Paige's Pages: Education and Ruminations on Life

Sorry…I haven’t been a very good blogger recently. Things have been kind of hectic, but I’m back on track!

 

There are times when I wish that eternal life was possible because then I would be able to learn and be whatever I wanted. Before I went to Gallaudet, I was torn between three colleges: RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology), Kenyon College, and Gallaudet University. RIT offered me a partial scholarship so I could afford it, Kenyon offered me nothing but it was the college I desperately wanted to go to, and Gallaudet offered me a full scholarship.

 

So guess which college I chose? Gallaudet University. A free education is better than a $200,000 debt at Kenyon. If I went to RIT, I would have gotten a degree in premedical studies, and I would have been broke by the time I went to medical school. If I went to Gallaudet, I would be able to get two degrees and a minor for free, which allows me to be able to go to grad school debt-free. That. Is. Awesome. A lot of work, but awesome.

 

My dream grad school is Boston University and I want to get two degrees there: deaf education and Creative Writing. Plus, there’s a deaf school a ½ hour away from the college that I could work at while getting my degrees. If I don’t get at least some financial help though, I won’t be able to get my Ph.D. At least not right away, but a lot of people find that it’s hard to go back to school one you’ve been away from it for awhile.

 

I don’t want to have to choose though. I wish I could have gone to RIT and got that degree in Pre-Med so I could go on to medical school and become a pediatrician. I wish I could have gone to Kenyon to get that ridiculously expensive English degree. I wish I could do everything and learn everything, but I can’t and that makes me feel kind of hopeless.

 

However, I am fulfilling the requirements for medical school by taking free courses with MIT. Right now I’m taking Single Variable Calculus. I just found out about this awesome resource for independent learners: http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm. I plan to take classes during breaks so I don’t feel like my brain is rotting away.

 

I can get my unofficial pre-medical and possibly my unofficial M.D. I love this resource! However, I reflect on the past and I feel stabs of regret because I never did a lot with my free time before. I write, but I never wrote prolifically. One reason for this is because my own brain prevents me from doing so, but only to a certain level. I just have to tell myself it’s not over yet, that I’m not dead. I still have a lot of time left to live and learn.

 

That’s another thing I’m tentative about. Is it worth learning all this stuff? Shouldn’t I be doing? If so, what should I be doing with my time? It’s an impossible question to ask when you’re me.

Bookwormy Wednesdays: FanFiction

There isn’t a ton of “officially published” FanFiction out there because of copyright issues and all of that jazz. I will list some of what I’ve seen, and give you guys some resources on where to find good FanFiction.

 

In the YA/MG category, I’ve noticed that Disney Hyperion publishes a lot of FanFiction-esque stuff. Percy Jackson is a FF of the Greek myths, there are several fairy tale/children’s classics spin-offs. For example, they published one on Peter Pan and one Snow White tale is coming out soon.

 

I’ve noticed that fairy tale spin-offs are very popular in YA. Here are a few examples: Cinder, Beastly, and Ella Enchanted. There are tons more out there though. Right now, Alice in Wonderland spin-offs are pretty common too. Splintered and The Looking Glass Wars are a couple.

 

And of course, there are parodies such as Nightlight (a parody of Twilight) and The Hunger Pains (a parody of The Hunger Games).

 

Shakespeare spin-offs are common too. Warm Bodies is a spin-off of Romeo and Juliet, and lord knows how many other spin-offs of that story are out there.

 

These authors might not be aware of this, but these examples are all FF. Heck, Fifty Shades of Grey started out as a FF of Twilight. However, people accuse FF of being a lesser art because it supposedly takes less work and it steals someone else’s story. A lot of FF writers say that their writing is NOT FF because they don’t want to be stigmatized.

 

Excuse me, but I beg to differ. FF takes a lot of time and skill. Right now, I’m writing a FF of The Vampire Diaries that is set in Machu Picchu during the Spanish Conquest. I did a bit of research on a single line said by a character in the show and voila, my idea was born. A love rectangle between two brother vampire Emperors and the Original vampire Klaus over the human girl they all love. It’s pretty hardcore, and it takes just as much work (if not more) than an original story because of all the research involved and the new characters I’ve created. I’m quite proud of it, and the response to the story so far has been pretty good.

 

I kind of get why some authors hate FF though…Maybe they’re jealous. My FF has been getting a little more attention than my original works, but I’ve gotten over it. FF is more a practice tool and a writer’s block filler (how I kill time when I am having trouble with my original stories). It’s a nice way to get feedback on your writing and it’s a self-esteem booster when you feel crappy about your writing skills (Whaa! I got rejected by an agent AGAIN!).

 

But seriously, don’t be a snob about FF. It’s not a lesser art form. Some of the stuff people come up with of FF.net is incredible. Publishing companies should seriously think about picking up some of this stuff. Just look at how successful Fifty Shades of Grey was! The Kindle Store has got the memo and now you can self-publish FF on TVD, Pretty Little Liars, and several other stories. I might get into self-publishing if it means I can publish my TVD FF. The site is called “Kindle Worlds.” Go ahead and check it out!

Paige's Pages: On Writing FanFiction

Hey guys, sorry I was AWOL last week…I went to San Diego to visit my Grandmother and some of my family. It was tons of fun: I went boogie boarding, ocean swimming, and I spent some quality time with my little second cousins.

 

Anyways, onto the theme this week: FanFiction. What is FanFiction? It’s basically twisting an original work (like Harry Potter or Doctor Who) to make your own version of the story. There are three kinds of FF: Oneshots, Multi-chaptered stories, and collaborations. Oneshots are basically just expanding or re-writing a scene. They’re just one chapter. Multi-chaptered stories usually start from a specific scene and the author of the FF twists the story completely. For example: Bella dies when she jumps off the cliff and Edward meets a new girl…The author expands on that change in scenery. Collaborations are just when two or more authors create a FF together.

 

What is really cool about this is that you know that FF writers are just writing for the heck of it. They’ll never get published, but they don’t care. That is true loyalty to a story. If I ever get published, I can’t wait to see the crazy stuff my fans come up with.

 

However, FF isn’t really filtered out for vulgarity, inappropriateness, or just flat-out BAD writing, so it’s sometimes annoying trying to pick through what you want to read. Sometimes I’ll be trying to find a good quality piece on a scene I really like, but it’s so damn hard. It’s like rummaging through junk mail.

 

So you know what I do when I can’t find anything I want to read? I open my word processor and write it myself. ‘Cause you know, the best way to get anything done is to do it yerself! I really enjoy it too. Right now, I’m writing a ton of Ed Sheeran/Vampire Diaries FF, and I love it! I love the challenge of it, and I like talking to people who enjoy TVD too. It’s also great practice for me. Why? I’ll tell you.

 

Character consistency is important for any medium of writing, but especially in FF because they’re not your characters. If the characters are not consistent, readers will automatically stop reading the FF because it doesn’t feel real to them. In one TVD FanFic, Elena punched her best friend (and she would never do that) so I scoffed and left a review for the author telling them about character consistency. It’s really good practice for those who struggle with character consistency.

 

If there are a lot of people who are willing to read your FF, they will leave reviews, which will help you with your writing. Some of these people are very good writers so they leave good-quality constructive criticism , which helps me a lot (but unfortunately, I’m not insanely popular so I don’t get a ton of reviews). Some people are dorks and just say “Great job, update soon.” -eyeroll-

 

Do you think writing FanFiction helps you with your writing skills?

Bookwormy Wednesdays: Good Vampire Books

I know, I know, I know. “There’s no such thing as a good vampire book! Twilight ruined all of them! Whaaa!” I am here to tell you that you are wrong. There is such a thing as a good vampire book, and Twilight isn’t nearly as bad as you think. Here are some examples, and I’ll talk about what we can learn about them.

 

Twilight isn’t as bad as you think. I mean, think about it. It has everything the average girl would want: eternity with a cute guy, a strong-ish female lead, weddings and babies, a love triangle, and seriously badass vampires and werewolves. The plot is great and it hooks readers. Pick up Twilight again to read it and ask yourself why it is so successful. It’s: alluring to female readers, has a good mix of romance and adventure, and is easy to read. There are lots of reasons. Meyer isn’t a fantastic writer and she doesn’t need to be. The story did it for her. You don’t have to agree with the message in the story, which is basically preaching Mormon beliefs. I don’t. I just like to analyze it.

 

I am also in love with the TV show, The Vampire Diaries. It rocks, seriously. I haven’t read the books yet, but I’ve ordered them from the library and can’t wait to start reading as I am going through serious VD withdrawl because I watched the whole series on Netflix and season 5 doesn’t come out until October. L The plot is even better than Twilight, the characters are interesting and complex, and there’s several love triangles going on. Plus, there are more magical creatures: vampires, werewolves, witches, doppelgangers, and hybrids, and they actually stick to the legends (vampires burn instead of sparkle!).

 

Dracula is not so much a vampire story as it is a piece of gothic literature. I personally don’t think Count Dracula is a vampire. My paper on the book had this title: Dracula: The Fault in His Fangs? I got a B+, just in case the grade is important for you to know. Really, the narrators (Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, Van Helsing, Quincy) saw their own faults and projected them onto Dracula because he was a stranger and could be easily blamed. Agoraphobia and his “vampiristic (is this even a word?) traits” is what made Dracula a vampire in symbolic terms. If you want an MG version of this book, check out Bunnicula. It tells the story of Chester the cat and Harold the Dog and their fear of the vampire bunny, Bunnicula. Is Bunnicula really a vampire though? Who knows?

 

During the vampire book craze, I was reading mostly dystopia among other things so I haven’t read a lot of vampire stories. I have a reading list though: The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith, Vampire Academy by Rachelle (sp?) Mead, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, and Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. Wish me luck! Do you know any well-done vampire books?

Paige's Pages: Writing About Vampires

Well, I can’t say that I know a lot about writing about vampires as I have never written a vampire story. I will try my best though. Here is what I’ve learned when it comes to reading about vampires though.

 

Stick to the legends. What I like about vampires is that they have their various strengths—but they also have their weaknesses. Here’s a list of the knowledge I’ve accumulated from reading the various stories: the drink blood (obviously), they can’t go out into sunlight, they can’t go into a home without being invited, garlic, salt, and holy water are weaknesses (The Vampire Diaries added vervain, but I’m not sure if it’s real), they are super strong and fast, they sleep in coffins, they are eternal, their emotions are heightened, you can kill them with stakes, and werewolves seem to hate them.

 

Dracula also has a problem crossing running water, but I think he’s a wimp. Do what you want with these legends. Some you can keep, some you can eliminate, but I personally think all of them are way cool and that they shouldn’t be messed with. Now, I know everyone hates Twilight, but believe it or not, I don’t hate it completely. One thing I did not like in that story though, is how Meyer made the vampires sparkle instead of burn. It really didn’t make sense to me. I could go on to justify how I don’t think Meyer is a horrible author, but that would be beside the point. I’ll rant on Wednesday, when I get to talk about books!

 

If you don’t get your legends/facts straight, then the story doesn’t feel real. A vampire that doesn’t drink blood is like a zombie that doesn’t eat brains. A vampire that doesn’t burn in the sun is like a werewolf without the full moon.

 

That doesn’t mean I don’t encourage originality though. Sometimes the myths are lame like the running water one. I don’t really like the coffins or the garlic and salt (holy water’s pretty cool though). I know us writers have God Complexes, but sometimes you have to keep the hand out. I may be tempting to make vampires sparkle instead of burn if it’s easier for you, but you have to embrace character weaknesses. It makes them more interesting. ;-)

 

Of course, the same goes for all stories, not just vampire stories.