I now have an official NaNoWriMo LJ. It's not perfect, but it's perfect to me. :D There are a few things I'll be adding to the design (methinks), but overall, I'm done and I worked hard on it! I'll be rewriting/moving things from this journal about my NaNo this year into that journal. For reference, it is peridot_words. Don't ask me why that name. My birthstone and words? I feel connected to the month I was born in and feel my Astrological sign has a lot to do with who I am and how I do things (i.e. write). So, yeah...

Way to give an explanation when nobody asked for it, Shazi.

Anyways, hope you enjoy! Look out for stuff coming from me over there in the very near future!

-FLAIL-

Ah! I am sooo excited!

I looked at my clock approximately two minutes ago and I would've shrieked if I wasn't afraid my parents would hear me!
IT'S OCTOBER FIRST! WOOT!

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? :DDD

It means that NaNoWriMo '08 is officially in swing (well, site wise anyways - please don't start writing now)!!!

BLANK WORD COUNT. BLANK NOVEL EXCERPT. PRACTICALLY BLANK MESSAGE BOARDS. EVERYTHING BLANK AND NEW AND SHINY AND COOL AND WAITING FOR MORE MEMBERS AND EXCITED FOR NOVEMBER! :DD

I am so in love I could have sex with it!

Call me a total dork and nerd with no life, but I am so HAPPY right now! Oh NaNo, how I've missed you!

I haven't written in here for a while, so I thought I'd just write out what's been going on!

-- Sophomore year's been great so far. It's a lot more chill so far than freshman year...if not a little boring (class-wise).
-- I got my working card and will go job searching soon with my friend whom I convinced to get a working card with me. We're going to be looking into bookstores and I'll be looking into movie theatres around my school too. As long as they pay me over the minimum wage and I can work at least 8 hours a week, I'm sold. I would be perfectly fine being a janitor (I secretly want to be one; it's weird, I know, but I'm a NEATFREAK).
-- Um...I finished a fanfic? Trust me, this is something to celebrate, even if it's just a oneshot. :D
-- My NaNoWriMo planning's on hold until October. I've got plenty to go with so far, it's just a matter of writing it down. I really want to start my novel NOW. My fingers are itching and I've got my writing mojo back.
-- I can fit into a pair of pants I own that I couldn't fit in a year and a half ago. I'm wearing them today to celebrate. :D

Nothing else, but I'm happy and good and everything's been swell. How're you guys?

I thought I could write out a list of my obsessive compulsive habits. I have a few.

- I can't use the bathroom (no matter how much I have to go), if I'm in the middle of something.
- Everything must have a title, whether or not the title is actually in the thing.
- Things must be arranged in corners on my desks or tables (except not the corners closest to me).
- If they don't fit in the corner, things must be arranged neatly on top of other things or diagonally across a corner.

[ tbc ]

First day back at school and I already have homework from all my classes today! :O (Homework I'm working on right now, so don't judge.) I think this year will be a good school year academically and socially and I'll try my hardest to make it one. This is all I'm gonna say right now so I can focus on my homework, but I just wanted to say it. I just hope school doesn't get too in the way of my NaNoWriMo. I seem to have a lot of free time in my schedule, so hopefully not.

I also have to ask about working papers. I want to get a job this year, I really do.

This is the character development sheet for all the other minor characters. No matter how minor, still important for me to have.

( So, tell me about yourself... )

LACEY KAI BARTON
called Lay, Laces, Ce-Ce
sixteen years old

DOB: April 10, 1992 (Aries)
Born in: Chicopee, Massachusetts
Lives in: Ludlow, Massachusetts

Family:
            Mother -- Dorothy Eliza Barton
            Father -- Richard Cain Barton (deceased)
            Sister -- Celia Rose Barton (deceased)

Hobbies:

Personality: Lacey is known to be the little kid at heart. She has a smile that could light up a room and an incredibly infectious laugh. Even if it takes a while, people usually warm up to her. She is a very friendly person and hardly ever has problems with anybody.

Favorites:
                 Favorite Song: "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind
                 Favorite Artist/Band: Nirvana
                 Favorite Instrument: Snare Drum
                 Favorite Color: Green
                 Favorite Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
                 Favorite Sport: Ultimate Frisbee
                 Favorite Material Possession: her watch.
                 Favorite TV Show:
                 Favorite Quote:

Catchphrase:


[[ t b c ]]

AHHH! I AM SO HAPPY!

I have a title for my novel, finally! It came to me last night around 1 AM! I even sketched the cover design and I'm very happy with all of it.

The title is...BYSTANDER. I'm so happy because it fits so well. I debated for a while on whether or not it should be Innocent Bystander, but I figured it sounds better as Bystander. I don't think I'll change it anytime soon either.

I will now start tagging all NaNo '08 things with bystander. :D

SKYLAR BEAU JOHNSON
called Sky, Sky Beau, Beau
seventeen years old

DOB: December 18, 1991 (Sagittarius)
Born in: Westchester County, New York
Lives in: East Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Family:
            Mother -- Rebecca Anne Philips
            Father -- Daniel Lyle Johnson
            Sister -- Atalanta Marie Johnson

Hobbies: counting things, listening to music, hanging around with his friends, doing random community services, bicycling, staying busy

Personality: Some people say Skylar's all over the place, but that's hardly true. He may be energetic and lives life in the moment, but he makes sure he's using his energy productively. Sometimes, he wastes his time, but that's usually on weekends, when there's not much for him to do. Skylar's not loud but he's not quiet either and he certainly has a strong voice, even if he doesn't always have strong opinions. He's determined and a motivational person and almost always has a smile on his face. Skylar's mostly selfless and definitely puts others before him, but when it comes to family issues, he tends to get selfish and defend himself and his actions no matter what. Skylar is open-minded and the people in his life have strong influences on what he does and who he is. Skylar can achieve that calm kind of business that a lot of people his age and older find difficult and that's one of the reasons a lot of people like him and he's rather popular.

Favorites:
                 Favorite Song:
                 Favorite Artist/Band: John Mayer
                 Favorite Instrument: Acoustic Guitar
                 Favorite Color: Blue
                 Favorite Book: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
                 Favorite Sport: Bicycling
                 Favorite Material Possession:
                 Favorite TV Show: He doesn't watch enough TV to have one.
                 Favorite Quote: "There's no time like the present."

Catchphrase:

[[ t b c ]]

ATALANTA MARIE JOHNSON
called Lana, Lana J, Atyl, Alanta, Marie
thirteen years old

DOB: August 26th, 1995 (Virgo)
Born in: Westchester County, New York
Lives in: East Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Family:
            Mother -- Rebecca Anne Philips
            Father -- Daniel Lyle Johnson
            Brother -- Skylar Beau Johnson

Hobbies: reading, playing ultimate frisbee, playing table tennis, watching late night comedy and hanging around near the city

Personality: Atalanta's one of the quiet ones. She doesn't speak as much as other girls her age, but she's not like other girls her age, so that's fine with her. She's jovial if not mellow and is generally chill. She does have her moments of sadness and anger, but she's not expressive. Usually, she mulls over her emotions in her head and never acts out because of anything. Atalanta believes that adjusting to everything makes life easier, so most of the time she rolls with the punches and takes things as they are. She's calm and has never gotten into a physical confrontation. She avoids fighting with people as much as possible. Atalanta is not really concerned with anything going on with her or around her and sometimes it seems as though she is living in her own personal bubble that she's not even in on.

Favorites:
                 Favorite Song: "Don't Look Back In Anger" by Oasis
                 Favorite Artist/Band: Oasis
                 Favorite Instrument: Clarinet
                 Favorite Color: Grey
                 Favorite Book: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
                 Favorite Sport: Bocce Ball
                 Favorite Material Possession: She doesn't have one.
                 Favorite TV Show: Jeopardy!
                 Favorite Quote: "I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally."

Catchphrase: "Well, if you say so."

Appearance: Atalanta is around the average height for her age, standing at five feet five and a half. Depending on the day, she weighs between 110 and 115 pounds. She has shoulder-length brown hair which curls in at the ends and she usually just wears it down. She has beautiful light blue prominent eyes and long lashes. Atalanta has peach colored skin and a heart-shaped face.

Atalanta wears very plain clothing. She doesn't care too much about her appearance besides making sure she looks decent before going anywhere. She doesn't wear makeup and she doesn't use any products in her hair. Besides using soap, Atalanta doesn't use much else on her face and she doesn't need to; her skin is not oily and she hardly ever has acne breakouts. Atalanta usually wears form-fitting sweaters or shirts with jeans, and if she has to dress up, she'll put on an ankle-length skirt. She likes to keep colors contemporary and neutral, and therefore wears a lot of greens, browns, whites and blacks.

Atalanta's ears are pierced, but only because her mother insisted on getting them pierced when she was little. Atalanta's very indifferent to ear piercings, but she doesn't want to get any more piercings and she isn't interested in tattoos either.

Bio: Born and raised in Westchester until the age of seven, Atalanta has always grown up in a stable family setting. Whether or not her family is really stable or not on the inside is another thing entirely.

Quirks/Habits:

Dreams, Hopes & Goals:

Fears:
[[ t b c ]]

NaNoWriMo is almost here! Well, for anybody who wants to get a good head start, it's almost too late! :D
I've decided to start plotting out my novel a little earlier this year and hopefully I can get over 20,000 words this year! I've only ever gotten up to ~17,000, so I obviously need to put my best foot forward this year.

The good news is that I shouldn't be involved in too many things come November, so a good amount of time will be put into working on my novel. More good news: I already know what my novel will be about. I don't have a title, or names of characters, or any of that stuff that I usually have before starting a story, but that's okay. I have a solid idea and that's really all I need for today.

That doesn't mean I'm going to settle with that for right now though. :D I don't have enough time to settle for anything. Right now is the time to work, work, work! The only problem is that until 12 AM November 1st, I can't even start writing the introduction. Oh well, I'll just have to form the story in my mind and keep it there, right?

Anyways, let me write down the details I have thus far:

( What a NOVEL idea... )

MORE CONCERT NEWS!

Well, it's been a while since I've written here (a week?). I've been so busy writing (fanfiction, amongst other things), and doing SCHOOL that it's just been kind of hectic and seeing as I can't be on all my LJs at once, I wasn't able to update this one as frequently. I haven't forgotten this journal (or you either!) so don't worry. 

Two more days. Well, technically, one more day. Of school. Then that's it until the 20th, when I will be at camp. 

HALLELUJAH. 

I'll keep this short and sweet for now. I've not been in a proper writing mood in a while. I'm awfully tired and haven't been getting the sleep I need. It's sad, I know, but the school year's almost over, so I'll be sleeping in for a while.

Hope you all are having a party where you are! Later days. 

If I said anything other than, "I really do not want to be awake right now, but I have homework to do/finish and it's been hot and humid and muggy and gross just everywhere for the past 24 hours and more," then I would be lying.

LYING. LYING. LYING.

I can hardly keep my eyes open, I can't go for two minutes without my fan on (and my room's sweltering hot on its own - this weather is not helping), and I'm under so much stress because of end-of-the-year finals and shit.

SCHOOL ENDS IN ONE WEEK. WHY ARE WE STILL LEARNING/TESTING FOR SHIT?

So yeah, I'm very annoyed. But other than that, I just wanted to say hi. Hi guys. Hope you're having a good time wherever you are. ;]

A few pieces of found poetry from the NY Times.

1.
Fearless.
Was.
Terminal cancer.
Little comfort.
I can't be consoled. I can't be consoled.

2.
It's meaningless. The mention of God.
I find little to believe in.

3.
Construct mayhem. Peace grows.

found in Nuala O'Faolain article, A20.

Last night = most amazing night ever.
This concert was so much more intense and better than the last MCR concert I went to.
Everything was just so...indescribable. I screamed my heart and lungs out and I wasn't self-conscious.
I moved anyway I felt like moving and I didn't care what anyone said or did.
Not to mention the opening band Drive By was pretty great and Taking Back Sunday was amazing like always!
Seeing them live was amazing (I love Adam Lazzara's accent...and the singer of Drive By had a nice voice too).
And, of course, My Chemical Romance was so blow-me-away inspiring and stuff (I also love Gerard Way's accent...).

PAIN & BEAUTY
Zohara Fields is ridiculously vain, but nowhere near cruel. She's shockingly beautiful and she values her looks above all else, probably because they're the only thing she really has. So when she goes on a school field-trip to a supposedly magical but haunted town in Vermont, she finds a small wishing well which she only thought existed in stories. She wishes for everlasting beauty and youth and even tosses in a few coins for effect, not really believing that the well will make her wish come true, but wishing with all her heart that her wish could come true. However, the magic works and soon a spirit is visiting her, promising her that she will get her eternal youth and beauty...but for a price. Zahara has to kill at least one person every week and sacrifice their soul to the spirit. If this is not done, Zahara's skin will slowly decay with every week she withholds a corpse. Zahara cares a lot for her looks, but it's difficult to go that far for them.

Z-LIST GIRL
Lee Ann Carson was a nobody, is a nobody. But that's cool with her, because in her home town of Winnemucca, you can't know everybody, but everybody who knows her thinks she's pretty cool for a nineteen year old. That's probably because Lee Ann is pretty cool. She comes from a non-practicing Christian family and is Agnostic herself, she regularly enjoys club-hopping late on Saturday nights and she's got more friends than she can count on her fingers and toes. Overall, Lee Ann's got a good life for a nobody. But then Gregor Michaels, a just below B-List celebrity, just happens to be in the same club that Lee Ann is in one night. She's totally unfamiliar with the up and coming actor, but the next thing she knows, she's caught up in more than just another relationship. Can Lee Ann handle all the flashing cameras and daily paparazzi and will love really conquer all?

Quote: "Jeez Greg, how many times do I have to tell you? The only name I need on my body is yours." [Greg keeps buying Lee Ann brand name things.]

EVERY CALORIE COUNTS
Indigo Franklin is a fat, fat, fat, undeserving girl, as she tells herself every single day. She believes she's tried everything - she tried eating less, eating smaller portions, working out. She can never find anything that works for her everyday or that she can find enough time for, or that she can keep up with. Until she decided to give counting calories a chance. Indigo had always looked down on her friends (whether they were thin or not) when they stuck their noses up at something over 500 calories, or complained about the amount of whatever in whatever they wanted to eat. She didn't understand why people would refuse to indulge based on some stupid nutritional facts. But when she started paying attention to those little black and white labels, Indigo started feeling more and more disgusted with herself. Sure, she wouldn't go as far as to develop an eating disorder, but a little obsession couldn't possibly be unhealthy, could it?


Just a few plots I have in mind.

God. Oh my God.

It hurts so much. To be this close to you. And not be able to touch you - to touch you like I want to.

Is this too much already?



[ t b c ]

I don't talk much. I don't really talk at all, to be honest. I have one friend, the same person I've known since I was in diapers. It sounds sad, but I don't really need anybody else. I've got a good family, I live in a good place, I get a good education. So whatever.

All I need is my best friend and my voice.

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't sing. If I couldn't make those magical humming sounds or whisper or breathe out words. I don't know. I'd go insane. Everything would stay bottled up and I'd have no way to get anything out. I wonder how mute people live. I guess they have to learn to live with it.

I think I would die.

~ * ~

It's 7:45 in the morning and I'm going to be late if the bus doesn't come in the next ten minutes, but that's okay. I actually got all my homework done last night, so I'm happier than usual and proud of myself. Owen wouldn't see anything special in it, but that's because he's the perfect type of student who always perfectly does his homework and has all his teachers positively love him all year round. Not all of us are quite as lucky as Owen Rappaport.

I'm leaning against the pole with the bus schedule printed on it and I've got my iPod in my ears, turned up 3/4 of the way. I can't hear anything besides this music that I'm listening to and that's the way I like it. I don't like hearing tired mothers with restless children, the screech of car tires, police and firetruck sirens...

I may live in the city, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it.

I close my eyes for a few seconds. I'm way tired but I'm not sure why. I went to bed earlier than usual, but I still feel like I need three more hours at least. I'm definitely not the night owl I used to be. I start mouthing the words to the song I'm listening to and for a few moments I think I must look weird - a teenage boy leaning against a pole with his eyes closed, mouthing the words to something. But I decide I don't care because I love this song and I love the lyrics and it's just instinct to sing along.

Before I know it, I'm actually singing. Not too loudly, because I really don't want to attract attention, but loudly enough that if someone was standing a foot away, they would hear little mumblings. It doesn't matter though, because I can't hear them and I can't see them. They're non-existent to me and if they're annoyed by my noise, I'm not affected.

I start tapping my foot as well and actually getting into the song, but before I can get too into it, I feel someone brush past me. There is a short but fast wind as they pass and I have to open my eyes, just to see what happened. I catch a glimpse of the person - they've got short, black hair and are wearing a rich purple shirt, but that's all I get before I realize what they're moving for. A bus has finally arrived, but it stopped a while away in front of the stop and people have to rush to it before cars start honking and the bus driver gets irritated and drives away. It's not our fault he chose to stop in a place feet away from the actual bus stop.

I stop singing and decide to save my oxygen for running.

~ * ~

"So are you auditioning for that talent show at that new lounge that's popping up downtown?" Owen asks me as we sat at one of the round tables in our lunch room. I shrug in response as I get a typical brown paper bag from my bookbag - my lunch. Owen shakes his head at me as he dips a tasty looking french fry into barbeque sauce. I envy him. He could have whatever lunch he wants. His mother lets him go outside for lunch and buy things or buy stuff from the school cafeteria even. But not mine. I have to have a homemade lunch because "Lord knows what they put in food these days," as my mom says.

Not that it makes much difference if I'm eating the same old processed food at school than the ones we bought from our supermarket. But you try telling my mom that.

"I don't know yet. My mom might not let me," I elaborate and Owen frowns.

"You know that's a lie, Dobey-boy. Your mom is totally behind any decision you make concerning your voice," Owen argues, dipping and eating another fry. I beg him to spare me some with my eyes.

"Yeah, I guess," I half-agree, because that isn't necessarily true. My mom won't let me do anything that could potentially cost a lot of money. Like really professional singing lessons, for instance. She doesn't like time-consuming things either, so choirs - unless they're church choirs (ew) - are out of the question. Staying out late on a Saturday night to perform publicly at a new and upcoming lounge downtown is not exactly high on my mom's list of Things To Let My Son Do.

And if she says no, it's no all the way.

"Come on, Max. You've got to sound a little more confident than that," Owen insists, rolling his eyes and looking away from me. "If you don't believe in these chances, who will?"

I shrug again and take a bite of the bologna and cheese sandwich my mother made me last night. The bologna tastes a little more rubbery than the one she bought last week and I make a mental note to point that out to her. "It's just that," I begin, still chewing on my food. I stop and start choking however, when I look up and see someone passing our table.

I can only see their back, but I'm sure it's the same person from earlier at the bus stop. They have the same short, black hair and same purple shirt, which I can now see is plaid. I recover quickly, still coughing when Owen gives me a strange look. "What?" he asks, obviously concerned. I can't answer though, because I don't even know. Sure, it's unlikely that the person who brushed past me would go to my school, but it's nothing to choke over. Still, I get the feeling that this won't be the last I see of the black-haired purple plaid shirt wearing mystery.

"Uh, nothing," I reply, hitting my chest lightly and getting out a few more tear-jerking coughs. Owen raises his eyebrow but shakes his head and says nothing and our lunch continues normally. The next time I look up from my food, I can't spot the mystery person anywhere in the lunchroom.

I don't know what is so interesting about them either.

[ t b c ]

"What's Melissa doing with your ex?" Mariella asked, coldly staring unabashedly at a couple in a far-away corner.

"Which one?" replied Cecily as she typed away furiously on the computer before her, her eyes never straying from the screen. 

"Most recent," Mariella said, snorting. She still didn't avert her eyes from the pair. 

"Hmm, the Kale kid?" 

"Hale, Cecily. His name is Victor Hale," Mariella corrected, rolling her eyes. "Jeez, don't you ever remember your boyfriends' names?"

"Not really," Cecily replied distractedly, still typing. There was a beat before she spoke again. "Yeah, well, what about him?"

"I said. Melissa Gifford is with him," Mariella uttered, her tone desperate. She wanted Cecily to say something, anything. She wanted to provoke the girl. Mariella knew that if she saw another girl with her ex-boyfriend only a week after their breakup, she'd want answers and she'd be pissed, if not jealous.

"Okay," Cecily responded, barely shrugging at all before her fingers were back against the keys, moving so fast that Mariella gave up trying to keep up with them. Mariella huffed and glanced quickly at her best friend with an annoyed look, but turned back to the couple again, observing them as a hawk would its prey. Cecily seemed rather unperturbed or at least indifferent towards Mariella's news, which was something Mariella couldn't quite understand. Cecily certainly wasn't as vindictive as she.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Cecily sighed angrily and her blue eyes narrowed at the screen; she was upset that Mariella had broken her train of thought for more nonsense. "Nothing," she growled in response, leaning towards the screen to show Mariella that she was not interested.

"You can't just not do anything," Mariella argued in response, growing angry herself.

"Watch me," Cecily grumbled and her and Mariella's eyes met for a mere second before both girls turned away simultaneously. Cecily returned to her typing and Mariella returned to her staring. 

Mariella sighed as she sat on the round wooden table to Cecily's right. The school library was such a boring place, she thought. Nothing happened here except for a few things you could score juicy gossip points for, but who really did anything that shocking in the library? It was like nerd haven. The only reason Mariella was even in here was because Cecily needed to finish a paper apparently and Cecily was the only person she shared this free period with. If that wasn't the case, she'd be out of there in a heartbeat, probably to go shopping with her friends on the chic street malls. 

Mariella leaned back, her arms behind her with her palms pressed against the table. Her short legs swung lazily over the edge as she continued staring at Melissa Gifford and Victor Hale, who were talking to each other in low voices and often giggling, not even noticing Mariella's blatant staring. Mariella broke her gaze to look at Cecily, but Cecily had her brow furrowed in concentration, her fingers barely pausing for a break. Mariella sighed.

"Well, if you're not going to do anything, I will." 

This got Cecily's attention and she looked up from the bright screen, raising an eyebrow at the serious look on Mariella's face. "Oh really?"

"Yes really," Mariella replied stonily, scowling. Her brown eyes showed nothing but sincere determined seriousness and Cecily had to believe that Mariella would go through with her threat.

"Like what?"

"Who knows? I'll think of something soon enough," Mariella answered, dismissing Cecily's question with a wave of her hand.

Cecily rolled her eyes and fought the urge to go back to her paper, which she was nearly finished with. "Why does this matter so much to you?"

"Why doesn't it matter as much to you?" Mariella countered, raising an eyebrow.

"That's immature. Don't answer my question with a question," Cecily fought. "Why does this matter so much to you?"

"Because you don't seem to care about it," Mariella answered, saying the best thing that popped into her head. It didn't actually matter to her what Cecily did with her ex-boyfriends, but Mariella can't deny that she liked a little drama, even if it was unnecessary. Mariella had convinced Cecily in the past to mess with girls who starting going with her exes less than a month after she'd broken up with them. Cecily didn't like starting ridiculous fights however, even if she did go along with Mariella's plans at first, so she soon stopped being confrontational with girls who decided to date the boys she was through with. 

That meant that Mariella was a little less entertained these days.

"That's because it doesn't even matter," Cecily argued, rolling her eyes again. "Mariella, you're being so stupid. Can we just stop? I have a paper due in two periods and if I don't get it done now, not only will my teacher and parents have my head, but I'll get yours too." 

Cocking her head back and forth and rolling her eyes, Mariella pretended to pay Cecily no attention. But she was greatly disheartened. It seemed that firing up Cecily Turner would be harder than she'd expected.