The Pinterest Report: Headband Upcycle

Week Sixteen: Headband Upcycle

Apologies, my dear readers, but I can't seem to find the place I first saw this project.  So we'll skip The Pin and The Link and go straight to The Test, because this project is so fun and easy I have to share it anyway!

The Test:

What you'll need: a headband, ribbon, hot glue gun and sticks, decoration (extra ribbon, fake gems, fake flowers, small feathers, etc. - optional)

What to do: Make sure you have enough ribbon for the whole headband before starting this project!  Now, hot glue the end of the ribbon to the underside of one end of the headband.  Squeeze a line of glue along the underside of the headband and carefully wrap the ribbon around and press it into the glue.  Make sure not to overlap the ribbon too much, but don't leave gaps either.  And don't burn yourself!  Take it from me: no fun.

Continue gluing small lines and wrapping until the whole headband is covered, then cut any leftover ribbon and glue the end to the underside of the headband end.  All done!  I didn't do this part, but if you want, you can add feathers, gems, bows, flowers, or whatever tickles your fancy. :)

I love my new-old headband!  The old white headband I used was dingy and yellowed and just bleck.  But now this matches a couple of my favorite shirts and brightens my hair up easily!

The Grade:

What OneWord365 Has Taught Me (So Far)

Stop by the OneWord365 blog to read my official guest post: how to keep your word alive!

{via}

Dreams take patience.  I can't expect to achieve all my dreams and goals in one year.  I have to decide what's most important to me, and then I have to organize my time to accomplish that.  Sometimes I have to set aside a dream or desire of mine in order to help with another's dream, too.

Dreams take work.  I can't sit back and wait for everything to just fall into place.  I have to take action!  Sometimes I want to do something or help someone, but I don't like the step(s) involved with that.  I have to push my sleeves up and work through that anyway if I'm going to reach the happier, wiser me on the other side.

Dreams take money.  This is a bit more practical than philosophical, but it's quite true.  I have to use my money wisely and sometimes say no to little things I want if I'm to be able to accomplish my dreams and help others reach theirs.

My dreams teach me.  Getting my ears pierced put me out of my comfort zone, which is actually not easy to do.  I love to be bold, to enjoy life and try new things - but even the great and adventurous Emily is learning that I'm not done expanding my mind or redrawing the lines I've set around my life.

My dreams don't always make sense.  Sometimes I've wanted something for so long, I can't even remember why I ever wanted it.  It's become stale.  That's when I have to take a step back and think, "Is this worth it?  Why am I doing this?  Is it really important or am I just trying to prove something?"

My dreams aren't always good for me.  I love doing new things and being daring and bold - but there's such things as caution and safety measures for a reason.  Sometimes living out my dreams means learning when something's a great goal and when it's just me being stubborn or foolish.

I'm participating in Melanie's Monthly One Word Linkup Party.  Join us!

Mistakes I Made Early In My Writing Career {dual guest post + GIVEAWAY!}

Guess what?  We have guests!  Please join me in welcoming Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson of the Go Teen Writers blog!

UPDATE: Scroll down to the Rafflecopter at the end of this post for a chance to win an ecopy of the new Go Teen Writers book!

The publishing business is so quirky, it can feel impossible to learn all the rules and etiquette. With our book Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft Into a Published Book, we wanted to pass along what we’ve learned in our years of pursuing writing. Here are five mistakes each of us made early in our career:

Stephanie’s Big Mistakes 

I narrowed my selections to three craft related mistakes and two industry/professional mistakes.

1. Story Structure. I’m a pantser by nature (someone who writes by the seat of my pants rather than outlining), and as a novice writer, I didn’t bother to understand story structure. Because I had absorbed a great deal of it from movies and reading, I assumed I knew what I needed to write a good story. I see now how my early stories would have been strengthened had I known a bit more about beginnings, ends, and especially middles.

2. Passive writing. My early manuscripts are riddled with phrases like, “Paige was walking,” or “Matt was Carter’s best friend.” I didn’t even know I wrote passively until an agent told me. Fortunately she said if I fixed my abundance of passive sentences, she would take another look at it. After I fixed my sentences to “Paige walked” and “Matt, Carter’s best friend…” she asked to represent me.

3. Dialogue Tags and Action Beats. In second grade I wrote a story with tons of dialogue. My teacher told me it was difficult to tell who was talking, and that I should use things like, “Sam said,” to show who was talking. Well, I really took that to heart. Even 10 years later, I used a dialogue tag with just about every sentence. When I learned how to use action beats, my scenes flowed so much better. Action beats are things like: Sam planted his hands on his hips. “Why would you say such a thing?”

4. I thought if I ignored marketing, it would go away. Or I guess that’s why I thought it was okay if I didn’t learn how to market my books. I hoped/prayed Me, Just Different (which is currently available for free on your ereader!) would magically break out on its own, and I could ignore everything that everybody said about how important it was to put together a marketing plan. I’m still not brilliant with marketing by any stretch, but I’ve certainly learned a lot about reaching my readers and how to wisely investment my time.

5. I didn’t understand why a one-sentence pitch mattered. My books aren’t high-concept books, so I’ve always had trouble summarizing them in a sentence. After I had sold my first series, I wiped my brow and put my “elevator pitch” days behind me. I had sold! That meant no more pitching! Until you’re on a TV show and they say, “Tell us what your book is about.” Or when you’re at a book signing and a stranger wanders by your table and ask, “What happens in your book?” As scary and uncomfortable as pitch sentences feel to me, I’ve come to terms with the fact that a good one is my most powerful marketing too.

Jill’s Big Mistakes 

Yeah, I could go on and on! But I gave five mistakes as well.

1. I didn’t respect my dream. I knew nothing about how to write good fiction. And I spent more time daydreaming about the success I might have someday than I spent writing and learning. I wrote half a book and went to a conference thinking I could sell it for a million dollars. (I now have nine books in print and still haven’t come anywhere near making a million dollars. If I add together the income from five years of writing, I haven’t even made a hundred thousand yet!)

2. I sent out my book before it was ready. Once I did finish my first book, I submitted it to agents and editors before I’d found the right people to read and edit it for me. It wasn’t ready, so rejection was always swift.

3. I signed with the wrong agent. I was so eager to be published, that when one of my random query letters came back with a positive response, I signed on without much thought or investigation. And I was lucky. My first agent was a good guy. But we weren’t the best fit and things didn’t work out. I encourage you all to meet your potential agent first at a writers conference. I realize that’s not always possible, so make a list of what’s important to you in an agent and be patient until you find the right one. Parting ways with an agent is never fun.

4. I tried too hard to put a theme in my books. I knew what I wanted to say and I found a way to say it. Readers who agree with me love that about my books. But the readers who don’t think like I do feel judged by certain aspects of my books. I never meant for that to happen. I was simply trying to write what I wanted to say. But a good writer shows all sides of every theme fairly and lets the reader choose what to believe. This has been a hard lesson for me that I continue to strive to do better with.

5. I judged fellow writers. There was a time before I was published when I read books and began to think, “My book is better than this one. What’s the deal here?” It upset me that these people were published and I was not when I felt that my book was better. So I pointed out what writers were doing wrong in book reviews or blog posts. I wanted people to know that these books were breaking the rules!

If you ever feel this way, resist. I know it’s tough. And I know that there are lots of wildly successful authors who break the rules. But that didn’t give me the right to judge. I should have held my tongue—or fingers from typing. Because there were times when I had to sit beside some of those authors, feeling very sheepish for the cruel things I once said online.

And there were also times when some unpublished authors felt the need to rip apart my book and point out all the ways that it was terrible. And that hurts. Don’t bad-mouth someone’s book when you don’t have any understanding of what it took to write and get that book published. We’re all on the same team here. Let’s support each other. And it’s always best to follow this rule: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson have written a combined two dozen speculative and contemporary novels for teens. They also blog obsessively at www.goteenwriters.com. When not writing or blogging, they can be found at the teen table at writer's conferences or wherever chocolate is being given away. Come hang out with Stephanie at www.stephaniemorrill.com and Jill at www.jillwilliamson.com.


And the giveaway!  Open to all ages, international, ends Tuesday, April 2 at midnight. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Broken-Heart and Ceiling-Staring Days {guest post}

As you read this, I'm currently on a bus full of kids on the way home from my first ever college visit in Florida!  Woo-hoo!  But that means I didn't get to write a Pinterest Report post this week.  :(  Instead of leaving my lovely readers with a simple 'on hiatus' message, this time I thought you'd enjoy reading a post I rediscovered this week that reminds me a lot of my word this year.

I couldn’t even pinpoint why I was grip-the-steering-wheel angry, frustrated, anxious. All I knew was that my heart was broken. Not by a boy. Not by a bad grade. Not by anything identifiable. Just…Sky gray with hovering clouds. Stress of a semester rolling toward the end. Sense of accomplishment from graduating community college combined with head-whirling nervousness of looking ahead to university. I felt as if I could drive on into the unknown, toward the last exit I’d never before followed home.

So many dreams coming true this year.

Graduating with my associate’s degree. Going on a mission trip. Gearing up for the small, private, Christian university I’ve wanted to attend for so long.

Yet so many dreams still grow.

Read the rest of this post at More to Be.

Blog Tour: 10 Questions

This writers' blog hop simply asks ten questions about your current story, and then you tag five other writer-blogger friends to participate next week. :)  Arlette over at Living Life Bright tagged me.  I wasn't sure whether I should talk about Sixteen, since it's releasing this year; Beila and the Griffin, which I recently finished the first draft of; or Kaimalie and the Mermaid, the story I'm doing outlines and notes for right now.  I decided that I should probably be talking about Sixteen, what with it being my up-and-coming novella. :)  I can always talk about Beila or Kaimalie when it's closer to their big days!

1: What is the working title of your book?
When I first started writing Sixteen, it didn't have a title.  Later, when I was editing and trying to write a query letter for it, I chose Sweet Seventeenth, as the ending of the story surrounds the main character's seventeenth birthday.  But then I realized that the whole story is about Nikki's sixteenth year more so than her birthday - and that's when I settled on the short and sweet title for this short and sweet book.



2: Where did the idea come from for the book?
Actually, it all started as being centered on teen pregnancy - I had just learned several facts about pregnancy and abortion, and I wanted some way to work through all that was going through my brain.... (see #9 for the rest of the story)

3: What genre does your book come under?
Christian contemporary young adult.  It could also be called coming-of-age, although I'm not sure that's a genre, and there's strong romantic elements.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hmm... honestly, that never even crossed my mind!  The main character, sixteen-year-old Nikki, is quite the rebel, loves ballerina (and has the body for it), and has long, layered blond curls and bright blue eyes.  I just did a search for blonde teen actresses and when saw Hayden Panettiere, I knew she was it.  She is so completely perfect and fits my idea of Nikki to a tee.  Some colored contacts and this girl is Nikki!  Even her personal style reflects Nikki's wardrobe!

Man, I'm excited now!  This is fun!  Okay, next up: Christy is the sweet, supportive best friend.  She's a petite girl with short auburn hair and brown eyes.  This one was a bit harder to find, but I think I've discovered the perfect girl for the role - and an actress I already love!  Of course, I didn't realize until today that's she's only two months younger than me, so I never would have thought of her, but Abigail Breslin (especially with her new hair color!) seems like the best fit for Christy.

The twenty-four-year-old love interest Matt is very important to this story.  He's charming, blond, and has an amazing smile and sparkling green eyes.  I had a hard time finding someone to play him, but this little-known actor named Daniel Burda seems to fit the part pretty well.

Then there's grown-up Nicole, who's actually at the beginning of the book, and her eighteen-year-old daughter Claire.  Adult Nicole has brown-dyed hair in a bob and loves to sew, while Claire is quite the punk (like mother, like daughter!) with her ripped jeans, tank tops, and purple pixie haircut.  I'm not good at finding people who resemble each other, much less an adult to look like Hayden all grown up.  But I think Carrie Underwood looks a lot like her and is old enough but not too old to be adult Nicole.  I mean, her hair doesn't match, but it does look like Nicole's natural hair, so a nice dye and cut would do the job I think.

And finding an actress who already looks like Claire is probably going to be impossible, but I think the face shape and personality I'm looking for would be well played by Demi Lovato.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
In this Christian coming-of-age novella, a teenage rebel without a cause - but with parent problems - finds herself pregnant by her adult boyfriend.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
It's coming out self-pub on Amazon and possibly other ebook sellers this year!  I'm super excited, even if there isn't a release date yet.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Actually, it was the fastest first draft I've ever had - I think it took a week or two?  Normally I'm on-again-off-again with my first drafts and it takes at least a month of 'on' to finish.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
Hmm... the Christy Miller series?  I love those books and am pretty sure my work will never reach that height of amazing, but it is what came to mind and it does have a similar tone, setting, characters, etc.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?
(See #2 for the beginning of this tale) ...Then I wanted to do something special with the book, and since Mother's Day was coming up, I decided to center the story around mothers and daughters - which still ties quiet well with pregnancy, motherhood and all that - and make it my Mother's Day gift for my mom that year.  It ended up taking another whole year to be ready for Mom's gift, but that's how it became a coming-of-age story rather than activist, teen pregnancy story.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Well, as you know there's romance, parent problems, teen rebellion, pregnancy... sound like fun yet?  Honestly, though, it's not all angst and sadness - there's best-friend fun, first-date jitters - you know, great teenager stuff!

(To follow along with my inspiration, check out the new Sixteen Pinterest board!)

Now the tagging!  I found a few other bloggy writer friends in the Go Teen Writers Facebook group willing to participate: Alyson at Pages From My Journal; Kelsey at Just Simply Unique; Lily's Notes in the Margins; Katelyn at The Life of a Teenage Writer; and Bethany at The Ramblings of a Young Author.

Book Review: Princesses Don't Get Fat

Princesses Don't Get Fat by Aya Ling
A fairy tale romance with a plus-sized heroine and plenty of dessert!

Amazon Page
GoodReads Page
LibraryThing Page
Author Website

Amazon Summary:

Princess Valeria of Amaranta is fat, but she doesn’t care. All she wants is to eat a lot and lead an idle life. When it is apparent that she cannot get a husband, her mother decides to send her to the Royal Riviera Academy of Fighting Arts. For a chubby princess who has never picked up a sword, life at the Academy is akin to torture. Worst of all, the food is terrible.

When Valeria decides to improve Riviera cuisine by sneaking into the palace kitchens and giving orders, little does she know that the crown prince would take interest in her kitchen excursions. As they spend more time together, Valeria must decide whether she should become thin and attractive, or stay in the kitchens and remain fat.

My Thoughts:

I love Valeria, the princess who lives for her palate, the girl who stays true to what she loves even when nobody else understands it.  I love all the food.  I love the contrasts between the made-up countries and how I could easily see those countries being real and on a map of Europe.  (I imagine Amaranta as an island off of Greece: beautiful, calm, slow pace of life, lots of water, lots of sunshine, great food...)  I could do with a bit more description of people's appearances and specifically their outfits, but since the story was from Valeria's point of view and Valeria loves her food but couldn't care less about dresses and decorum, it worked.

I didn't love the pacing.  It was awful.  It seemed to take a good while - at least half the book - to get to where Valeria is actually at the Academy.  That part would actually be paced really well if the rest of the scenes were in proper proportion to it.  But the travels seemed a little too short for such a far-off trip.  And once Valeria was at the Academy, I felt like the author was rushing to make everything happen, as if she was scribbling down her thoughts and checking them off her outline without making sure the flow was natural in the story.

I didn't love the prince and Valeria's relationship to him; again - too fast!  I mean, there was hardly any romance, at all, ever!  Little hints, yes, but that's just a good start, not a whole love story.  And then near the end all this stuff about Ralph suddenly being constantly worried and jealous and insecure... it was a bit ridiculous.

There were a few places with just plain poor writing.  The grammar was out of whack and the word choices and vocabulary seemed too limited and simplistic for the story.  And the first major scene with Prince Ralph... ugh.  The whole rest of the book, both before and after this scene, does well to stay in Valeria's head.  But the first scene with Ralph and Valeria in the kitchen drove me crazy.  If we are reading Valeria's POV, and Valeria does not read minds, we do not see what is in Ralph's head.  We can. not. see. what is in Ralph's head.  It's not natural, it doesn't work - just a big no-no.  I don't know if Aya has a professional editor, but if she doesn't, she needs one, and if she does, she needs a new one.

After all that negative, I have to bring up one other thing I really did love - two, actually: Valeria's maids.  Effie and Winnifred were awesome and it's easy to identify their personalities and feel like you know them well.  Honestly, I was a bit surprised - its seems the author put a lot of effort into developing these side characters, while Ralph and the people related to him still feel like they need work.  Regardless, Effie is one of those people you either love or are driven crazy by.  Personally, I think it's a bit of both - in a good way.

My advice to the author?  Pull this off the market; take a few lessons in craft; do a major rewrite; and republish for the world to enjoy.  I mean, the story and main character are amazing; the prince's character and the structure just need work.  This book could really go places with a rewrite and proper editing.

I give this book 2.5 stars.

I received this book for free through LibraryThing's Member Giveaways in exchange for a review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Book Blogging 101 {re-post}

Some of my lovely readers may have noticed that I've made some changes to my book blogging routine - what programs I'm using, how I set up my reviews, etc.  So I decided to go back to a post I wrote as a still-very-new blogger and give it a facelift.  I hadn't realized how outdated some of it was!  So today, rather than a Pinterest project, I bring you the new-and-improved Book Blogging 101: The All-Inclusive Guide!

Also, if any of you have book blogging questions, I'm open to creating a sequel - Book Blogging 101: The Q&A Edition!  Just send off an email or chime in at the comments below.

Book Blogging 101: The All-Inclusive Guide

Getting a Book

The first step to reviewing a book is... reading it.  Now, you can read anything off your home bookshelf or the library stacks, but I prefer actually getting a free book for my reviews.  So, I signed up for the Blogging for Books program by Waterbrook Multnomah publishers.  This is the program I started with and it was a great starting point, as well as my favorite for a long time.  However, now I would have to say my favorite is BookSneeze by Thomas Nelson - they have an amazing variety, and the choices stay available longer.  Other programs include...

•  NetGalley - I have not used this because reviewers must be eighteen or older.
• LibraryThing's Early Reviewers and Member Giveaways - These can have great books, awful drivel, and everything in between.  You just have to be willing to sort through it all and sometimes end up with a book not as good as you'd hoped.  Keep in mind that these are two separate programs, and (especially if you select the multiple-books-per-batch option), they will require as much attention as individual programs.
• Zondervan Street Team - I just joined this group, and I'm psyched for what looks like some great books!
• Team Novel Teen - I've never used this program and don't know how it works, but I know of several great bloggers that love it.  (I just sent in a request to join, too, so we'll see what comes of it! :] )
• Tyndale Media Center - One I tried and didn't care for, mostly because I prefer fiction and they offer more inspirational nonfiction, memoirs, self-help, etc.  Lots of other reviewers love this program.

How Programs Work

Most programs are pretty simple.  Once you set up an account, you can choose from a list which book(s) you want.  Usually your preferences in your profile do affect your list of available books, so make sure to check all the preferences you might be interested in; also, keep in mind that what country you're in will probably affect what books are available and whether you can get ebooks or print.  Once you've chosen or won a book (depending on the program), it's sent off to you.  You then have a certain amount of time - usually thirty-ninety days - to post your review on your blog.  Some programs are more lenient about time frames than others, so be sure to check the rules.

Writing Your Review

You've joined a program.  You've chosen a book (or you chose several and won one.)  You've read that book.  Now it's time to write your review.

First you need to review the book on your blog.  This blog review will be your 'original review,' which you will copy over to the consumer site and the reviewing program's site.  When writing this review, I recommend following these guidelines:

• Be on time.  While many programs don't have any deadlines, others require a review within thirty or ninety days of receiving the book.  You can check the rules of the program you're using, but I try to post all reviews within thirty days, just to be safe.
• Keep it a good length.  Most programs have a minimum word length, but you don't want your readers to get bored and leave, either.  Check your chosen program's rules if you want.  I generally try to stay around 200-400 words.
• Make it worthwhile.  Readers don't want you to ramble on about your favorite part, and they don't want something that sounds like a book report for sixth grade.  (At least, most of them don't.)  If you're not sure what to write, start out with a summary of the book.  Make sure not to give away any plot twists or surprises, but give the readers a general idea of the book's storyline or theme.  Then write your opinion.  Did the writing stink?  Were the characters amazing?  Were there holes in the research?  What did you (or didn't you) learn?
• Rate it.  Whether or not the program you're using requires a rating, I recommend using a 1-5 star rating chart.  It helps sum up your review and clarifies your opinion. (Plus, if readers are in a hurry, they can skip to the star rating to get your 5 second opinion.)
• Share the cover.  It's a well-known fact that readers prefer blog posts with pictures, and a book review already has a great built-in photo op: the book's cover!  No review is complete without it.
• Add some links.  Everyone has a different idea of what you should include.  I link up to the Amazon book page, GoodReads book page, and author website, and I try to include a book trailer if there is one.  I also link up to related reviews of mine - like a book from the same series or by the same author.  Other reviewers include the LibraryThing, Shelfari, Barnes & Nobles, Christian Book Distributors, or Books a Million links; publisher site link; the author's social media links; first chapter previews (only if already online; don't add that yourself!); and other fun extras.
• Include a disclaimer.  This is one of the most important steps.  The easiest way to explain is to show you Waterbrook Multnomah's explanation: "As of December 1, 2009, new FTC Guidelines state that bloggers receiving any kind of compensation should disclose that information on their blog when positing a review of the product. As you are responsible for complying with the FTC Guidelines, we recommend that you review them, available at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html."

Posting Your Review

Now that you've got a nice review ready to be read, you have to get it out there.  Once it's on your blog, you should copy and paste it to your favorite consumer site.  I use Amazon, since it's a widely known site and most review programs accept it.  The lesser known your favorite site is, the less likely it is to be accepted by your program.  Check the program guidelines. (Just a note: you can post your review on multiple consumer sites.  If you use several sites and have the time, I recommend doing that.  As a rule, I post on Amazon, GoodReads, and LibraryThing, regardless of how or where I got the book.)  Make sure to include a link to your original review.

After the review is on your site and a consumer website, most programs require that you post it on their website.  If this is true of your program, there should be fairly easy instructions on your program's website.

And if you really want to get that review read, share it with everyone you know.  Share the links - to your original blog post and/or the review program site - on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and any other social network you use.  Ask your blog readers to check out the review program site, and ask readers on the consumer sites and review program to stop by your blog.  Keep your posts connected, and your voice is sure to be heard.

Now What?

You've signed up for a review program and received a free book.  You read the book.  You reviewed the book.  Your review is now all over the Internet.  So what do you do now?

Start over.  Request a new book to enjoy.  All the programs I've seen have no limit on how many times you can get free books for reviews, as long as you always post the reviews on time.  This is the great thing about these programs - it keeps going for as long as you want!  All you have to do is give your opinion or thoughts on the book and you get more books for free.

But if you want to show your appreciation for this wonderful deal, here are my suggestions:

• Share on your blog or website.  If you go to my Reviews page, you'll see links to posts (including this one!) about writing reviews, links to my reviews... and links to my programs.
• Share on social networks.  You don't have to have a recent review to share your program with the world.  Every so often, share the program link on those social media pages of yours.  If you have reader friends who might be interested, share it on their profile.
• Share on your blog.  Write a post on how awesome your program is, or (like me!) share with your readers how they can use it to get their own free books.
• Do a giveaway.  After a while, the books can pile up.  If you loved a book and think your readers will too, have a giveaway!  Let readers know that on a certain date this gently-used book will be shipped to one lucky winner.  Have them stop by the program, author, or book webpage and share what they learned; share/tweet/blog about the giveaway; or like and follow you, the author, and/or the publisher to enter.  As a bonus, running giveaways (and posting them on giveaway sites online) is a great way to boost blog traffic and followers.  (P.S. From my personal experience both as host and as an entrant, it's a much better idea to use Rafflecopter than to stick it out with the comments-as-entries method.  The website has very simple instructions and is super-easy to use.)

And that's the end!  Doesn't it sound so easy - and fun?  I must admit, I'm addicted!  Try joining one of the programs I listed and you'll discover just how amazing it is!

How to Make a Disney Princess Movie

Ten simple steps to your next favorite family film!

1. Pick a fairy tale.  You may immediately think of those centered around princesses and/or love stories, but considering the Arabian Nights tale that Aladdin was based on, it's not actually necessary for a princess or love story to be the key point.  All you really need is either (a) a girl who is or can be made into a main character, or (b) such a boy who does not have a significant other in the story.  Some that I've found: The Princess and the Pea, Brother and Sister (love that one!), The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Canary Prince, Maid Maleen (I've read an amazing adaptation of this one), The Silent Princess (really cool one), The Thirteenth Son of the King of Erin, Thumbelina, The Young Gardener, Catherine and Her Destiny, The Six Swans (another favorite of mine).



2. Choose your setting.  Maybe your tale is set in a specific time period and/or place, like The Princess and the Frog.  Maybe it's just a vague story involving forests and castles and royalty, like Tangled.  Maybe it's in-between - showing elements of a certain culture but not too detailed or specific, like Beauty and the Beast (a French tale).  Whatever the case, choose now when and where your story will take place and how specific you'll get when it comes to food, clothing, furniture, hairstyles, cultural norms, architecture, etc.  Do a little bit of research now, to get an idea of the culture you've chosen and to help with outlines and character sketches.

3. Sketch an outline.  First make an outline - nothing elaborate, just numbered steps of the story - of the fairy tale you chose.  Then change characters or plot points and tweak anything less than unbelievable or non-kid-friendly.  Just make sure the story involves love and some way for the girl to become a princess by the end if she's not one (i.e, marrying a prince, discovering long-lost family, etc.)  If the story you chose has no main girl, either add one or make a girl already in the tale center stage.  Don't be afraid of changes; the fairy tale is just a starting point!  After all, the original The Little Mermaid ends with the prince marrying someone else, so the mermaid dies and becomes a spirit of the air.  Not to mention that the princess the prince ends up with, on whom Disney based the seductive-princess version of Ursula, was in the original tale already engaged to the prince before the mermaid met him.

4. Create your princess.  (Who, of course, may or may not be an actual princess when your story opens.)  Give her a name, a few key traits (not necessarily all good), at least a basic life story and family background, and a visual description.  Example: Snow White is a hazel-eyed, kind, animal-loving but naive orphan princess who longs for love.  She strives to treat the people the way she longs to be treated, thus winning over everyone she meets except her only relative, her stepmother.  She lives in the castle with her stepmother the queen, who envies Snow's raven black hair, milky white skin, and blood red lips.

5. Create your villain.  Pretty much the same steps for the princess, plus a main motive to hate/work against the princess, her family, and/or her man.  Example: The Evil Queen is a pale-skinned, green-eyed young widowed queen never seen without her crown who longs for the admiration of others.  She grows to hate her prettier, more famous stepdaughter - who was always loved more by the late king and the people than the queen was - and turns to dark magic to rid herself of Snow and fill the voids in her life with the admiration of her beauty sure to follow Snow's demise.

6. Create your hero.  A prince, a hobo, a thief, an explorer, the son of a baker or merchant - whatever you want.  Again with the name, traits, back story, and description.  Example: Prince Ferdinand is a brunette royal from a far country who met Snow White once before her stepmother turned on her and she vanished.  Longing to be with the girl whose simple desire for love in her life matched his own, he sets out in hopes of finding her alive and willing to return to his country as his future queen.

7. Fill in the side characters.  Now give description, names, and some details to the lesser characters - the villain's ailing mother, the princess's bratty sisters, the hero's best friend.  You know, all the people you included in the main characters' back stories or who play a part in the story.  Example:  The dwarves are seven brothers who are each named after their foremost trait: Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, and Sneezy.  They live the bachelor life together in a cottage in the woods, passing the time by mining for gems in a abandoned nearby mine.

8. Do your research.  Now's the time to look more in-depth at all that stuff we discussed in step two.  At this point, you'll have to look at your story outline and characters to know what will be important to know.  After all, the cultural expectations within Pocahontas's Indian tribe weren't necessarily the same as other Indian tribes of the time period.  (Although Pocahontas is generally a bad, bad, bad example of research.  Disney really screwed up their history with that one.)

9. Write your script.  Everything we've done has led up to this point.  (This is also the step where you should name your movie.)  Now we're really getting to work!  Here are two articles to help you out: How to Write an Animation Script and Write a Script for an Animated Cartoon.  For some true Disney inspiration, check out the full, final-draft Toy Story script - or is The Lion King more your style?

10. Animate!  First make your storyboard (sketch breakdowns of each scene to give a visual idea of how each scene should look, play out, etc.).  Then to the drawing board!  I'm not really a drawing type of artist, so I don't have much advice to give you, but maybe do some online research and/or find an artsy friend(s) to help you out.

Book Review: Nobody's Secret

Nobody's Secret by Michaela MacColl
A novel of intrigue and romance

Amazon Page
GoodReads Page
LibraryThing Page
Author Website

Amazon Summary:

One day, fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson meets a mysterious, handsome young man. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to know who she or her family is. And even more surprisingly, he playfully refuses to divulge his name. Emily enjoys her secret flirtation with Mr. "Nobody" until he turns up dead in her family's pond. She's stricken with guilt. Only Emily can discover who this enigmatic stranger was before he's condemned to be buried in an anonymous grave. Her investigation takes her deep into town secrets, blossoming romance, and deadly danger. Exquisitely written and meticulously researched, this novel celebrates Emily Dickinson's intellect and spunk in a page-turner of a book that will excite fans of mystery, romance, and poetry alike.

My Thoughts:

This was a really nice book.  I've always loved Emily Dickinson's poetry and the days before I read a variety of genres were filled with mysteries like these.  Every chapter started with some lines by Emily that really fit the tone of that chapter.  The emotions were generally very realistic - the laughing flirtation with Mr. Nobody, the mixed dread and odd curiosity of death, the combination of excitement and fear found in investigating a crime.  The mystery itself was very well-written, complete with the proper balance of clues, secrets, suspects, and red herrings.

Nobody's Secret, I'd have to say, is really more of a middle grade than a young adult title, although the target audience seems to be right in between the two.  The writing style and level of description were in no way lacking, but were younger than those of many books targeted at my age range.  However, the historical period this book is set in shines through in the word choices and especially the dialogue, making this a more challenging read for such younger readers.

Honestly, I have no reason not to give this book five stars... but I don't feel like it really earned all five, either.  It was a great book with great writing, well-developed characters, an awesome mystery - everything it needed, really.  But it didn't give me any wow moments.  I never found myself doubling over with laughter or gasping with horror or misting up and almost-crying like I do with all my favorite books.  So while this book is wonderful, it just didn't pack a big enough punch for five stars.

I give this book four stars, and recommend it for young poets and Emily Dickinson fans like myself.

I received this book for free from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for this review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Christy Miller Winner

I'm so sorry, my lovely readers!  I ran a giveaway for volume one of the Christy Miller series... and then forgot all about it!  Well today I'm here to remedy that!

And our winner is...

*Drumroll*

Cindy Jones!

Congratulations, Cindy!  I'll be in touch about mailing the book to you. :)

As for my other readers, I really do plan to review the book, but I have some other reviews that I need to complete first.  Thanks for being so patient with scatterbrained little me!

The Pinterest Report: Curling Wand Tutorial

Week Fifteen: Curling Wand Tutorial

{all photos linked to source}

The Pin:

how to use a clipless curling wand

The Link:

Elle Sees: How To: Use a Clipless Curling Wand

The Test:

What you'll need: curling wand, heat glove (optional), heat protection spray (optional)

What to do: This time I'll just let you follow the link.  It's pretty awesome :)

My results:

The Grade:

I love this one! :D Best curls I've ever gotten from any method!

The Brown-Eyed Boy And Company {Photo Post}

The brown-eyed boy and family came for a week-long visit that, due to their van troubles and my hospital stay and ensuing surgery, was stretched into a month.  No complaints from this girl, except maybe the whole needles-and-tubes bit of the hospital/surgery....  Anyway, I didn't end up with any photos of my younger two brothers or his brother, so know that there are actually four kids per family and three just happen to be unrepresented here.

Book Review: Broken Wings

Broken Wings by Shannon Dittemore
Angels with wings of blade.  Demons with renewed sight.  And a girl who has never been more broken.

Amazon Page
GoodReads Page
LibraryThing Page
Author Website

My Review of Book One

Amazon Summary:

Brielle sees the world as it really is: a place where the Celestial exists side by side with human reality. But in the aftermath of a supernatural showdown, her life begins to crumble.
Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her—something important. Her overprotective father has started drinking again. And he’s dating a much younger woman who makes Brielle’s skin crawl. Haunting nightmares invade Brielle’s sleep, and flashes of Celestial vision keep her off kilter.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who sees through the Terrestrial Veil.
Brielle has no choice. She knows evil forces are converging and will soon rain their terror down on the town of Stratus. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.
But can she fly with broken wings?

My Thoughts:

This book started off a little slow, but once I got into it I was reminded of all sorts of little details from the first book that I'd forgotten.  The writing was beautiful; the descriptions of the Celestial world were absolutely breathtaking (I so wish this was a movie! I want to see it all!)  Just like with the first book, ever-so-many secrets were uncovered and the relationships between existing and new characters blew my mind.  I love how, with each book, Shannon brings all sorts of new pieces of the puzzles - new secrets, new characters, new subplots - and gives you enough answers with each page to almost satisfy you.... but still keeps so many up her sleeve that you must read through to the very end!

Only one thing really bothered me with this book, and that's the relationship between Jake and Brielle.  For those of you who haven't read the first book, let's just say their relationship starts off very abnormally and therefore this is kind of a tricky thing.  Basically I felt like their relationship did not reflect a normal dating teen relationship.  For those who have read the first book, go ahead and highlight the paragraph below - no spoiler worries from book two.

Okay, so we know Canaan's chest holds the engagement ring Jake gives to Brielle.  Therefore, their relationship is bound to be different than most dating teenagers.  However, a lot of the time, when Jake and Brielle are interacting and having romantic scenes/"moments," I felt like the author either didn't know or had forgotten what it was like to be dating as a Christian teenager.  I know lost teenagers can be extremely advanced in their relationships, but I felt like Jake and Brielle were talking and acting more like a married couple than dating teens.  Not that there was anything wrong, per say - don't get that idea.  Just that they seemed a little too advanced both physically and in what they said to each other for people their age (my age).

I give this book four stars and eagerly await the conclusion in Dark Halo.


I received this book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for this review.  All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The Pinterest Report: Hiatus

Sorry, due to a definitely-not-planned stay in a hospital (heart condition but nothing to worry about), this week The Pinterest Report is on hiatus.  Stay tuned for next week's project!

In the meantime, I'm guesting on the OneWord365 blog this week on How to Keep Your Word Alive.  Go check it out! :)