New Layout!

Hello!!

As you can see I've updated the layout! I'm very excited because this one is a little bit more cheerful than the last. I never really liked that one anyway, the picture always seemed too out of focus for me...

In honour of the new layout I decided that I wanted to treat you guys to some thoughts on writing. I haven't done this in some time so I decided that now would be good.

Anyway I want to talk Fan Fiction today. More specifically I want to talk about a certain portion of the Fan Fiction world that I have recently found to be extraordinarily handy for my writing and developing of Klashiva.

I want to share with you the "Fan Fiction 100". The list can be found on LiveJournal. I found this back in my days of Fan Fiction writing (yes, I wrote Fan Fiction, sue me) but I never used it for its intended purpose. Instead I tracked down this version by ~god-head on deviantArt. I've been working my way through this list since the end of October and I've finished 26 of them so far.

I was skeptical about how this would work out and whether or not I'd actually be able to use what I came up with for these. I've been quite surprised, actually. Since I'm planning on making Klashiva a serial I've found that this has been an indispensable brainstorming device for coming up with plots for installments. I've already gotten my pilot into the planning stages as well as two other installments.

I know that people often look down on Fan Fiction as "not real writing". I myself am guilty of this but I was tough on it because I was doing it and I love beating myself up. What people, including me, don't realize is that even these more fringe writing forms have their merits. This community offers the FF100, for instance.

** Tangent: Also, I find that the FF community generally has more supportive and kind reviewers that actually offer assistance instead of what reviewers do on original writing websites; they simply rip apart your work and tell you what's wrong with it instead of offering input on how to help fix it or by subsequenting a review with positive feedback.

I recommend searching the internet for various versions of the FF100, because there are some interesting lists out there. Here are a few of my favourites:

• 100 Songs Theme Challenge - ~Akikorossella
• Fashion 100 Theme Challenge - ~Akikorossella
• 100 Theme Challenge - *deathisheaven
• STEP UP - ~KuroTsuki003
• 100 Flavors Challenge - ~hiyakiya

Have some fun with this guys! I hope it helps!
~Alexandra

I have neglected you for so long :(

Hey guys,

Sorry about being away for so long, I don't have a good excuse. I do, however have plenty to talk about today.

Firstly, it snowed. Again. Which I don't like in the least. So I've skipped my Biology class in lieu of hiding in the language centre because I have all of my other classes in here today, therefore I don't have to go outside.

Once all of my classes are done I'm off to do my German project with my friend. After this I'm going to a talk about mimicking accents when learning second languages. This should prove to be most fascinating, I think, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

After all of this fun I'm going to Sarah Slean's concert tonight! I love her music so much and this will be the third time I've gone to see her. If you haven't listened to her music I highly recommend it, it's stupendous.

In other news I'm fairly certain that I have a stress fracture in my right foot. It hurts like a b*tch and I can't stand for more than 5 minutes at a time. Which really sucks because I have a 4 1/2 hour shift tomorrow. F*cking wonderful. And there's something wrong with my ankle, too.

Have I mentioned that I hate this body of mine? It breaks so much more often than it's worth.

I promised you some time ago that I would tell you about what is wrong with me and I suppose now is as good a time as ever since I have an hour to play with before Russian starts.

I have a genetic bone disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta. Basically this means that I have brittle bones. I've broken 17 bones in my life- not counting broken fingers, toes and stress fractures- and my last fracture was five years ago when I was 13.

On a genetic level OI is a mutation of the 17th chromosome which codes for collagen formation. Collagen is the protein which makes bones strong and forms a few appendages like your ears and your nose and things. Imagine collagen working in the bones like when you interlace the pages of a phonebook. Only two tanks pulling in opposite directions can tear those phonebooks apart. With my bones, it's like the phonebooks are only partially laced, so it takes considerably less to pull them apart.

I am actually very lucky; there are many types of this disorder and I have the mildest form. Children with the most severe forms won't live for very long. But, even within forms there is variation. Some kids with the same type as me have had upwards of 50 fractures. I have had 17. My brother has had 3, and he is 16.

If you have ever seen the movie Unbreakable with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson you will note that Jackson's character had the same type of OI as I do; it's called Type 1. I promise that I'm not as crazy as his character, though. At least not quite.

The scale for ranking the severity of OI is a little... nonsensical to say the least. I'll only rank the first 5 types, because I'm not sure exactly how types 6 and 7 play into all this, they're relatively recently discovered. Mildest to most severe:

1. Type 1
2. Type 4
3. Type 5
4. Type 3
5. Type 2

People with this disorder reach their peak just after puberty when the body is finished developing and the bones are strongest. I have essentially grown out of the disorder and for all intents and purposes I am normal. That doesn't mean that I go bungee jumping, I'm still very careful about the activities that I participate in and how I conduct myself in the winter- hence me sequestering myself in the language building.

If you have any questions about OI or about life with the disorder don't hesitate to leave a comment, I'd be more than happy to share about my experiences with OI.

I'm going to leave you with that for now. I hope you guys are all doing well!

Yours,
~Alexandra

Creative Writing Club

Hey guys,

I actually submitted a piece for the creative writing club this week, which I may have already mentioned, and I've got about half an hour before the meeting in which it will be critiqued. I'm really quite nervous. I know it's a passable piece, I had a good point to it and I think that the writing itself wasn't bad at all. But I'm still so worried... I wrote it a year and a half ago so it's not exactly an accurate representation of my current writing skills, but it's something I put a lot of thought and heart into.

Today didn't go too badly, I had to be up early for my 9 o'clock class this morning which wasn't exactly fun, but I have to do it three times a week until December so I better get used to it.

After classes I found my friends and we grabbed some food and ice cream and hit the loft. We watched a couple episodes of Deadliest Warrior before we migrated to my friend's Dad's office where there were free drinks. Now I'm charging my computer as best as I can before the club meeting so that I have enough in me to actually pull up the pieces as we go through them.

Wish me luck on my critique, I'll let you know how it goes after we finish.

I hope you're all well! Happy November!
~Alexandra