As it is almost summer and my hardcore weeks of school cramming and exam study are nearing their end, I thought I'd talk about something that I'm really excited for and haven't had time until now to really get back into:
Movies.
Movies are not only a writer's bread and butter, (and a great way to numb an exhausted brain), but they're a great way to see a story through a different outlet. Not to mention most of my friends and I are super-excited for movies like Epic, Despicable Me 2, Monsters University, and other less-than-adolescent movies. Haters gonna hate.
But other exciting movies that authors in the YA scene are both excited and anxious for are movies like Divergent, The Mortal Instruments, The Fault in Our Stars, and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
It's every author's dream to have their book become a movie, to have the characters in their head come alive. But if it's not done well, it's not even worth it. A bad movie will not only condemn the book, but it'll ruin the image of the character to the reader. If The Artist somehow became a movie and it was terrible, it'd be as bad as killing my characters in front of me.
But on a lighter note, the movies that are set to come out this summer promise to be awesome, and I'm excited to be able to take a break from the heat waves sure to come and watch some cinematic awesome while stuffing my face with popcorn.
Wishing you a summer of epic proportions,
Brie
Friday, May 24, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Aftermath
So...went boxing yesterday. It was a good time, I didn't realize how strong I really am. And being Collins' basic frame and size, that's got good going for her.
Unfortunately, I woke up from a dead sleep and realized that I'm now aching in places that I didn't know I could ache in. My armpits, the bottom of my shoulder blades, and even the back of my quads. One of the things I realized during my trip to Title Boxing was that you last a lot less time than you think you will in energy in stamina. When I played volleyball, we were in pretty intense physical training; I'm in pretty good shape. However, I couldn't go more than perhaps five minutes without having to dance around the bag. Granted, the bag is a huge black leather blob that's meant to provide more resistance than a human body, but it just goes to show how you can't try and just go hard all at once, or your opponent will outlast you.
This was a great experience, and I have to admit I didn't want to take off my wraps because I felt too awesome and couldn't wait to get home and start writing notes to fix my fight scenes and how Collins thinks through her fights. That's another part of fight scenes that is helped by having been in something like it before. If you've never fought, you can't really accurately think of what to do throughout it. Unless the character has no fighting experience, they're generally going to be a little calmer and more calculating through the situation. Collins thinks through her punches in sequence: Left, right, uppercut. That works...but she'll have to switch directions with Oliver, since he's left-handed.
I hope everyone's weekends kicked off well, and no one's too sore from their escapades!
Knuckle wraps and sore armpits,
Brie
Unfortunately, I woke up from a dead sleep and realized that I'm now aching in places that I didn't know I could ache in. My armpits, the bottom of my shoulder blades, and even the back of my quads. One of the things I realized during my trip to Title Boxing was that you last a lot less time than you think you will in energy in stamina. When I played volleyball, we were in pretty intense physical training; I'm in pretty good shape. However, I couldn't go more than perhaps five minutes without having to dance around the bag. Granted, the bag is a huge black leather blob that's meant to provide more resistance than a human body, but it just goes to show how you can't try and just go hard all at once, or your opponent will outlast you.
This was a great experience, and I have to admit I didn't want to take off my wraps because I felt too awesome and couldn't wait to get home and start writing notes to fix my fight scenes and how Collins thinks through her fights. That's another part of fight scenes that is helped by having been in something like it before. If you've never fought, you can't really accurately think of what to do throughout it. Unless the character has no fighting experience, they're generally going to be a little calmer and more calculating through the situation. Collins thinks through her punches in sequence: Left, right, uppercut. That works...but she'll have to switch directions with Oliver, since he's left-handed.
I hope everyone's weekends kicked off well, and no one's too sore from their escapades!
Knuckle wraps and sore armpits,
Brie
Friday, May 17, 2013
So, remember my experiences post?
Whelp, the day has finally come - in about an hour, I'm going to be going boxing for the first time. Hopefully I won't make a complete fool out of myself and maybe actually learn something.
IT'S FRIDAY GUYS :D
Wrapped knuckles and sparring helmets,
Brie
IT'S FRIDAY GUYS :D
Wrapped knuckles and sparring helmets,
Brie
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.
TO DEFEAT.
THE HUNS.
I'll let you finish that on your own, because if I don't stop now before you know it this whole blog post will be one huge Disney song rendition. And as fun as that would be for me, I feel like it would be much less fun for you. But I had a reason for starting to sing one of the best songs to come out of Disney ever.
Have you ever asked someone who their favorite Disney character was?
I realized today when I was talking to my friends about Once Upon A Time, an ABC show we all happen to adore, and realized that who their favorite Disney character was is actually very indicative of their personality.
Take one of my friends for example: her favorite Disney character is Alice. Thinking about it now, she's actually a lot like Alice. She's got her own adventures in her Wonderland (perhaps less trippy than the original), and she doesn't need anyone's opinion on whether she's crackers or not. She's probably also the only person I can really go completely nuts with and she won't judge me...too harshly.
One of my other friends loves Cinderella, and I can see why: she's a hard worker who really does believe in happy endings. She loves books like The Selection by Kiera Cass and she's got a sunny outlook on life. She loves Taylor Swift, frogs, and comfy pajamas. And if you can get her to wear a dress, she looks like a princess.
And me? Well, there's a reason I started with the song I did today. My favorite Disney character is Mulan. It's a toss-up between her and Tarzan, but I think I have to go with everyone's favorite Chinese cross-dresser. Not only is she a complete BAMF, she's kind of like me where she's not afraid to suit up and go to war for what she believes in. She's got a crazy inner strength and resolve, and not to mention a super-sassy little dragon.
You should ask your friends who they like best in the Disney universe and see what they say. I think you might find out something a little new about them.
Defeating armies and not messing up my hair while I do it,
Brie
THE HUNS.
I'll let you finish that on your own, because if I don't stop now before you know it this whole blog post will be one huge Disney song rendition. And as fun as that would be for me, I feel like it would be much less fun for you. But I had a reason for starting to sing one of the best songs to come out of Disney ever.
Have you ever asked someone who their favorite Disney character was?
I realized today when I was talking to my friends about Once Upon A Time, an ABC show we all happen to adore, and realized that who their favorite Disney character was is actually very indicative of their personality.
Take one of my friends for example: her favorite Disney character is Alice. Thinking about it now, she's actually a lot like Alice. She's got her own adventures in her Wonderland (perhaps less trippy than the original), and she doesn't need anyone's opinion on whether she's crackers or not. She's probably also the only person I can really go completely nuts with and she won't judge me...too harshly.
One of my other friends loves Cinderella, and I can see why: she's a hard worker who really does believe in happy endings. She loves books like The Selection by Kiera Cass and she's got a sunny outlook on life. She loves Taylor Swift, frogs, and comfy pajamas. And if you can get her to wear a dress, she looks like a princess.
And me? Well, there's a reason I started with the song I did today. My favorite Disney character is Mulan. It's a toss-up between her and Tarzan, but I think I have to go with everyone's favorite Chinese cross-dresser. Not only is she a complete BAMF, she's kind of like me where she's not afraid to suit up and go to war for what she believes in. She's got a crazy inner strength and resolve, and not to mention a super-sassy little dragon.
You should ask your friends who they like best in the Disney universe and see what they say. I think you might find out something a little new about them.
Defeating armies and not messing up my hair while I do it,
Brie
Monday, May 13, 2013
Pressing Random Colorful Buttons! :D
Hello everyone ^_^ The title of my post is essentially a statement of my brain right now, because it's fried.
I had a lot on my plate this last week, what with AP testing coming on Friday and boatloads of tests. Friday I was actually in AP testing back-to-back for nine hours, so that was fun. But then I got to go see Oblivion with some friends, so I effectively numbed my brain.
THEN PROM :D It was my first one, down in the city, and it was awesome. Dinner was pretty good, and I got to spend a night with a bunch of friends all looking dapper. I could have done with less 'Booty Work' and more 'Sweet Nothing', but it was a pretty great night and I got chocolate chip pancakes and Cheetos out of it. Not necessarily in that order.
Anyway, with my FINAL AP test this Wednesday, I'm actually going to be able to work on The Artist and perhaps even get Collins in a dress. She's going to hate me, and I'm going to laugh hysterically. Perhaps it's better to write this portion when I'm by myself so as not to get weird looks.
Wishing everyone sunshine and fast-approaching vacations,
Brie
I had a lot on my plate this last week, what with AP testing coming on Friday and boatloads of tests. Friday I was actually in AP testing back-to-back for nine hours, so that was fun. But then I got to go see Oblivion with some friends, so I effectively numbed my brain.
THEN PROM :D It was my first one, down in the city, and it was awesome. Dinner was pretty good, and I got to spend a night with a bunch of friends all looking dapper. I could have done with less 'Booty Work' and more 'Sweet Nothing', but it was a pretty great night and I got chocolate chip pancakes and Cheetos out of it. Not necessarily in that order.
Anyway, with my FINAL AP test this Wednesday, I'm actually going to be able to work on The Artist and perhaps even get Collins in a dress. She's going to hate me, and I'm going to laugh hysterically. Perhaps it's better to write this portion when I'm by myself so as not to get weird looks.
Wishing everyone sunshine and fast-approaching vacations,
Brie
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Wisdom Comes From Experience
The other day I was invited by one of my brother's friends to go to his boxing club with him and a group of our friends and go hit some bags.
Any normal person would think, 'that sounds like fun, let's do it!'. Or, conversely, 'that sounds boring, I'll pass.' However, my reaction was more to the tune of, 'ohmygoodness this will be great for writing research.'
And now you know one of the key differences between an author and the rest of the population: whether or not we want to do something, we will try it once for the sake of research.
Shooting guns? Writing research.
Skiing a double-black diamond in Colorado at over 15,000 feet? Writing research.
Archery? Writing research.
Wilderness survival training? Writing research.
CPR certification? Writing research.
You get the idea.
The old adage, 'write what you know', is true in this case. I mean, there are some things that an author can't exactly experience in the name of research - for example, a male author going into childbirth. He'll have to ask his lady friends. But generally, when it comes to things that we write about, authors want to know what it's really like in life.
Hence me posting this. I write a lot of fight scenes; it comes with the territory of writing dystopian and science fiction novels. I mean, in The Artist I swear someone gets into a fight or a riot or something at least every other day. It's crazy. But, if you couldn't tell, I've never actually punched someone in the face, nor been punched. When I know how it feels to have your fist hit an object, be it a wall, person, or punching bag, it makes it a hundred times easier to write. Unfortunately, I won't be sparring (probably fortunate for my face), but I'll still be able to learn combinations, offensive and defensive moves, and how someone my size and stature would fight, which can come in handy for characters like Collins, Eire, Gloria, and to a lesser extent Ollie and Razzo. I'll have to let you know how it goes.
If you're a writer and you want to hear about some of my writing experiences (or a reader who wants to hear funny stories about my unfortunate life events), go ahead and comment below!
Some examples:
~Passing out (that was a fun one)
~Shooting guns
~Wilderness survival
Hoping for no black eyes,
Brie
Any normal person would think, 'that sounds like fun, let's do it!'. Or, conversely, 'that sounds boring, I'll pass.' However, my reaction was more to the tune of, 'ohmygoodness this will be great for writing research.'
And now you know one of the key differences between an author and the rest of the population: whether or not we want to do something, we will try it once for the sake of research.
Shooting guns? Writing research.
Skiing a double-black diamond in Colorado at over 15,000 feet? Writing research.
Archery? Writing research.
Wilderness survival training? Writing research.
CPR certification? Writing research.
You get the idea.
The old adage, 'write what you know', is true in this case. I mean, there are some things that an author can't exactly experience in the name of research - for example, a male author going into childbirth. He'll have to ask his lady friends. But generally, when it comes to things that we write about, authors want to know what it's really like in life.
Hence me posting this. I write a lot of fight scenes; it comes with the territory of writing dystopian and science fiction novels. I mean, in The Artist I swear someone gets into a fight or a riot or something at least every other day. It's crazy. But, if you couldn't tell, I've never actually punched someone in the face, nor been punched. When I know how it feels to have your fist hit an object, be it a wall, person, or punching bag, it makes it a hundred times easier to write. Unfortunately, I won't be sparring (probably fortunate for my face), but I'll still be able to learn combinations, offensive and defensive moves, and how someone my size and stature would fight, which can come in handy for characters like Collins, Eire, Gloria, and to a lesser extent Ollie and Razzo. I'll have to let you know how it goes.
If you're a writer and you want to hear about some of my writing experiences (or a reader who wants to hear funny stories about my unfortunate life events), go ahead and comment below!
Some examples:
~Passing out (that was a fun one)
~Shooting guns
~Wilderness survival
Hoping for no black eyes,
Brie
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