So, in class today, we read a comic by a man named Scott McCloud.

     No. That's Fox McCloud. Scott McCloud's comic was on the six steps of  creation. At least, artistic creation. These steps are as follows: Idea/purpose, Form, Idiom, Structure, Craft, and Surface. They don't seem as clear as to what they mean from just looking at them, but McCloud goes in depth about them as the comic goes on.

     He does a very good job at explaining the six steps in a way that is easy to comprehend. Out of all the six steps, I think the one I need the most work on is structure. Specifically pacing.

     The standard for something being a novel is fifty-thousand words. Currently, the novel I'm writing, Black Roses (I know the title is edgy but it relates to the plot so shhh), is forty-one-thousand words long... And I'm only about a quarter of the way through.

     I know there are plenty of super long novels, such as basically every book is the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. But those novels are filled to the brim with plot and story. So many things happen to so many different characters. It's like taking three books and putting them into one. Black Roses is not like that.

     The story isn't super complicated. It's not simple either, though. Overall, not a whole lot of things happen in a long period of time. For example, at around thirty-thousand words, the main character gets together with his girlfriend/sister (it's complicated). Then, at forty-thousand, he's questioning whether or not she's out to murder him and his friends. That's a bit quick, right?

     BUT IT TAKES TWENTY THOUSAND WORDS FOR THE MAIN PLOT TO EVEN START.

     This isn't something that can be fixed with just a bit of editing, which I'm planning to do once I finish the book, hopefully by the end of the school year. I'm planning to rewrite many parts of the story, but considering the fact that this is my ninth draft of the thing, I kind of just want to have one set official story. But yeah. I suck at pacing. A lot. 

Spoilers.

     Hey, you. Yeah. You. The person reading this. Do you ever read any of my serious stuff? You know, stories like When They Cry, Black Roses, or Coven? Yes? Ok, then go away. This contains MAJOR spoilers, since it's an excerpt from a later part of a story that I haven't shown to anyone.
     If you have no idea what any of those stories are and don't care (AKA Justice. Just don't spoil anything for anyone else), then go ahead. Keep reading. But again, if you have read/are reading AAAAANY one of those, do NOT  continue.
     As I said before, this is an excerpt, so some things might not make sense. Anyway, just note that this is a videogame. Not real life. Well, not exactly. Whatever, I'm not going to spend nine years explaining.
     Anyway thanks. Enjoy.
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Revelations

Everything was going wrong.

The wind blew softly, yet howled like a dying stray dog in the middle of the night. Everyone was either lying on the ground or just barely standing.

Enigma stood before the bright, shining beacon of light emitting from the machine, piercing the skies above. By his side was Sakurai, always right next to him, ready to defend him from any oncoming attack that anyone would dare throw out.

Nikolai leaned against the crumbled stone column, heavily breathing as she gripped her bleeding arm, her jacket and jeans torn and tattered. Gritting her teeth, the forced herself to stand straight, glaring at the two standing several meters away from her.

Her friends lay all around her. Mira hunched over a tree branch. Clawz against the castle wall. Devila with her own tail wrapped around her neck. Mangrove groaning and holding his hand over the socket in which his eye used to be.

Nothing was going according to plan.

The young girl gripped one of her knives, her knuckles white. “...Why?”

The white haired boy smirked, then chuckling. “I’ve explained this before, Nikki. This is just something I have to do.”

“No, you don’t,” Nikolai told him sternly. “You can stop this. You’re only doing this because of some stupid revenge plot your dad talked you into.”

Enigma turned his head to look back at her. “Do you seriously believe that? No, I’m not. I’m doing this because those sick fucks deserve what’s coming to them.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sakurai, ready the portal.”

The ninja beside him nodded and knelt down, opening up the panel on the machine and beginning to fiddle around with the keys. Nikolai began to grind her teeth, becoming increasingly aggravated as time went on. “You hold grudges too easily. You just need to learn to let things go, Enigma.”

This time, Enigma fully turned around, looking at the girl with hatred in his eyes. “...Let things go?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Sure, I’ll let it go. It’s not like getting cut open, dissected, and experimented on like some worthless animal is anything to be about! It’s no big deal, really. Killing all of my friends, ruining my childhood, ripping me away from my family -- from my sister --, no, it’s all fine.”

Nikolai sighed, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. “Look, I get what the devs did to you was terrible. I know that you’re upset about it, but… Hasn’t there been enough death because of it?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Some poor blind girl who just wanted to play a game is dead, and you killed her.”

Enigma clenched his fists, looking down. “Stop it, Nikolai.”

“A fucking ten year old died yesterday, Enigma. And Sakurai killed him. He was only trying to protect YOU, and she killed him.”

“Nik, I’m serious--”

“Tessa!” Nikolai shouted, tears slowly filling her eyes. “My… my fucking little sister is dead…” She looked up and glared, staring Enigma dead in his eyes. “And you killed her.”

That was the last straw for the tortured boy. With an angered cry, he extended his wings and bent them back, dashing forward and delivering a swift punch to Nikolai’s jaw, sending her skidding across the dirt.

He didn’t give her a chance to recover. He easily flew over to where she was and grabbed her by the collar, taking her into the air. “I had NOTHING to do with her dying!” He shouted at her as they hovered in the air. “It was Jace’s fault, not mine. HE’S the one that shot her. HE pulled the trigger. Not me!”

Nikolai coughed and shook her head. “Tell me, then. Why’d he shoot in the first place, huh? Oh, right. You paid him to get rid of anyone in your way.”

Enigma bared his teeth and shouted once more, raising his arm and then slamming her into the ground. He divebombed over to where she lay, looking down at her body. His eyes and fists began to emit a purple mist, alarming someone who was only a ways away.

“E… nigma... “ Sakura managed to choke out, her breathing ragged and uneven.

He looked back, his expression suddenly turning from one of rage to one of horror. Seeing one of his closest friends like that… Back against a wall, pole through her stomach, tears in her eyes. The purple faded from his eyes and hands as his back straightened out. “P-please… stop this…”

Using his vulnerability as an opportunity, Nikolai used her one remaining knife to stab Enigma in the back of his knee, causing him to scream. She held down the red button on the bottom of the hilt, sending a wave of electricity throughout his body.

Through the pain, Enigma raised his free leg and kicked backwards, slamming his boot into her nose and looking down at her with malice in his eyes. “...That was a cheap shot. Then again, you’re not above it.”

Suddenly, the blue beam emitting from the portal machine began to flicker, before dying out. Not four seconds later, it was replaced with a vibrant purple light. Sakurai stood and looked back, nodding.

Enigma smiled widely. “...Don’t forget, Nikolai. We’re not the bad guys here. They are.” He began to walk towards the portal with every intent to enter it, leaving Nikolai alone.

She stood up, shaking her head and spitting blood in the mud. “Enigma. Stop.”

“You’ve tried and failed to stop me from doing something twice before. What makes you think this is any different?” He asked, not stopping his stride towards the portal.

“You can’t just murder people, Enigma! Please, stop!” Tears slowly filled Nikolai’s eyes as her voice broke.

“I’m not going to apologize, Nik. This is just something I’ve gotta do.”

“Please, Enigma, I’m begging you!” She pleaded, her lip quivering. “Just stop!”

Enigma ceased his walk, putting his hands in his pockets and sighing. “I. Can’t. I’ve told you that again and again. Why can’t you just let me do this?”

“I’m not just going to let you murder people! Enigma, please!” Tears dropped down onto the ground.

“I have to.”

“Please-”

“This is something I have to do-”

“Just stop!”

“You just wouldn’t understand-”

“You don’t have to do this!!!”

“Yes, I do!”

“Enigma!”

“Nikki, stop it!”

“Just-”

“Nikki-”
“STERLING!” Nikolai fell to her knees, breaking down as tears streamed down her face, staining her pale face.

Enigma turned around slowly, sadness in his eyes. He too slowly began to cry, tears filling his eyes. “...Vanessa…”

Shaking her head and sniveling, Nikolai looked up at him, staring into his eyes. “...Please…” She whispered. “You can stop this…”

He stood there for a while, staring down at the broken girl before him. There was no denying it now.

This was his little sister. The little girl he used to love and care for. The girl he use to push on the swings at the nearby park. The girl whose cuts and bruises he used to bandage. This was his sister. His little Nessa.

And here she was, in a fit of tears, crying hysterically on the dirt. It wasn’t her physically, of course, but it was still her. She was all he had left in terms of family. Like she said before, he killed his only other sister. At least, he caused her death. And it was his fault his baby sister was crying like this.

He wasn’t sure how she had found out. He didn’t care. He had her back, and that’s all that mattered. And yet, he still had a decision to make.

He looked back at Sakurai, who hid her face under her bangs. It was usually hard to read her, though, judging by the shaking, it was clear she was affected by this, too.

Enigma looked at Nikolai. How long had she known? Originally, she was against him for moral reasons. But when she found out he was her brother who had been dead for nearly ten years, did anything change?

...He couldn’t. This didn’t change anything. He’d put too much work into this, too much effort. He wasn’t about to let it all go to waste because of some stupid emotional bullshit. That wasn’t him.

Enigma shook his head and smirked, taking his headphones off and walking towards Nikolai. He knelt down and placed them at her side, then standing. He began to walk away once again, not being able to bare the sound of her sobbing. He wiped a few tears from his face with his palm, sighing. “...Sorry, Sis.”

He took one final step. The moment his boot hit the ground, he de-pixelized, the pixels ascending into the air. He was quickly followed by Sakurai, who went in with her arms crossed and her head down.

Nikolai looked up. They were gone. She had failed. Dozens of people, possibly even more, were going to die.

“And it’s my fault.”

Psuedonyms

   

     Pseudonyms: Using A Pen Name In A Cover Or Query Letters To Agents Or Editors, is an article written by the Writer's Relief Staff. It first goes over what a pseudonym is, which concludes in basically saying "It's a pen name". The article goes over where and when you should use a pen name, and says that you should use it in publishing, not submitting. It takes extra time emphasizing the fact that when submitting to a publisher or magazine or whatever, to distinguish your pen name from your real name.

Ancient Chinese Secret...

Yay Roald Dahl

     “I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.”

      -Roald Dahl

     Gah, I love this. I love this a lot. I never understand why people judge something without even finishing (or getting to the point of where the story is currently) it. I get if you drop something because it doesn't fit your tastes, I do. Though, I've only ever dropped two anime in my life, those were both for reasons other than "I didn't like it". Or it can just be so bad that you hate everything about it, like my friend Conrad did with the show "Erased".

     Speaking of Conrad, he has seen around 500 anime, and has about 700 dropped shows. This is because he watches EVERYTHING, but if he doesn't like it, he doesn't give it the time of day and just drops it. He doesn't understand why more people don't do this, which I just find baffling.

Hey Look Listen

     By the way, here's my novel that I'm currently writing. Well, one of the three... It's not done, but I need like, 20K more words for it to be officially considered a novel. Read it, I like it... Of course I like it, I wrote it. ANYWAY yeah read it. Not that you prooobably shouldn't read it in front of teachers or adults that pay attention to what you're viewing, because there's swearing and more bad stuff. Have fun ;]

     Last night, I watched episode 10 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It featured a new-ish character, Asuka Langley Soryu. She's cool, I guess. Though, they often sexualize a fourteen year old, but that's more for Shinji than it is for the viewer.

This is Asuka. 

     In this episode, Misato and Ritsugo discover the egg of an Angel deep within the mantle. They have to send someone down in an Eva unit to retrieve it so that they can study it, and Asuka immediately volunteers in order to impress Kaji, the man three times her age who she seems to have a crush on. However, after seeing that her standard Eva suit has to be bloated so she can easily handle the heat, she chickens out because she doesn't want Kaji to see her in it, since she's used to the skin tight suit the Eva pilots usually wear. However, once Rei volunteers, she sucks it up and decides to go, anyway.
     She gets into Eva Unit 002, which has been modified to handle the high pressure and heat of the mantle, and dives into a magma pool. For a while, she can't see anything, but the visibility becomes clearly as she descends, and the pressure increases, causing her to drop her Eva knife. She eventually does capture the egg, and begins her ascension.
     Oh no, the egg hatches! She has to fight without a knife, which is impossible when you're 1300 feet down in magma. Shinji uses his Eva Unit 001 to throw down his own knife to her, which she catches. But she can't hurt the Angel because the pressure is screwing with the molecules of it... or something. She directs all the cool air in her Eva unit to her knife, and the sudden change in temperature causes her unit's arm to shrink. Because earlier in the episode, her and Shinji were talking about thermal expansion.
     She manages to kill the Angel, but not before it slashes her cables, disconnecting her from the reeler in thing that's on the surface. Her Eva succumbs to the pressure and begins to crumple with her inside of it, but Shinji comes to the rescue! He grabs her and pulls her up, saving the day.
     Overall, this episode was nice. It was the third Asuka-centric episode, which closes out her introduction arc, as they did with Rei and Shinji. I don't usually like Asuka's tsundere character type, but she's funny and hot, so I like her, I guess. And she speaks German randomly, so... Yeah, Asuka is cool.

._. I'm Supposed To Write About What Job Appeals To Me, So I Will.

     Meh. The only real reason I even auditioned for Creative Writing is because I like writing stories. I don't really enjoy poetry or any of the other job options listed. So I guess novelist, consider the fact that I'm in the process of writing three books, anyway. Despite the fact that I don't really want writing to be my primary occupation when I'm older, I still want to do it as a job, so...

     Responding To Videos I Guess

     Walter Mosely has an interesting way of writing. He gets up at about six or seven, and writes until about nine or ten, totaling three or so hours a day. He spends the rest of the day doing everything else, really. He says that he didn't have to sacrifice anything to become a writer, which is totally believable. A lot of people make writers out to be these tortured souls with so much to say, when really, a lot of us just like writing. There's not much to it at all.

    Robert McKeen... I'm going to keep this one short. He says that bad writers have nothing to say, which I just disagree with. Writing doesn't have to "say" anything meaningful. Some people write just to tell a story. Not everything has to be deep. He says that while Steven Spielberg has excellent craftmanship, he never has anything to say, which is SUUUPER WRONG. He says the same about M. Knight Shyamalan, which is even more wrong. Shymalan is a mediocre director and writer, but ALL of his movies say something. He also makes fun of comic book movies as being kiddy and unimaginative.

     Isabel Allende was nice to watch. She told the story about how her first novel came to be, and at least it was interesting. She talked about how she starts every story on January 8th, which is... odd. But understandable, taking her past into consideration.

The Importance of Cute Characters

The Importance Of Cute Characters

     In 2011, the novel "Divergent" made a bold move by making the two main characters not very attractive. Granted, the film completely through this aspect out the window by casting two gorgeous actors as the main leads, but the point is still there. 
     As human beings, we are naturally attracted to aesthetically appealing things or people. There are asexuals in the world that do not apply here, but we'll focus on those of us that do feel physical attraction. You could cater to this desire of ours by adding characters that are seen as "hot" or "sexy", such as Jessica Rabbit or Steve Rogers, but this exclusively handles our sex drives. You don't have to be attracted to their personalities, but as long as they're hot, you're set.
     Now, there are "cute" characters all over fiction, such as Mikuru Asahina and Mitsuki Haninozuka. Instead of making you go "oooh" when you look at them, you go "aaaw". Now, when I say "cute", I mean in both personality and physical stature. Both these characters are incredibly physically appealing, but they also have a sense of adorableness to them. Mikuru acts incredibly shy, while Mitsuki is basically a spoiled little boy. Both these things are seen as cute by most people, and naturally cause us to become attached to the characters. So boom, you instantly have a character that people care about and want to see succeed in whatever they're trying to do within the narrative, making them care about whatever story they're in.

A Review On "Fences" By August Wilson

"Fences" Written By August Wilson

     Before I say anything, I want to just state that cultural or historical relevance has no correlation to the quality of the work. The "Divergent" series is complete garbage, yet is widely revered in western culture, despite it being relatively new. As far as I know, "Fences" is relevant to black culture, and I honestly can't see why.
     To be honest, I had no idea what this was even about for the majority of the reading. The first few scenes are about a guy named Troy and his wife, Rose, kind of just standing there and talking. Then his son comes in and asks for money and Troy starts going on a huge tangent about how he never calls and blah blah blah. Next thing you know, someone's dead!
     I didn't really like the writing style of the story overall. It seemed really bland and kind of uninteresting, though, that's really based on the individual that happens to reading.
     Overall, I can't really recommend this  if you're just looking for something to read. Though, if you're interested in culturally relevant pieces of literature, I guess you kind of have to read this. Good luck, though.

Hey What's Up Hello

Hello.

         This is my blog. I am a student in a school located in a place. I am taking a creative writing class. I have to do this for credit, though I am not too upset about it. I am not completely opposed to the idea of running a blog, though I usually have no time or energy to care about it. Though, I have an option to choose what I want to blog about, so that will be fun.

            While I do not look forward to this project, I'm not completely dismayed by the fact that I am being forced to partake in this activity. I suppose I am indifferent towards the matter... Oh well. There's no use complaining, since I don't really have an option. The teacher says people outside of our school are going to read this, but I sincerely doubt that. So if you do not go to our school and are currently reading this, then you do not exist. Sorry.