A New Tune

Ok, so maybe it's been a while since I last posted. I'm a writer, I'm busy, you know? And yes, I'm aware that the last rant I started wasn't really a complete thought, as I have been since been chewed out for. Give it a rest. I'm a recovering procrastinator.

Today I'm going to talk about something that veers lightly from my regular topics of choice. Today I'm going to talk about music. Like books, whether it's good, bad, or just plain gives you a headache, it evokes some sort of emotional response. It also has a lot to do with how the artist sings the song. In no case is it more apparent than in the way Judy Garland sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in 1955, from when she originally sings it.

For those of you who don't know, Julie Garland killed herself shortly after the 1955 recording. During this recording it's quite apparent she's feeling depressed through the stressing of different words and the passion with which she sings. In the original version she sings lightly, softly, as if she's dreaming. The second version resonates with unspoken pain, in fact, she actually cries nearing the end. The stress lies in the last line of the song as I've written below:

"...If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh WHY CAN'T I!!!!!!!!????"

Oh! As a side thought that occurred to me while listening to my Playlist, in the song "Cabaret" by Liza Minnelli, the lyrics are sort of a contradiction to today's habits (not that it was written all that recently).

"...What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play!" Isn't that what most people do nowadays? Sit alone in their room with their music blaring, having a jolly good old time on the latest social networking site? If only life was more like a musical. Every once in a while, wouldn't you like to see a group of people bust into song and fall into some amazing choreography, only to find out you're the star?! Ahhhhhhhhh, if only. On a bus, in a restaurant, on a street corner, what do you do when life is at it's most passionate, most dramatic, most soul-finding/wrenching? You SING of course!

What a pleasant world that would be.

This has been one of my most random rantings,

Chloe.

Relationship Rant

Hello, dear readers. I am back for yet another rant on relationships. I must remind you again that this is simply an outsider looking in, not someone who is complaining about their own relationship. Well, today is particularly historic in the sense I am combining my two favorite subjects. Books and relationships (or complaining about them, rather).

The book I'll be taking direct quotes from today is Sugar and Spice by Leda Swann (author of Prince of Desire). This book is definitely one of my favorites because of the writing style and characters. It is written about couples in the Victorian Era trying to piece together their broken relationships. The biggest problem in these relationships is lack of communication. I know, I know, "that's what all the relationship books say, why should I listen?" Well, you should listen because it's true, readers. Here is my first example for the first couple, Adam and Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn loves her hubby dearly, but he is cold and cruel to her. She tries desperately to win his love by strengthening their marriage through the Sugar and Spice Health Spa for Couples.

Adam eyed Gwendolyn with anger in his heart as she followed Mrs. Bertram out of the room. Though she had clearly known what kind of house this was, she had chosen not to warn him but instead bring him here under false pretenses.Yet one more sin of manipulation and deceit to lay to her account.
His blood was boiling over this new evidence of his wife's dishonesty as he poured himself a tumbler of port and drank it down in one gulp. He would not stay here for the week. As soon as it was light next morning, he would leave and take his errant wife back to London with him. Sooner or later she would have to learn that he would not tolerate her attempts to manipulate him. She was his wife, and he would learn to obey her in this. ( pages 14-15)

Jeez, what a grump, neh? I mean, first of all, what man in his right mind would not want to go to a sex spa?Anyway, the point I'm trying to illustate is that because she did not know how he would react, she got a kick in the pants for trying to save their marriage. Because he did not ask his wife what was wrong, he was roped into going to a sex spa.

Love to write more, but I've got other things to do at this point in time.
This has been one of my most random rantings,

Chloe.

Make Way for the Cliche

Well, I happen to know for a fact that YOU (my last reviewer) has not read all of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. In fact, I'm quite sure you haven't even read the entire first book, so back down. This is an argument you're not going to win. And yes, all others who choose to read and not review, it is people I know who are reviewing. And yes, I am aware of how incredibly sad that is. Boo-hoo, I have no life (cue the eye roll).

So, what is new you ask (but probably not)? Well, after a thorough investigation of High School life, I decided that I would give a little rant about relationships. Don't worry, not a creeper or anything. I don't go up to kids wearing my big black coat filled with candy and try to get them into my van (seriously, I don't). So relationships in High School go a little something like this: Boy meets Girl, Boy finds Girl attractive. Girl finds Boy mildly attractive in a young sort of way. Boy and Girl agree on a mutual relationship after the boy sputters out some lame "would ya be mine?" line. Boy and Girl walk through corridors holding hands and kissing. Boy and Girl get angry when one hears the other talking them down to their friends, Boy and Girl sever non-existent relationship.

Sounds so tempting doesn't it (there is heavy sarcasm in this question in case you didn't catch it)? I mean really, why bother dating at all? All Boy and Girl are at one point is slightly attracted to each other, it's nothing...real. Nothing concrete. No love. Teenage lust, perhaps, but never love. It's downright depressing to see today's values go down the toilet and be exchanged for instant gratification. There's never and long-term investments. I personally think that divorces shouldn't be allowed. Not because of religion, obviously, but simply because I think people should really try to find someone they're going to love for the rest of their lives...not someone they're going to spend a few years with. It hurts me to see such flaky relationships.

Maybe it's just me and my overly-romantic soul, but hey, makes you think doesn't it? No divorce, no short-term commitments, no hope of ever leaving someone. Makes you want to choose pretty damn carefully. OK, well if the situation gets dire (and by dire I mean abuse, rape, all of those terrible things) only then should it be allowed.

Sure, you all think I'm crazy, but isn't what I'm talking about what you really want? A love that will last forever! True, real love in a fake world. It's so beautiful and so rare nowadays that I try to just drift in life, not looking at anything too closely, for fear what I see will depress me. Sure, I'm sticking my head in the sand here, but aren't there days in which you don't watch the news just because you don't want the bad news?

This has been another of my Most Random Rantings,
'Till next time.

Chloe.

Now that you mention it...

Okay, so maybe my commenter was right. I can't stand tragedy. Actually, it's not so much that I can't stand it, it's more that I can't handle it. I'll cry and be depressed for weeks. Unless it's bittersweet. Then I'm good with it. But all I can ask you tragedy-loving fiends is...why? I mean sure, you could simply use the excuse that not everything in life is all sunshine and lemonade, but really, isn't that the point of liking happy endings versus the sad ones? Don't you want to get away from the horrors of life and relax knowing that there's a beautiful, happy ending at the end of a book?

Besides, it's not even about the tragedy versus comedy (or happy, whatever), JB. It's about the ending. When you're reading a long, boring book, and from beginning to late-middle chapters it's a fight to keep your eyes open, but then the ending hits you with a wham, it's like...
"Wow. That was an amazing book." And then you rant to all your friends about it and how great it was and then they start to read it and think you're a boring person. What a buzz-kill, eh?

What I want to do more than anything is write a book with an ending at which people will cry in happiness and frustration at it taking so long to get to that point. I think that when this book of mine comes out, you will read it, you will cry, and you will think of me. And then you will be motivated to write one of your own. You, in turn, will than make many more people cry. Wow, how sadistic (Zsadistic!!:) of me...wanting to make people cry. Well, what can I say, there's been crueler authors out there.

One example I'd like to give is Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dark Hunter" Series. The leading men in these books are beyond tortured. It's like she wants to rip their souls out of their asses and feed it to them! Now, these books are, by far, some of the best books I've read, but they just eat away at your heart! I die a little everytime I read one, but oh my god, do they have the most amazing endings. It warms you to your core, how they turn around in the ending! It's a struggle to get there though. Throughout the course of one Dark Hunter book, I'd say I cry twice. Once, right before the end when you realise nothing will ever work out for these poor guys, but it will, in fact, get worse. The other time would be when it ends and I cry tears of joy that it worked out. God, those books just...they're love 'em or hate 'em, I tell ya.

This has been another of my most random rantings.
'Till next time.

Chloe.

Things that Annoy me

As you can guess, my dear readers, from my last rant/blog, many things annoy me. Especially when it comes to books. Now, you don't see me with published books (that you know of) so if I say anything unfavorable about a book, I mean no offense whatsoever to the author. My opinion is solely on plot, and it is just that: my opinion. Agree is you want, but I in no way believe my way is the only way. Hurray for Free-Thinking.

Now, there is a book that I am not particularly fond of, as you might have guessed. That book is Stephenie Meyer. Now, I mean no disrespect to this author, but her characters are more than a tad unbelievable. In fact, they're downright ridiculous. Edward throws fits that could rival those of a pregnant teen one minute, and then is calm and as unshakable as a rock formation the next. The other characters are not quite so bad... but still, it is that classic, cheesy vampire-falls-in-love-with-human plot that has been done time and time again that really annoys me. Sure, each time it is done the author manages to put a little of their own twist on it, but it really just boils down to the same thing. Blech.

Another thing that annoys me is the instant-falling-in-love thing. Sure, the soulful romantic in me likes the idea of love at first sight, but really, could you be one hundred percent positive from the first glance that you are truly and (as the back of Twilight's cover puts it) "irrevocably" in love with them? No. Perhaps you felt something, and then after you got to know them realized that you'd been in love with them all along, but in one second of eye contact? Nope. Not likely in the slightest.

A thing you'll probably notice about me; when I like something, I might mention it. When I hate something with a fierce passion that burns within my very soul, I'll give you an earful. It's that simple. There is one more thing that I'll speak of today that I hate. Those stupid, sappy scenes where the hero and heroine of the story are confessing their undying and unyielding love for one another. Here's an example I wrote, with an ending common to most television anime:

Picture the scene...

"John..."
"Yes, Jane?"
"I've been meaning to tell you something I mean with all my heart..."
"What is it, my dearest, my soul, my heart, my life-and-beyond personified? Tell me what weighs upon your heart, so that I may bear it's weight for you."
"Oh, John..."
"Yes?"
"Oh, I don't know if I've the strength to say...it's as if the gods themselves are trying to seal my lips!"
"Please, my precious, tell me! Save yourself by uttering the words I've known you'd speak to me for so long! Speak them with all your heart!"
"Oh, but how?"
"Scream them, love, scream them at the top of your lungs!"
"Alright! I believe I can!" *Pauses for deep breath* "I-" a single shot is fired from a flintlock pistol at a close distance, killing Jane instantly and leaving John alone in this cruel world to forever wonder what his lover's last words were meant to be.

This entire scene was riddled with cliches I hate. Worry not, those of you who know I'm a writer, my writing isn't usually so cheesy, or so poorly written, or so juvenile. It's just something I've always wanted the world to see. How dumb these scenes are .
'Till next time.

Chloe.

My first posting.

Hello to all readers. This, as is evident from my title, my First Posting. While what a blog really is is different to many people, my blogs will simply consist of thoughts, rants, and things I find interesting. In advance, I feel compelled to infrom you that my zodiac sign (as you may have read in my profile) is Leo (Leo? The Leo? How are you supposed to phrase it? Am I correct or incorrect here?!). And as such, I am prone to exaggeration, egotistical rants, as well as a number of other equally unflattering things (but there are, without a doubt, more good than bad!). You may also notice my excessive comma use. I feel they are necessary. Well, enough warnings, and onto my topic of choice.

Books. They are my life source, and as such deserve preservation. It's bad enough that movies are being turned into mass-produced, thin-plotted, over-budgeted pieces of C-R-A-P crap, but now it seems authors everywhere are attacking a similar theme: vampires. And not just any vampires, the soft-hearted teenage variety. Ugh! Even if you were going for a teenage romance, have a little class. Heaven forbid an author has a little originality! Jeez! Anymore of this human-and-vampire-fall-in-love-and-have-problems-which-they-end-up-over-coming-in-the-end stuff and I may vomit. In the name of all that is Vampiric, STOP! Take a little break from the fanged-ones and revamp (pun intended) your vocab and your over-all character traits and plot! Think up a heart-wrenching twist or two and make your readers care. Not think they care in a sort of "Awwww, this poor wittle vamp-y needs a huggy-wuggy" sort of way, the kind that makes reader's throats tight and their eyes wide.

But here you must be thinking to yourself, "Oh, Chloe! You've pointed out all of my major writing flaws and I desperately need your help!" (ha ha, no, you're probably not, and if you are you have bigger problems than your writing) well, worry not! I know the genre is a difficult one to write under and not sound cliche in light of all the pressure put upon you by readers everywhere and what they think they want. However, these readers do not really know what they want. They think they want something because some "cool" person said they liked it and soon enough everyone's reading it because subconciously they crave the sense of self that fitting in will give them. What people really want is a book they'll talk about for months and months and eventually years later still make references to characters or lines or happenings within the book. I know, because that's what I crave with every inch of me...then again, this is just the rantings of a crazy author striving to make it in the world. If what I say makes no sense, than take no heed.

However, if deep down in your soul you know what I say is true than pick up a pen (or open up Word, or whatever the hell program s Mac's have) and make history. But more importantly, take with you the destiny and hearts of readers everywhere and give them what they crave with their souls. Give them hope. Hope for a future of original stories, novels, and poems.

This has been one of my most random rantings, thank you.

Chloe.