The nutshell version of me is that I'm a writer. I don't know if I'm a good one, I don't know if I'll ever be published, but I like to pretend everything already has that gravity. I love to draw, make websites, and compile soundtracks for my stories, and I also love to ramble about them frequently just so I can organize my thoughts. I'd be the first to admit that when I have too many of them swirling around, it's hard for me to function!
Realizing this is what brought me to making this journal, a little place where I can unload anything I want to say, or make plans for myself that I'll actually remember. The journal and I have come a long way and I'm extremely grateful that I started it and can look back to see what I've thought about as I grew as a writer. It takes me so long to write stories and I have to put many on the back-burner and hope that I can preserve the feelings and intentions I had for them.
That's the main priority of this journal, but it has somehow become a more personal account as well, and often times it's my life experiences that fuel the projects I work on. I would say about 75% of my entries are under friends cut, so your best bet of getting to know me and understanding what I post is to friend me. ;) Don't be shy! It would be a pleasure to get to know more like-minded folk or writers here on LJ, especially after its decline. It gets very lonely here, y'know?
Here's what you might like to know about my journal:
1.) I don't usually post spoilers publicly, but it's possible, and not all are under a cut. You may be subjected to information that compromises your "in the dark" factor as a reader, especially if we add each other as friends!
2.) Sometimes, all I want to do is plan, plan, and plan, which I have to admit is not particularly interesting to anyone besides myself. I'm trying not to do it as often.
3.) I'm extremely wordy. There's a reason I write novels and not short stories or poems: it takes a lot of text to get my feelings across. Forgive me for my text walls.
Here's an extremely old text-wall I wrote about myself:
1.) The Phantom of the Opera has been my favorite story since I was 14. I love reading the book, I love watching the movies (even the crappy ones, which constitutes like half of them), I love any TV imitation or parody, I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, and pieces of Ken Hill's and Yeston/Kopit's. Basically, bring me Phantom stuff and I'll be excited and find something good about it. Phantom inspires me almost daily and is always on my mind. I relate to Erik and like to show homage to him, and I relate to Christine. I'm waiting for the day I see ALW live, and when I make a pilgrimage to the Opera House. I know I'll break down and cry like a baby at both.
Phantom also inspired my first real ambition to write and finish something I'd like to publish. He's There is my exploration of the story on a personal level with a modern setting. "Modern Phantom" is an idea that's been done before, but this attempt is mine and it's very close to me, even though I go through an endless roller coaster of loving and hating it. What makes it different, in my opinion, is that it examines the extreme and sometimes unhealthy way that some young women who are fans of the story interpret the relationship of Erik and Christine (idealizing it, wanting an admirer, wanting to be pursued).
2.) I'm heavily inspired by nature and the seasons. I love a change in atmosphere that brings about new possibilities in a story, and we're all affected by and know the same weather and how it makes us feel. It really gets me in a state of respecting my characters and wanting to share messages through them when I remember they're in a world just as vast and beautiful as I am - that technically we're under the same sky. It takes them, and my mind, out of a stuffy box when I'm outside on a walk, visiting the park, or standing at the dock at night, seeing the infinity of the sky reflected in the water.
Also, my favorite season is Autumn. I prefer to call it Autumn because it's a much prettier word than "Fall" and something about the letters makes me imagine the leaves in all their colors before they've fallen. I actually hate when they fall! They turn brown and cake up on the sides of the streets, and who wants that? Back to the point, it's the most magical time of the year for me. It's brightly colored, everything is starting over again, and I like to take that theme seriously. And, I can't leave this part out - Autumn food is awesome. Pies, cider, candy corn, squash... I find myself obsessed with pumpkins from time to time. Halloween is my favorite holiday. When the Munsters marathon starts, I'm the one who gets up and dances. Two things consistent in my life have been loving classic horror, and loving dressing up and getting to be someone else. The art of crafting a costume, acting the part, and showing people a little piece of who I am is a big deal. (But hey, I like to do this year-round, anyway.)
3.) My goal for a long time has been to discover how this life that I have is exciting and meaningful and mysterious, just like a story. I do not like to go too far into escapism when I read or write as a means to distract myself from where I really am. I need my creativity to make me happy about where I am. I like to write stories that are about interesting things that haven't happened to me, but could, and remind me that I need to keep an open mind and put myself in situations where I'm going to find the kind of happiness and wonder that I fantasize about. So you will not find outrageous premises in my work. :) Not that there's anything wrong about science fiction or fantasy genre work (I like some of it), it's just not what I choose to make myself. This actually is not true anymore, I have went on to do fantasy.
4.) The most important aspect of all creation to me is the people. What I really do is elaborate on worlds and themes and conflicts to reveal the type of characters I created and why they should be important to anyone else. I'm very serious about and close to my characters, and regard them like real people (not in the psychotic way, but if you're writer, you get what I mean.) Sometimes they're my muses, a few of them I celebrate their birthdays, and they take journeys with me through life. They grow up with me; when I change a little or gain some insight about how the world works, I go back, reevaluate, and make adjustments - then they too gain a bit. Although, I'm too committed to ever change something like a name. Those end up staying. (For example, I have a character named Akira who is REALLY the furthest thing from Japanese that could ever be, but because I met him, already named, in a dream, I haven't tampered with it.)
5.) I have a strange but deep and unwavering soft spot for Kingdom Hearts ever since I was introduced at 14. It's hilarious to me that I've stressed the importance of character, because KH has such weak characterization, but I think the imagery, and places, and music from this series resonate a lot with me and take me to a creative and fantastical place in my head. When I write, sometimes I think of the game when I'm trying to build up something epic about exploring the unknown or finding out what's most important.
6.) I have a penchant for Wonderland, and not just any Wonderland. A fun, cheery one where nobody's head is chopped off and they sing and dance. Whether by now you're smiling or gaping in horror, I'm referring to a Disney Channel Original Series called Adventures in Wonderland (1992). I adore it. Even though it's wacky, retro, and teaches its young target audience about language and scruples, it's been the most complicated and endearing representation of otherwise one-dimensional characters to me and provides lots of inspiration. I love the Hatter and the Hare (and the series makes them very speshul together, so I ship it), the bedraggled "I don't have time for this shit" Rabbit, the loud diva Queen... the list goes on. When I have the time and motivation, I post fanfiction here and they can be lengthy. I'm letting you know in my introduction because everyone ought to know the series exists and that adult women like myself think it's spectacular. So, if you see a post related to it, I implore you to see if it's your cup of tea as well. :D
That'll pretty much cover it. If you're reading this journal, leave me a comment (which you can do even if you are not a member of LJ!) If you want to be added as a friend, I'm totally down with that. I'm interested in talking about writing with other writers and possibly finding good stories to read. And, naturally, I love feedback and use it to do what I do better.
♥,
Jennifer
Realizing this is what brought me to making this journal, a little place where I can unload anything I want to say, or make plans for myself that I'll actually remember. The journal and I have come a long way and I'm extremely grateful that I started it and can look back to see what I've thought about as I grew as a writer. It takes me so long to write stories and I have to put many on the back-burner and hope that I can preserve the feelings and intentions I had for them.
That's the main priority of this journal, but it has somehow become a more personal account as well, and often times it's my life experiences that fuel the projects I work on. I would say about 75% of my entries are under friends cut, so your best bet of getting to know me and understanding what I post is to friend me. ;) Don't be shy! It would be a pleasure to get to know more like-minded folk or writers here on LJ, especially after its decline. It gets very lonely here, y'know?
Here's what you might like to know about my journal:
1.) I don't usually post spoilers publicly, but it's possible, and not all are under a cut. You may be subjected to information that compromises your "in the dark" factor as a reader, especially if we add each other as friends!
2.) Sometimes, all I want to do is plan, plan, and plan, which I have to admit is not particularly interesting to anyone besides myself. I'm trying not to do it as often.
3.) I'm extremely wordy. There's a reason I write novels and not short stories or poems: it takes a lot of text to get my feelings across. Forgive me for my text walls.
Here's an extremely old text-wall I wrote about myself:
1.) The Phantom of the Opera has been my favorite story since I was 14. I love reading the book, I love watching the movies (even the crappy ones, which constitutes like half of them), I love any TV imitation or parody, I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, and pieces of Ken Hill's and Yeston/Kopit's. Basically, bring me Phantom stuff and I'll be excited and find something good about it. Phantom inspires me almost daily and is always on my mind. I relate to Erik and like to show homage to him, and I relate to Christine. I'm waiting for the day I see ALW live, and when I make a pilgrimage to the Opera House. I know I'll break down and cry like a baby at both.
Phantom also inspired my first real ambition to write and finish something I'd like to publish. He's There is my exploration of the story on a personal level with a modern setting. "Modern Phantom" is an idea that's been done before, but this attempt is mine and it's very close to me, even though I go through an endless roller coaster of loving and hating it. What makes it different, in my opinion, is that it examines the extreme and sometimes unhealthy way that some young women who are fans of the story interpret the relationship of Erik and Christine (idealizing it, wanting an admirer, wanting to be pursued).
2.) I'm heavily inspired by nature and the seasons. I love a change in atmosphere that brings about new possibilities in a story, and we're all affected by and know the same weather and how it makes us feel. It really gets me in a state of respecting my characters and wanting to share messages through them when I remember they're in a world just as vast and beautiful as I am - that technically we're under the same sky. It takes them, and my mind, out of a stuffy box when I'm outside on a walk, visiting the park, or standing at the dock at night, seeing the infinity of the sky reflected in the water.
Also, my favorite season is Autumn. I prefer to call it Autumn because it's a much prettier word than "Fall" and something about the letters makes me imagine the leaves in all their colors before they've fallen. I actually hate when they fall! They turn brown and cake up on the sides of the streets, and who wants that? Back to the point, it's the most magical time of the year for me. It's brightly colored, everything is starting over again, and I like to take that theme seriously. And, I can't leave this part out - Autumn food is awesome. Pies, cider, candy corn, squash... I find myself obsessed with pumpkins from time to time. Halloween is my favorite holiday. When the Munsters marathon starts, I'm the one who gets up and dances. Two things consistent in my life have been loving classic horror, and loving dressing up and getting to be someone else. The art of crafting a costume, acting the part, and showing people a little piece of who I am is a big deal. (But hey, I like to do this year-round, anyway.)
3.) My goal for a long time has been to discover how this life that I have is exciting and meaningful and mysterious, just like a story. I do not like to go too far into escapism when I read or write as a means to distract myself from where I really am. I need my creativity to make me happy about where I am. I like to write stories that are about interesting things that haven't happened to me, but could, and remind me that I need to keep an open mind and put myself in situations where I'm going to find the kind of happiness and wonder that I fantasize about. So you will not find outrageous premises in my work. :) Not that there's anything wrong about science fiction or fantasy genre work (I like some of it), it's just not what I choose to make myself. This actually is not true anymore, I have went on to do fantasy.
4.) The most important aspect of all creation to me is the people. What I really do is elaborate on worlds and themes and conflicts to reveal the type of characters I created and why they should be important to anyone else. I'm very serious about and close to my characters, and regard them like real people (not in the psychotic way, but if you're writer, you get what I mean.) Sometimes they're my muses, a few of them I celebrate their birthdays, and they take journeys with me through life. They grow up with me; when I change a little or gain some insight about how the world works, I go back, reevaluate, and make adjustments - then they too gain a bit. Although, I'm too committed to ever change something like a name. Those end up staying. (For example, I have a character named Akira who is REALLY the furthest thing from Japanese that could ever be, but because I met him, already named, in a dream, I haven't tampered with it.)
5.) I have a strange but deep and unwavering soft spot for Kingdom Hearts ever since I was introduced at 14. It's hilarious to me that I've stressed the importance of character, because KH has such weak characterization, but I think the imagery, and places, and music from this series resonate a lot with me and take me to a creative and fantastical place in my head. When I write, sometimes I think of the game when I'm trying to build up something epic about exploring the unknown or finding out what's most important.
6.) I have a penchant for Wonderland, and not just any Wonderland. A fun, cheery one where nobody's head is chopped off and they sing and dance. Whether by now you're smiling or gaping in horror, I'm referring to a Disney Channel Original Series called Adventures in Wonderland (1992). I adore it. Even though it's wacky, retro, and teaches its young target audience about language and scruples, it's been the most complicated and endearing representation of otherwise one-dimensional characters to me and provides lots of inspiration. I love the Hatter and the Hare (and the series makes them very speshul together, so I ship it), the bedraggled "I don't have time for this shit" Rabbit, the loud diva Queen... the list goes on. When I have the time and motivation, I post fanfiction here and they can be lengthy. I'm letting you know in my introduction because everyone ought to know the series exists and that adult women like myself think it's spectacular. So, if you see a post related to it, I implore you to see if it's your cup of tea as well. :D
That'll pretty much cover it. If you're reading this journal, leave me a comment (which you can do even if you are not a member of LJ!) If you want to be added as a friend, I'm totally down with that. I'm interested in talking about writing with other writers and possibly finding good stories to read. And, naturally, I love feedback and use it to do what I do better.
♥,
Jennifer
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