NovelSisters

watching, reading, and writing stories

Jul 31

“I’m going on an adventure!”

by lydiamhill

Image Source: http://s49.photobucket.com/user/filterdose/media/BilboAdventure.gif.html

One of my favorite scenes from The Hobbit, is where Bilbo is running after the dwarfs and yelling to his neighbors “I’m going on an adventure!”

There’s something exciting about going to a new place, doing new things and even though it’s a little bit scary, ultimately it’s very thrilling and you want to tell everyone.

I’ve noticed that in many novels, or stories, the main plot involves a protagonist leaving what is comfortable and going to where things are unexpected. Why is “the journey” so important to a story? Does is force the character to grow, to change, to become something other? There are many great stories that don’t involve a journey, but every story has a change that takes place. In The Hobbit, Gandalf clearly tells Bilbo that if he is to return from this “adventure” he will not be the same. Change, whether it’s from journeying to a new environment or current relationships becoming something different, is scary. We like things to stay the same, to be comfortable. Just as Bilbo is very sure that adventures is not what he wants, we often want everything to stay the same.

However, things are always changing, we can’t escape it. And change can be a good thing. Once everyone has left Bilbo to start the adventure, he finds himself alone in his big house, and something occurs to him. Does he really want this? Suddenly the thought of missing out on something great becomes more unbearable than the thought of leaving a comfortable home. And even though going means change, Bilbo decides it’s worth it.

I’m going on my own adventure in a couple days, I’ll be leaving the country for a whole week. And I’m excited, just like Bilbo I want to yell “I’m going on an adventure!” This will mean that I’ll change, but just like Bilbo, I’m embracing it.

However, this means I won’t be posting for awhile…

But I’m sure I’ll have “a tale or two to tell” when I get back.

Books Movies

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Jul 22

Expectations

by lydiamhill

https://www.flickr.com/photos/codex41/9725166177

Lone Ranger 2013 Movie Poster

It was my birthday this past week, and as a present, I got to go see two new movies in theaters. Now in general, I prefer kids movies. If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know that I liked Monsters University a lot more than The Man of Steel. It seems to me that kids movies, in general, have a fairly good storyline without crude language or questionable scenes. However, it is not always the case that kids movies end up being more enjoyable than other movies, as you will soon find out.

So, as I was saying, it was my birthday and one of my good friends wanted to take me to see some movies. We decided on Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger. Now, I think a big part of what makes a movie enjoyable is EXPECTATIONS. If you really want a movie to be good and then it doesn’t meet those high expectations, you end up disappointed, even if the movie itself wasn’t that bad. Or if you go to a movie, expecting it to be lame, you might be surprised by some emotional moments and end up liking the movie. Of course this isn’t always the case. When I went to see Tron Legacy, I was expecting it to be a bad movie, and when I walked out of the theater I was only more convinced that I didn’t like it. And when I went to see Monsters University, I was hoping it would be really good, and it fulfilled my expectations. But no matter how you look at it, expectations do influence us.

So, the big question before I tell you about the movies I saw is: what were my expectations for each?

Let’s start with Despicable Me 2. I did see the first Despicable Me, and to tell the truth, I was disappointed. From the previews I was hoping for a hilarious kids movie, and I found the jokes, especially involving the minions, not very entertaining. I know a lot of people who really liked the movie, but I wasn’t a fan. So going into the sequel, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be more of the same? Or perhaps an improvement to the original? In any case, my expectations were not very high.

Then there’s The Lone Ranger. I’m not a diehard fan of the old TV series, but I have seen about 2-3 episodes on Hulu of how the show started. So I had a grounding in the characters, but wasn’t sentimental about how the show was made. I was looking forward to an updated version of the old west drama.

And now to the results! I enjoyed The Lone Ranger more than Despicable Me 2. A lot of this had to do with expectations, but it also had to do with storyline. I expected Despicable Me 2, to be like it’s predecessor, and it was. Since I didn’t love the first movie I didn’t love the second. It was an average movie, with a fairly predictable plot line, a few new characters, and some more minion jokes. But with the Lone Ranger, I had no preconceived notions about what it should be like, and only a basic understanding of the original plot of the TV series. So I thoroughly enjoyed finding out about Tonto’s past and why he acted the way he did, and seeing John slowly transform from a city lawyer into The Lone Ranger. I think the film did a good job balancing a connection to the original, while sill being able to poke fun at some of it’s aspects. It had a satisfying ending that wasn’t completely predictable, and interesting characters that I cared about.

So there you go, expectations are a big deal. They done completely determine a movie’s likeability, (the movie has some work to do too) but it does play a significant role.

So How to Train your Dragon 2, you better be good, because I’m expecting big things from you!

Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_2_logo.svg

Movies

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Jul 9

Finishing

by lydiamhill

How do you decide when something is finished? Whether it’s writing a report for a class, or refurbishing your house, all projects eventually need to be “done.” I’ve had friends and relatives, and I admit I’ve fallen into this category too, who are perfectionists. We want everything to be perfect, we want our best effort to be seen. And well this makes it hard to ever be “finished.”

However, I’ve started to overcome this obstacle to finishing. I think it started in my first painting class in college. I had painted before, and well… it took forever. Every dab of paint was important, I had to use tiny dots of paint on my brush so I didn’t have too much and mess up all my work. It seriously took me at least four months to finish one tiny little picture.

Well the first day of class I come in to find that we will be painting 6 pictures in one semester, all on large canvases. My world was turned upside down. I couldn’t paint like a perfectionist anymore, the limited amount of time wouldn’t let me. And so, I changed. Instead of putting tiny dots of paint on my brush, I’d scoop up a big blob. Instead of dabbing the canvas, I’d make big strokes. It was hard to relearn, to change, to be uncomfortable with “the mess.” But thankfully I had a good teacher. He showed me that if I just went for it, and got all the basic shapes and colors arranged, then I could come back in with details later and still end up with a beautiful painting.

October 2009 030
I think the same thing can happen with writers. We start off wanting to write something, a novel perhaps, or a poem, or whatever. But we want it to be perfect, to perfectly express what’s in our minds. And that makes it hard to start. We can spend so much time on little changes, on using “the perfect word” to describe something, that we end up never finishing.

Instead I’d challenge writers to just start. Spit out whatever is on your brain, even if it isn’t very good, and then come back later and “touch up.” That’s what editing is for anyway. And then when you finally finish that paper or project, celebrate! Don’t critique yourself with little errors you missed, just enjoy the final product and relax.

So here’s a poem I “finished.” Hope you enjoy it. 🙂

Lydia Hill

February 2, 2012

Life’s Gait

I used to take riding lessons

in the dust of a parched Texas summer.

The steady beat and swift breeze

kept me circling the worn path.

Click of the tongue,

nudge to the stomach,

tug on the reigns,

up and down with the motion.

Sometimes we canter quickly,

sometimes we walk slow,

but always we must move.

We cannot stop the flow

round the earth,

round the sun,

the motion of time,

since life first begun.

We like to think

we have control,

that our choices determine

where we will go.

Then in the air, all

power stripped away

hit the hard ground

wondering what went wrong

Did I lose control

or ever even have it?

Legs shake as I rose, to face

my choice.

Do I sit out on life?

Or jump back in?

It will keep moving,

whatever my decision.

I could fall again,

and break more than my pride.

But is security worth the price,

of losing out on life?

I climbed back on,

determined to keep in mind

that despite my lack of control,

life is still a fun ride.

Painting Poetry Writing

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