You Eight it, Ralph
Today's post is named after the old seltzer commercial, in which a man named Ralph consumes seltzer water and his wife says, "You ate it, Ralph."
I am proud to say I finished my story. Or, at least, the first edited draft. I was so hyped up about finishing it that I texted a bunch of people, asking them if they wanted to read it. So far, only one person has read it, but everyone else said they would later. The one person apparently really liked it. In fact, she "deeply connected" with the middle-aged woman who offered the main character drugs and suggested she take it with vodka. I was extremely giddy after she gave me her review. There are definitely improvements to be made, but I'm glad to say that I finished a story for once. In sixth grade, then eighth grade, I went through writing phases. In sixth grade I tried to write about a girl in high school whose parents got injured during a tornado, so she went to live with her aunt and uncle who were mean to her. Throughout the story, I lifted plots from other famous books (when she first moved in, she lived under the stairs. Sound familiar?) and even stole character names. I just liked certain aspects of novels and wanted to claim them as my own and I tried to implement my own life into it as well. At the age of 12 I did not understand the concept of plagiarism, and have since learned to not steal from other authors, especially those I admire. In eighth grade, I started writing about people in a zombie apocalypse, roughly based on The Walking Dead. Clearly, at the age 14 I still did not understand plagiarism. I abandoned that piece after writing only a few pages.
This time, however, I finished. It's so rare that I finish a project I start on. I procrastinate like nobody's business. Although it did take me about a week to finish the preliminary draft, I did finish. So far, I've only gotten positive feedback. I mean, I appreciate all the niceness, but it's also great to get criticism. Criticism helps people grow, and I found it fun to write, so I want to expand my knowledge as a writer. I'm pretty sure the friend that is currently reading my short story is going to give me actual feedback if I ask. Even if it doesn't make me happy. That's Virgos for ya.
Tomorrow, I shall embark on my camping trip with the Mother Unitâ„¢ and I have yet to pack. I did put together a playlist! It's mostly '80s and Backstreet Boys. It's the perfect sing-a-long medley! Okay. I'll stop dorking out.
I think writing every day on this blog is helping me find my voice (even if I forgot to write yesterday). I've finished the Maximum Ride series and am currently on the fourth Morganville Vampires book, Feast of Fools. I read almost three books yesterday, a new record. My nerdiness is at a high this summer. I've also expanded my love for music. I have over 1,000 songs on my iPod (yes, I have an iPod Classic. It saves room on my phone and also makes me look cool). As I'm writing the post, I'm listening to "Absolutely" by Ra Ra Riot. I highly recommend it. Maybe I'll put together a playlist for my blog. Or I could just post the playlists I've already made. So far, I have "Unapologetically Pop" (which is very poppy music, typically with electronic influences), "Personal Adrenaline" (similar to UP, but with a personal anthem vibe), "Poppy Self Deprecation by Male Bands" (self explanatory), "Welcome the Earworms" (title is based off the Bleached album, Welcome the Worms, and contains high quality earworms), "Name" (a playlist of songs in which the first letter of each song corresponds to a letter in my full name), and "Road Trips with Mom" (which is for when I'm driving with my mom and we want to sing along {horribly, may I add} with our favorite songs). Obviously, I wouldn't post the "Name" playlist, except maybe the first three songs for my first name.
Okay, so the songs on my "Name" playlist are: "Zero" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Ottoman" by Vampire Weekend, and "Electric Love" by BORNS. They're all good songs. Btw I'm listening to Life or Just Living" by Caveman currently. A VERY good song. My current favorite earworm.
Alright, I think I've sufficiently made up for not posting yesterday with this long one, so I'm gonna go read. In a while, crocodile!
