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Writing Prompt!

Hey guys,

Check out this writing exercise I just tried:

If you're stuck for an idea for a story, just type at the top of your document "Come with me." and see where the story takes you.

This is a great start because it gives you no pretenses about what could be surrounding it -your characters could literally be any where in the world, or the universe, or a different universe, doing absolutely anything.

It's up to you to unearth where they are, and WHO they are! That's important, too!

Try it out the next time you're stuck with writer's block!


See you!
Amy Liz

Summer Distractions 2013 Edition

Hey All,

So i've been pretty inactive for a long time, and there's a bunch of reasons for it:

1. I have a class this summer.

         It's a cool class, and I really like it, but it has me reading a lot of stuff for it, so there's not a lot of time to work on my other blog (theblondereviews)






2. I have two jobs this summer.

        They both suck.

3. I'm on an InuYasha kick.

          Anyone who doesn't know what InuYasha is, it's a pretty great anime, but it's really long...like, 200 episodes long. plus four movies.

UPDATE: Boston Marathon, Summer 2013, EVVYS 32, Writing Projects and More!

Hello All!

That's right, I'm not dead! Happy Day!

Actually, that's scarily accurate, due to the jerk who thought it was a great idea to place a bunch of bombs around Boston during the Boston Marathon this Patriot's Day.

Not. Smart.

I want to take a moment to send a prayer to all the victims of today's bombing, and the families of everyone effected by this tragedy.

I'd also like to take a moment to repost a friend of mine's words about today, because I think they are right to the point and unintentionally beautiful and touching.

"Today I witnessed for the first time something so horrible that I didn't know what to say. I dont understand how human beings think it's acceptable to take the lives of others, and I may never understand this. However, in times like these - I think its best to focus on the positives. The runners who kept running after a 24 mile run to the nearest hospitals to give blood to the victims, or the countless servicemen who gave their time and lives to keep us safe. These are the people that I will be thinking about tomorrow, not the assholes that don't deserve my thoughts or care. Instead of giving these people the attention and media coverage they want, i will choose to focus on the positive people that give back to this great country, and the people that sadly have to suffer and have lost loved ones in this tragedy. Overall though, its incredible to see such good come out of people, even after something so bad occurred. It proves who we are as a country, and I refuse to let the handful of bad overweigh the good that I can clearly see shining though. Even after all the crying and craziness i observed today, its refreshing to know these people are still there. I will continue to pray for all the victims of this malicious attack, and the family members that have injured or scared loved ones. Thank you to all the friends and family who reached out today just to make sure i was okay - if nothing else today, i really felt the love around me, and it hasn't went unnoticed. I continually pray for Boston, and for the city that I know will always be here, through the good and bad."

Now, on to some more cheerful topics:

This summer my life is still sort of up in the air, which kinda sucks on this end because I'd really like to know that I have some way to make money or not...so far I just have a "great" way to spend two of my weeknights -in class!

Whoop-ee.

But I have intel from a reliable source that it's an easy A, and it fills one of those elusive requirements I need for graduation in the Spring, so YAY!

Next, as the script supervisor for the 32nd Annual EVVY Awards on MAY 10TH, 2013 -the first FRIDAY EVVYS in a long long long time -I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that we are now 25 days away from the largest student-produced awards show in the nation!

Seriously, if you have nothing else to do on a beautiful Friday night in May, long onto The EVVY Awards site, or The Emerson Channel to watch the live stream of the show. It's going to be a great night of comedy with a TON of alumni coming in to be funny and stuffz...and three live sketches by the coolest comedy troupes on campus.

We've spent all year working on it, so how about just taking 2-3 hours out of your year and looking it up, huh?





On to my projects that I'm currently working on;

I have three main projects that I'd really like to see move forward, but every time I start putting a lot of energy and research into one, I start to doubt myself and wonder if anyone else besides me would want to read this. Ultimately I write to entertain myself, but I'd really like to entertain others with my work, too, so to make something that no one else liked would hurt my heart.

So here are my three project proposals. If there's anyone out there actually reading this, I'd really appreciate some feedback about what you think you'd like to read the most.


The Weaver Journals

      Phyre is a fire weaver, a person who can create and manipulate fire to her whims. To be a weaver is a crime against nature, and all weavers must be eliminated. Thanks to her royal status and the loving nature of her Valley home, however, she is able to live, in secret, for twenty years.
      After an invasion by a nearby country, the Valley's soothsayer sends Phyre on a journey to find three other Weavers, water, earth and air. She is to gather all of the elements together and fight back the forces that are destroying the Earth -whatever that means. Phyre doesn't get all of the details before she and her best friend/lady-in-waiting, Gloriana, are forced from their home and set on a journey to find the impossible -other weavers.
     Then Phyre will have to figure out exactly what they're supposed to do in this dying, polluted world of theirs.


Libby Mackmoore Stories

     Libby Machmoore was just a normal girl going to college for journalism -until the accident that kept her locked in a hospital, trying to learn what was wrong with her blood. When she is finally released, Libby finds that she has been given financial support and automatic acceptance to to the Westmill State College in Westmill, Connecticut, where she immediately packs up and goes. Living in a house by the shore with four other students, Libby begins to forget that the doctors thought she was different.
   
 The more time she spends in this town, however, the more Libby notices the little strange behavior from some of the students and teachers. News of a blood drive coming to town reaches Libby's house, and everyone at school goes into panic-mode. The school shuts down, but no one can keep out this blood drive when people start turning up dead. Libby's journalistic instincts lead her to investigate the deaths and she finds the Blood Drive is run by a pack of vampires -that's right, vampires! Before Libby has a chance to freak out, she is attacked, then saved by two of her roommates, who are surprised she is so in-the-dark about the supernatural situation at the school.
     Turns out they think she should be a witch?

Phoebe Caswell Stories

     Phoebe never thought her hometown could be dangerous until a string of murders goes through the town, the victims seemingly having no relation to each other. Only when Phoebe's best friend is brutally murdered in their school does Phoebe begin to panic. Her body starts feeling strange, and she herself is assaulted outside her home, to be rescued by her best friend's ex-boyfriend.
   
 Then everything changes on her eighteenth birthday.
     Wings, dark as night, spring from her back and her friend David is telling her that there are more than humans walking this earth, and plenty of people looking to eliminate those creatures, as well. Now Phoebe knows why she is being attacked, but how can she stop the murders that are still happening in town? Is a friend the killer? Will she have to work with an enemy to take them out?


So yeah, I'd really appreciate some help figuring out which project I should focus my energies on, so any feedback would be lovely.

I think that's it for now,

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

SPRING BREAK!!

Hello All!

Don't get too excited, I'm not actually doing anything fun or interesting for Spring Break, I'm just going home and (hopefully) going back to work to make some money so I can eat for the rest of the semester.

I just wanted to check in because I haven't been around much, being a little busy producing a show and all *hair flip*

My homework has also kind of been piling up on me a little bit, too, but that's mostly my fault and a little bit of my professors' faults, too, because they have the stupidity of not consulting with my other teachers about when they want their exams/midterms to be due. #stupid

So right now I'm about to go work on a paper about Madame Bovary and how it's not art or it is art or it's Realistic and Romantic and how Flaubert was a man who was a woman in his mind...or something like that, I don't really know, I'm just going to start typing.

I also have a big Final Revision for my Non-Fiction class due on the same day that my Bovary paper needs to be finished.

Oh, and a Finance/ecomomics midterm in class on five chapters. Same day. #dying

However, I wouldn't be me if I wasn't distracted from ALL OF THIS by something!
I have started a new blog, all about my reviews for books, TV shows and movies. You should check it out! I'm hoping for it to be really cool!

The Blonde Reviews

Okay, that's it for today!

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

Book Review: The Raven Boys

Hello All,

If you saw my last post, you know that I've had a LOT of time on my hands to read a few books in my preferred genre, YA fiction. My newest review, following my review of Graceling, is on Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys, the first book in the Raven Cycle series.

The Raven Boys -Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there — known as Raven Boys — can only mean trouble.

[WARNING -this review may contain spoilers.]

Indeed, the Raven Boys, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah, prove quite a bit of trouble for Blue, who is just trying to make it through high school without falling in love. 

As always, I love Stiefvater's writing, and I couldn't resist the urge to ask for this book for Christmas -I would have bought it myself back in September when if first came out, but I had a lot going on in my fall semester. Anyway, Stiefvater manages to write both mundane and disturbing instances sound like poetry, or lyrics in a song. If you haven't read any of her other books, I encourage you to pick up The Scorpio Races -it was so incredible and such a great story, and can't stop talking about it, a year after reading.

Things that I liked:

I really appreciated the different personalities and characters of the three main Raven Boys (we don't see a heck of a lot of Noah in this first book, so I can't really talk about him that much). One of the things that I really admire so much about Stiefvater's writing is her ability to balance a number of different characters and their own personal stories into the major storyline of the book.
I utterly loved Gansey's unintentional insults and obliviousness to other people's feelings and principles, despite his obvious intelligence and focus on his passion. 
Adam is a little too self-depricating for my taste, but overall I really liked him and his personal principle to make his life what he can by his own power; and I'm not-so-secretly rooting for him and Blue to get together, and not the hinted Gansey-Blue future romance. Although, I am a little concerned about how he survived the weird ritual and what it means about his "person" in the coming books.
Ronan is a little hard to love, as he is in the story, but not because he's aggressive, gloomy, violent, but because his character is full of unresolved secrets! GRRR! I just want to know how his father died and what kind of strange power he really has to make ravens out of his dreams and his thoughts.
Blue is less of a mystery than her mother and aunts and weird family psychics living in her home. I would, however, love to know if her power-that's-not-a-power is going to transform in anyway to help the Boys find their ancient king.

The story is a new kind of quest that I haven't really seen done this way before, and that intrigued me a lot, especially because I picked up this book for the author, not so much the story. I liked how the individual aspects and journeys of each character sort of fell into place as the book moved along, and the mystery that came along with the magic Blue and her Raven Boys discovered helped make the story even more interactive.

What I didn't like:
Not finding out who Blue's father really is.
Not finding out how Ronan's father died. Or what his problem with his brother and the rest of his family is.
Not knowing what the heck is happening with that weird tree.

Getting so lost in the story that I didn't realize there wasn't enough time/pages in the book to actually get to plot points that have been hinted at earlier in the book, and then failing to accept that this book was the first in a series that has yet to be fully published, and not a stand-alone novel.

Overall Impression:

While I was extremely disappointed to discover that this was the first in a series that I'll have to wait for, I was enamored by the mystery in this book, as well as the characters and their personal histories, of which readers haven't completely uncovered just yet.

Amy's Rating: 4/5
Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading!
Amy Liz

Book Review: Gracling

Hey All,

I've gotten the chance to do a lot of reading lately, and I just want to talk about one of the books I just finished recently.

Graceling -Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

I had been looking at Graceling for a long time, usually in favor of a series sequel I'd been looking for in the first place. But again, it kept getting my attention, and for good reason.

This book had a lot of elements that I'm fond of, and I'll go through these in order: 

[WARNING: there may be spoilers in this review.]

A strong heroine: Katsa is a strong, stubborn, intelligent protagonist, with a formidable sense of righteousness. Being socially isolated from those who fear the Graced (and fear her killing Grace, in particular), Katsa had to develop a thick skin, and has few friends in her life. Those she does have -her cousin, the Prince Raffin of the Middlums, her uncle's best spy, and one of his commanding officers -are completely loyal to her and she to them. Together they start an organization called The Council, which helps to right the wrongs of the rulers of the seven kingdoms.

A vibrant and unique world: Graceling is set in a fantasy world much like it's in a renaissance-era. The lands' politics are laid out in a simple-to-understand way and the landscape descriptions are vivid yet unobtrusive. The secondary characters are believable, with unique personalities that keep them from becoming flat, despite their brief roles in the whole of the book.

A great writing voice and a surprise twist: The writing and storytelling is clear and easy-to-read. Cashore doesn't bother with over descriptions and long and winded prose. And the twist 3/4s of the way through the book was, to me, unexpected and brought the story to a huge new level.

Things I didn't like so much:

There were some boring parts that I found lasted a little too long, like the section of time when Katsa and Po are simply training and fighting each other and nothing much is happening story-wise besides Katsa's obvious affection for Po growing. There were moments that would prove useful later, but these could have been brought up in other ways. The walking through the woods also lasted a long time, as well; it gets to a certain point when you begin thinking "okay, it's cold, you're ill-equipped and you might die -either get out or die already." Maybe this is a bit harsh, especially because Cashore does eventually have Katsa strap Bitterblue onto her back and run over the top of the mountains, probably as a way to hurry things along.

I still haven't decided if I like Katsa's relationship with Po. I understand that you can't always help when you fall in love, but I think with her realization came a sudden leap in dependency on Po's strength and his Grace that she had never felt she needed, even after she'd figured out what his true Grace was. While the romance didn't really alter the storyline or delay the major events, I wonder if it was necessary? I don't know, some days I don't mind it as a sprinkling of entertaining romance, and other times I wondered why Katsa was suddenly so infatuated that she couldn't think of anything other than this boy she's known for a few weeks, or how quick she was to give over her control of her mission to Po.

Overall Impression:

Despite my annoyance at some points, these bits were the smallest of blips in this 500-page story, and i have to say most of the times my romantic side gets the better of me in the end. However, this romance between Katsa and Po is hardly the main event in this action-packed book, and it's merely a minor hindrance in the story, if you're not into that kind of thing. Cashore really takes you into this world of Graces and kings and unique personalities, and I will definitely recommend it to others.

Amy's Rating: 4/5

Average Amazon/Goodreads Rating: 4/5

I hope you guys pick up this book, as I did, and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did. I'm currently reading the second book in the Graceling series, Fire, which seems to be taking place before Katsa and Po's and Bitterblue's time, and in a different part of their land overrun with colorful and powerful versions of normal animals called "monsters." So far it's pretty exciting, and I hope to have a review of that up soon.

Thanks for reading,

Amy Liz

Actually Getting Stuff Done is Not So Easy

Hey All,

So this is my first weekend of the new semester with homework, and it's not even a lot of work, but I just couldn't get it done.

I think I discovered that there are just too many distractions in my own room and apartment, what with my roommates being close by, the TV on, food to buy and cook and eat, chores to do, things to clean, doors to paint, rooms and drawers and desks to reorganize...again.
There were just too many better options than doing my homework.

So I packed up my stuff and headed to campus. I've been sitting in the library for a while now, and I'm actually really hungry, so I'm about to go get some food and go home, but before that, here's how I figured out how to get my work done:

1. Figure out the ranking of the work by which is hardest to easiest.
2. Start with the second easiest piece of work to ease you into getting into the right frame of mind to really concentrate and focus on the work.
3. Do the hardest work next. Get it out of the way as soon as you are in the right frame of mind to work.
4. Steadily work down the hard line until you arrive at the easiest piece of work you have, and end on a high note! It's easy, right?

I know this doesn't sound very appealing because it's still not fun, but I like to work on a reward system.

Obviously for a class's worth of homework, it's not going to be a reward like a shopping spree or anything, but it could come out to a scale kind of like this:

1 Easiest: listening to two songs to rest your eyes and relax your brain

2nd Easiest: 10 minutes on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest; try not to lose focus, but you've earned a short break

2nd Hardest: something sweet, if there's a vending machine nearby or you just happen to have a little candy/chocolate in your backpack/purse. Studies have shown that chocolate helps you recall what you've learned, so this is as much a treat as it is a study mechanism

1st Hardest: a short walk around the library/study area you're occupying. rest your eyes and hands, as well as relax your brain by getting up and stretching your legs a bit.

This is assuming you have four classes that each give you homework for the weekend like my classes do. you can switch up the rewards to your preferred degree of homework, but remember not to overdo it. These rewards are meant to help encourage you to finish your work, not help distract you.


That's all for today,
Thanks for reading!
Amy Liz

Infernal Devices: Clockwork Fandom

Hello All,

I hope no one logged onto this in the desperate hope that I had any kind of new information about Cassandra Clare's upcoming Clockwork Princess book (March 19th, 62 days from this very moment), because, unfortunately, I don't. I just have a lot of love and emotions.

So I just re-read Angel and Prince, and I've been going through Clare's blog posts about CP2 and I just need to say that I have no idea how this story is going to end and I'm very anxious about who lives, who dies, what the HELL Tessa really is, and WHO SHE ENDS UP WITH!

 Art Source: cassandraclare.com

I've never had a story stay with me for so long after finishing the book than I do with Clare's Shadowhunter stories. I have friends that don't really like the Infernal Devices, but I love them; the uniqueness of the unfamiliar customs, locations and traditions of not just another country/continent but of another century brings a new level of detail and intricacy to the storyline.

I love the characters; Tessa starts out insecure and unsure of herself, but is constantly loyal to her beliefs, and incredibly independent, as well as smart/sassy and funny. She doesn't let Will or Jessamine's bad attitudes get her down, just counters them with sass (boo ya!).
William Herondale is an interesting beast; he feels everything with a passion that I didn't understand the first time I read through the books, and I "get it" just a little bit more now, but I'm still caught between finding his emotional extremes reckless or endearing.
James Carstairs; OMFG I LOVE JEM. He's soft spoken but never lets anyone speak over him, he's kind and thoughtful and he's not self-pitying, despite his very valid excuse. I know that Clare has pretty much set up this whole story for him to pretty much die in the middle of it, but I'm pretty sure I will mourn his literary loss like an actual dead friend instead of a fictional character, because I want Jem and Tessa to be together with an absurd passion that won't leave me alone.
I mean, to me, their relationship just sounds so much healthier than a relationship with Will would be. From the first moment Tessa meets Jem, she becomes happier, like a weight is lifted off her shoulders, and as their friendship grows, absence from him grows from missing him to an almost physical hurt. Her first kiss with Jem is described as breathing air, while kissing Will leaves her breathless -last I checked, it was really really good to breathe. Jem is consistently caring and thoughtful, and his obvious affections are shown gradually, with more regularity.

I didn't start this post as a "reasons why I want Jem and Tessa to be together" update, I just wanted to gush about the books in general, in the hopes that it will stop distracting me for a few weeks so I can start classes and my show and my internship without wondering what will happen in a book I won't see for another 60+ days.

Maybe I'm crazy, but does anyone else kinda read books and, like, picture them in your head like they were playing out like a movie? Well, that's how it happens in my head when I'm reading, and when I read the Infernal Devices, everything has this not-quite sepia filter, but like everything's covered in a sort of Steampunk fog/smog. It adds another level of interesting to my reading of the books, because I've never read anything Steampunk before, but it's just one more thing that endears me to these books.

I like meeting all of the Shadowhunters with names that we recognize, like Lightwood, Fairchild, Herondale, Wayland, etc. and wondering how we get from these characters to the ones we meet/will meet in 2008/2012. It's also really interesting to get this new level of Council and EnClave politics that we only peek into in the Mortal Instruments series.

I need to end this post somewhere or it will never be finished. So here it is: I love these books, I love Clare's writing and stories, and I will be impatiently waiting for March 19th to arrive.

Thanks for reading,
Amy Liz

UPDATE:

OMG THE INSIDE COVER JACKET SUMMARY OF CLOCKWORK PRINCESS HAS BEEN RELEASED, CAN'T FUNCTION OMG

here it is, for those who are curious

Late Christmas for the Roomies

Hey all,

So I got my best friend/roommate her Christmas gift like super early, but because the place that I ordered it from was having a rough online ordering process and failed to notify me that my thing was backordered, I wasn't able to physically "get" her present to her until after she had already left for Kansas for the winter break.
No biggie, we just said we'd give gifts after break.

However, I forgot to get my other roommate something. So me and T. went to this cute little local bookstore nearby and were looking through some stuff, and we both thought that it would be so funny if I got M. a copy of 50 Shades of Grey. Now, M. is NOT the type of person to be into that at all, or interested in getting it for herself, anyway. T. and I have both had some "interesting" conversations with her about her "inexperience" -which, if she's asking me, then she must be pretty desperate, haha.

So yeah, I was going to get her that and a calendar with cool pictures of London.
...Until I realized that freakin' book is $16 in paperback. PAPERBACK! Are you freaking kidding me?

So not interested in spending that much money for a gag gift...even if it would have been really funny to see her reaction when she opened it.

That's all,
Thanks for reading
Amy Liz

A Goal of Mine...

Hello All,

So for this semester, I'm taking my first ever non-fiction writing course. For anyone who knows me or has read any of my past entries, you probably realize that this is a step in a very different direction for me.

So to get myself ready for this class, I wonder if anyone can give me any suggestions of good non-fiction books to read. It looks like we're mostly focusing on introductory level stuff, like personal essays and stuff like that.
I'd love to research the art of non-fiction as best as I can, even if I'm not thrilled by the idea of writing it, myself.

So if you've got suggestions, please comment under this post!

Thanks!

here's a picture of a cute puppy for your cooperation:

Happy 2013

Hello All,

So I've been thinking about what to do for my New Year's resolutions and about what's coming up in 2013.
I've got:

• Speechless to make into the best debate/learning show the Emerson Channel has ever seen -ever!
• My internship with Candlewick Press to impress people at
• My four classes to beast
• The 32nd Annual EVVY Awards Script to build, supervise and make amazing
• Figuring out how to be a part of Orientation Series next summer
• and....figuring out what i'll be doing for the rest of the year

I've got a lot to do in the next five months, and I think I'm going to be as busy as ever, haha.

So for my resolution, I don't think I could really boil it down into one kinda smallish thing to say to people unless it's something like "my resolution is to make this year the best that i can possibly make it."

I guess that's good enough, right?