Describing...

So, I noticed this morning that I am really terrible at describing things eloquently. This upsets me, since I would love to write a book someday, and every time I try to begin a story, not only do I get writer's block or write myself into a corner, the story ends up being really really short because I lack the proper ability ot describe things. So, for the rest of the week, I will have a short part of my post in which I will describe something that I can see or have seen. It is your job to determine what it is and comment such. Maybe this will help me get used to describing things. Oh, and I will try not to be too poetic about it, because that could get confusing.

They once were trees. But now they sit there so silently. They have been changed from their original form. Murdered, some might say, but only for the betterment of all humanity. So many of them, it would take a computer to keep track of them all. But now, though they are still trees, in some form, they bring so much more to those who touch them, see them, and hear them. All sizes sit in a room, waiting to be opened. They no longer look like trees, for they have colors of all sorts in and on them. Bright blues of an August sky ranging to the bloody reds of battle. Carefully, oh so carefully stacked and placed and organized by number, letter, color, age, importance. The smell of age sits inside, waiting to be given as a gift to the next person to open the covers of these no-longer-trees. And on each sliver of wood, letters swirl into words and words into sentences, and on and on into stories and lives and facts. I waltzed into their dwelling place and snatched a few from their homes. Quick glances, then I placed them back. One after another, flying in and out of my hand until I found the right one. The right shape and color. The perfect weight in my hand. The vanilla-like smell swam through the air, bringing pleasure to my senses. This was the one. Whatever story or life or lesson contained within would soon be mine. A part of me never to be forgotten. A journey to go on once, but never to return, for the journey is never as fun the second time. A few clicks of a keyboard, a beep, and the blunt smashing sound of a rubber stamp on paper. And off I was, onward to fulfill another Great Perhaps.

Okay, did you get it? Leave it in the comments below if you did, and tell me how you thought my description was and how it could be improved. By the way, I stole the "Great Perhaps" part from John Green, who had stolen it from Francois Rabelais. Not really stolen, on either account, but I feel like using that word.

I think that I need to follow the advice of John Green and find an Ilene. I know that they don't have to be named Ilene, but whatever,

For those of you who don't know about John Green and Ilene, Ilene is the person who has basically been the editor, encourager, and book writer helper person for John when he was writing his books. He credits he not only in the books, but also in one of his videos. He says that she basically helped him turn a book idea into something real. I need this kind of person  who can look over my stuff and not be afraid to say "this is crap" or, "why don't you do this instead" or "this is actually pretty good... so far". Most of the time, when I start writing, I just go with it, and I end up not showing anyone because I either think its terrible or begin to get discouraged or run out of ideas. I need someone to help me figure out how to continue. I need an Ilene. Presumably, someone who has done stuff like book writing before and could act almost as a mentor. If you or someone you know is interested in filling this position, please contact me. Or, if you think we could co-write a book, that would be cool also.

I can not count how many of my stories have just died because I thought they stunk or I wrote in the wrong direction and into a corner. In fact, this has pretty much happened with all of my stories.

One of my favourite stories of all time was one that I co-wrote with my brother. Basically, it was a story of our many adventures and games during childhood, which went through the different worlds and themes of different video games that we were into at the time. Tak and the power of juju. Super mario sunshine. Lord of the rings. Luigi's mansion. We pretty much included everything. I really wish that I could find the rough draft so that I could get him to work on it some more with me. I think I may look for it when I go home tonight, or maybe even bring up the idea of re-writing it.

My brother and I used to write stories all of the time. They were all pretty epic. One time we even started writing a play. We would sit down with a bunch of notebook paper and start throwing out ideas. Then, once we got started, he would say the story aloud and I would write it down, throwing in ideas and tweeking the vocabulary here and there to make it better. The video game story had like 20 or more pages, and we weren't even half done. The play that we worked on was only about 5 or 10 pages, but it was pretty cool also. It had people turning into wolf-like monsters and the main character having to fight them off while trying to find a cure.

Gosh, I HAVE TO FIND THOSE STORIES!!!!!

So, I think I will go do something semi-productive now, since there are only 10 minutes left in class. DFTBA!

Love,
Elizabeth W.

A Christmas-y Bloggity Blog Blog...

Yesterday, I got to go out and see a bunch of houses decorated for Christmas, along with several other women from my church. We went to three houses, a church, and an event center. I drank so much wassel, its unbelievable. And everyone has a different kind. My favorite was some that had pineapple and cranberry juices in it. I at so many cookies also. There were so many different kinds of chocolate chip and sugar cookies and whatnot. After we had been to all of the locations, we went into McDonalds and got food. I had a peppermint mocha coffee, which was delicious, and some fries.

Then, we went to something called "The Christmas Ranch", or at least that's what everyone around here calls it. Basically, it is a giant drive through of Christmas lights. There was a giant red reindeer and a waterfall with fish. There was a merry go round that told the story of the nutcracker and a ferris wheel with stuffed animals. Every year, they add something new, and this year it was about 5 or 6 peacock decorations. They looked like little peacocks made out of christmas lights and wire. There are certain dates that Santa visits the Christmas ranch, so you can stop by to get your picture taken and give him your list. I think we might stop by on one of those days just so my little brother can see Santa.

I think the most fantastic part of the whole ordeal was the chance to talk to eachother about anything and everything. We told stories and Christmas memories. We laughed so much and at times came close to crying. It was just awesome to be able to freely fellowship with a bunch of fun people. We didn't HAVE to talk about church or worry about making sure everything was done the proper way. We did the same thing last year. I hope that we get to do it next year too.

Today I get to go to a similar gathering. After school, everyone will meet at the house of our former sunday school teacher. Then, all of us girls (it was a teenage girl sunday school class) will go out and set these signs that have scriptures on them. We have done this twice before, I think. Once we get back, we'll have Chick-fil-A and decorate Christmas cookies. I know there will be a ton of laughter and fun, as always.

I love those kinds of settings for fellowship. Its so comfortable and everybody knows eachother well enough to open up. You don't have to worry about being judged for what you say and you feel right at home. I wish I could go to things like that more often. Its those kinds of gatherings that make friendships become stronger.

I have come up with a couple more ideas for t-shirts. I plan to make some special ones for Christmas gifts. My friend, Sarah, gave me the idea yesterday during the Christmas home tour thing. Take a shirt for each person and put a certain word that describes them on it. My only problem will be coming up with the words and making sure that I don't waste supplies. I think I can probably do two or three words on the screen at once, then just not put in through the words that are not for whatever shirt I'm doing. Or, just put tape over those parts temporarily.

Question of the day:

What is your favorite Christmas memory?

Love,

Elizabeth W.