’ve made it this far? An entire year in the blogosphere? I honestly can...

Heyo, peers! It’s my one-year anniversary! Huzzah! Can you believe I’ve made it this far? An entire year in the blogosphere? I honestly can’t grasp that concept yet.

Remember my first post, when I wrote a poem asking forgiveness for not posting within the first few days of January? (For the full backstory, you can read the post here) Well, I decided to keep that tradition going and write another horrid-thing-that-can-just-barely-be-called-a-poem for the one-year anniversary.

Yup, I know there’s an 8th syllable in that second line. Couldn’t think of a better way to do it.

To make up for your having to read that awful thing (without doing another Forgive Me poem), I’m offering a ten-page concept critique contest to my subscribers! Here’s the rules: Say “Concept Critique Contest” five times fast. No, I’m kidding, but if you could, it would be cool because I’m pretty sure I can’t.

Okay, here’s the actual rules: subscribe to my blog, either by following me on Google Plus or joining this site on Google Friend Connect. Then (or if you already have) comment below that you subscribed, and next Monday, I’ll pick a random winner and critique the first ten pages of their manuscript.

A concept critique means I won’t do nitpicky things like grammar and sentence structure. I’ll just read over your first ten pages and tell you what I think of the plot so far, the story idea, the characters, and other big-picture things.

If you’re not a writer, I will write you an Alexa S. Winters original (and awful) poem that you can print out, put on a plaque, and show off to all your friends.

Granted, I am in no way a professional editor (or a professional poet), but I want to give back to the wonderful readers, who’ve stuck with me and supported me this past year! Even if you don’t win, thank you so, so much, you beautiful, wonderful, awesome person for subscribing to and reading through Summer Snowflakes.

Happy New Year, everybody! Hope you’re having an awesome start to 2015! Obviously, I’m not doing a real post today (other than this), but ...