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I have 1000 different goals for 1000 different lives. In each new life I can speak one more language, play one more instrument, and have travelled to one more place.

Every life, worse than none, but better than the next. Each reality nourishes my ambition, the drive to accomplish. 

For now, my one life is inhibited by the ache for perfection, my aversion to smudges on the surface - scratches on the smooth exterior. 

I have 1000 different goals for 1000 different lives. 

I suppose that in this life, I am destined to play the same song again and again, hoping for a new melody.

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I love the way you write. Can you do my URL?

I’m a writer and my notebook says, hey you know the things you think about when you’ve got a spare second? They can go down in history. My brain when I’m dreaming says, listen to this I’ve got an idea and it’s full of love. And I think wait a minute my mind is writing poetry and no one out there is ready to write it down. The view from my notebook says so many things.

It says, hey, my sister I wanna watch an old film we used to love and sing the lyrics without other people interrupting. I wanna watch frozen with you over and over so you can thaw the ice princess that I used to be, over and over again.

It says, hey mother, I don’t think you ever did any wrong and all those bad threads in your brain that tell you you did something wrong arent right. It’s hard to bring up a human being and I’m pretty sure you made me into a good one.

It says hey, here are some stories and I don’t want to apologise for not doing better this time. I don’t want to apologise for not using my intelligence for something better this time. Yeah I could have become a scientist or a therapist or a historian, but I’m a writer and I don’t want to be sorry for it anymore.

Send me an ask, I’ll answer with prose based on what your URL reminds me of.

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Things in books that ruffle my feathers

Disclaimer: Please remember that we have different reading tastes. You might enjoy these themes or concepts and that’s totally fine! If you don't agree with something, please do so respectfully or keep it to yourself. If you do agree with me, let’s be friends! Enjoy!

When coming of age teen books always start with an alarm.

Particularly when it’s the first day of school. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s a common beginning because the plot usually follows what happens during a new school year, however can we spice it up a bit? Start in the middle of the day, or at the end and recount what happened, better yet, three days into the school year. If I were to pick up a book and the first paragraph was, 

If you told me that I would be sprinting through alleyways, clutching a broken wrist on the first day of school, I wouldn’t have gotten out of bed. My arm throbbed with each twist of my neck to check behind me. My heart pounded in rhythm with my feet on the gravel. I slowed to a stop, breathing hard, while I rounded the corner to my street. Big mistake. “You know, you should really consider joining the track team,” he murmured, leaning down to stare into my widening eyes, “You’re too fast for me.” 

I’d be more likely to buy it than a book with a beginning like, 

BEEP BEEP BEEP. I reached my hand out and searched for the snooze button on my alarm. Ugh. The first day of school. My stomach churned at the thought of going to school today, especially if he was going to be there. I couldn’t shake the grim feeling looming over me as I rolled out of bed, but I started to get ready to face the day. 

When the MC notices someone’s eye colour from all the way across the room.

This one just completely baffles me. Unless your character has super vision, how are they supposed to tell that, “he had inviting, brown eyes flecked with gold, and a hint of green around the edges” from 30 feet away. When writing from a first-person narrative, I tend to start the character descriptions broad and go into detail as they get closer, mimicking real life. Coincidentally, all of my favourite authors write realistically in terms of character descriptions and, you know, field of vision. 

When two characters say they are in love after 2 weeks.

I may be young, but I’m pretty sure running into a stranger in the airport and spending 6 hours together doesn’t qualify as love. What if they already have a significant other? What if they are just being polite? What if they’re a serial killer?! My point is, how can they fall in love with someone if they only know surface level information about them. That powerful emotion towards someone you have spent less than 2 months dating is usually infatuation, instead of love. It just fiddles my sticks when they announce their deep, fierce love for one another when they’ve barely been alone together. Exceptions include Mr. Darcy and the like, as well as best friends who have been secretly pining for each other for a millennium. 

When a character goes into a sketchy place alone, without calling for backup or without a flashlight.

Call me a coward, but if I were entering an abandoned barn in the dead of night, I would want a flashlight. I would also call someone and keep them on the line. At least send someone your location, come on. My skin crawls every time the hero pushes on without thinking about what might happen there or if they might need help. However, I will grin and bear it if it’s essential to the plot or if it is set before the magical time of cell phones. 

Love triangles. 

They really grind my gears. Need I say more? 

When a character wins every single fight.

Especially if they are a newbie. Obviously punching and kicking could come naturally for some people, however dodging and fighting someone much more experienced is a different story. Even if they’ve had a little bit of training, something out of their control, like a raindrop in their eye or a lucky shot, can incapacitate them and they could be taken out by someone who would normally lose. I can’t count the times I’ve rolled my eyes when the main character of a fantasy or action book hears tales about how dangerous a certain character is, and then immediately encounters and defeats them with absolutely no training. Well fine, if they can do it I’ll just go challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a match. 

While we're on that subject, when a character takes multiple hits and walks away fine.

I don’t know about you, but when I stub my toe on a door frame or bang my hip into a table, I’m down for a good 5 minutes. However, adrenaline does play a huge part in pain. A few years ago I got hit during a game, and it wasn’t until I got undressed and saw my swollen, turning-three-different-colours ankle that I actually felt the pain. That being said, to this day my ankle still gives out when I run up the stairs and still aches when I’m working out. If a character gets hit hard, they will feel it weeks later. Don’t give me a human character that literally gets blasted into a tree and can leap over a canyon the next day. Give me a character with long-term injuries! Give them a limp! Have them just barely block a strike because of the pain in their shoulder! Don’t make them Superman, unless you’re trying to make them superhuman. Even Clarke Kent got hurt sometimes.

WHEN CHARACTERS ARE GETTING PURSUED BY THE LAW OR A VILLAIN AND THEY STOP TO KISS!

What? Are? They? Doing?! Are there not better times and places for that? Safety first, making out later, please and thank you. I could be just taking a shot in the dark here, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that something very bad might happen if you are caught, therefore maybe they should focus on not getting caught. Why are they wasting precious minutes listing reasons why they’ve loved each other for the past 2 years? I don’t mind a quick kiss before parting ways, or going into battle, but really? If a character is talking about how much they pined over the other one while they are being hunted, they are worried about the wrong chase. Exceptions include Annabeth Chase giving Percy Jackson a good luck kiss before he erupted a whole volcano. It was quick, spontaneous, and just the right amount of cute. 

I hope you guys got a kick out of my list. I have plentyyy more if anyone wants to hear more of what concepts get under my skin in books or movies. Let me know what annoys you when reading!

Total number of expressions used: Seven!