The Writing Lifestyle

I've found myself realizing more and more lately that I don't think like a normal person anymore.

Writing has started shaping my entire life. It's been heading that direction since I was as young as ten, but I guess I didn't know it until now. Everything I do in my day-to-day lifestyle revolves around my writing.

I'm not thinking ahead to college because all I picture myself doing in a few years is writing. How I get through doing schoolwork is thinking about how I can use this knowledge for my writing. Every morning I wake up, I wonder how much writing I'm going to get done. When my mom asks me what I'm going to do today, I have to stop and think of something besides writing I had been planning to do. It's actually a little scary to think about how unconsciously writing controls my life. I don't even really have the normal "teenage girl" thoughts of something like who I'm going to marry or what kind of house I want to live in when I get older. All I can think is, Oh, look, it's a new day. Guess I'm gonna write.

Is this unhealthy? It's either passion or a mental disorder. Probably both. Do you guys ever feel this way?

Everything around me is fuel for the writing fire. Literally almost every thought that crosses my mind about something usually turns into "how can I use this in a story?" Recently, I was playing soccer with some friends, and accidentally got a black eye from someone's elbow in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, seriously, I was kind of happy, because now I knew how to describe the pain of being hit extremely hard in the face. Great, right?

But something I have to remind myself every single day so I don't get sidetracked is to follow up the question of "How can I use this in my story?" with "And how will this glorify God?" 

I want that question to fuel me with as much passion as my writing. And it's hard. Because I've become so ingrained with the writing mindset, it's hard to fit anything else into my head with it. But it's a very necessary thought. It's an important thought. It is THE most important thought, actually. 

As I've realized how much my life revolves around my writing, I've realized how much more I need it to revolve around that question. How can I glorify God? Because that has to come before everything else. And more than anything it has to come before my writing.

I'm not sure where this post was heading. Hopefully my ramblings made at least a little sense.

How has writing shaped your life? Do you ever have to take a step back and reevaluate?

Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."

Have a lovely day!
~The Scribbler in the Attic

5 Ways I Get Over Writer's Block

Hey y'all! Sorry my super long absence. This month has been crazy, between ice storms, 70 degree weather, last-minute road trips, free archery lessons, visits to the doctor for allergy shots and home school conferences. :D 

Well, as I've been having trouble with this lately, I thought I would share with you all five ways that I get over Writer's Block, and ask about your methods. I actually haven't heard mush advice on the matter, except for the two obvious ones: Take a Break and KEEP WORKING NO MATTER WHAT I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A BLOCK.


Anyways, here's my five-cents:

1). Sit down and write out all your favorite words.
             I was at a really desperate stage of writers block when I decided to do this. It was really late at night, everyone else was asleep, and my light was the only one on in the room I share with my three other sisters. On the edge of sleep, but unwilling to go to bed without scratching the itch I'd had all day to write, but hadn't been able to because of my Block, I rolled over, grabbed a notebook, and started scribbling down all of the words I loved most: shiver, mirror, winter, obsidian, shatter. The next morning I woke up and it was gone. 


2).  Reread a draft of a different book you haven't worked on for a while and try to identify mistakes in it that you could still be making now.
           I've done this several times, and it always helps. It reminds me where I've been and how far I still have to go, but it also helps point me in the right direction for fixing my old mistakes. And it keeps me humble. :)

3). Change the font, spacing, or coloring of your document.

          Seriously. I got this advice from Pinterest, and it actually works. When I get fed up with something, or get a headache, or even start out a story knowing it's going to give me a tough time, I change at least the color. Gray is usually my go-to.

4). Make a list of all of your characters, every single one. Then mark if they are good or bad. Then mark whether they live or die.

          *maniacal laugh* I have this old money ledger I got from my great grandmother. It has columns for expenses, income, taxes, etc. But they are unlabeled, so I made it into a "Death Book" and used the columns for Last Name, First Name, Good/Bad, Die/Stay Alive. Then I filled it out. (In case you were curious, out of all of the characters from the series I wrote down, only about half lived. :P) I know this sounds slightly psychotic, but it really can help--plus, it's kind of fun. :D

5). If you're having trouble describing a certain thing (an emotion, reaction, scenery) go to one of your favorite authors and read how they describe it. Figure out why it works for them, and then make it work for you.

           I usually go to Riordan or Rowling, as their writing style fits mine the best, and this has never failed me. I'm sure you all know the feeling, when sometimes, after writing for hours or even days on end, your patience gets so frayed that the smallest things will start to trip you up. This helps me quickly get back up without losing momentum. (I once got stuck for hours just trying to write the part of a scene where five people enter a room. Talk about stuck. :-/ )


So, what do you guys do? Any suggestions, hints or advice? I could really use it!

Hope you all have an awesome day, 
~The Scribbler in the Attic

Thoughts in Caramel

     Having you ever felt so crammed full of things you need to do, of schedules and projects to work on, that your thoughts literally feel like they're racing a hundred-miles-per-hour at the same time it feels like they're stuck in glue, pinging in slow-motion, so sluggish you can barely even put two words together in your head?

     Huuuge run on sentence, I know. I'm sorry... 

     But, that's what tonight is like for me. And last night. And the night before. And every moment in between.

     My brain feels like it could explode at any second. Like all of my thoughts are stuck together with caramel. I have too many things I should be doing, too many things I need to be doing, but they can't all happen at once.

     This week has been a season of letting go for me. Between juggling school, friends, writing, video work, blogging, research, and a (sort of) job, there's just too much to handle with only two hands and one brain. I've had to prioritize. I've had to organize (weird, right? I didn't think I had it in me...). And I've had to let go of things I know are less important. Things that will get in the way of my real dreams and my real goals. Goals that I know I can accomplish and not just daydream about. 

     Maybe, one day, I can come back to them. Maybe, one day, they'll be my important goals. Maybe, one day, those dreams will come true. 

     I never thought I'd have to prioritize my dreams... It just sounds kind of wrong, doesn't it?

     But, some of these goals, some of them I've had to tell myself will never happen. That it really was just a dream, and there are better dreams for me to spend my time on. That's just part of growing, I suppose.

     I've never been a "deep" blogger. Though I spend a lot of time writing and am rather a sensitive soul, I usually stink at conveying my emotions and thoughts. I guess I deal better with describing the flashing of rapiers during a pirate duel that I do describing real thoughts and feelings.

     So, I don't know why I decided to post this today. I just felt like sharing. :)

     Have any of you all ever experienced this?

Thanks for reading,
~The Scribbler in the Attic

First Hellos and Final Goals

Here is my first hello to all of you in 2015!

It's a new year, and like every new year it comes with changes and decisions. I've made some choices I hope you all will like for this blog. There are some things I wish I had done better with my life in 2014, and there are some things that I know I will fail at in 2015. But, thankfully, the beauty of failure is you learn from it.

Starting now, I've decided to do away with "Monday Musings" and "Writer's Wednesday" and "Photography Friday". The rigid schedule and cheesy alliterations just weren't working for me.

I would love for you all to give me suggestions for ways I could improve my blog and my posts! Please comment with any ideas you may have.

Last year, about this time, I told you all that my new year's resolution was to not use any emoticons on this blog.

As you probably can all see, I failed miserably. :P

I have nothing at all against emoticons. In fact, I think they are super cute and funny. But my reason for trying to not use them was because I wanted my writing to be such that I didn't need to use smiley-faces to maybe bring some serious subject I was talking about back into a happy mood, or a sad-face to convey disappointment, when I could very easily just take a few more minutes to be more thoughtful with my words and how they are put together. 

This year, I have no such restrictions. Hah, I'm probably going to use a hundred emoticons a sentence now that I have free range.  But I will also be trying just as hard, if not more, to be more thoughtful in my rhetoric.

Anyways, here's a sketchy outline for the way I'm hoping to do things on Scribblings this next year:

In terms of photography…

In case you were worried, I'm not giving up photography. Just because Photography Friday is defenestrated, doesn't mean my camera has been chucked out with it. There will definitely be photo shoots and more "selfie series" pictures. I love photography and am not planning on quitting any time soon.

Speaking of scribblings…

I have not yet made a plan for what I'm doing with This Name and Moment. What I had planned on being just a short, short book spliced into small chapters to give to you guys, has turned into an explosion of new plots and characters in my head. I would really love to take it to a new height, but at the same time I need to be focusing on several of my other writing goals. So, in other words, I've haven't got a concrete plan. If you're still interested in reading This Name and Moment please comment and tell me! I would really appreciate it. :-)

But, now that I'm not concentrating all of my fuel on This Name and Moment, I can be posting more poems and short stories and stuff. Which I'm super excited about. :D :D :D

Did somebody mention books??

Instead of doing an individual review for one or two books, I got the idea to just post a list of all of the  books I read that month, with short descriptions and my ratings. Also, if you guys can think of any books you would highly recommend, I would love to hear about them! One of my unofficial goals this year is to read a lot more, and for that, I need lots of suggestions! :-)

Well, there you have it. All my incredibly sloppy plans for this incredibly sloppy blog who does not deserve all of you amazing people. :-)

Haaaaaappppyyy 200000000001555555555!!!!!!!!!

~The Scribbler in the Attic

Snapshot Sunday // Treasure Hunting Child Wonders

I have to go with "Snapshot Sunday" in place of Photography Friday due to the fact that I was too sick Friday to post. And just when you thought I'd run out of cheesy alliterations for my post titles, right? ;D
Tired of taking selfies, I decided to ask my little siblings Elsie and Josiah if I could set up a treasure hunt for them and take pictures while they solved it. They were so excited to get to do this. I picked out a few (...relatively speaking...) of my favorites to share with you guys. Enjoy!

Opening the first clue...

Setting off together to follow the map... 

Tackling the very quickly put together obstacle course.

Josiah finding the second piece of the map.

Breaking the seal.

Finding the second clue.

Josiah got burrs stuck in his hair. So I acted quickly--and took a picture.

Josiah finding the final piece of the map...

Hurrying towards their final destination.

The treasure at last!

Triumphantly returning home with their treasure.

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key." ~Yakov Smirnoff 

If you think my siblings are as adorable as I do, leave a comment. :)
~The Scribbler in the Attic