Subplots & Storylines - September 2017

And all at once, summer collapsed into fall. -Oscar Wilde

That about sums it up. September was beautiful and crazy and challenging and good. School (and the ensuing homework) has swallowed up much of my time. I'm doing better in my Financial Accounting class than I thought I would, Math is a challenge, and both Business Communication and Intro to Canadian Business are still my favorite classes. Everything else is a bit meh, but I know I'm learning useful skills. Still, I'm glad that after laying a foundation this year, I'll get to choose a more interesting course load next year.


Anyway, many of you are up to your ears in schoolwork as well, and probably don't want to hear any more on that subject! So let's move on.


In between classes, I've been enjoying the beauty of autumn. My cousin got married, my parents celebrated their wedding anniversary, and . . .


I went to a Skillet concert with my brother! (For those who may not know, Skillet is a Christian rock band.) Now, truth be told, I'm not much of a concert-goer. In fact, this was only the second real concert I've ever been to. So I felt like a shocked little old lady when the volume skyrocketed and rattled my eardrums. My ears were still ringing the next day, haha! But once the two opening acts--which involved much more screaming and much less intelligibility than I prefer--were over, I loved seeing Skillet perform. They're kind of amazing. I've had Comatose playing in my head for weeks since then. If you're looking for story inspiration, a ton of their songs are great for that!

Here it is--the blurry, sat-in-the-top-balcony proof that I was there!

Screen Subplots

finished Once Upon a Time Season 2 // started Once Upon a Time season 3


If you guys get tired of seeing OUAT mentioned in every. single. S&S post, I wouldn't blame you! But I'm still watching/re-watching it, so you're going to keep hearing about it. Currently enjoying Neverland and lots of friction between characters!


started The Flash season 3


Oh my gracious goodness, I love this show. I've only seen a couple episodes, but I'm excited to see where it goes! Much heart-wrenching-ness has already happened.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2


So this was really wild and fun! Not quite as good as the first one, and it took a while for the plot to get moving, but it was still entertaining. (I could've done without the crude jokes, though.) But BABY GROOT. HE IS THE REASON I WATCHED THIS MOVIE.


The whole crew, really, is awesome together. They fight and call each other names and hold grudges, but in the end, they do love each other and stick up for one another. I loved how they played on the "typical North American family drama" you see in a lot of movies, yet it was in an intergalactic, superhero context.


Other things I liked: Rocket is terrible at winking. Drax is as guileless as ever. Baby Groot is the best thing to grace the silver screen. Yondu is grouchy and awesome. ("I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!") Gamora has sister issues. Star Lord has daddy issues. Okay, pretty much everyone has issues.

How dorky can Peter Parker get, you ask? (I can relate, though, because
I have definitely waved to people who aren't waving to me.)

Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch)


Yes, the old one. Yes, the cringey-but-still-adorkable one. This was the first time all of my siblings have watched a superhero movie together. I remember loving this one years ago, but now I just laugh at all the cheesiness! (Sorry, Maguire, but Garfield and Holland are my favorites.)

Page Subplots

This was the month of Sleeping Beauty retellings! Which sounds like I read a pile of them, but in actuality, it was only two books.

Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer


I was really looking forward to reading this one, especially because I've got my Spidey sense tuned into the fairy-tale retelling market (wink wink, The Brightest Thread) . . . but sadly, it didn't quite live up to my expectations.


One of my main problems with it was small, yet it affected everything: the tense. Spindle Fire was written in third-person present tense. Like this:

Aurora is startled from fitful sleep by a loud rustling of feathers . . . and a voice. "Evening, caged bird," it says.

I don't mind present tense at all--I'll admit that past is my favorite, but I often forget about the tense when the story sweeps me away. Problem is, pretty much all of the present tense books I've read are also first person. Third-person present just felt . . . odd. Lurching. At times, it read more like a long synopsis than the kind of narrative I'm used to. There were a handful of truly beautiful moments and snippets of enchanting prose. But then I would feel jerked out of the story again by the way it was written, or by some out-of-place modernism. Obviously, not everyone will feel that way! It could very well just be me who didn't like that aspect!


But on to the story itself. This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling in which Aurora has a half sister, and both of them are missing senses that were tithed to fairies. Aurora is mute and has no sense of touch; Isabel is blind. So alternating between their viewpoints was very intriguing! And reading about a strong sister relationship is so, so refreshing in YA.


The romantic relationships were pretty good. I kind of feel like Isbe (a.k.a. Isabel) got over something a tad too quickly, but I love a certain prince that gets involved later. And Heath and Aurora were sweet together.


Oh, that brings me to another thing! Aurora winds up in a dream realm . . . except I couldn't quite figure out if it was a dream realm? It seemed more like a real kingdom trapped by an enchanted wall, and it was even on the map at the front of the book. I'm a little fuzzy on those details. Despite my confusion, it was a chilling setting with some lovely little illogical things you'd expect from a dream.


I will credit the author for making the world feel incredibly real! Despite experiencing half of the book through a blind girl, I do feel like I was right there on the wintry seacoast of Deluce and the green meadows of Aubin. Loved that.


This is turning into a long ramble of random things I liked and didn't like, but here's one more: the fairies were quite interesting. It's hard to like any of them, since most fall somewhere between selfish and downright evil. But they were quite fascinating. (Caution: one fairy, who takes people's sense of touch, lives a very loose lifestyle. Her flagrant ways are referenced several times, and a scene or two takes place in her brothel-like house, thankfully from blind Isbe's point of view.)


Anyway, I should wrap this up. Books that give me conflicted feelings are the hardest to review! Three stars.

Five Magic Spindles by Rachel Kovaciny, Kathryn McConaughy, Grace Mullins, Michelle Pennington, and Ashley Stangl


I plan to post a full review on this in the near future, so I won't say anything now except that this was a positively delightful collection! Five stars.

Writing Subplots

Wonder of wonders, I actually managed to write during the college life! Here's a peek into what happened on my side of the computer screen:

• I brainstormed my Snow White novella for Rooglewood's Five Poisoned Apples contest.*
• I plotted Snow White. Briefly. There are holes. But there's also a basic framework in place, so hooray, I know what I'm doing. (Not really.)
• And I wrote close to 8,000 words of Snow White! Almost halfway!

*The deadline is December 31st, 2017. All you incredible writers out there who are even considering entering: there's still time! For one of these contests, I wrote my entry in a month. Not advisable, but still possible.


The novella still has no title, and the plot is a skeleton I'm joining together bone by bone. But I can tell you that it's a Nordic-inspired fantasy setting, it may or may not take place in the same world as The Brightest Thread, and winter is coming. There's creepy mirror magic, hunting, and BFFs that won't admit they love each other. Oh yes, and everything you know about Snow White actually happened in the past.


On another note, beta feedback on The Brightest Thread is trickling in (you readers are amazing!), and I'm excited to see where the novel is working and where it needs some tune-ups. Getting fresh eyes on a story is so helpful, guys. I polished that novel as best as I knew how, but now I'm starting to know more--so there's additional work to be done. And that's exciting, because it means TBT will improve!


I suppose it's almost worth mentioning school papers I've been writing in the meantime. Besides practicing writing memos, business emails, and informational reports, I actually got to write a letter from the perspective of a young Titanic survivor. That exercise nearly brought tears to my eyes.

[Pinterest]

Onward to October

Life moves in seasons, much like the earth spins, and I'm learning to be content where I am. This month was harder in that regard, as school pulled me away from so many of the things I love. (And many of my monthly goals for September remain unfinished.) But I have to remember that I'm in college to equip myself to do the things I love better. And I'm thankful for family and friends and God who all love me through my frazzled moments and remind me that seasons do change.

What sort of adventures have YOU been on this autumn? Are you back in school? Writing something new? And obviously the most pressing question: what are your thoughts on third-person present tense?!