Meme Madness! (The Secret's In The Telling)

"Until the last resilient hope
Is frozen deep inside my bones
And this broken fate has claimed me
And my memories for its own
Your name is pounding through my veins
can't you hear how it is sung?"

  - Dashboard Confessional "The Secret's In The Telling" www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnjjkR…


Yeah, I started the song lyrics back up. Now that I'm not so lazy, I suppose. Anyway....


These are piling up, so I'm just going to do a bunch here in one journal. Mostly stole the idea to  do multiple memes in one journal from VelCake and also stole a couple of the memes she did.

Anyway! First, I'd like to thank for tagging me, and therefore giving me an excuse to talk about my writing.

Meme #1 - Top Five Gallery Favorites

1.) The Ballad of SerenityA nightingale in a birch nearby,
sang a song that made her cry.
"Another note and I shall die!"
Her threat was met with no reply.
And so she rested by the stream,
and heard the crickets softly dream.
She watched the cattails kiss the stars,
believing heaven not so far.
"And here is where I shall be free,"
whispered fair Serenity.
The orphaned child, the strange young girl
born into an ancient world.
No elegance or skill had she
but the ballad, of Serenity.
She was cursed with just one song:
a ballad haunting, soft and long.
The words were never hers to hear,
but danced always beyond her ear.
On harp, flute, lyre she wiled away,
the notes that only she could play.
Yet she grew tried of just one song
and ran away before too long,
into a wood with stream of gold
where rumored lived the bards of old.
She found the caves of deepest blue
and told them, "I have searched for you."
Serenity the bards admired.
They gave to her the sacred lyre,
which bound her soul between its strings,
to find th The Ballad of Serenity. Absolutely the best poem I have ever written.

2.) Prologue poem to my novel "Maiden of Woodland Secrets". I really like my imagery in this one -  I think it captures the essence of the story and works well as a set-up to the first chapter.

3.) Frozen Love Song: Fire & Ice. This is essentially an epilogue to my novel. It's a love song between my two main characters, and I really enjoyed writing it, and reading it always draws me right back into the story. Also, they badlly needed a love song. I really do torture them - it's a wonder they stick with me at all.   I also think it works well as a song on its own, independent of the story.

4.) Chapter Eight "White Roses & A Thorn" of my novel. I just like the things that happen in this chapter. Also, it's one of those chapters that ends up in a completely different place than the reader would expect. A fair amount of information is revealed in this chapter, and I like how it changes the dynamic between the characters. Plus, it features my heroine, Violet, being her usual stubborn, sassy self.

5.) Chapter Eleven "Puppet Strings" of my novel. Odd that it should be one of my favorites, since Violet was so deeply miserable, but I enjoyed her interaction with Aerom. So much that I intend to expand the chapter into two chapters, and I've also added about a hundred pages and seriously altered the beginning of book three in order to give them more interaction. Poor Violet...

I don't do tagging (I don't want anyone to feel obligated and I don't want anyone to feel left out), but please feel free to steal.

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Writing Meme Also from


1. What led you to write?

Probably the fact that for as long as I can remember, I've constantly narrated my life in my head. I find it completely impossible to shut off my stream-of-consciousness, so I use it to think up stories. I've always enjoyed playing around with words, but I was led to write my novel because of the story my characters gave me – I couldn't not write it.

2. When did you start writing?
My mom says I made my first book at age two. The first I remember writing I was six.


3. What does writing represent in your life?
My purpose.


4. Are you happy with your current style?
Style yes, skill no.


5. Do you do editing?
Of course. At times it's pretty torturous and I have no clue what I'm doing. But sometimes it wokrs nicely, when I spot a mistake and know instantly how to correct it.


6. Do you read about writing (creative writing books, grammar books...)
Yes, but I find it more helpful to just read actual books.


7. Favourite genre?

Fantasy, be it high fantasy, urban fantasy, young adult fantasy, etc.

8. Favourite author(s)?
 Peter S. Beagle, Donna Jo Napoli, Patricia McKillip, Holly Black, JK Rowling, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Tolkien.


9. Favourite book?
“The Last Unicon” by Peter S. Beagle. It is my goal to one day write something that can affect people in the way this book affected me.


10. What do you prefer to write?
Fantasy prose (though  I like poetry, too – especially fantay poetry) with lots of rich imagery, metaphor and emotion.


11. Is there anything you can't write?
Hmm. Romance novels, maybe? Which is odd. Any of you who've read my book know I have no problem with romance. And it's not like I can't write erotica – I actually can, even if DA will NEVER see it. But a few years ago I tried to write a “bodice-ripper” harlequin romance novel, because I read romance was the easiest genre to get published, so I thought I could get my foot in the door. So I started writing it, but quickly realized that my options boiled down to a) write the story the way that comes naturally, even though that will make the story too weird to even be a romance novel anymore, or b) write the book the way romance publishers want it, and lose all self-respect in the process, and not enjoy writing it one bit.

12. What is the weirdest thing you have ever written?
This: I KnowI remember
when you were born,
you were so small
I was afraid to touch you.
But you came to me, right away.
I know you wanted
to be my child
and I obliged.
Yet I often wonder
who it was that rescued whom?
I remember
that cold November day
when you cuddled against daddy,
warm inside his coat
and fell asleep.
I know you wanted
to stay always indoors
away from that wretched cold,
against which your dark, silky hair
simply was no match.
I remember
when you first spoke,
your voice so small.
How my ears perked up, and my heart leaped
when you tried to say "Mom".
I know you want
to speak just like me,
but for never saying a word
your vocabulary is superb.
And I wonder which of us
is the true poet.
I remember
when you tried so hard to walk,
balancing upright against the wall, so proud.
I know you want
to walk just like me,
and I'm sorry I'm such a poor example;
And my limps, my crutches, my misplaced steps
make your efforts all the more valiant.
I remember
those gorgeous eyes
blooming gold rig


13. Choose a topic: love, death, friendship. Now write a couple of lines about it.
Everything that happened, happened because I loved him. And everything else happened because of her. So I became a living ghost, never to die, never to live. – that's the really rough opening of book four, in the words of a character you guys haven't met yet.


14. Do you think you have influences from any professional writer? If so, which ones?
Definitely. I've worked hard to develop a unique style though, and so I don't see it as copying. I've been influenced by Patricia A. McKillip, because her prose reads like poetry. I try to do this too, though in a different way. Donna Jo Napoli is so good at wringing emotion out of every word, and I strive to do the same. And many more, of course.


15. Worst book you have read so far? & 16. Why is it so bad, in your opinion?
The harleqiun romance novel I read to try to learn how to write romance novels. I think it was called something like”Wanted: Mistress & Mother”. I don't know – my friend lent it to me. It was bad because the plot was cliched and contrived, the characterization was nonexistant and the writing itself was just mediocre.

17. Choose one of your characters and describe them in three words.
Violet: pure, stubborn, brave


18. Does your character feel ‘alive’?
All of them.


19. Could you kill this character?
No, because that isn't what happens. Huge spoiler, I know. (why is there no eyeroll emote?)


20. Do you hate any of your own characters?
No, but I haven't finished writing book three yet. It's going to be hard not to hate Aerom after that. But that's somethuing Violet and I have in common – we both refuse to hate anyone. So I guess she and I will have to support each other in the non-hating effort.


21. Now, let's be honest. Every writer has their own favourite creation. What's your favourite story, out of everything you have written/planned to write? And character?
I'm really excited for book seven, because it will bring together all of the characters from the previous books. Character, huh? That's tough. I ended up really liking Evlyn. But I think I'll have to go with Violet, since she's like a best friend.

22. Have you ever abandoned an idea for a story? Why?
Never permamently. There's still stuff from junior high floating around my brain, waiting its turn.

23. Have you ever deleted a whole piece of work? Why?
No! Not intentionally. I get so invlved with my work – I could never bear to delete it.

24. And finally: make up a completely original character right now and describe them briefly. It doesn't even have to be human!
I'm going to steal TarienCole's Steampunk theme and go with: Deirdre Delora is the fifteen year-old ghost of a Victorian chambermaid. She is small, with very dark brown hair and dark, sparkling eyes. She is quite cheeful, actually, but has a very dark sense of humor which tends to upset people.

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Yet another awesome tagging from He requests that I tell you nine things about my character, Raven. I'm glad he chose Raven, because he seems to be the character I'm having the most trouble getting across properly to the reader. I located a massive “character questionaire” recently, which I'm going to fill out in an attempt to make Raven more understandable to the reader. I'll be posting it as a deviation when it's done. So here's my practice:


1.)Born October 27th (Scorpio). He is nineteen at the beginning of the story.

2.)His father was the Count of Gaerdon, which means he ruled the entire province. His father was very unconventional, and not only married a peasant but allowed nobles and commoners to mingle at court. This has a very profound effect on Raven as a child.

3.)Raven was ten years old when his father fled the country under accusations and death threats from his younger brother, who became Count after Raven's father fled.

4.)Raven has absolutely no title. His mother is a peasant, his father is disgraced, and he is disinherited. He is only allowed to remain at court and live the life of a noble, because his uncle (the new Count) liked Raven and his mother.

5.)He is a mage who can control ice. His parents knew he was a mage when he was very young, but hid this fact, for fear that Countess Is'aura would use this knowledge to manipulate Raven.

6.)Instead of a regular “enhanced sense” power, as is common in his world, Raven has a kind of enhanced intuition. Every so often, when it matters, he's hit with a very strong jolt of clarity about something. His earliest experience with this was at age eleven, when he absolutely knew that his father was in the wood (Violet's wood). That was why he travelled there in the dead of winter and nearly froze, thus gaining the power of ice. He still firmly believes his father was there, and trusts his intuiticve powers completely.

7.)He ofen fantasizes about just leaving the country and escaping to the mage's school in Firle`, but he can't bring himself to just abandon the counrtry. He feels it's his duty to keep the country together until (he believes) his father returns. He is resentful, because the peasantry largely hates him and despite everything he does to try to help them. He also resents that he was never allowed to properly learn magic, and can't even learn now, as an adult, because his father's absence has necessitated his presence in the country. After meeting Violet, he's often tempted to just escape with her to Firle`. But he knows she'd never do it either.

8.)Raven's main interest and hobby is exploring ancient folklore. That's why he gets so excited when he sees that Violet somehow has his father's spellbook, and also how he knew about the Eala O'ran.

9.)Raven probably knows the country (or province) of Gaerdon better than anyone. He spends a lot of time away from court, trying to curry the favor of the peasantry and assist them. He rather enjoys being a pariah at court, as he despises what it has turned into. But he wishes he could find acceptance among the commoners.

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Continuing with the “Nine” theme, here is the 9x9 meme, stolen from VelCake


9x9
9 of them. Each of them including 9 things. In no particular order.

There doesn't have to be tagging, if you chose not to. But doing it and linking back to whom you learned of it from would be a great way to spread knowledge about friends.

9 favorite animals
Kitties! Bunnies. Squirrels. Ferrets. Humpback Whales. Sea Turtles. Siberian Huskies. Owls. Fennec Foxes.
Guaranteed I'm forgetting something.


9 [new] places you want to see

1.) The Black Forest in Germany
2.)New Zealand (LOTR tour!)
3.) The Olympic Peninsula in Washington State (not because of the Twlight connotation, but because it's the rainiest place on Earth. I actually knew about Forks way before Twilight because of the rainy reputation.)
4.)Transylvania (okay, so I've had a vampire obsession since I was seven. Sue me. Plus it's really remote and pretty)
5.)Vancouver. I've been, but I really didn't get to spend enough time.
6.)Ireland
7.)Scotland
8.)Wales – there's a town there that is named after my family, and I actually have some relatives there.
9.)England. Like, everywhere in England. London, the moors, Stonehenge, Cornwall.
       And since four of those answers were all in the UK, I'madding France. Architechture


9 [current] favorite songs

1. Thursday – Steps Ascending www.youtube.com/watch?v=odoLAV…
2.Dashboard Confessional – The Secret's In The Telling www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnjjkR…
3.Mortal Love – Adoration www.youtube.com/watch?v=As986l…
4.My Chemical Romance – It's Not A Fashion Statement  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACMeM7…
5.Emilie Autumn – Dead Is The New Alive www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3Niy…
6.Pretty much the entire new Within Temptation album, but athe moment I'm loving “Lost”  www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn7zNt…
7.AFI – Torch Song
8.Lacuna Coil – Shallow Life www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pe1zR…
9.We Are The Fallen – I Am Only One www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsnCq2…

9 favorite deviants

I refuse. I'll hurt people's feelings if I leave them out, and I know I will, because I'm scatterbrained and nine is not enough.


9 favorite emotes [and plz accounts]

        

9 favorite words

plenilunary, boddisatva, querolous, opaque, taciturn, ephemeral, intangible, emblazoned, encompass


9 favorite body parts

I'm not sure how to answer this, so I won't.

9 favorite things owned

1.) The original version of my book, with the edits and comments ,my dad and step-mom made on it.

2.) My complete boxed set of the British versions of Harry Potter.

3.) My DVR. I seriously don't know how I lived without it for twenty years.

4.) My photo albums and memory (shoe) boxes, especially the ones that have the hundreds of lengthy notes my best friend and penned during high school, and the love letters my husband wrote me when we first started dating.

5.) My old notebooks with the original versions of many of my poems, and some notes on my books.

6.) My music collection

7.) My oil paintings. They're not masterworks, but they're mine, and I love them.

8.) My special edition extended copies of all three LOTR movies.

9.) My various signed memorabilia - the signed copy of "Tithe" by Holly Black, my four autographed Switchfoot cds, my signed Sarah McLachlan lyrics book.

Gah! And my computer, of course. Maybe I can lump that one in with my music collection, since one is on the other?



9 favorite thumbs from around DA: (yeah, I'm not just going to pick nine. Consider this my journal feature.)
Not putting any from AkubakaArts because you should all know to worship her by now.
:thumb192187656: :thumb147231130: :thumb145808388: :thumb153834302:

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DA Addict Meme stolen from VelCake

[x] you have dA as your home page.
[x] you check dA more than 3 times a day ( about every two minutes or so.)
[x] you have more than 100 new messages in your inbox every day (I'd say so.)
[x] you have more than 25 deviations
[ ] you have more than 25 journal entries (no, but that's because the ones I do are long and involved)
[x] you no longer think that da stands for dumbass (never thought this.
[x] you use :icon(whatever)plz: on sites other then dA I have to catch myself about not using DA icons in emails.
[x] you have more than 5 plz icons memorized ( I have hundreds of'em )
[ ] you have made your own plz icon (no, because that would require technical skill, which I don't have.)
[x] you enter dA contests (That's how I replenish my points – when I'm lucky)
[x] you answer the poll at the bottom of the home page
[x] you have a premium account ( Yes!)
[x] you have more than 1000 pageviews
[x] you have more than 150 comments ( YES! I my commemters!)
[x] you have more than 50 favorites ( Yes, because I'm really lucky).
[x] you belong to at least 5 groups (I have completely lost count).
[x] you are the admin of a dA group (not founder, but admin).
[x] you have a deviantID
[ ] you have a webcam image (not sure how to do this, plus I don't know what I'd put.
[x] you have a shoutbox
[x] you have done 10 or more written memes like this
[ ] you have made a written meme ( maybe some day )
[ ] you have done more than 5 drawing memes ( this is unfair to people who can't draw!)
[ ] you have made a drawing meme
[x] you would consider dA to be in your top 3 websites you use for communication (It's pretty much all I use).
[x] you have more than 10 llamas (
[x] you have given someone a llama
[x] you have donated points to someone

TOTAL POINTS: 28

[ ] 0 do you even have an account?
[ ] 1-5 did you just join or something?
[ ] 6-10 you have an active dA account
[ ] 11-15 you are pretty new to dA
[ ] 16-20 you are a dA addict!
[x] 21-24 you are a super dA addict!
[ ] 25-27 you are an insane dA addict!
[ ] 28 you are a dArn addict!

Still a ways to go, it seems...

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And finally, a Music Meme stolen from WH1T3-N0153 Because I'm an idiot, when I read it on his page I thought you were supposed to check the music you like, not just what you've heard. But I'm going to fill it in as music I like, because I've heard of basically everything on here:

ALTERNATIVE:
Breaking Benjamin [x]
Paramore [x]
Panic At The Disco [x]
Linkin Park [x]
The Academy Is... [X]
Coldplay [x]
Three Days Grace [x]
Yellowcard [x]
30 Seconds to Mars [x]
Chevelle [X]
TOTAL SO FAR = 10

--------------------------------------------
COUNTRY:
Rascal Flatts []
Carrie Underwood []
Leanne Rhymes []
Garth Brooks []
Dixie Chicks [x]
Kenny Chesney []
Tim McGraw []
Faith Hill []
Shania Twain []
Johnny Cash [x]
TOTAL SO FAR = 12

Country =
-----------------------------------------------
EMO:
Hawthorne Heights [x]
Chiodos []
Forgive Durden []
Amber Pacific []
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus [x]
From First to Last []
Senses Fail []
Underoath []
Something Corporate [x]
Hit The Lights []
Dear Whoever []
TOTAL SO FAR = 15

(why isn't Dashboard Confessional on here? They were one of the first emo bands, back when it just meant "emotional".)
-----------------------------------------
INDIE:
The Hush Sound []
NeverShoutNever! []
Death Cab for Cutie [x]
Dashboard Confessional [x]
The Killers []
Yeah Yeah Yeahs []
Hot Hot Heat []
Gym Class Heroes []
Franz Ferdinand []
Modest Mouse [X]
TOTAL SO FAR =  18

(awesome! Modest Mouse shoutout!)
----------------------------------------
METAL:
Slipknot []
System of a Down [x]
Disturbed [x]
Metallica []
Guns n' Roses []
Lamb of God []
Slayer []
Hatebreed []
Killswitch Engage []
Children of Bodom []
Arch Enemy []
Behemoth []
TOTAL SO FAR = 20

----------------------------------------
POP:
Teddy Geiger []
Ashlee Simpson []
Kelly Clarkson []
Jesse McCartney []
Avril Lavigne [x]
P!NK [x]
The Veronicas []
Daniel Powter[]
James Blunt []
Natasha Bedingfield []
Ryan Cabrara []
TOTAL SO FAR = 22

(I'm not big on either, but they're okay, once in a while.)
-------------------------------
POWERPOP/PUNK:
Hellogoodbye []
Cute is What We Aim for []
Cartel []
The Click Five []
Fall Out Boy [x]
Rise Against [x]
Good Charlotte [x]
Bowling for Soup [x]
Relient K []
Anti - Flag [x]
Simple Plan [x]
TOTAL SO FAR = 28

(wow, there are bands on this list that would HATE to be grouped together with some of the other bands)
-----------------------------------
RAP:
Ying Yang Twins [x]
T.I. []
Paul Wall []
TuPac [x] (
Jamie Foxx []
Ludacris []
Lil' Jon []
Outkast [x]
50 Cent []
Kanye West []
Notorious B.I.G []
Young Jeezy []
TOTAL SO FAR = 29


------------------------------
SKA:
Reel Big Fish []
The Specials []
Caddies []
Rancid []
The Aquabats []
Sublime [x]
No Doubt [x]
Madness []
Operation Ivy [x]
Bob Marley [x]
TOTAL SO FAR= 33

(where the hell is nofx, co-inventor of ska!?  And again, wow some of these bands would be surprised to be in the same category.)
------------------------------
ROCK:
Taking Back Sunday [x]
All-American Rejects [x]
Motion City Soundtrack []
Avenged Sevenfold []
Angels and Airwaves [x] So, Angels and Airwaves is rock, but Hawthorne Heights is emo? Huh? I like both, but the I think music categorization is a futile effort really.)
Evanescence [x] (Within Temptation is better. okay, :devWH1T3-N0153 : said this, but it's still true! )
My Chemical Romance [x]
Drowning Pool []
Green Day [x]
Blink-182 [x]
Madina Lake []
TOTAL SO FAR = 40

-----------------------------
CLASSIC ROCK:
The Beatles [x]
Led Zeppelin [x]
The Rolling Stones [x]
The Cure [x]
The Who [x]
Pink Floyd [x]
Jimi Hendrix [x]
Queen [x]
Van Halen []
Poison []
AC-DC [] Kindly do not make me listen to them unless you'd like me to pull all of my teeth out to distract myself from the pain.
TOTAL= 48

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Multiply your total by 2

Then Re-post this as:
I am __% obsessed with music!

I got..ooh math...hurts brain...umm...96% Cool.


Well, that's all for now I suppose. Not much going on with me, really. Think I might finally be getting my head in the right place to start doing my intensive edits on book 1. My surgery should be soon, which is cool. Pennsylvania thinks it needs to snow the first weekend of April, which is odd. Oh! Did you know that color doesn't actually exist in nature? Our brains just make it up - everything is actually gray. Creatures without brains, like jellyfish, don't see color at all. Weird, huh? If you want to know more, you can go here: bluenred.wordpress.com/2011/03…
Not like this needs to be any longer, so I'll stop for now.