Not the End

It's been good, Blogger.

      Since that fateful day in 2013, you have served me well. And now? Now it's time to move on to a different format.  When I started TSI back in 2013, it was the original purpose to review works of literature and film. I did do this, and more, but I think it's time to refocus. It's been four years, and I like to think that - since then - I've grown a bit as a writer and a connoisseur of art. ("Connoisseur" is a pretentious French word which here means, someone who watches a lot of movies and thinks they know what they're talking about). I know I've grown as a person, and grown up a little bit... therefore, it is obviously more difficult, with college ahead of me and a job to maintain, to post regularly. But that won't stop me from trying.
     You may still be subject to the occasional random, writerly post about how my current novel is both my favorite and least favorite, but it is my primary goal, in re-launching The Spilled Inkwell on a fresh platform, to focus more on the themes we are exposed to in everyday media (good and bad), the stories that call to us, and the books worth reading. My aspiration is to make you consider things you might not have, think about things you'd sometimes rather not, and appreciate the Goodness, Truth and Beauty stories can shed light upon.
     If you're following this blog via email, you'll have to refollow it on Wordpress! Follow the link for new adventures: https://ellygardspilledtheinkwellblog.wordpress.com/

NaNo DAY 30: November Surrender Document, Much Lauding to the Victorious

Kudos from the Graveyard of NaNoWriMo 2016!

I'm rather cheerful in spite of not winning this year; it's probably because I trailed off halfway through (let's blame Josie; she gave me a splendidly terrible idea for my other novel). Never fear! Bird Cages with Broken Doors isn't dead - just on the shelf for a while. After all, two novels is a lot going on for one mortal girl. Suffice to say, without this year's NaNo, BCwBD would be stuck in a terrible alternate history and Fabian's memory would still be gone (sad, I know).  Now I have a halfway-decent WWII writing prompt with a hook-handed "villain." Stay tuned.

But, in spite of my pathetic 20,000 words, there were many victories amongst my companions and I couldn't be more proud. My Honest Editor Friend (QUINLYN!) completed with flying colors, as did the alleged distractor Josie (I still love her). My good friends Hannah, Rebekah and Elisabeth also finished! I'm so happy for all of them and their talent is immesurable. 

I'm glad I tried this year - I got my writing a bit more organized (each story has its own notebook now!) and I'm excited to have a new story on my plate. Many blessings to all you procrastinators trying to cram in another 1,000 or so before midnight!

- Ellie

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was a lovely one; I hope you all had a wonderful, laughter-filled time with your friends and family, and I hope today you remembered the things you are blessed with. I know I did. 

I was reminded that I am blessed with beautiful-souled friends who care about me. I was reminded that my family is blessedly close - so close - and ever in tune with each other's emotions. I was reminded that I am blessed to live in this country and to have the utmost freedom to say and write and think and live as I please. I was reminded that I am surrounded by people I love, who love deeply all their own. 

I hope you remembered some things today, and I hope you'll go on remembering. Love you all very much. Thanks for reading.

- Elly

NaNoWriMo DAY 10: Forget the Ottomans, I Have Derailed

pay attention to the green bar. THE GREEN ONE.

    Hello!
    The Ottomans have been neglected for the Nazis and my time period has jumped forward ~30 years (I know, I know - yikes). As Quinlyn puts it, my story has "derailed." As Josie put it, "the first 10,000 words were character development." Both are true and wonderful statements of encouragment. Derailed trains may not be predictable but at least they're going somewhere, and Anca and Fabian really did need developing.

Josie:Quinlyn: 

My friends are so encouraging. <3

    Did I mention I went back to regular history because alternate history made me really uncomforable? Well. It's okay. It's okay now. I owe my mom some credit: she told me on the last day of October to write a WWII novel because I'd always wanted to write one. Heh. Should have listened. I'm on the right track now.

NaNoWriMo 2016: Day 10
Today's Word Count: 1,776
Total Word Count: 12,009
Today's Writing Music: Mariesa's "homefront" playlist.
Excerpt of the Day: "I remember. I remember the colors and the wagon wheels turning, the laughter and the music. I remember the firelight, and dancing shadows on the foreign walls of cliff faces. I remember the food, all spice and sweetness. I remember now and I have remembered through all of this. I remember, but does anyone else?"

     I'm still a couple thousand words behind, but IT'S OK. I think I'll have some more time to write tomorrow. Wish me luck!

NaNoWriMo DAY 4: I Should Be Writing Not Blogging

But hey, at least I have cool Pinterest boards.

Not quite sure why Luca got "Character" and the other two got "Charrie" though.

     So, it's Day Four and I've basically kept up so far (except for yesterday, but I'm almost caught up now, so that doesn't count). 

Yay for writing and four cups of coffee at one of my favorite cafes!

    I met up with Quinlyn today for coffee (on my part) and laptop charging adventures (on hers). We got some writing done, but we mostly just ended up brainstorming and talking about Gilmore Girls. At least the brainstorming part was productive. And depressing. I concluded that Fabian was sort of useless and that Anca really shouldn't care about him at all. Alas, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. So now my made-up triumphant Ottomans (the real Ottoman Empire except stronger and more fabulous than England this time) have to cause trouble. I guess they have guns and Austria so far, so that's cool.

See, we're trying.

    (I really am doing research, but this is speculative historical fiction so I can also do whatever the heck I want. Muahaha.)

     Can you tell I'm in need of some happiness? Maybe Luca and Anca will get married. Though, since he's currently in Switzerland and she's trapped in Austria-Hungary, probably not soon.

Josie's doing this cool thing where she posts her favorite line from the day's writing. I think I'll follow suit (at least sometimes)...

NaNoWriMo 2016: Day 4
Today's Word Count: 2,064
Total Word Count: 6,076
Today's Writing Music: Hipster tunes at a local cafe, complete with fiddles (much to Quinlyn's chagrin).
Excerpt of the Day: "I dream in color and in pain. The dreams are not coherent, but they flow from one to the next like the violently turned pages of a book. In one of them I dream I am being carried, and in the next I think there is a girl pressing a cold rag against my forehead. All around me are people I do not recognize; people in gray colors surrounded by an indistinct haze of purples and greens and poppy-reds."
Goof of the Day: The words clutterly and pondersome unfortunately do not actually exist in the English language.

NaNoWriMo DAY 1: Cerebral Achromatopsia

      This morning I had no characters to speak of and now I have two protagonists and a bunch of lovely family members with cool names. Now that's what I call progress.

Also:

• I met my word count, even with a class and a [very very long] hair appointment and Hapkido today. 
• Until Bird Cages with Broken Doors, I have not had a character who has balked over the pronunciation of his name (it's FAH-bee-AHN not FAY-bee-AHN).
• I am not yet concerned that I don't have enough to write about. 
• My novel is listed under the "Speculative Historical Fiction" genre (something I'm pretty sure I made up.)
• Fabian Fischer is a cool name and although my friends question my sanity, the poor boy has both amnesia and cerebral achromatopsia, something I didn't learn about until I added "colorblindness caused by head trauma" to my psychopathic google searches this afternoon.

• Estefania Anca Radu is also a cool name and she has nine siblings and lives in a carriage. Beat that.
• I feel like I sort of know what I'm doing.
• Maybe I can write? Who knows?
• Carol can be a boy's name. Surprise!
• A cup of coffee disappeared today and I think I drank it (?) but I don't remember doing so.
• Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races are an excellent analogy for NaNoWriMo because: "It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die." 
• I am feeling fairly confident. Huzzah!

See you tomorrow! Wish me luck conquering that green bar again. There is no sight so sweet...

NaNo 2016 Kick-Off - Bird Cages With Broken Doors

Tomorrow morning, I will write like I'm running out of time because I will be running out of time. Haha. Ha.

This year is my third participating in National Novel Writing Month and - she said so confidently - my second year really trying! I'm hoping that with my limited school load and part-time job, I will have at least the time of day to meet my quota throughout the month (~1,670 words per day, adding up to 50,000 words in just 30 days).

That being said, I have no idea what I'm writing.
Well, that's not quite true. I suppose I have some idea.
I've changed my mind about ten times and only just now settled on this tingling of a gypsy-culture based novel that's been nestling in my mind for a bit. I guess I'll see where that takes me. It's been suggested I accept my being a pantser*, but I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with it.

Wish me luck! 

Your already frazzled author,
Elly

*According to the Urban Dictionary: "A NaNoWriMo term that means that you 'fly by the seat of your pants' when you are writing your novel. You have nothing but the absolute basics planned out for your novel."

History Has Its Eyes On You: Another Post About Miranda's "Hamilton"

Hey look! Another post about Hamilton. 

      I have been homeschooled my entire life, as most of you know, and my mom has always made sure to expose me to a variety of art. As a kid growing up in Seattle, Washington, she took me and Matt to see dozens of musicals, from The Lion King to Cats to Peter Pan, instilling in me a love of Broadway at a really young age. I wasn't too keen on acting or singing in public, however, so I became a writer instead of heading to the stage. 

         Another lifelong passion of mine is history. Whether it be from my mother’s insistence that we listen to The Story of the World on tape on every hour-long car drive, or my own inborn inclination to read every placard in every museum I’ve ever visited, I love it. I thrive on it. I always remind others and myself to look at the subject not as a dusty textbook but as a story itself, with untold opinions, viewpoints and thoughts. For me, drama and history go hand in hand.

  This is why, when actor, writer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda released a three-hour hip-hop musical based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, I was enamored, if – at first - a bit reproachful. A hip-hop musical about the guy on the $10 bill? Although I had always enjoyed the history lesson of Hamilton and Burr’s duel, I had never taken a particular interest in our first Secretary of Treasury or his notorious “frenemy.” Nonetheless, I downloaded the album and began listening to the musical in January while driving to and from classes at the community college. Soon enough, I’d bought Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton and rekindled my interest in the history of America’s conception (Yeah, I'm a huge nerd).

  Alas, I have not yet seen the production. Tickets are unfathomably difficult to obtain, and I live very far away from New York and Chicago. Fortunately for me, the cast album of Hamilton is essentially the entire musical on audio. The first half of Hamilton is intensely exciting and well-crafted, but it is the second that exposes the elements which make the musical, in my opinion, an invaluable work of art.

  Among the prominent themes of patriotism, forgiveness and humility, I was most moved by the theme of mortality. We often look at the Founding Fathers of our country as ancient gods – men who lived and breathed liberty, who gave their lives and love to ushering in a new era.  We just as often paint men like Burr in a wholly negative light, destroying their legacy by making them “villains in our history.” Hamilton expresses the often overlooked fact that, like us, our founders were simply men; that they were, as actor Leslie Odom Jr. said in a recent documentary on the production, “more than one thing.” These men made mistakes and let power go to their heads and often, as with Hamilton, those mistakes led to their demise. The fathers of our country were far from immortal, and amidst all the light-hearted crescendos and humorous rap battles peppering this musical, a listener cannot escape the theme that these charismatic characters were once flawed, incredibly real human beings. It is a paradox of control; the powerful men who formed our great nation had not the power to control how history remembers them.

  This point is driven home by George Washington’s wisdom throughout the play; 

“You have no control; who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” 

That knowledge counters both Burr and Hamilton’s power-hungry, often egotistic personalities, but it is not until the very end that both come to understand the truth of it. As the bullet heads straight for him, Hamilton sings, 

“What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

  The idea of an unseen legacy seriously impacted me as a writer. It is my greatest wish for my books to be read and loved, but how can I control how my stories are interpreted after I am gone? How can I know if they will last years after I have passed on? Hamilton tells me that I cannot control those things, but that I can control how and what I write today. I can control the messages and love I put into my work. None of us can know whether we will be remembered in our descendants’ history. In many ways, this is a painful truth, but I think it is also a comforting one. We may not be able to control how we are remembered, but we can control ourselves and how we encounter situations and other people. As Burr says, 

“I am inimitable, I am an original.”

  This musical made me laugh and cry, but more importantly, for the past year, it has influenced my life and my writing. Hamilton made me think about my own legacy. It made me consider my own part in history. It reminded me to stay forever mindful of the future. I encourage you once more to seek out the cast album if you have not heard it, and let it inspire you as it inspired me.

How to Keep Your Head & Your Friends During This Election

If you have a TV, you've surely borne acute witness to this mud-slinging, 5-year-old-argument-esque, utterly absurd election.
If you don't have a TV, you've doubtless heard of it.
Likewise, if you have a Facebook or have been to dinner with your Conservative grandparents or Liberal aunt or Libertarian uncle, you've probably had your fair share of mud-slinging, 5-year-old-arguments and absurdity.

If you're a rational human being, you're probably wondering how to handle it. If you're not a rational human being, I implore you to keep reading anyway.

It wasn't until recently I felt qualified to give such advice. But since I, too, will vote this year and I, too, am tired of irksome politicians and more irksome political posts and commentary, I would like to share my philosophy for this (and maybe every) election. Don't get excited, I'm not going to endorse anybody.

Tip #1: Relax.
I get it.
You hate the candidates.
I get it.
You hate the Conservatives/Liberals/Libertarians/Nutcases/Socialists/Homophobes/blahblahblahblahblah... You just can't stand them. The world will probably end if _____ is elected president.

Hear me out a second: do some yoga.
Go paint.
Go look at clouds.
Chill, fam.

The world isn't going to end because of this election. Someday after this election, it will end, and you may or may not be around to care.
 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
....But worrying about it isn't going to do you any good rn (right now). Hating that neighbor with the Trump sign in their yard or cutting off the Hillary supporter in traffic is a total waste of your energy. Take a deep breath. Om. Continue.

Tip #2: Quit Labeling People.
I get it.
Trump is an insane sexist.
Hillary is a lying sleezbag.
(Maybe they're both insane sleezbags...)

Hang on a second though... This is gonna get real.
Your goofy brother who's voting for Trump? You know he's not insane. Your mom, who's decided to vote for Hillary? She's not a sleezbag. Right?

Neither is anybody else who's voting.

Everybody probably has a good reason for voting for whoever they're voting for. 
Basically, stop caring if your friend or relative is voting for Trump or Clinton or Johnson or Sanders or writing in Alexander Hamilton (ha ha).
As long as they're voting their conscience or even voting at all, they're doing their American thing and they have every right to do it.

(Tip 2. 5)
Quit trying to change people's minds.
It's October, dear heart.
You're not going to change anyone's mind with a Facebook post. Or a mean word. Or a horn-honk on the highway.

Tip #3: Spread peace, not hate. ✌
B-b-but.... How can anyone support Trump when he's said all these terrible things?
How can anyone support Hillary when she's lied through her teeth?
How can anyone support Johnson when he's a third-party candidate?

Everybody probably has their own reasons. At this point, I doubt the majority of the American population actually LIKES any of these candidates. I, at least, am voting for an issue, not for a person. Is that a good idea? IDK, bro. This is my first election. The fate of the world does not rest on my shoulders. I'll vote for what I think is right. 

The world doesn't need another hater right now. We've got plenty of those.

Isn't it easier to assume that everybody has a good reason for voting for A, B or C instead of assuming they're crazy or ignorant?

Tip #4: Elly Says Something She Never Says Ever

In this election, there is no moral right or wrong.

Go ahead and disagree with me.

Maybe, I'll disagree with myself later on.

But right now, I'm pretty sure I'm onto something.

Politics =/= Truth

No politician is ever, ever, ever going to espose every value.

No party is ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going to follow the straightest moral path.

Likely, every party and politician will have a glimmer of goodness within them (kind of like every person, if you think about it).

Hillary supporters are not stupid.

Trump supporters are not evil.

Johnson supporters are not hopeless.

Unlike truth, politics will always change with the times. Unlike religion, politics will never give you the full answer. You're only human. Maybe you'll make the right decision and maybe you'll make the wrong one. God isn't going to hate you because you're voting for ____. You can't see the future.

Tip #5: You're Allowed to be Frustrated/Enthused

Yay, this is America!

You're totally entitled to your opinion and your voice.

Stick those ten Johnson stickers on the back of your car!

Post that mega-Trump sign in your lawn!

Tell everybody why you think Hillary's the best ever!

Or, keep all your opinions to yourself and never talk about politics ever!

These behaviors are all a bit annoying (except maybe the last one). But nobody's going to persecute you for them. Really, the point is, that nobody should persecute you for them.

Guess what else you're entitled to?

- Rolling your eyes at the debates

- Crying quietly in the voting booths

- Changing your mind at the last instant

- A bit of complaining

- Making fun of the candidates

Just stop hating things and people and Trump and Hillary and your old Republican neighbor and your Democrat son-in-law. 

Just stop thinking this is the end of the world. It's gonna be fine. Maybe we'll be stuck with a bad president for 4 years. This is America. If it ever gets really terrible, we have this thing called impeachment. But I have hope it won't come to that.

A Conclusion

Over the past six months, I have seen so many angry Facebook posts. I have seen so many friendships fall apart because of some politician. I have had so many frustrated discussions over politics with people I love. I have gotten irritated with my family and my friends and the candidates and at one point or another I have forgotten to follow all these tips.

So I'm no better. I just think I could be. And life, and this November, would be better if we could all just vote and get along. Cheerio. Have a great rest of your day. I love you no matter who you're voting for.

Interview with Kiera M: Acting, Writing, and How the Two Align

Good morning, readers! Today I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Kiera; actress, writer, and speculated lost Disney princess...  I met this sweet girl two years ago through One Year Adventure Novel, and this month, I asked her to write a blog post about her talents. I wondered if being an actor helped her get into her character's heads more easily, or at least differently, than we audience writers. Here is our interview...

Hey, Kiera! Welcome to the Spilled Inkwell. First off, I was wondering when you got into acting, and why?
I discovered my love for theatre (especially musical theatre) about a year and a half ago, when I watched the 1992 Disney musical, Newsies. I then discovered it had been a show on Broadway, and was, at the time, on tour. I got to see the touring production twice. And yeah, in short, it's the show that changed my life.
Newsies showed me the power and beauty in theatre, and I so wanted to be a part of it. 

Wow, that's beautiful. I love Newsies (as you know) and I think it's really beautiful how significant it was in your life. Would you say you're a “method actor” or a “classical actor”?
The acting I've done has been Classical.
 If you’re unfamiliar with the terms: “[the classical acting method] was that of both script analysis and personal exploration to find "the truth" of a part—or rather what would be truthful to the actor portraying the part," while method acting is remembering things that have happened to you in the past and pulling from those emotions.

Interesting... So when and why did you start writing stories?
I started writing 4ish years ago, I think? It started with short stories and I am now working on a novel, retelling the Robin Hood legends.
I first started writing because my older sister is a writer, so I thought I’d give it a try. ;) But also because of the amazing One Year Adventure Novel community/curriculum. After going to an OYAN Summer Workshop with my sister, and seeing the passion and creativity in all the students, I wanted to continue to create things with words.

Has acting helped you get into the minds of characters more easily? Can you give us a few examples?
Most definitely! 
I think having been a writer, and having created my own characters, it’s been helpful to me as an actor to be able to notice and pick out the motivations and desires of a character that I’m playing.
Then, having been an actor, it's helpful for me to be able to look at a script of an old show and see how it flows and see how I can do the same thing as a novel writer. (Because you become so familiar with a script of your show, it’s easy to look at and analyze.)

That's wonderful! Thanks for sharing. Just out of curiousity, who is your favorite character in your own stories?
Even though I haven’t finished the story yet, I think that would have to be either my current main character, Robin, or Alan (both from my Robin Hood retelling).

OK, last question... Out of all the characters you've acted so far, who is your favorite?
Maria in The Sound of Music! It was my first show, the cast was so lovely and talented and I was so blessed to be a part of a show that I love so much. 

Kiera McManus is homeschooled senior, who loves Jesus, people, and sharing God's glory with people through the power of music. When she's not in rehearsal or running lines, she enjoys writing, singing, Bible quizzing, playing Ultimate Frisbee, photography, and hanging out with friends and family.

The Little Prince, "La Vie," and Children's Stories in a Very Adult World

Summary

   A Little Girl whose whole life seems to be completely planned out meets her eccentric neighbor; an artistic Old Man who is just trying to get his plane to work. After curiousity gets the better of her, the Little Girl befriends the Old Man, who begins telling her stories about a curious character named the Little Prince. Engaged by these whimsical tales, the Little Girl begins to see the world through a different lens and is not as keen as she was on growing up...

"You are going to make a wonderful grown-up."

The Story Itself

   Somehow, I never read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, as a kid. It's rather difficult to find in English, and maybe that's the reason I never stumbled upon it. Needless to say, everything in the movie was a surprise for me. It made me jump, it made me laugh, and it made me cry (a lot); partially because it was completely new and partially because it was completely beautiful. The voice-acting and animation were both fantastic, but that isn't what I'm going to talk about today.

    I want to talk about the story of The Little Prince, how it flows, and what it means. It's like a river. It creeps forward slowly, and it takes elegant turns at unexpected bends. The film gives the story enough time to unfold quietly, and it doesn't force anything. From what I understand of the book, it explores many different themes in an episodic-sort of way. The movie chooses a few of these themes and weaves them together to form a different, more linear plot structure.

"Once upon a time, there was a little prince who lived on a planet scarcely bigger than himself and who had need for a friend..."

    The story unfolds in two different worlds. 

    In the first, there is the Little Girl; she and her mother have moved into a new neighborhood so she can attend a rigorous academy in the area. Even during the summer, she lives in a world of order. Her mother has even made her a "Life Plan," dictating every second of every minute of every day. She will never be bored. She will never be uncertain. She will always be practical. It isn't until she meets the Old Man that she begins to open her eyes to something other than growing up.

    In the second world, we watch the Old Man's past unfold in a different animation style; when he was an Aviator, he met the Little Prince in a desert, and the Little Prince told him his story. This part is told more episodically, and generally out of order. We learn that the Little Prince ended up on Earth after leaving his own planet, seeking answers to his relationship with a Rose ("The shame of it was that they loved each other. But they were both too young to know how to love.").
     As he travels the universe, the Little Prince meets the inhabitants of other planets (asteroids, actually). Each occupant seems to be wrapped up only in themselves. They do not notice the stars, or the beauty of the universe around them. They are single minded; one King believes he rules the entire galaxy, though he has no subjects. The Conceited Man believes he is the smartest man ("and the only man!") on the planet, and seeks praise even when there's no one to praise him. The Business Man counts the stars but does not love them. The Little Prince comes to the conclusion that grown-ups are "very, very odd." It is only when he befriends a Fox on earth that he begins to understand what having a relationship with someone means.
     Eventually he ends up in the Desert, and gives his wisdom and friendship to the Aviator.

"The stars are beautiful because of a flower that cannot be seen. What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well." 

Amitié

    The most obvious theme of The Little Prince is one of love.
    Not just romantic love - motherly love, filial love, and especially self-giving love are all explored in depth, but sensitvely. It is quite a French story, after all, and the French sometimes seem the last ones to acknowledge love in more than a romantic way.
     In The Little Prince, we see how much love matters, and just how much it pains the lovers. The mother loves her daughter so much she ends up hurting them both. The boy loves the girl so much he is easily manipulated, and the girl loves the boy so much she forgets herself. The child, in turn, loves her friend so much she becomes desperate to remain at one point in time forever. These tragedies are made triumphs when they are turned over; the daughter loves her mother enough to forgive her. The boy and the girl love each other enough to try to understand one another. The friend loves the child enough to guide her and let her go.

     We all forget how to love sometimes. Perhaps - until we let go of ourselves - we are all too young to know how to love. It is a sad truth, but how many times to we fall into our selfishness even as we claim we love someone? How many times do we sacrifice true friendship for nostalgia? How many times do we use someone we care about for our own gratification?
      The Little Prince exposes these tragedies of love in the simplest  and most graceful of ways; briefly, gently, and ever so honestly.

"Men have no more time to understand anything, They buy things already made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship."

    "Amitié," or friendship, is dwelt upon the longest of what C.S. Lewis would call the Four Loves. The Little Prince befriends the Fox by taming him (by "making him unique"). The Aviator befriends the Little Prince by giving him a gift. The Little Girl befriends the Old Man by listening to his stories.
     In all of these friendships, one similar theme laces them together, and it is unique to The Little Prince. Our relationship with another person makes us unique. There are more than 7 billion people on our asteroid - our Earth - and we are different because our relationships with each other are very, very different. You cannot have the same relationship with two different people, and therefore every person is unique.

"It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your Rose so unique."

     I'd never looked at it that way before, but I think the idea is beautiful. I know that everyone is unique - I have always been told it since I was a child, and I am reminded all the time. Sometimes it's harder to explain why we are all different, however, and The Little Prince offers the simple explanation of friendship.

"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."

   

"To me you will be unique in all the world, and to you I will be unique in all the world."

Growing Up

     I said before that our story unfolds in two different worlds. It is in the second (the Aviator's) that the theme of Amitié unfolds most clearly. It is in the Little Girl's world that the theme of Growing Up is shown most fully.
     It's very important to recognize that The Little Prince never suggests that growing up is bad. After all, growing up is inevitable. When you first begin the movie, and you're introduced to the Little Girl's micromanaging mother, and the drab world she seems to live in, it's easy to believe that you're watching a movie where adults are going to be portrayed negatively.

    But, in the wise words of the Old Man: "Growing up isn't the problem, forgetting is." 
    Here I, your writer, stand on the verge of adulthood. Some have told me, "Get ready for real responsibility." Others have told me, "Turning eighteen doesn't really mean anything at all."
    With such a wide range of possible attitudes, I think it's up to me to decide what adulthood means. Considering the happiest adults I know, I firmly believe that adulthood - growing up - should not be accompanied by extreme practicality, and is never accompanied by insurmountable knowledge or unwavering confidence. The happiest adults I know did not forget what it meant to be a child and to live in wonder. They have as much potential to stand in awe of a sunset as a child. They have as much capacity to love stories as any kid.
     ... Notice I said the happiest adults I know, not the most successful. In order to "not forget," happiness must come first. This is another lesson of The Little Prince. The Little Girl's accomplishments and academics are not disregarded or ignored; she does care about them, but it is only when she also cares about embracing friendship, love and wonder that she is truly happy.

"I know you'll be miraculous, I know you will."

Getting Lost

    The third theme of The Little Prince is perhaps the most simple. It is that - in spite of all your efforts to love selflessly and remain wonderstruck - you will hurt others, and you will forget. You must be loved to learn how to love, and you must be reminded to remember. Most importantly, you must be open to these things. You must be humble.

"People where you live grow five thousand roses in one garden, yet they do not find what they are looking for. They do not know that what they are looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water... Eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart."

Finding Wonder

      This story doesn't leave you wondering how to "remember." Being a story itself, it could communicate the importance of stories without even breaching the topic. Nonetheless, it does bring it up in the world of the Little Girl. She is completely swept away by the power of the Little Prince's story. She paints stars with the Old Man because the Little Prince loves them. She loves the Fox because he does. She weeps for the Prince, and she questions him. 

      Those of us who love stories know how easy it is to associate items with characters. Simple telephone booths make us listen for sonic screwdrivers. Wardrobes send a giddy shiver down our spines. Odd markings  on doorways (however incidental) excite us. Blue foods remind us of Greek gods. It is psychology, perhaps, but it is also a special type of love. I have a friend who loves pineapples, and every time I see a pineapple I think of her. Loving a character who drives an orange Camaro, and therefore smiling every time you see an orange sports car, is much the same feeling. Wonder can mean standing in rapture of a sunset, but it can also mean a change in your life wholly because of a story.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

    Questioning and weeping for characters is such a relatable experience, to me, that watching the Little Girl wrap herself up in the Little Prince's story was a joy in itself. How many times have I loved a story or a character so deeply that I have desperately tried to understand them? How many times have I been so engaged that I've cried for days over a single story?
     Those of us who stand on the edge of loving stories are given a window to the joys of fiction in the eyes of the Little Girl. We don't have to be persuaded why stories matter; we are shown why they are essential. 

     The fact that the Little Prince's story is so absurd is what makes it so approachable. If the Prince can fly from asteroid to asteriod via a flock of migrating birds, then we can easily sit down with a book for half an hour. If foxes can speak and roses can love, then surely we can give ourselves up to a fictional world for forty-five minutes. And if alien princes can teach us about friendship and human nature, then how can we argue that stories mean nothing?

    Wonder - whether for stars or stories or songs or sunsets - is important if we are to live fully. If we are to embrace happiness, we must also embrace wonder.

"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman. He has never smelled a flower. He has never looked at a star. He has never done anything in his life but add up figures. And all day he says over and over, 'I am busy with matters of consequence!'"

Allegory 
**spoilers**

      Truth be told, I do not know much about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I know a bit of his history. I know he disappeared after he wrote this book. I don't know about his religion, or if he believed in literary symbolism at all. If I had to guess, though, I would say that he did believe in allegory, because if any particular part of The Little Prince stood out to me most, or shocked me the most, it was the ending of the Prince's story. 

      When he first arrives in the desert, before meeting the Aviator, the Little Prince meets a snake. "You are a funny animal," the Prince tells it, "You are no thicker than a finger."
      "Ah," the Snake hisses, "But I'm more powerful than the finger of a king."
      "You haven't any feet. You cannot even travel."
      "I can carry you farther than any ship can take you. I can help you someday if you grow to homesick for your own planet."
      "Oh. I think I understand you."
      This uncomfortable exchange is left simmering in the minds of the audience. It is completely up for interpretion, as it is never explained by the Old Man or the Prince himself. And yet it carries an indistinguishable air of foreboding.

      Several stories later, the Old Man informs the Little Girl that there is an end to the Little Prince's story. He does not seem sad about this; only pondering, thoughtful, and a little melancholy.
      After the Aviator finally fixes his plane, he discovers the Little Prince conversing with the Snake. Alarmed, the Aviator pulls his gun and tries in vain to shoot it.
     Later, the Little Prince tells his concerned friend, "I too am going home today. It is much farther. It is much more difficult... I am afraid. Tonight do not come. You understand it is too far, I cannot carry this body with me. It will be like an old abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells. Here is the place...'"

"'I can't believe I'll never hear you laugh again.'
'I'm going to make you a present; in one of those stars, I shall be living. In one of them, I shall be laughing, so when you look up at the sky at night it will be as if all the stars are laughing.'"

      The Little Prince knows he is going home, yet he is still afraid. Even with that fear, he has accepted what needs to be done in order to achieve returning to his beloved - his Rose. He literally turns himself over to the Snake, whose single goal since the beginning has been to trick him into being bitten. What the Snake isn't aware of is that the Little Prince is no fool; he is going home, and only he knows the way to get there.
      This part of the story is left completely up to interpretation. The Little Girl is upset because it means saying goodbye to the Little Prince and, by extension, the Old Man. The audience is upset, perhaps, because we are never told whether or not the Prince "makes it" back to his planet. We never know for sure.
      To me, this entire portion of the story seemed in all aspects like an allegory of Christ's Passion; the Snake representing the Devil, the Prince expressing the need to "return home..." Even the confession ("I am afraid.") and the warning ("Tonight, do not come.") to the Aviator seemed highly symbolic.
       Likewise, the Old Man's only comment on the ending of the story is quite literally a testament of faith; "It would comfort me very much to know for sure, but instead I choose to believe he's up there."

Conclusion

     The Little Prince is a remarkable story told in the simplest of ways (animated film) and it's hard to pinpoint a precise ending. It arguably doesn't have a precise ending. It is a movie I believe everyone could learn benefit from watching, and I am positive that the book itself is even more enlightening. I can't wait to read it. There are dozens more themes I didn't even discuss in this post.
     I encourage you to watch the film. Turn off your computer, put away your phone, disregard your paperwork. Give this story your attention and your time, and you will not be disappointed.

Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle: Why Her Characters Feel Real

    Before you continue, I would suggest reading my post from Wednesday, in which I summarize Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series and explain my purpose for this discussion.

    If you don't have time for that, then know this; in this post, I will be discussing why writers should look at Stiefvater's character development as an example, and how her characters represent an ideal cast whether you're writing horror, fantasy, action or historical fiction.

    First, though, let's explore some conflicting ideas. I was struck not just by how well-written Stiefvater's story and characters were, but also how unusual. 

Three Common YA Character Pitfalls*
1) Trope Syndrome: "Darian Dark is the Bad Boy™ because he smokes and drinks and curses. Candy Bright is the Heroine™ because she wears cool clothes and says what she thinks. Aaron Awesome is the Hero™ because he's attractive and confident. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera..."
2) The Special Snowflake Disorder: "Mary Sue is the best at singing even though she's never had voice training. Joe Schmo can run faster than anybody on the team, but he misses practice every week. Sally Swanson gets A's on all her tests but doesn't study at all." 
3) The Supremacy Complex: A variation of the Special Snowflake Disorder, "This cast of characters is an outlier. They are different from everyone else, and are superior in every way. Nobody understands Jimmy Joe Johnson and it's because he's better than everyone else."

*These pitfalls are not hard to find in children's or adult fiction either, but I think they're most common in the teen section. It may come down to adult writers attempting to write "different" teenage characters.

Things I Have Been Told To Avoid When Writing Characters
1) Don't label your characters. It isn't fair to label real people, so why should you label fictional ones?
2) Make your main character different enough to be interesting, but realistic enough to be relatable.
3) Don't make your readers feel bad or inferior when they're reading. Teach them, don't tell them.

     As you can probably guess, Maggie Stiefvater's characters are neither Tropes, Special Snowflakes, or Supreme Beings. They're pretty ordinary, actually. Well, except searching for dead Welsh kings, going to an expensive private school, and living in a house full of psychics.
     Laugh all you want - that's the point! As readers, we expect characters to be different. We expect the story world to be cool and maybe even a little flashy. But we also want characters we can relate to.
     After finishing The Raven Boys, I felt like I could bump into Adam Parrish on the street. I felt like I could roll my eyes at Ronan Lynch racing on the highway on any given day. I felt like I could meet Gansey at a book club and carry on a long, rather ordinary conversation with him. I felt like I could be Blue's best friend. I feel like every other character - supporting, minor, villainous, heroic - could be real. 

     Why is this? I've boiled it down to five (+1) points. Maggie Stiefvater's cast is not just a cast of characters in a magical story world. They aren't just girls with psychic mothers and boys with magic forests and ravens in their heads. They are real teenagers struggling to survive in this crazy world of ours; they are students who have to go to school for the hope of a better life, friends worried sick about other friends, brothers fighting and forgiving, daughters struggling to grow up. They have extracurriculars. They recognize reality. They have unique personalities. They fail and they learn and the understand.

Extracurriculars: 

"He used his old key code to get into Aglionby’s indoor athletic complex... all sounds strange and hollow at night. He did endless laps as he used to do when he had first come to the school, back when he had been on the rowing team, back when he had sometimes come earlier than even rowing practice to swim. He had nearly forgotten what it felt like to be in the water: It was as if his body didn’t exist; he was just a borderless mind. He pushed himself off a barely visible wall and headed towards the even less visible opposite one, no longer quite able to hold on to his concrete concerns. School, Headmaster Child, even Glendower. He was only in this current minute. Why had he given this up?"

- The Raven King, Book 4

    Besides being rich and a little bit eccentric when it comes to Welsh mythology, Dick Gansey is on the rowing team. He likes to swim. In fact, he loves to swim.
     What? 
     Yep. Just like you and I have our extracurriculars (besides writing, I do martial arts! besides reading this blog, you paint!), this character - possibly one of the most fascinating, original characters I've ever had the privilege of meeting - does stuff outside of school and tromping through magical forests. This contributes to him being real and makes him seem well-rounded - something his character certainly is. Maggie Stiefvater shows, doesn't tell. She doesn't say Gansey's well rounded. She proves it; just as she proves that Ronan is Catholic by showing him attending Mass with his brothers, and just as she proves that Blue is an environmentalist by showing us her eco-friendly room and constantly conservationist attitude ("Make sure you recycle that!").
     Now, I'm not saying to put your medieval fantasy squire on the local football team. I'm not saying to have your 1920's flapper take up cheerleading. But... Maybe give that squire a liking for going on long walks at night. Give that flapper a passion for flower-arranging. Make your characters well-rounded. They had lives before this story.

Reality: 

“Some people envied Ronan’s money. Adam envied his time. To be as rich as Ronan was to be able to go to school and do nothing else, to have luxurious swaths of time in which to study and write papers and sleep. Adam wouldn’t admit it to anyone, least of all Gansey, but he was tired. He was tired of squeezing homework in between his part-time jobs, of squeezing in sleep, squeezing in the hunt for Glendower. The jobs felt like so much wasted time: In five years, no one would care if he’d worked at a trailer factory. They’d only care if he’d graduated from Aglionby with perfect grades, or if he’d found Glendower, or if he was still alive.” 

- The Raven Boys, Book 1

        Adam Parrish is a scholarship student at Henrietta's Aglionby Academy. He cannot afford to pay for it by himself, and he refuses to accept money from Gansey or Ronan. Therefore, he works three jobs. And he never misses school. It's worth mentioning that Gansey and Blue (who goes to a normal school) don't skip either. Because, in real life, you can't skip classes without consequences. This is just as real a threat in The Raven Cycle; one of the main conflicts involves Ronan's uncaring attitude toward academia and the consequences of that attitude.
      I get it. As a writer, there are two things that get in the way of having adolescent characters: parents and school. Sometimes it's easier to eliminate, ignore or "skip" them entirely. And sometimes that's okay (orphan characters are sympathetic, and summer stories eliminate the school obstacle). Other times it seems lazy to exclude such real life details or have otherwise well-behaved characters skip school on a regular basis to hunt monsters.
      Adam's plight is realistic. Most of us are not like Gansey and Ronan and can't buy pool tables and cars in the span of one week. It's economically easier to relate to Adam and Blue, who are not always part of the story because they are busy with real life commitments. Take your character's social position into consideration when writing. Give them real life consequences and motivations.

Personality: 

"The only thing more pleasing than seeing Ronan singled out was seeing him singled out and forced to repeatedly sing an Irish jig... Ronan shook his head, but then, with a wicked smile, he began to sing, 'Squash one, squash two, s—' 'Not that one,' both Adam and Gansey said. 'I’m not listening to that for three hours,' Adam said. Gansey pointed at Ronan until he began to breathily whistle a jaunty reel.” 

- Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Book 3

      It would have been very easy for Ronan Lynch to become the Bad Boy™ of this series. Brooding, cussing, tattooed and rather nonchalant, I thought I saw it coming.
       Happily, I was wrong. Ronan may be all those things, but he is all those things for a reason (spoilers!). And he isn't uncaring; he loves his friends and would die for any of them. He loves his brother, and he loves his home. Although he can be incorrigible at times, he isn't only that.
       Besides racing trashy Aglionby cronies on abandoned midnight roads and casually breaking thing on purpose, he likes music. Specifically, That One Obnoxious Song That Overplays on the Radio. Maggie Stiefvater didn't want to date her book by using "Gangham Style" or "What Does the Fox Say," but "The Murder Squash Song" is basically the equivalent. Ronan, in moments of awkward silence or general opportunity, unsurprisingly starts singing this, driving his friends crazy. He is, in fact, the meme friend.
      Usually real life cool dudes have a little more to them than simply being cool. They have quirks. Make your characters quirky!
 
Side note: All the Raven Cycle characters have quirks and hobbies. Adam really likes fixing cars. Gansey chews on mint leaves. Blue sews, makes her own sweaters, and likes yogurt. Noah is generally very funny. The Gray Man likes The Kinks.

Virtues: 

“Blue had acquaintances at school, people she liked. But they weren’t forever. While she was friendly with a lot of them, there was no one that she wanted to commit to for a lifetime. And she knew this was her fault. She’d never been any good at having casual friends. For Blue, there was family — which had never been about blood relation at 300 Fox Way — and then there was everyone else. When the boys came to her house, they stopped being everyone else.” 

- The Dream Thieves, Book 2

      Sometimes YA characters are goody-two-shoes, but most of the time they are catalysts; they "do what they have to do." This is a common, modern "hero" trope. We view reckless people as heroic when they assess the situation and make (usually irrational) choices based on shaky principles.
       It is not such with the raven boys, or Blue Sargent. Blue is an incredibly self-aware young lady, and this - I'd say - is her primary virtue. She can read a situation, and she can read others. Sometimes this makes her prejudiced; but the thing is, she knows when she's wrong, as any ordinary, sensible person would. Blue is neither arrogant nor self-depreciating, and she assesses herself in an almost psychological way all the time. This may be an unusual characteristic, but as someone who also self-assesses frequently, I relate on an incredibly real level. "Knowing thyself," according to the Greeks, is indeed a virtue, and Blue posesses it in full.
      It's worth mentioning, especially as I'm exploring the faults of these characters in the next section, that Blue isn't the only "good" character. The main and minor characters all glow with a specific virtue. Noah is always ready to help. Gansey loves his friends unconditionally. Adam forgives quickly. Ronan is protective. Maura is honest.
      In real life - no one is completely deplorable, so there's no reason to make any of your characters completely irredeemable. Give everyone a principle to live and die by. Make every one of your characters examples in some way.

Failings: 

"He couldn't stand it, all this inside him. In the end, he was nobody to Adam, he was nobody to Ronan. Adam spit his words back at him and Ronan squandered however many second chances he gave him. Gansey was just a guy with a lot of stuff and a hole inside him that chewed away more of his heart every year. They were always walking away from him. But he never seemed able to walk away from them."

- The Raven Boys, Book 1

     Like I said, I've seen both catalysts and goody-two-shoes prancing around the world of YA. In spite of how lovable every single one of the main characters are, and in spite of all their virtues, every single one of them has as many vices as they do virtues. Real people aren't irredeemable, but they are also incredibly fallen.
     The interesting thing is that, although every character's virtue is very different from the next, none are portrayed as "lesser" than the other. Gansey's tendency to insult people with his posh vocabulary seems just as negative as Adam's explosive temper and stubborn pride. Blue's inability to motivate herself is equally as unfortunate a trait as Ronan's volatile personality.
     It is so easy to see every one of these characters as you would a real friend. They are not dislikeable because of their vices - you hurt for them. They are not gods because of their virtues - you admire them for those ideals, as you would any good friend.
     Don't make your characters gods - make them your reader's best friend.

Honorable Mention...
Legitimate Feelings!!!

“Blue thought about what Gansey had said, about being wealthy in love. And she thought about Adam, still collapsed on their sofa downstairs. If he had no one to wrap their arms around him when he was sad, could he be forgiven for letting his anger lead him?” 

- The Dream Thieves, Book 2

      Adam likes Blue. Blue likes Adam, and maybe also Gansey. Gansey likes Blue. Yikes. Sound like a love triangle in the making? Guess what? It isn't! Like mature human beings, Adam, Blue, and Gansey handle their emotions as real friends would; they hide them so they don't hurt each other's feelings, they wait until the time is right to confess, and they mess it up a little.... there's none of this "I feel so conflicted and this person's life will end/my life will end without me/them." It's dramatic enough to hurt, but it's practical enough to be true. It is upsetting in a realistic way. Make your drama tangible, not sticky.

    In short, these characters impressed me. They are each their own well-written, flawed, beautiful, genuine person. As a reader, I loved them. As a writer, I was inspired. Let's strive to make our characters our readers' best friends. Let's knock down tropes and introduce well-written characters we can relate to, just as Maggie Stiefvater does in her wonderful world of Welsh kings and raven boys.