Ideas

Now that I have an idea:

A girl from a wealthy, old-fashioned family is in love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Eighteen-year old _____ wants nothing more than to marry her high school dropout boyfriend _____. Her parents don’t agree and force the young couple apart.

The pair meet in secret for months planning how to spend their lives together. They are willing to do anything, no matter who it hurts, to be together. When their plan is put into motion the parents have no choice but to let the young couple be together at all costs.

This is just a very basic plot synopsis, I can't say more without giving anything away or until I actually start writing.

Now, I get to do the fun stuff, the names! The names are a more complicated process then you'd think. Name meanings are very important to me and its hard to find names that I like that have the specific meanings that I want.

I want the girl's first name to mean: rich, wealthy, of noble kin etc and the boy's name to mean: poor, worker, maker etc.

I also want their last names to mean love or beloved

So far I have:

Girl's first names:

Diana – Divine
Celia – Heaven
Cordelia – Of unknown meaning
Rosaline – Little rose
Adelaide – Of a noble kin
Mona – Desires, wishes
Alicia – of noble kin
Alice – of noble kin
Daria – Rich
Nadia – Hope
Kimbra - From the royal fortress meadow.
Kimberly – From the wood of the royal forest
Davia – Beloved
Julia – Beloved
Amanda/Manie – Worthy of being loved


Boys names:

Mason – Stone worker
Turner – Lathe worker
Tanner – Leather worker
Walker – Cloth worker
Carter – Cart driver, cart maker

Last names:

Davies – Beloved
Edward – Wealthy guardian, rich or happy
Lovell – Dearly loved
Lowell – Dearly loved
Raman – Beloved, pleasing
Wilmot – Beloved heart


Help?

Also, I think I'm going to post what I write each day for anyone who wants to read along while I write. Keep in mind if you do that there is no editing done during November. It will be full of grammar and spelling errors as well as (probably) continuity errors and scenes that will be completely changed or deleted later on. It is by no means a finished product. :)

Stumped...Nanowrimo again

So, I really want to do Nanowrimo this year and win! I don't even really care if all I write is crap, I just want to get my 50,000 words written in November this year since I gave up last year about halfway through (I wrote just over 22,000 words).

So today I was surfing the nanowrimo website's FAQ section when I noticed that they strongly encourage the writers to use an outline for their novel. So I figured, during October I'll write myself an outline so that I'd be more prepared than I was last year.

The only problem is, I don't know what to write about. This is the worst possible time to get writer's block, I feel like I don't have a creative bone in my body right now. I know that I don't want to write about vampires (tried that last year) and I don't want to try to write my own life story (tried that last year as well). Other than that, I haven't got a clue. I don't even know if I want to write fantasy or real life.

Hopefully something will come to me soon. Otherwise November is going to suck.

Beauty Pageants

I was watching the show Toddlers and Tiaras last night and it got me wondering. Is there any reason for this? Are there any positive effects of pageants for children? While I was doing my research I had a lot of trouble finding any positives effects at all. Here is what I did find:






Pageants can help prepare young girls for real life, they can give them skills that are being forgotten and may never be taught to them otherwise. These girls learn manners, etiquette and grace during the pageant. Poise and grace are things that were important to young women a hundred years ago, but have been all but forgotten now.

On the other hand, one might argue that being in pageants robs these girls of their childhood. Pageants take up a lot of time. There is not only a lot of traveling involved, but a lot of other preparation. These girls must get tans and learn how to dance or sing before they even have a chance of winning. Their talents must be refined before they are able to compete. This causes them to miss out on playing regularly and on just being a kid. Schoolwork may sometimes be neglected in order to prepare for a pageant weekend. Sometimes the pageants may fall on the same days as other events and the child will miss out on that school trip or on their friend's birthday party.

Pageants can raise a child's self confidence. A shy child may open up and feel better about themselves while onstage and getting so much positive attention. It can make children outgoing and give them the independence to do better later life.

Competing to see who is the prettiest can also take a very negative tole on a child. If they don't win and they aren't getting positive attention, their self-esteem will almost certainly be lowered. It can lead to problems later in life. When these girls are teenagers they are going to care way too much about beauty and will judge themselves and their peers solely on their looks. They will think that beauty is everything and that they should use it to get what they want. Teens who were once pageant children may end up with low self-esteem, eating disorders and depression as well as a sense of never being good enough.

It can also lead to children being extremely spoiled. Being given pretty clothes and all kinds of attention can give children a sense of entitlement. Parents may sometimes bribe their kids to do the things that they don't want to, or to get them to perform better, for example "if you win today, I'll buy you that cell phone you wanted," or "if you just practice the routine another half an hour we'll go out for ice cream". Children may begin to realize this and manipulate their parents into giving them whatever they want.


Pageants can be fun for children. If too much stock isn't put into winning, a child can slow down and enjoy what they are doing. They will be happy while performing and improving their skills. It's fun to get dressed up and look nice. They may even be able to make long lasting friendships with other girls in the pageants who know just what their life is like.


While it may be fun for these little girls to play 'dress-up' it is innapropriate for these parents to be oversexualizing their children. These little girls dress, dance and act like adults and it is damaging. It can give a girl a tarnished view of how a child is supposed to look and act. This can also attract pedophiles and cause young girls to have stalkers or to be sexually abused.

The money that is won in pageants can go towards good things. It could be put away for special occasions or saved for college later on. Pageants for older girls usually have scholarships to be won. More focus is put on a platform (a charity or an awareness program that the girl supports) and volunteer work is also an important factor.


The problem is, the younger girls in beauty pageants don't need to worry about community service or charities. Chances are the money being won is going towards paying for the pageants. Pageants are extremely expensive. The dresses can cost thousands of dollars plus traveling costs, makeup, hairpieces, dance/singing lessons and other costs. Often the child's mother doesn't work and devotes her time only to the pageants and running the child's schedule. This can cause parents to be more concerned with their child winning money and can put pressure on the girl.


Finally, pageants effect the whole family. They bring the child and the parents together by giving them something to do with each other. Each pageant can be like a family project or vacation for these children. It means they get to spend a lot of time with their mothers who are often at home with them and not at work.

Pageants can also tear families apart. If there are older sisters or brothers, it could be hard on them to have a sibling who is in pageants. It might make them feel bad about the way that they look. It can also cause them to feel like they aren't as loved by their parents because they don't receive as much attention as the child who is in the pageant. It can cause them to feel ugly or useless compared to their sibling.

In conclusion, pageants do more harm to children than they do good. They do have a few positive effects on a child and a family, but they are heavily outweighed by all of the negative effects. This is not something that I will ever involve my children in and I don't have very much respect for the parents that do.

Amethysts

Mythical Properties of Amethysts according to Jewelsforme.com


According to Greek mythology, Amethyst was a young virgin who became the object of wrath of the Greek God Dionysus after he became intoxicated with red wine. When Amethyst cried out to Goddess Diana for help, she immediately turned the girl into a white, shimmering stone (quartz). When Dionysus realized what had happened and felt remorse for his actions, his tears dripped into his goblet of red wine. The goblet overturned, and the red wine spilled all over the white rock, saturating it until it became the purple quartz that is now known as Amethyst.

The name amethyst derives from the ancient Greek word amethustos, meaning sober. It was said that an amethyst could prevent the bearer from becoming excessively drunk and also instills a sober and serious mind. It was believed that if a person drank from a cup or goblet made entirely of amethyst, he or she would not get drunk at all. In Greek mythology, amethyst was rock crystal dyed purple by the tears of Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. Ancient Egyptians used the stone as the representative of the zodiac sign of the goat. The goat was considered the enemy of vines and vineyards, and therefore the antidote of wine.

Amethyst has been thought to have many attributes throughout history, and all of them are good. The stone was thought to control evil thoughts, quicken intelligence, make a shrewd man in business, preserve soldiers from battle wounds, aid the warrior to victory, help the hunter in search of his game, protect the wearer from contagious diseases, and put demons to flight if the figure of a bear is inscribed on the jewel. Amethyst was known as a gem that would bring forth the highest, purest aspirations of human kind. Chastity, sobriety, and control over one’s thoughts were all attributes heightened by wearing the stone. The gem would guard against the anger of passion, and the violent or base nature of its wearer. The stone encouraged calm, bravery, and contemplation.

Amethyst has religious connotations, as well. It was one of the twelve stones that adorned the breastplate of the high priest Aaron (Exodus 39). Amethyst later has stood for the tribe of Dan, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Apostle Matthias and the Guardian Angel Adnachiel spirit are associated with Amethyst, as well. During the Middle Ages, Amethyst stood for piety and celibacy and was therefore worn by members of the Catholic Church clergy and was used to adorn crosses.

During the Renaissance, Amethyst has stood for humility and modesty. Throughout the ages, powerful and rich monarchs have used Amethyst as a symbol of royalty, and some Amethysts even decorate the British Crown Jewels. Rumor has it that Amethyst was a personal favorite of Queen Catherine the Great of Russia.

Historically, the stone was believed to assist prophecy and visions and to bring riches and powers to its owners. It has always been associated with the civil and religious classes that have ruled human cultures. In the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui, the amethyst enhances the wealth corner focusing on the giving and receiving of material wealth. At the highest level, amethyst bestows the spiritual understanding required to reach the state of bliss. It is associated with the crown chakra at the top of the head where divine essence enters. It is a good stone to solve discord, suggested for children and warring relatives. In Renaissance magic, an amethyst engraved with the image of a bear was worn as a protective amulet. In Graeco-Roman times, rings of amethyst set in bronze were worn as charms against evil, and magical cups carved from amethyst banished sorrow and evil from all who drank.

Newsy?

Ok, so this is a totally boring news post about my life :)

I started looking at college stuff yesterday. I planned on taking at least a year or two off after high school (I'm going into my second year off now) so I'm not behind in my life plan or anything yet. The problem is, I'm not 100% sure what I want to do yet. My dream job would be to edit books, I'm just not sure how to go about doing that. With the experience I had in high school, I could always go for some sort of pharmacy/veterinary/medical job, but I'm not sure if I want too.

I'm not sure if I should go with something that is a sure thing, something that is more guaranteed to land me a job afterward, or if I should take the leap of faith and try to become a print editor. I'm glad I still have a few months before I really have to worry about it.

On the topic of writing: nanowrimo. I totally failed at it last year due to simply not having enough time to write. I'm definitely going to do it this year, and I AM going to complete it this time. I may or may not post it on here, I'll decide after I start writing in November. I currently have no idea what I'm going to write about. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to come up with something or if I'm just going to wait for November 1st and go for it.

I've been crazy busy with work the last few weeks. I've finally learned how to open and am now getting full time hours. It's exciting, I'm hoping now that I can actually start to save up some money.

Speaking of saving money...Tyler has been saving his pennies for something special that he his hoping to buy after his next paycheck :)

Anyway, that's an update on my exciting life :)