In succession to Part 1, here I am again, answering questions I leeched from the internet. This is definitely one heck of a ride, and I didn’t install seatbelts.
Here we are again. Remember when I said there would be another post before this? That was a joke. Surprise! (Even I didn’t know until recently.)
Despite how disappointed I am with how my words are turning out, there’s nothing I can do about that. Progress over perfection.
Let’s get on with it.
Riddle Me This!
1. Which do you like better, hot or cold?
Funny how this isn’t specified. Perhaps hot as a temperature, accounting for the fact that both extremes could lead to your peril—I’d prefer melting than freezing—and hot again for food. Runny un-ice cream is the best kind of cream.
2. Have you ever cut someone else’s hair?
I’m so sorry, [name of younger sister]. I promise I didn’t mean to. I was just angling those scissors so close to your locks jokingly. It wasn’t me; it was the scissors that snipped itself!
I just wanna say I had used this GIF in my lifetime.
Don’t kill me, please.
3. If you could learn one language, what would you choose?
Hebrew, if I wanted to look a smidge more religious.
Oh, who am I kidding? It’s most likely Korean.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment.
What can I say? It’s taking the world by storm, and my country dominates nearly all K-Pop fanbases. If I had the patience or skill, I would hop onto the bandwagon.
4. What do you hope your deceased relative would say about you if they saw you now?
“She grew from the last time I saw her.” Spiritually and literally.
5. Do you care about reviews?
Too much for when it doesn’t matter and too little for when it does.
Book reviews? Yes. Abso-tutely. This is good, but they’re not the highest authority, so I mostly disregard them. (Exempting the reviews here on WP. Those are valuable.)
Movie reviews? I should care more, honestly. It might’ve helped me to brace myself. Looking at you, Barbie movie. Yet again, doing so would’ve made me susceptible to spoilers, so there’s some worth in that.
6. How can you tell if someone has a sense of humor?
The no-brainer answer would be, “I laugh at their jokes.” But my sense of humor is so irrevocably broken that I can lose myself crying over anything that tries to be funny, causing friends to look at me in concern and ask if I’m okay. No, I am not. It’s a disease, and it’s incurable.
My family’s immune to it by now, but it shocks them too at times.
So, obviously, the answer is a sixth sense. It takes a funny person to know one.
7. Which do you like better, ninjas or pirates?
“Ninja-GO!”
I always thought Cole was the best, but Master of the Mountain slightly ruined his character, in my opinion. Take that with a grain of salt.
We’re ignoring Google saying its target audience is “young kids” and “boys in elementary or pre-teen years,” none of which do I fit in.
8. Would you rather be able to control time or know what other people are thinking?
Know what other people are thinking, but realistically speaking, that would be too overwhelming. And the number of times people don’t say what they mean . . .
O second thought, how ’bout they don’t tell me what’s on their minds?
Besides, it’s a little invasive, but I’m sure we’ve wanted to know what goes on inside someone’s head at least twice.
And, let’s be honest, we’ve been severely disappointed by some.
For example . . .
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Why, you ask? Because.
Control time it is, then.
9. What do characters do in movies that annoys you the most?
Oh, boy. We could make a whole list of these.
But, off the top of my head, it’s instantaneous forgiveness as if nothing ever happened without any relationship rebuilding, main characters criticizing others for being so unoriginal while being so doused in tropes themselves, and love at first sight (I’m sorry).
10. How would you want to be remembered?
As one who furthered the cause of Christ.
Thanks for reading!
I revoke what I said earlier in this post: I’m happy with how this one turned out. But what do you think? Did I use one too many GIFs? Do you relate to my answers, or would you have had a different reply? Were you rolled? (And is it getting old? Of course, it isn’t, but I’d still like to know.)
If that wasn’t the corniest thing I’ve written, then it would…it would be…
Hello there, lovely humans and aliens! I return with another swiped tag courtesy of the splendiferous Corrie S.P. of Miraculus Homeschool. She commented on one of my posts, saying she’d take note of my stolen tags, to which I replied with, “Oh no! Corrie’s gonna start holding me accountable now. 🙈What am I to do?!” I’ll tell you what: get one of hers uninvited. Thank you, Corrie!
Rules
Display the award logo on your blog.
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Answer 5 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 10 – 20 bloggers. (Ha. Haha.)
Notify your nominees by leaving a comment on their blog.
Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, including 1 weird or funny question.
Share the link to your best post.
I was never awarded per se, so I’d be vain to complete the first step. If thou doesn’t mind, I will skip it altogether. And if you need the image, refer to Okoto’s post linked above for my media’s sake. But don’t count on my nominating you.
3 Things About Me
My favorite food has stayed the same for the past decade.
I have two sisters—one older and one younger—making me the middle child.
Discipline and consistency are challenging for me to apply to my school life, but for some reason, it works for my blog. Mostly. But it’s still frustrating.
Interrogation
You did not hold back on the emojis, did you, Corrie? 😅
1. What would you do if you uncovered a real-life mystery?🕵️♀️🕵️♂️ Would you investigate? 🔎🔍Or would you stay away in fear of danger?💀
Investigate because, in reality, we’re Nancy Drew characters, and there’s no better detective than underage adolescents.
2. What is your dream hair color? 👱♀️👱♂️💇♀️💇♂️ Or do you like the one you have?😊
I used to pray for blonde hair nightly for the simple reason that nearly every cool Hollywood girl boss was blonde. This was not as sincere as my yearning for blue eyes was, and I have no clue why that was. Younger Breanna was obsessed with being different, I suppose.
3. Do you want animals 🐇🦨🐃🦎🐬🦕 to talk?💬🗨
No. I’m afraid of what they’d say. We get it! You’re better than us!
(That isn’t biblically sound, but surely the creatures would rebuke us as a regularity. Ask Balaam.)
4. Why do you like your favorite movie?🎬🍿🎥🎦📽🎞
Oh, goodness. I’m being attacked. How did you know I don’t have a set reason?
Familiarity? Lovable, relatable characters? Believable tension? Romance as a subplot? Better-than-trashy writing? The world may never know.
5. What is your worst habit?💅💈😁
Overthinking.
Now, reader, riddle me this!
1. Do you lean more toward over-perfectionism or over-lenience?
2. A drinkable potion gives you wings. An edible spell gives you horns. Which do you pick?
3. Would you advise your past self or receive advice from your future character?
4. How long have you been in the grind? Do you still care?
5. Why? (No wrong answers.)
EDIT: How could I have completely missed the last one?! That’s what I get for answering in haste.
My best post? Oh, never mind. Unnapliccable. N/A
Thank you for reading!
I was definitely feeling silly today.
Also, cloud phase—a phase I didn’t know I’d have. Unless otherwise required, my tags will now have a cloud in the featured image.
Feel free to snurch. If not, share your answers isn’t the comments. Adios, amigos!
BLOG SPOTLIGHT! And my first one, too! Katherine from TWN decided to stem out, starting her own blog (while not abandoning TWN, worry not). You can expect DIY, lifestyle, and a whole lot of writing on her blog. Read the post for more details!
Ayo, peeps! Today’s post will be slightly different because I have an exciting announcement: Katherine, one of the three lovable authors of Teen Writers’ Nook, has launched her blog! And almost equally exciting is the opportunity for me to promote it here! And go crazy with the exclamation points!
Let’s support her, shall we?
Stay alert for the giveaway at the end, and feel free to participate!
The giveaway will run from July 1st through July 11th. Enter by commenting on the tour’s Welcome post (at katherineperrycreator.wordpress.com) and then earn extra entries by commenting on any post in the tour. Anyone under 18 must have their parent’s permission before entering.
US entrants will be entered for a chance to win a free pack of summer-inspired stickers!
International entrants will be entered for a chance to win free printable bookmarks!
(This is my first blog spotlight, so correct me if I’m doing it wrong.)
Don’t forget to visit her site, spread love, and join the giveaway!
Congratulations, Katherine! 🥳 I pray God will open doors for you to glorify Him through your writing!
In other news, can you believe June is over?! How was your month? I write this with swollen cheeks after my two wisdom teeth were extracted a few days ago. Oversharing? Well…yeah, I guess so. But this is a safe space. Judgment free, guaranteed.
Did you hit any blogging milestones? Did you finish that story you’ve been putting off? Coffee, tea, or water? Have you any weird writing tips to share? I heard you can type a story out in white color to silence your inner critic.
Blogging is a trip. Rewarding at times, discouraging at others. I had a blog crisis last time I was supposed to post, considering whether or not I should continue. We’ll see where that goes, but for now, have a snurched tag. Always the best kind.
Is it rude to borrow someone’s tag without getting nominated? And late? I sure hope not coz that’s what I’m doing now. Not sure how I stumbled upon Heidi’s post on this, but I did.
Thank the person who nominated you or whose blog you found this on (Many thanks, Heidi!)
Mention the creator of this tag — Rebekah @BooksandHooks
Add the featured image to your post
Include the rules in your post (I might forget this one. :/)
Answer the five original questions about blogging
Answer the questions the blogger who nominated you asked
Ask the bloggers you nominate two additional questions
Nominate as many people as you want, or leave it at an open nomination!
Tag it with ‘blogginglovetag’
Spread the love of blogging! ♥
I was sleep-deprived when I did this, so allow me to insert the required featured image. My apologies to Rebekah for my absent-mindedness, hehe.
Original Questions:
When did you start blogging?
Why did you start your blog?
What’s your favorite post you’ve written?
What are some of your goals for your blog?
What’s your favorite thing, or things, about blogging?
Heidi’s Questions:
What theme are you currently using for your blog?
What is one of your favorite blogging hacks?
My Answers:
When did you start blogging?
Ah, good question. I started blogging two years ago under a blog name whose acronym was “BBB.” I’m not particularly proud of what I thought up back then and won’t tell you what it was. It had my name in it, and for some reason, I wanted it to be an alliteration.
If you can’t tell, it’s dead and gone now. And I had hoped I would never be asked about it, but here we are. I’m very much happier with the CKJ, though it’s had its downs.
Why did you start your blog?
It was supposed to be about God and Christianity, but sometimes you can’t spew out devotional messages and elaborate sermons each week before tiring out. Come to think of it, that might be why I quit my first blog. Don’t get me wrong; I made it during my spiritual peak, so I had much to offer. But I don’t think there’s a place for that in WordPress, or putting content like it out there is just challenging.
I didn’t make as many connections as I did here, which is highly encouraging. That would be a great segue into a thank you for 35 followers, which reminds me…
Thanks for 35 followers, everyone! I’m trying to incorporate more gratitude into my life and want you to know I appreciate all of you. Cheers, for more to come!
What’s your favorite post you’ve written?
I’m most proud of my recent four. The wonderful thing about blogging is seeing yourself improve post by post. I’m more satisfied with my conversationalist tone now than I used to be, which I accredit to the excellent, witty fellow bloggers I’ve been hanging out with. You know who you are. 😉👉👉
Yeah, Breanna, what are some of your goals for your blog?
I don’t have any. Perhaps getting 100 followers before my next blogiversary would be one, but honestly, I’ll see where God leads. Let’s just say I’d love to be a source of blessing for other bloggers and meet more like-minded people around here. Expand my horizons, or something like that.
What’s your favorite thing, or things, about blogging?
Let’s see…
finding people who aren’t fishing for readers;
discovering bloggers who incorporate wordplay, sarcasm, or humor into their posts;
meeting bloggers, who care, and who you can relate to;
encountering fellow Christians who are serious about God; and
chatting with people in the comments (while not getting into an online debate of any sort)
And okay, fine. It’s nice getting likes that aren’t from bots.
What theme are you currently using for your blog?
I am using Twenty Sixteen. Outdated? Sure. Will I change? Probably not.
What is one of your favorite blogging hacks?
Mine is using Flickr for images within your post, so you don’t use up media storage. I got that from Diamond and don’t recall how.
Some Additional Questions:
How do you find underrated blogs?
What golden piece of blogging advice would you give a newbie blogger?
Thanks for reading!
This was a fun tag. Thanks again to Rebekah and Heidi and to you for reading.
If you haven’t noticed, I changed my profile picture after two years. Skies remind me of heaven, and heaven reminds me of God and fixing my eyes on things above. I’m nothing but an overthinker.
I know, I know, the sky thumbnail is entirely out of context. But, like the pic, a lot of random things are, well, random. This tag is the perfect clump of things you might not know and probably don’t need to know about me. But not all things have to be taken too seriously, right?
There’s more to me?
Who would’ve thought?
I’m doing a tag because it’s been a hot second since I last did. I harmlessly borrowed this from Rissy @Sisters Three, whose post you can find here.
(Pen) Name:Breanna, which isn’t a pseudonym but is still slightly alien to me, considering no one really calls me by it.
Birthday: It happened this month and will likely continue in the following years.
Hair color and length: Black with a considerable amount going under my shoulders, though I’d like it more if it were shorter. Short hair gives the illusion my thin locks are…not what they are. But I can’t chop it off since tying a ballet bun is challenging enough.
Eye Color: I’ll copy what I said in my comment on Rissy’s post: A “comforting, deep dark chocolate hue. Or, in less colorful words, brown.” Don’t you just love reused creativity?
Braces/Piercings/Tattoos: I had braces, an experience I’d very much like to forget, and I have ear piercings. Getting a tattoo at my age is not legal. 👌
Righty or Lefty: Lefty. Like Jennifer Lawrence. And Barack Obama. I used to feel left out (pun unintended) by the fact, so my dad searched for “famous people who are lefties” to make me feel better. But I have found being a lefty never became a prominent part of my personality.
Ethnicity: Chinoy—Chinese-Filipino with a dash of Spanish.
Firsts:
We’re going to ignore this entire section. But if you’re going to do this tag, I’ll leave it here for copy-paste reference.
First Novel Written:
First Novel Completed:
Award for Writing:
Publication:
Conference:
Query/Pitch:
Favorites:
Genre: Anything clean, really. I never thought I’d like mystery, but I did, and I didn’t even think I’d read zombie-related books, but, you know, some are worth it. But I prefer fantasy and sci-fi, which is totally definitely very original.
Author: Pseudonymous Bosch, C.S. Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Dawn L. Watkins, Roahl Dahl. But I’m up for anyone with a good book. Sure, “author” is singular, but not all rules are meant to be followed. It’s fine.
Writing Music: Pixar classical, but the things I’m not too familiar with. I don’t want to bawl my eyes out to “Married Life” or “When She Loved Me” in the middle of a draft. Beware; even without the lyrics, they hold power.
Time to Write: N/A
Writing Snack/Drink: Brain juice. Very energizing.
Movie:Little Women (2019), Pride and Prejudice (2005)—the controversial stuff. Shrek 1, 2, & 3, Despicable Me 1 & 2, and Kung Fu Panda 1 &, because I’m picky.
Writing Memory: Do horrid ones count? I remember being so excited when writing this story about a princess and her butt-kicking group sometime in 2019. I reread it recently and realizeda level does come before puke-worthy awfulness.
“Congratulations, there is now a Level Zero.” iykyk
Childhood Book:The Day the Crayons Quit and Dragons Love Tacos are those I remember and still have, albeit read later. I’m still a kid, by the way. Just for future reference.
Currently:
Reading:This Isn’t What It Looks Like (Secret Series #4) by Pseudonymous, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roahl Dahl, and Shield by Dawn L. Watkins. Also, reading multiple books at once: smash or pass? (ew, internet lingo)
Writing: You’ll get tired of hearing me say this soon, so I won’t. But you can find it quite easily.
Listening to: The fulfilling sound of nothing. You know your ears are young when you still hear that ring in the silence.
But I’d never pass an opportunity for some Spotify recommendations.
(And there are two subtle Christian songs in there just so you know.)
Watching: The new Ninjago season! Sadly, I probably won’t get time to finish with life’s hecticness.
Learning: How to calm down. No need to show everyone how you’re feeling all the time.
Future:
Want to be Published: Yes, but it’s leaning more toward worry. Will I get published? Can I get published?
Indie or Traditional: Traditional for me, if God wills it. The publishing houses in my country are limited, and I wish to support them.
Wildest Goal: Magically sprout wings and live in the Barbie kingdom of fairies. Second is getting involved in my school organization, which involved a lot of…socializing with humans.
Tag, You’re It!
Feel free to snurch this.
Thank you for reading!
Any Spotify, movie/TV show, or book recommendations?How’s your writing?Do you listen to music when you write? Does munching on something make writing easier or harder?
Would you look at that, I’ve started something! A Retelling of Swan Lake is . . . well, it’s self-explanatory, but I’ve embarked on a journey of crafting this well-known ballet/romance to explore the depths of the characters—some of which are Siegfried, Odette, and Von Rothbart—whilst adding my own and some flavor.
Will this be good? Probably not, but have mercy, please; this is my first attempt at a novel/novella. This post will include where I got my inspiration, a snippet, a blurb, and some extra stuff to get to know my WIP.
I stole this from Rebekah @Books And Hooks, and below are the posts in which she did the tag. Thanks for allowing me to snurch this, Rebekah!
Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged.
Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the “tagged.”
Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
A Retelling of Swan Lake. It’s straightforward, cut to the chase, and incredibly uncreative. It’s perfect, and I’m too lazy to change it, so that’s that.
Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
I haven’t got one down officially (if anything related to this can be counted as official), but I’ll have a go at it. This isn’t polished and will change, so forgive me.
But before that, let me ask an AI to give a synopsis of the Swan Lake ballet.
“Swan Lake is a ballet that tells the story of a young prince, Siegfried, who falls in love with a swan princess, Odette. Odette has been cursed by an evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, and can only take her human form at night. During the day, she is a swan and can only be saved if a man swears to love her forever. Siegfried promises to do so and invites Odette to a ball to present her as his bride.
At the ball, Von Rothbart arrives with his daughter, Odile, who looks just like Odette. Siegfried mistakes her for Odette and swears his love to her instead. Odette, heartbroken, runs away, and Siegfried realizes his mistake and goes after her. In the end, Siegfried and Odette jump into the lake, breaking Von Rothbart’s curse and living happily ever after. Swan Lake is a timeless classic and one of the most popular ballets.”
So, those are the original happenings. I played with it, adding some changes, but you can expect a similar gist.
Being a royal was never an easy role. Prince Siegfried’s been running away from this fact since his chilhood, before he even met the posh princess. But without his father by his side as he turns twenty-one, he has to brave the title that’s been staring at his face all these years. King. Maybe, hopefully, not alone, but that depends on if he can save his betrothed from the hands of the Shapeshifting Monster.
OoooOoOoOoOoooh, mysterious. I don’t think I captured the main plot, really, but that’s okay.
That’ll be changing from time to time. Do you find the story interesting? I might just post regular updates on it if so.
Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
Mock cover? Goodness, no. Not when I spent hours working on this:
So what if it looks unprofessional.
I really like the upper half. I slaved on that gradient background and the shadowy text. Even that little crown at the top. The bottom looks a tad too cartoonish, but oh, well.
How did you get the idea for this story?
My sister played Odette in my ballet school’s most recent production. She danced her heart out that recital day with much grace. It was magical. If you’d have seen it, you would’ve agreed.
But behind the scenes were hard work, diligence, perseverance, and sacrifice. I witnessed the sweat and tears (who said pointes were ever easy?), which greatly inspired me.
Tchaikovsky was a sucker for love stories, and I wanted to try it. I did some research, yada yada, and now we’re here.
How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
Longer than I’m comfortable with. I have this toxic trait where I start a captivating story—or I’d like to think—only to drop it at a point where there’s “closure, but not really” because…fear of commitment, maybe? I’m not sure. This is stepping out of my comfort zone. Oh, but did I mention I may or may not have forgotten I had this for a month? If not, then I did.
What‘s your favorite memory related to this WIP?
The typing.
Any special person(s) who helped create it?
Aside from the sister mentioned earlier, no one, really.
What‘s your favorite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
My favorite scene might be the part where Siegfried [insert questionable thing here] in Chapter 2. It showed he isn’t a heartless prankster, even if his whole plan backfires. But I haven’t got all my ideas down on parchment, so most of what I have to offer are ideas of where the scene may go. I have a plot down but not much more.
Perhaps my favorite scene will be where Siegfried and Odette have that one… ballroom thing. I plan to share the completed thing here one day, so I don’t want to spoil it completely.
Can you give us a snippet?
Prologue
Ah, Swan Lake. A tale of two lovers—one a princess beneath her feathers, the other a conflicted prince—destined to love and fated to die. A tragic romance that illustrates what most would call the idiocy of love. The lovers would tell you otherwise—the true idiocy would be never loving at all. It also, when examined closely, gives insight on the consequences of tinkering with the Forbidden Magic, which, by the way, is always a helpful lesson.
But is that really how it went, you might ask? Perhaps this tale is just what it professes to be—a tale. I wouldn’t blame you. Tall tales, folk tales, fairytales—all of them, one might argue, are to entertain children and to keep them from asking deeper, darker questions that no one has answers to.
But many forget the credibility of a tale. Sure, they seem unbelievable now, but they always started somewhere, stemming from a reality to something entirely different. One element that remains unchanged is the magic that surrounds it—whether or not you believe in magic.
The real question now is: where did the tale originate? Lucky for you, I have the answer. How can I be trusted?
Believe it or not, I personally knew this tale’s protagonists. In the most modest tone I can render, I was quite involved in their story. One might say it would’ve turned out entirely different had I not helped. And I can say with full confidence that they are worthy of your admiration, even those of you who detest romance of all kinds.
You can judge for yourself. I present a tale of friendship, compassion, duty, title, power, and love. A retelling of Swan Lake.
sWaN lAkE (A Docs File)
To be edited.
Is the story still what you thought it would be, or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
It’s still what I thought, and think, it will be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if…if it surprised me soon enough.
Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
Oh, man, it would be really cool if one did. But my response to that is a reluctant “no.”
When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
The Prologue, and I know, I know, I shouldn’t have. But it was just so much fun. It wasn’t even writing, really. It was just editing.
Where do you get inspiration for this story?
Tchaikovsky’s story. Shocker, right? Many events are merely the original plot but modified. Not the majority because I’d be lying to your face if I said that. Speaking of which, I altered it. A lot.
Also, watching my sister practice this with her partner was a terrific catalyst for idea generation. It felt no less than 20 minutes, but it was probably 5. Either way, it was beneficial.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I used to think I was a plotter, but some inserts randomly popped up when I wrote the scene. I heard writers rave about it, but I never thought it would happen to me. So, I believe I’m both.
Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
No, I don’t think I do.
Are you thinking of publishing this story?
*profuse sweating initiates*
Let’s see where God leads.
What things have you learned while writing this story?
Remember all those authors saying writing is not easy? Yeah, they were right.
I didn’t expect to experience the thrill of nurturing and creating a story, but it was certainly rewarding. I pity my future self who’ll edit this, though. Sorry, me.
Thank you for reading!
Docs is better than Word. Debate with me in the comments.
Recall a little while back that I said I’d post the subsequent scenes of my Prompt to Paper Tag today. Scrap that, which you may already have guessed from the title. I argued with myself since doing that would be unprofessional, but such things don’t produce 3 working scenes, let alone a polished draft for the characters I introduced. So, here we are.
I snurched this from The Texas Lass (you’ve probably seen her around), who snurched this from Kate, who got this from Laura Tisdall, who got the idea from Richard Mac Donnell. According to Kate. A snurching process in all its snurching glory.
I’ll answer honestly instead of the popular vote, so if you disagree, rant in the comments. It might just change my mind.
1. Reading the last page first
Starting off strong, I see. In-N-Out. It could change your perception of a book before you even start. A colossal spoiler could be revealed for a mystery/thriller book, but I don’t see a problem with a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. So it depends.
2. Enemies to Lovers
In. At least I can pick sides for some things. My reading scope is so pathetically limited. That’s thanks to the tamed books I’m familiar with. Which is…good, but I can’t say I’ve ever read an Enemies to Lovers full-on novel. A story on the internet, maybe, but I can’t recall. If it’s anything like You’ve Got Mail, You’ve Got Me in on it. (Oh, goodness, that’s cheesy.)
3. Dream Sequences
Out. Out the window and into the burning trash. I believe it shows a lack of creativity, and why must you mislead your readers like that? Unless vital information is communicated that couldn’t have been during waking hours, I don’t wike it.
4. Love Triangles
Out. These are complicated. And messy. And weird. I don’t tolerate it, I’m sorry.
5. Cracked Spines
Imagine asking someone in reality if they prefer their spines cracked or uncracked. It could induce some confusion. Out, but not entirely. It shows use and devotion to a book, but it’s terribly inconvenient.
6. Back to My Small Town
It sounds cute. But Out for now. It gets redundant.
7. Monsters Are Regular People
The idea is intriguing. Sure. In, but humans fit that role quite well already.
8. No Paragraph Breaks
Since when is that an option? Out, thank you. There’s a difference between a stylistic choice and being plain wrong.
9. Multi-Generational Sagas
If not forced into it, I won’t read it. I can’t handle it. I can hardly differentiate the names Peter and Perry in a 30-chapter book. Out.
10. Rereading
The real question is, who doesn’t? Not me. I am In entirely.
I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and anticipate embarking on its journey again soon. The heavy prose, message, and characters are unforgettable and doubtless, worth returning to.
And some lessons books have to offer are buried deep. You have to shovel a little more to get the real gold.
11. Artificial Intelligence
Sure, why not? In. They have a heart under all the wires and thingamabobs. Or, um, somewhere in their disembodied selves. I’m looking at you, Chat GPT.
12. Drop Caps
Ahh, yes. Ancient vibes, aesthetic purposes. Something else that starts with a. In, but on the condition it’s used only in classic or fantasy books, merely because of nostalgia.
13. Happy Endings
Ou– No, I’m kidding. But let’s note that it has to make sense. I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s not very satisfying when everyone leaves happy and forgets about that one issue lurking in the corner. Averting your gaze will just make it disappear, right?
It’s okay if the guy doesn’t get the girl if the relationship was unwholesome anyway. It’s okay if the MC (main character) never got what he wanted or has to let go of something he didn’t want to part with. It hurts, but it’s real. The conflicting emotions make the story more relatable.
In for this one.
14. Plot Points That Only Converge at the End
Oh, this one is so satisfying. In, please.
15. Detailed Magic Systems
You lost me at detailed. Out, for the same reason as the multi-generational sagas one.
16. Classic Fantasy Races
In. We need more of these.
17. Unreliable Narrators
In. Because.
18. Evil Protagonists
Better than morally grey, from a discerning reader’s perspective. But I’m not one (IT’S A JOKE), and I particularly enjoy reading from morally grey characters…to a limit. It can go overboard.
But evil? Maybe. I’m not sure. Make it clear. In-N-Out.
19. The Chosen One
In. I haven’t seen this particular one much, compared to most of the people who have an aversion to this. I’d like to see it more out of plain curiosity. (I’m sorry-)
20. When the Protagonist Dies
IN. I thought about it recently and how riveting it would be. I sound evil in saying that, but please. Not all protagonists are noble, self-sacrificing warriors. And sometimes they are. There are times when it’s better this way.
21. Really Long Chapters
In-N-Out because I like a mix of both. I read books at night and like finishing a chapter to claim to accomplish something before bidding the day goodbye, but it depends on my mood. And, apparently, the time of day.
22. French Flaps
Well, the name doesn’t give you much, does it?
*Google search* Oh, I see. I find those things incredibly irritating, but how come no one told me to remove them before reading? So much pain could’ve been avoided… :’)
In-N-Out because it looks pretty sometimes.
23. Deckled Edges
Annoying. No thanks. Out.
24. Signed Copies by the Author
The author already left his imprint through the words, and what would a book be without its beautifully strung words?
But sure. I certainly wouldn’t refuse one, but if it costs more, I’d have to turn it down. In-N-Out.
25. Dog-Earring Pages
“FBI, OPEN UP.”
Out. Completely and irrevocably.
26. Chapter Titles Instead of Numbers
Um, sure. The numbers are helpful, though, and very much appreciated. In-N-Out.
Thank you for reading! Oh, hold up, it was my 1st anniversary some time ago.
Happy birthday to this blog, then. And apologies to the people reading this. I’m still finding my footing as a blogger and writer in general but am very grateful to whoever shows support, even in this site’s underdeveloped state. Many thanks!
Congrats, you’ve reached the end.
What would you have answered differently? What book crimes have you committed? Do you agree that dog-earring is a crime?
A Christian Kid's Journal 