Rage Expo │ 2013

Hey! Uploaded a video yesterday! Listen to me talk about what me and my friends did at this year's Rage Expo and look what I bought!

I ♥ Books: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Name:  The Fault in Our Stars
Author:  John Green
Pages:  313
Publisher:  Dutton Books

Summary

Hazel, an indefinitely terminal cancer patient, meets a hot guy at her Cancer Kid Support Group named Augustus Waters who pretty much changes her outlook on life and turns everything upside down.

Discussion 

I'd been hearing a lot about this book on Tumblr and just about everywhere else on the interwebs, so I figured I'd see for myself what was so great about it.

First of all, it's a John Green book, so it was a given that it was going to be awesome, but I really didn't know what to expect. I got lost in the book the second I started reading. I just didn't want to put it down, but at the same time I didn't want to continue reading, because I just knew that something was going pop up and smash my heart into a million pieces. It didn't disappoint.

I loved this book for so many reasons. The perspective, the thoughtfulness, the way I felt like I'd known these characters my whole life and the way I had a complete emotional breakdown every time something bad happened to them. I loved that it made me think, that it made me question my existence and made me want to start living my life. I loved that it made me cry in a corner like a little girl and had me desperately clutching the book like it was my only way of holding onto reality.

It was beautifully devastating and I loved that it was so simple at the same time. It will make you cry, no matter how hard you try to resist and it will also make you laugh when you least expect it.

My Favourite Line

There were so many. Just about every conversation between Hazel and Augustus were my favourites. Also, I liked it when Isaac said something weird, like: "Come over here so I can examine your face with my hands and see deeper into your soul than a sighted person ever could."

But honestly, I don't have a favourite line. Every second line became my new favourite line as I read.

My Verdict

Should you read it? Yes. Absolutely, positively, a thousand times, yes! This book is perfection. The story is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking and you'll go back to read it another fifty times or so after you've finished it.

Rating:

Being a Better Writer

Being able to write something that doesn't make people want to fall into a boredom induced coma is probably one of the most useful skills you can learn. You don't have to be the next Shakespeare to avoid doing this though. All you have to do is write and do it well.

"But I'm a sucky writer.", "I wish I could write like you.", "I wish I had your talent.", "I don't have the time." ...

STOP IT! Stop complaining and stop making excuses. The moment you start making excuses is the moment everyone else knows that you aren't willing to put some effort into this sought after skill. Yes, some people have a talent to write. They can sit down and basically throw up on a page and it will be considered good writing by a lot of people. This should not discourage you. The moment you sit down and start writing, that is the moment you become a writer.

As soon as you realize that every great author in existence started out just like you, the task of writing something marvellous becomes so much less daunting. It becomes exciting even.

Starting a story is probably the easiest thing you can do. Finishing a story though... That's something different entirely.

Finishing a story takes commitment, because you may start with this story of yours, bright eyed and full of excitement, but after a week, a month or even a year, you'll start to realize that it isn't that easy anymore. You'll hate yourself, you'll hate your story, you'll hate that you even considered starting that damn thing in the first place. If you actually finish the story and it's time to start editing, you'll probably just hate life in general.

What exactly is my point?

There is no universal rule for becoming a better writer, no magic trick to turn you into a bestselling author. Except one.

Write.

Write every day. The more you write, the better you get at it. Practice makes perfect, 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' and all that jazz. There really is nothing more to it. The most insignificant sentence can lead to so many bigger things. Just don't take any idea for granted. Write anything and everything down.

Write.

Life So Far

I am 185 days, 23 hours and 1 minute into my first year of university. I'm basically almost done with it. It's weird how fast time moves when you're not really paying attention.

So far my university experience hasn't been quite what I expected. Living with my parents wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it does give me a chance to save up some money for when I graduate. At least I got my license and am driving myself now. The traffic gets to me though. It's nerve wracking.

Probably the best things that have happened this year are that I started vlogging and that my taste in music has become exponentially better. I've started listening to a lot more Fall Out Boy among other amazing bands and artists.

As for everything else. I've shrunken back into my internet shell. I don't really have the opportunity to hang out with my university friends, because they all live too far away and my other friends are all too busy with their own stuff. I'm lucky if I see them once a month. To make up for my lack of a social life, I dove into Tumblr and Supernatural and Youtube and trying to make comics again.

This seems a lot like a diary entry, because it kind of is. I've been neglecting this blog, so I figured I'd use this post to explain why. Sort of.

University has been rough. It's a big change from high school and I think I'll only truly be okay with it next year, when (or if) I made it through the first year. In the meantime, I'll be on my couch in my sweatpants watching Supernatural and pretending I care about my next assignment.

Page 1, The Joy of Learning To Drive

So, I've gotten it into my mind to start doing a comic journal. 
It's not THAT great so far, but at least I've started it. That's already a big leap for me.

Anyhoo, this first page is an illustration of what goes on in my head while I practice my driving. It doesn't help that I don't have very good depth perception.  I get especially nervous in gridlock traffic and anywhere remotely near trucks. I have however managed not to crash into anything or kill anyone, which is quite an accomplishment to me 

We shall see how the rest of the things go.