I have seen the comments you have posted, and although I had originally intended you to continue guessing forever, but have changed my mind. Here is the truth, plain and simple. No lies. If you don't believe me, I don't blame you. I haven't exactly been trustworthy in the past couple of weeks, have I?
My name is Carolina Elise Blaine. Catalina Elizabeth Blanchard was born from that. I am eleven years old. 11. Ten plus one. Eleven. Nutsy has been a longstanding nickname given to me from my siblings. Bookworm - Booknut - Booknutsy - Nutsy. It was a long evolution.
Harry Black is a figment of my imagination, the person I've always wished to have. Someone constant who loved me without it getting awkward who I could be awkward with. I've always been a lonely person, but creating Harry online made him seem real. Harry is "real" on other websites as well. Those have been deleted.
Well, I found a life for myself online. I told no one in my family or anyone else. It was my own little haven. I found you guys.
After about 11 months of doing this, however, I broke down. It was like I was living two different lives. Although Cat and I share many qualities, being two different people at once felt like a lie. I got angry at my parents and very defensive. Harry became kind of an obsession, the imaginary friend. The Raggedy Doctor for all my problems.
I got down on my knees and prayed, the first real prayer that I had said in far too long. I was forgiven and made pure by God, who somehow took me back as his child even though I had fallen so far and so fast.
Yet I still couldn't bring up the courage to tell you properly. So I faked my own death on Harry's account and thought I would just forget it all.
Somehow I found myself as if on automatic back on the Goodreads page and I saw Lex's status update. That's when I decided to write this, because although I'm not proud of it and probably am currently opening myself to Camille and many others' ridicule, I needed to tell the truth.
I still have not found the courage to tell my parents about this. They knew that I spent far too much time in my room and if they opened the door suddenly I would be talking to the air pretending it was Harry, but they didn't know about this blog or any of the other accounts.
Until I become of age and have told my parents about this and can come back as myself, I will not be returning to Goodreads. This blog will not be posted on any longer but will remain up as a reminder to myself that I need to reveal the truth.
Sincerely,
Carolina Elise Blaine
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Being a Nerd/Fangirl/Booknut/Awesome Person - A Glossary
This is for all of you who have ever wondered about some of the terms that people use, mostly bloggers on Tumblr. I'm here to help explain. Let's begin.
OTP
OTP is an acronym standing for "One True Pairing". This is a pairing so perfect in your mind that they are the only one that could ever be.
Ship
When you "ship" something, you are shipping two people together in a relationship. Most like to combine the names of the people they are shipping, like for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase there is "Percabeth". People also ship "bromances" (see paragraph 4 for details), like John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (Johnlock).
Bromance
Brother + Romance = Bromance
Basically it is two male friends who you love so much as friends, like they are not complete without the other for friendship.
Feels
It is what it looks like. Feels are what you have when you feel so deeply for characters, but it is like the strongest emotion a fangirl can have. There is also "overload of feels". If someone says that they have an overload of feels, it may be time to call up your local mental institution.
I can't
The feels (see paragraph 5) are apparently so much for you that you just can NOT take it anymore. You are emotionally overloaded and have decided to disconnect yourself until you can calm down.
I'm so done
This phrase can have a few different meanings. It may mean that the other fans in the fandom are being irritating or not showing the rest of the fandom in a good light, or you're just plain annoyed about something. It can also mean that you are just done with whatever is occurring. Maybe the season finale just broke your heart and you're so done with how it makes you feel but, alas, it is too late. You are hooked.
Fandom
Pretty simple. Fan kingdom = fandom. It is a group of human beings (normally) that are all fans of the same thing. A fandom includes the fans who have been there from the start and those who have just joined.
Fangirl/Fanboy
Does this really need to be explained?
Dying
Okay, well, duh, we're not actually dying. But the feels have become too much to the point of where we're practically dead on the floor. Fangirls tend to die 50 to 100 times a day. It is a serious issue.
Superwholock
Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock all wrapped up together. Superwholock rules Tumblr.
ashsahatlkabteha *many alternative spellings
This is when it looks like they just threw their cat onto the keyboard and let nature take its course. This person can not express all of the feelings inside of them in words so they do so in gibberish. It is quite effective to release some of the pent up emotion, I can tell you.
GIF
This isn't so much a definition as a pronunciation guide. It is a huge debate as to whether GIF is pronounced "jif" like the peanut butter or "gif" like how you sound when you say gift really fast. It has been confirmed that it is correct EITHER. WAY.
Fanfiction (fanfic for short)
A written work that is based off of a book/movie/tv show written by a fan of the thing.
Canon
This word pops up around fanfictions. Canon is what was actually in the book/movie/tv show, not what was created by the author of the fanfiction.
DON'T TOUCH ME I'M IN A FRAGILE STATE RIGHT NOW!
See "ashsahatlkabteha", "I can't", and "dying" for definition. Although they are dead serious when they say not to touch them. If you try to touch them they will go after you with Glamdring and carve your heart out and feed it to the Minotaur.
You think I'm kidding?
Fine. Go touch that girl who just watched Reichenbach Fall.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
I didn't sign up for this!
I have used this one before. The person in question thought that they were just casually watching a show or reading a book and suddenly, the author/writer/whatever turns the whole thing upside down and you're now so emotionally invested and cry yourself to sleep every night. You didn't sign up for this emotional rollercoaster, but now you can't leave.
O.O
So there you go. Those are some rough definitions of the words fandom members use on the internet, mostly on Tumblr. I don't have a tumblr account, but I do search things occasionally and was a bit confused about the lingo, so I did some research on urban dictionary and here we are.
Please comment as to what I should do next because I have no earthly idea.
Cheers and have a wonderful week.
Nutsy
OTP
OTP is an acronym standing for "One True Pairing". This is a pairing so perfect in your mind that they are the only one that could ever be.
Ship
When you "ship" something, you are shipping two people together in a relationship. Most like to combine the names of the people they are shipping, like for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase there is "Percabeth". People also ship "bromances" (see paragraph 4 for details), like John Watson and Sherlock Holmes (Johnlock).
Bromance
Brother + Romance = Bromance
Basically it is two male friends who you love so much as friends, like they are not complete without the other for friendship.
Feels
It is what it looks like. Feels are what you have when you feel so deeply for characters, but it is like the strongest emotion a fangirl can have. There is also "overload of feels". If someone says that they have an overload of feels, it may be time to call up your local mental institution.
I can't
The feels (see paragraph 5) are apparently so much for you that you just can NOT take it anymore. You are emotionally overloaded and have decided to disconnect yourself until you can calm down.
I'm so done
This phrase can have a few different meanings. It may mean that the other fans in the fandom are being irritating or not showing the rest of the fandom in a good light, or you're just plain annoyed about something. It can also mean that you are just done with whatever is occurring. Maybe the season finale just broke your heart and you're so done with how it makes you feel but, alas, it is too late. You are hooked.
Fandom
Pretty simple. Fan kingdom = fandom. It is a group of human beings (normally) that are all fans of the same thing. A fandom includes the fans who have been there from the start and those who have just joined.
Fangirl/Fanboy
Does this really need to be explained?
Dying
Okay, well, duh, we're not actually dying. But the feels have become too much to the point of where we're practically dead on the floor. Fangirls tend to die 50 to 100 times a day. It is a serious issue.
Superwholock
Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock all wrapped up together. Superwholock rules Tumblr.
ashsahatlkabteha *many alternative spellings
This is when it looks like they just threw their cat onto the keyboard and let nature take its course. This person can not express all of the feelings inside of them in words so they do so in gibberish. It is quite effective to release some of the pent up emotion, I can tell you.
GIF
This isn't so much a definition as a pronunciation guide. It is a huge debate as to whether GIF is pronounced "jif" like the peanut butter or "gif" like how you sound when you say gift really fast. It has been confirmed that it is correct EITHER. WAY.
Fanfiction (fanfic for short)
A written work that is based off of a book/movie/tv show written by a fan of the thing.
Canon
This word pops up around fanfictions. Canon is what was actually in the book/movie/tv show, not what was created by the author of the fanfiction.
DON'T TOUCH ME I'M IN A FRAGILE STATE RIGHT NOW!
See "ashsahatlkabteha", "I can't", and "dying" for definition. Although they are dead serious when they say not to touch them. If you try to touch them they will go after you with Glamdring and carve your heart out and feed it to the Minotaur.
You think I'm kidding?
Fine. Go touch that girl who just watched Reichenbach Fall.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
I didn't sign up for this!
I have used this one before. The person in question thought that they were just casually watching a show or reading a book and suddenly, the author/writer/whatever turns the whole thing upside down and you're now so emotionally invested and cry yourself to sleep every night. You didn't sign up for this emotional rollercoaster, but now you can't leave.
O.O
So there you go. Those are some rough definitions of the words fandom members use on the internet, mostly on Tumblr. I don't have a tumblr account, but I do search things occasionally and was a bit confused about the lingo, so I did some research on urban dictionary and here we are.
Please comment as to what I should do next because I have no earthly idea.
Cheers and have a wonderful week.
Nutsy
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Is Chivalry DEAD???
Us female bookworms love to wail about how chivalry doesn't seem to exist anymore, that those common acts of courtesy and kindness seem to have been forgotten. We love comparing normal men to the likes of Mr. Darcy and James Carstairs and Aragorn and moan about how there are no men like them anymore.
News flash: CHIVALRY. ISN'T. DEAD.
It can't be. I refuse to believe that something so awesome has completely and entirely faded from this world.
But, my dear fellow bookworms, let us get off our high horse of dirtied tissues and Austen novels and start working to bring chivalry and courtesy back.
First thing we've got to start doing is being worthy of chivalry. No one's going to want to respect and be courteous to someone who can't even remember that their boobs belong in their shirt and that makeup is a choice, not a necessity. You have to be chivalrous and courteous yourself if you want others to do be chivalrous and courteous to you. It's the Golden Rule. We learned all this when we were littlies.
If one person starts the chain of courtesy, then maybe the next person will continue it, and then the next person will go farther and farther until suddenly, chivalry is not seen as "dead" anymore.
It isn't just the menfolk who need to step up their daily acts, they're just the ones who get the worst reputation about not doing those daily acts. Girls, we need to be courteous as well.
I'm not saying that a girl should start opening the door for the guy on dates, but we definitely need to do something to bring it back. Help the woman with five kids who's struggling to get the groceries into her car. Hold open the door for the next person behind you. Allow those who need to get there faster than you to go ahead.
This ties in closely with my previous post. It takes bravery and strength to be courteous. Men pride themselves about their muscles and how many hours they spent at the gym working on their abs, and although I've got absolutely nothing against that, I would find it more attractive if a guy were to be courteous. Not even to me. If I saw a guy doing nice things for people, it would immediately endear me to them.
Come on! You wanted chivalry to come back, darling, and I just told you how to bring it back. We need to put this into action. It would make me so proud if people just started looking outside of their own little bubble world and realize that there is a world out there that needs them to get their head in the game. Little acts like this can make a person's day, maybe even their week. A simple smile can go a long way.
The implications of being courteous includes being humbled. You are humbling yourself to realize that you are not the only person in this universe who needs to get somewhere today and you can help them out.
It's HARD. I know. I used to think that chivalry was for the men. But just yesterday I tried being courteous and kind at the store and half of the time I had an opportunity to help, I didn't because I was scared of what they might think.
You're offering to help them. Unless they're a proud stuck up prick, they're not going to refuse free help. And if they do, so what? It's not like they are going to be all, "You asked me if I needed help. DIE YOU FOOL!" NO! Your brain has made what could happen worse than what it is. The worst they can say is no, and you tried, and that's what really counts.
CHIVALRY. IS. NOT. DEAD.
IT'S SLEEPING.
GRAB THE POTS AND PANS AND LET'S WAKE IT UP.
News flash: CHIVALRY. ISN'T. DEAD.
It can't be. I refuse to believe that something so awesome has completely and entirely faded from this world.
But, my dear fellow bookworms, let us get off our high horse of dirtied tissues and Austen novels and start working to bring chivalry and courtesy back.
First thing we've got to start doing is being worthy of chivalry. No one's going to want to respect and be courteous to someone who can't even remember that their boobs belong in their shirt and that makeup is a choice, not a necessity. You have to be chivalrous and courteous yourself if you want others to do be chivalrous and courteous to you. It's the Golden Rule. We learned all this when we were littlies.
If one person starts the chain of courtesy, then maybe the next person will continue it, and then the next person will go farther and farther until suddenly, chivalry is not seen as "dead" anymore.
It isn't just the menfolk who need to step up their daily acts, they're just the ones who get the worst reputation about not doing those daily acts. Girls, we need to be courteous as well.
I'm not saying that a girl should start opening the door for the guy on dates, but we definitely need to do something to bring it back. Help the woman with five kids who's struggling to get the groceries into her car. Hold open the door for the next person behind you. Allow those who need to get there faster than you to go ahead.
This ties in closely with my previous post. It takes bravery and strength to be courteous. Men pride themselves about their muscles and how many hours they spent at the gym working on their abs, and although I've got absolutely nothing against that, I would find it more attractive if a guy were to be courteous. Not even to me. If I saw a guy doing nice things for people, it would immediately endear me to them.
Come on! You wanted chivalry to come back, darling, and I just told you how to bring it back. We need to put this into action. It would make me so proud if people just started looking outside of their own little bubble world and realize that there is a world out there that needs them to get their head in the game. Little acts like this can make a person's day, maybe even their week. A simple smile can go a long way.
The implications of being courteous includes being humbled. You are humbling yourself to realize that you are not the only person in this universe who needs to get somewhere today and you can help them out.
It's HARD. I know. I used to think that chivalry was for the men. But just yesterday I tried being courteous and kind at the store and half of the time I had an opportunity to help, I didn't because I was scared of what they might think.
You're offering to help them. Unless they're a proud stuck up prick, they're not going to refuse free help. And if they do, so what? It's not like they are going to be all, "You asked me if I needed help. DIE YOU FOOL!" NO! Your brain has made what could happen worse than what it is. The worst they can say is no, and you tried, and that's what really counts.
CHIVALRY. IS. NOT. DEAD.
IT'S SLEEPING.
GRAB THE POTS AND PANS AND LET'S WAKE IT UP.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Adventure is out there!
If you're anything like me (and if so, I love you to death) then you have read books like The Hobbit, A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, Narnia, and so on, you have wished at some point that you could have an adventure of your own.
Don't try denying it. You have wished that, even if it meant that bad stuff happened, you could go on an adventure.
It's okay. Sometimes life feels a little too repetitive and you want to run off into the blue and be late for dinner.
Actually, now that I've said it, you are now thinking about how awesome it would be to go traveling with the Doctor, or detecting with Sherlock (although I doubt you could do much with Sherlock other than run and open your mouth with surprise whenever he does something clever, which is always).
Adventure is out there, although it might not be in the form that you expect.
You may not have thirteen dwarves knocking on your door or a handsome man in a blue box appear in your sitting room, but if you study God's Word enough you'll realize just how adventurous you're going to have to get.
The definition of adventure, at least in my dictionary, is "taking risks that lead to the unknown".
So the simple act of asking a person about their faith is an adventure.
And that takes quite a lot of bravery to do.
It takes bravery to invite someone to church.
It takes bravery to give a server money to pay for the next person's meal.
It takes bravery to go say hi to the person no one likes.
For introverts like me, it takes bravery just to say hello to someone I don't know!
Bravery is something closely tied with every adventure, fictional (wait, The Hobbit is fictional??? MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED!) or not.
Another thing closely tied with adventures is strength. Both mental and physical, but quite often the hero of the story will have a point in the book where he or she will think about the comforts of home and want to turn back, or be all alone with friends gone and think of a way to get out of the difficult situation.
It takes strength to tell the truth.
It takes strength to apologize.
It takes strength to admit that you were wrong.
Bravery and strength are necessities for every hero.
For us, our strength comes from God. Our sinful nature wants to lash out and be the knife in the dark, but God can help us be brave and strong. It is the Tookish side of Bilbo, that rises up and wants to have adventures. We like to live in the comforts of home, curled up around a good book and wishing for adventures.
Jump out of your comfort zone and go have the adventures you think you can't have, because you can have them.
But now that you know how to have them, do you really want to have an adventure?
You might think that it's all about goblins and trolls and riddles in the dark, but really, it's all about those everyday acts of stepping out of what's comfortable for us.
The Baggins in me wants to just sit down with a cup of tea and watch another episode of Doctor Who.
But the Took inside me, well...
Don't try denying it. You have wished that, even if it meant that bad stuff happened, you could go on an adventure.
It's okay. Sometimes life feels a little too repetitive and you want to run off into the blue and be late for dinner.
Actually, now that I've said it, you are now thinking about how awesome it would be to go traveling with the Doctor, or detecting with Sherlock (although I doubt you could do much with Sherlock other than run and open your mouth with surprise whenever he does something clever, which is always).
Adventure is out there, although it might not be in the form that you expect.
You may not have thirteen dwarves knocking on your door or a handsome man in a blue box appear in your sitting room, but if you study God's Word enough you'll realize just how adventurous you're going to have to get.
The definition of adventure, at least in my dictionary, is "taking risks that lead to the unknown".
So the simple act of asking a person about their faith is an adventure.
And that takes quite a lot of bravery to do.
It takes bravery to invite someone to church.
It takes bravery to give a server money to pay for the next person's meal.
It takes bravery to go say hi to the person no one likes.
For introverts like me, it takes bravery just to say hello to someone I don't know!
Bravery is something closely tied with every adventure, fictional (wait, The Hobbit is fictional??? MY CHILDHOOD IS RUINED!) or not.
Another thing closely tied with adventures is strength. Both mental and physical, but quite often the hero of the story will have a point in the book where he or she will think about the comforts of home and want to turn back, or be all alone with friends gone and think of a way to get out of the difficult situation.
It takes strength to tell the truth.
It takes strength to apologize.
It takes strength to admit that you were wrong.
Bravery and strength are necessities for every hero.
For us, our strength comes from God. Our sinful nature wants to lash out and be the knife in the dark, but God can help us be brave and strong. It is the Tookish side of Bilbo, that rises up and wants to have adventures. We like to live in the comforts of home, curled up around a good book and wishing for adventures.
Jump out of your comfort zone and go have the adventures you think you can't have, because you can have them.
But now that you know how to have them, do you really want to have an adventure?
You might think that it's all about goblins and trolls and riddles in the dark, but really, it's all about those everyday acts of stepping out of what's comfortable for us.
The Baggins in me wants to just sit down with a cup of tea and watch another episode of Doctor Who.
But the Took inside me, well...
***Special thanks to A Hobbit Devotional by Edd Strauss for inspiration.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Love Triangles
Love triangles are everywhere now, especially in the young adult section. Most of the time between one girl and two boys, it is when a character cannot decide between two other characters in a romantic way.
Anyone else getting a little tired of them?
I mean, I've read some good love triangles before, but anyone else feeling that they are a little overused?
They are getting repetitious. Can't the girl or male just make up their mind? If you love someone, you love someone. There are no buts, ums, or ers.
I wouldn't exactly know, actually. I love people, but I'm not in love with anybody yet, at least not anybody who is living on this planet.
So if someone's in love out there, would you mind telling me what it feels like? That would be fabulous.
OMYROWLING CAT STICK WITH THE TOPIC
Right. Love triangles. Why are they so popular? They're (usually) fun to read or criticise, and they work well with certain plots, but there is only so much you can do with a girl/guy falling in love with one of the two girls/guys that he or she liked. Most commonly it is a she falling in love with one of the two males, just because nowadays a lot of females are authors.
Most of them aren't even written well. Hunger Games had a cruddy romance, even though I loved the characters and the plot. Twilight had a TERRIBLE romance, one that cannot even be mentioned, even though I could rant about it for hours. Matched had a really, really, really bad romance.
If you liked those romances, great. Just sharing my own opinion, which is now a crime on the internet.
Bite me, alien boy!
Actually, there are very few love triangles that I've read and actually liked. Pride and Prejudice had the most fantastic romance of all time - admit it, fellow Austenians, there was a love triangle between Elizabeth, Darcy, and Wickham. The Heroes of Olympus one between three people I shall not mention for fear of spoiling it for you is brilliant. I like the one in Infernal Devices, even though it is breaking my heart into one gazillion pieces (and that's a fact).
They can make great additions to the story. But when written incorrectly or badly, they can ruin the entire book for you.
The entire book.
That's a lot of trees put to waste.
I don't know why there are so many of them! Why do so many authors decide that love triangles are the way that they want the romance in their books? Why is it that the YA section of the library is absolutely flooded with love triangles? WHY?
Someone please explain. Is it because they are easy to write? Is it because that in fact, the idea of a girl or male not being able to choose between two members of the opposite gender is realistic? (I dearly hope not...) Why? I don't get it.
I've got an inkling of what the problem might be: Overcorrection. In the past, most books and movies had the heroine instantly fall in love with the hero when he saves her from a terrible fate of some sort.
Authors look at that and say, "Oh, looks like we need some more conflict in the relationship in my book." What's the easiest way to stir up conflict in a relationship? A third party.
And BANG! There's a romance novel on your table.
What really gets under my skin is when the book is classed as "paranormal", and then turns out to be all about how this girl choose between a werewolf and a vampire. Yes, it is paranormal, but you could've mentioned that 93 percent of the book is the romance!
But here comes the most irritating part of love triangles: Not the repetition, not the popularity, not any of that. It's the fact that the female acts like the other two males are the only two in the entire world.
No, it is simply impossible to see any other men. Impossible! It couldn't be done. There is no way I can be friends with any other male until I settle myself in with one of the two here.
No, they can't do anything like, "Oh, I love Tomas, and I love Epsilon, but I'm going to go talk to BOB."
That can't happen.
Have you realized that she never does? If there is another male in the story that she is remotely connected with, he is either a) Married b) A social klutz/weirdo/sibling c) Not even considered by the heroine.
THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY ELIGIBLE MALES ON THE PLANET! GET A GRIP, YOU IMBECILE!
Stop moaning about how it is so hard to choose between the two guys! They ar not the only two guys.
Sometimes it makes sense for them to be the only males she thinks about, but other times? Grab the scissors and Cut. It. Out.
I don't understand. I cannot comprehend. I don't get the popularity, or why they are all mostly badly written, or why. I DON'T GET IT.
Sorry.
Can someone please help me understand? Because I sure don't.
****
Hey! It's Nutsy. Thanks for reading another one of these blog posts, because if you did, that means you liked the first! It means a lot. Please tell me in the comments what you thought of this blog post and what I should do next. I hope you all have/will have/have had a wonderful spring break. Cheers!
x Nutsy (aka Cat)
Anyone else getting a little tired of them?
I mean, I've read some good love triangles before, but anyone else feeling that they are a little overused?
They are getting repetitious. Can't the girl or male just make up their mind? If you love someone, you love someone. There are no buts, ums, or ers.
I wouldn't exactly know, actually. I love people, but I'm not in love with anybody yet, at least not anybody who is living on this planet.
So if someone's in love out there, would you mind telling me what it feels like? That would be fabulous.
OMYROWLING CAT STICK WITH THE TOPIC
Right. Love triangles. Why are they so popular? They're (usually) fun to read or criticise, and they work well with certain plots, but there is only so much you can do with a girl/guy falling in love with one of the two girls/guys that he or she liked. Most commonly it is a she falling in love with one of the two males, just because nowadays a lot of females are authors.
Most of them aren't even written well. Hunger Games had a cruddy romance, even though I loved the characters and the plot. Twilight had a TERRIBLE romance, one that cannot even be mentioned, even though I could rant about it for hours. Matched had a really, really, really bad romance.
If you liked those romances, great. Just sharing my own opinion, which is now a crime on the internet.
Bite me, alien boy!
Actually, there are very few love triangles that I've read and actually liked. Pride and Prejudice had the most fantastic romance of all time - admit it, fellow Austenians, there was a love triangle between Elizabeth, Darcy, and Wickham. The Heroes of Olympus one between three people I shall not mention for fear of spoiling it for you is brilliant. I like the one in Infernal Devices, even though it is breaking my heart into one gazillion pieces (and that's a fact).
They can make great additions to the story. But when written incorrectly or badly, they can ruin the entire book for you.
The entire book.
That's a lot of trees put to waste.
I don't know why there are so many of them! Why do so many authors decide that love triangles are the way that they want the romance in their books? Why is it that the YA section of the library is absolutely flooded with love triangles? WHY?
Someone please explain. Is it because they are easy to write? Is it because that in fact, the idea of a girl or male not being able to choose between two members of the opposite gender is realistic? (I dearly hope not...) Why? I don't get it.
I've got an inkling of what the problem might be: Overcorrection. In the past, most books and movies had the heroine instantly fall in love with the hero when he saves her from a terrible fate of some sort.
Authors look at that and say, "Oh, looks like we need some more conflict in the relationship in my book." What's the easiest way to stir up conflict in a relationship? A third party.
And BANG! There's a romance novel on your table.
What really gets under my skin is when the book is classed as "paranormal", and then turns out to be all about how this girl choose between a werewolf and a vampire. Yes, it is paranormal, but you could've mentioned that 93 percent of the book is the romance!
But here comes the most irritating part of love triangles: Not the repetition, not the popularity, not any of that. It's the fact that the female acts like the other two males are the only two in the entire world.
No, it is simply impossible to see any other men. Impossible! It couldn't be done. There is no way I can be friends with any other male until I settle myself in with one of the two here.
No, they can't do anything like, "Oh, I love Tomas, and I love Epsilon, but I'm going to go talk to BOB."
That can't happen.
Have you realized that she never does? If there is another male in the story that she is remotely connected with, he is either a) Married b) A social klutz/weirdo/sibling c) Not even considered by the heroine.
THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY ELIGIBLE MALES ON THE PLANET! GET A GRIP, YOU IMBECILE!
Stop moaning about how it is so hard to choose between the two guys! They ar not the only two guys.
Sometimes it makes sense for them to be the only males she thinks about, but other times? Grab the scissors and Cut. It. Out.
I don't understand. I cannot comprehend. I don't get the popularity, or why they are all mostly badly written, or why. I DON'T GET IT.
Sorry.
Can someone please help me understand? Because I sure don't.
****
Hey! It's Nutsy. Thanks for reading another one of these blog posts, because if you did, that means you liked the first! It means a lot. Please tell me in the comments what you thought of this blog post and what I should do next. I hope you all have/will have/have had a wonderful spring break. Cheers!
x Nutsy (aka Cat)
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Stupid Book Cliques
These cliques are everywhere, not just in books.
However, I'm speaking mostly to book readers.
So hopefully everyone will understand what I'm talking about.
Those stupid cliques that you hear so many times you start to think they make sense.
But they don't.
I'm here to point out some of the stupidest book/movie/show cliques I have read in literature, why we've come to think they are okay and make sense, and alternatives to them. Hopefully I'll make you laugh a little and become a better writer - or at least a better reader.
They mostly occur in romance scenes or romance novels.
I'm looking at you, Stephanie Meyer.
I can in no way list all of the stupid cliques in books in one post, so here are five cliques that bother me the most.
Clique #1: Shining/gleaming/smoldering/glittering/etc eyes
How many times have we read that scene where the heroine looks at the hero or vice versa and thinks they have shining/gleaming/smoldering/glittering/etc eyes? How many times?
A lot. Especially with the girls.
Now, I know that maybe with the right light and head tilt combination someone's eyes could reflect, giving them the appearance of having "gleaming" eyes, but other than that, I've never met anyone with shining eyes or the other bucketload of stupid adjectives we use.
Because nowadays, whenever I see "shining eyes" in books or something of that ilk, I don't think "Oh my Rowling, that's so dreamy" I think, "Send this guy to the freak show, he's a living flashlight."
Probably not the reaction the author was looking for.
Smoldering is one of the worst ones, though. Seriously? Just.... seriously?
Instead of using the adjectives I have mentioned, maybe go for actually describing the eyes. When you are in love with someone, you pay attention to how they look, but at the same time don't really care.
Love is a strange thing.
Clique #2: Fiery red hair / fiery hot temper
This one makes a bit more sense than Clique #1, because fiery means:
Consisting of fire or burning strongly and brightly.
Having the bright color of fire.
Both which make since for the words they are modifying... to a certain extent.
The red I understand. But it tells you nothing about the shade of the hair and, most times, the author doesn't explain furthur.
And that's annoying.
But why add the hot in there for the second one? Fire isn't hot enough for you? What are you looking for, a nuclear reaction? Get the hot out of there.
Or, better yet, don't use fiery at all.
Although it makes more sense than most of the cliques I'm going to talk about, it is so overused and misused that I wish people would cut out using it altogether.
Describe the hair. Don't throw a lit match at it.
Clique #3: Subconcious whispering / inner goddess / tingling feeling / hairs rising on the back of neck / shiver running up spine
Seen quite a lot in points where something big is about to happen.
Your subconcious does not whisper. It is called your subconcious for a reason. It means you don't feel it.
Frankly, I'd feel a little creeped out if I heard some random voice whispering in my head, telling me weird things.
I'd start feeling like Gollum or something.
It'd be creepy!
And some authors realize the creepiness factor of it and try to change it to something like a tingling feeling or hairs rising on the back of the neck or a shiver running up the spine, but that's almost just as bad.
But the worst one I've come across yet is the phrase "inner goddess".
I've only seen this one in a few books, but I saw enough of it to make me want to punch a kitten.
Inner goddess is so bad because instead of whispering to you like the subconcious does, it shows whatever it is feeling. There was actually a sentence in a book (not naming any names) that went along the lines of this: "I was uneasy about it, but my inner goddess was shooting off a confetti cannon in my stomach."
WHAT THE ACTUAL CHEESE DOES THAT EVEN MEAN????
Horrid writing, that's what.
Clique #4: Electricity
Romance authors, LISTEN UP PLEASE!
When I brush my crush's hand (which would be whenever I pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice) I don't feel electricity running down my spine or down to my toes or whatever garbage the electricity is running down to.
You don't feel electricity when you touch the hand of a guy you just met. You feel awkward, maybe, but not liked you just been electrocuted, for crying out loud.
Ugh.
Clique #5: Gasp/heart stops/breath catches/can't breathe/etc
Romance authors again.
They are telling young girls that when you meet the guy of your dreams, when he walks into the room....
....you're going to have a heart attack.
My parents are in love and have never gone to the hospital with heart complaints.
I know it is meant mostly figuratively, but all I can think of is a bunch of girls falling dead to the floor because a person of the opposite gender walked in.
You don't gasp when you see someone you like being with. Usually you say a greeting, such as "hi" or "hello". I don't know what the customs are in Romance Writer land, but apparently they are different.
So there you have it. There are five overused and misused cliques that I have noticed throughout my reading career that bug me the most.
But the overwhelming question is: Why do authors use these cliques?
Surely they must realize how ridiculous and misleading these are.
And the answer is....
Because they are easy.
You don't have to go to great lengths to truly describe what you mean when you can use one of these cliques that everyone knows. It saves a lot of time.
But it deters from the quality.
I'm an amateur writer myself. I don't pretend to be the ultimate authority on everything considering writing.
However, these cliques are getting a little out of hand.
So, a shout-out to all you authors out there, whether published or still scribbling in your notebook; describe. Don't use a clique.
****
A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading. I really hope you enjoyed it - this is my first blog post, so I was nervous to the extreme about this. Please feel free to post feedback, I would love to hear what you thought of it (even the bad stuff). I would also like ideas on what to post next. I will try to post regularily, maybe once every two weeks.
Thank you again!
Sincerely,
Nutsy (a.k.a. Cat)
However, I'm speaking mostly to book readers.
So hopefully everyone will understand what I'm talking about.
Those stupid cliques that you hear so many times you start to think they make sense.
But they don't.
I'm here to point out some of the stupidest book/movie/show cliques I have read in literature, why we've come to think they are okay and make sense, and alternatives to them. Hopefully I'll make you laugh a little and become a better writer - or at least a better reader.
They mostly occur in romance scenes or romance novels.
I'm looking at you, Stephanie Meyer.
I can in no way list all of the stupid cliques in books in one post, so here are five cliques that bother me the most.
Clique #1: Shining/gleaming/smoldering/glittering/etc eyes
How many times have we read that scene where the heroine looks at the hero or vice versa and thinks they have shining/gleaming/smoldering/glittering/etc eyes? How many times?
A lot. Especially with the girls.
Now, I know that maybe with the right light and head tilt combination someone's eyes could reflect, giving them the appearance of having "gleaming" eyes, but other than that, I've never met anyone with shining eyes or the other bucketload of stupid adjectives we use.
Because nowadays, whenever I see "shining eyes" in books or something of that ilk, I don't think "Oh my Rowling, that's so dreamy" I think, "Send this guy to the freak show, he's a living flashlight."
Probably not the reaction the author was looking for.
Smoldering is one of the worst ones, though. Seriously? Just.... seriously?
Instead of using the adjectives I have mentioned, maybe go for actually describing the eyes. When you are in love with someone, you pay attention to how they look, but at the same time don't really care.
Love is a strange thing.
Clique #2: Fiery red hair / fiery hot temper
This one makes a bit more sense than Clique #1, because fiery means:
Both which make since for the words they are modifying... to a certain extent.
The red I understand. But it tells you nothing about the shade of the hair and, most times, the author doesn't explain furthur.
And that's annoying.
But why add the hot in there for the second one? Fire isn't hot enough for you? What are you looking for, a nuclear reaction? Get the hot out of there.
Or, better yet, don't use fiery at all.
Although it makes more sense than most of the cliques I'm going to talk about, it is so overused and misused that I wish people would cut out using it altogether.
Describe the hair. Don't throw a lit match at it.
Clique #3: Subconcious whispering / inner goddess / tingling feeling / hairs rising on the back of neck / shiver running up spine
Seen quite a lot in points where something big is about to happen.
Your subconcious does not whisper. It is called your subconcious for a reason. It means you don't feel it.
Frankly, I'd feel a little creeped out if I heard some random voice whispering in my head, telling me weird things.
I'd start feeling like Gollum or something.
It'd be creepy!
And some authors realize the creepiness factor of it and try to change it to something like a tingling feeling or hairs rising on the back of the neck or a shiver running up the spine, but that's almost just as bad.
But the worst one I've come across yet is the phrase "inner goddess".
I've only seen this one in a few books, but I saw enough of it to make me want to punch a kitten.
Inner goddess is so bad because instead of whispering to you like the subconcious does, it shows whatever it is feeling. There was actually a sentence in a book (not naming any names) that went along the lines of this: "I was uneasy about it, but my inner goddess was shooting off a confetti cannon in my stomach."
WHAT THE ACTUAL CHEESE DOES THAT EVEN MEAN????
Horrid writing, that's what.
Clique #4: Electricity
Romance authors, LISTEN UP PLEASE!
When I brush my crush's hand (which would be whenever I pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice) I don't feel electricity running down my spine or down to my toes or whatever garbage the electricity is running down to.
You don't feel electricity when you touch the hand of a guy you just met. You feel awkward, maybe, but not liked you just been electrocuted, for crying out loud.
Ugh.
Clique #5: Gasp/heart stops/breath catches/can't breathe/etc
Romance authors again.
They are telling young girls that when you meet the guy of your dreams, when he walks into the room....
....you're going to have a heart attack.
My parents are in love and have never gone to the hospital with heart complaints.
I know it is meant mostly figuratively, but all I can think of is a bunch of girls falling dead to the floor because a person of the opposite gender walked in.
You don't gasp when you see someone you like being with. Usually you say a greeting, such as "hi" or "hello". I don't know what the customs are in Romance Writer land, but apparently they are different.
So there you have it. There are five overused and misused cliques that I have noticed throughout my reading career that bug me the most.
But the overwhelming question is: Why do authors use these cliques?
Surely they must realize how ridiculous and misleading these are.
And the answer is....
Because they are easy.
You don't have to go to great lengths to truly describe what you mean when you can use one of these cliques that everyone knows. It saves a lot of time.
But it deters from the quality.
I'm an amateur writer myself. I don't pretend to be the ultimate authority on everything considering writing.
However, these cliques are getting a little out of hand.
So, a shout-out to all you authors out there, whether published or still scribbling in your notebook; describe. Don't use a clique.
****
A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading. I really hope you enjoyed it - this is my first blog post, so I was nervous to the extreme about this. Please feel free to post feedback, I would love to hear what you thought of it (even the bad stuff). I would also like ideas on what to post next. I will try to post regularily, maybe once every two weeks.
Thank you again!
Sincerely,
Nutsy (a.k.a. Cat)
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