Overanalysis

In my young audult fiction class, we've read a few things about something called Lacanian theory. I'm still not sure that I understand it, but it seems to say that everything in a young adult novel is about rebelling against authority. And they made some really weird connections. Like if a character is an orphan, they seek out a parent figure just so they can have someone else to rebel against.
And how in Charlotte;s Web, a little girl save sthe life of a pig, just to spite her father.

No.
Just no.

Sure there's plenty of truth to the idea that young adult fiction is about reellion.
But just because you have a theory doesn't mean you should twist everything to fit in that theory.
A little girl saving the life of an animal, especially in Charlotte's Web, is not about rebellion. It is about love.

And if an orphan seeks out a parent figure, it's not necessarily to find someone that they can rebel against. More likely they want someone to watch over and help them. Someone that they can love and confide in.

It is possible to over-analyze things.
Which is probably one of the reasons that I loathed high school English.
I was thinking about this recently, about how good I would do at that kind of analysis now, if I were to take those classes.
And then I realized that no. Those weird tests they had us do about analysis were just crazy, and I don't know that I'd do much better at them....

Chapter

I'm adding a new chapter to Katani's story!
I've been meaning to do so for a very long time. Probably a couple years, or more. I could never decide where to fit it in.
But I finally managed to find a home for it, near the end of the book.
It's a new mission, one where Melly and Katani have to work together. I wanted to use it to get more into Melly and Mekki's characters.
And we get to travel to a new place too.
I haven't written a new scene with Katani in a long time, so this is fun to do~ I'm almost done writing it, and then I'll have to go over it to edit.

Background Photo Bomb

This is something I wonder about occasionally.
How often do we show up in pictures other peopel take?
I'm not talking about people you know and take your picture. But people you don't know.
For example, Fanime, with everyone taking pictures of everyone else because of their cool costumes.
And also if you happen to show up in the background of a totally random picture.
What were we doing when those pictures were taken? Is it a picture we might like to own? What do strangers think when they see us? Do they even notice?

Something funny happened to me a while ago.
I was on the train, and across the way was a group of high school students. They were talking and having fun, goofing off as friends do. It was fun listenign to them.
That evening, I was tagged in a photo on Facebook. It turns out that a friend of mine knew those peopel. They took a picture on the train, with me in the background. My friend spotted me in the picture and went "oh my gosh! That's Tara!" And she tagged me.
So, that random photo taken on the train found its way back to me.

Shadow Scale

I finished reading Shadow Scale. It's the second book, after Seraphina.
Most of the book was really good. Awesome buildup, good characters, and a pretty intense antagonist. Cool world too.
But the finale and the ending were... disappointing.


Spoilers.

The final buildup was mostly just waiting around, stuck in the castle. And for the big climax, I was really hoping that Seraphina unlocking her power would be the key to ending everything.
Well, It kiiind of was? But not really. Instead it was a giant person? Why? He just comes in and fixes everything? And he takes away that lady and we never hear from her again?
And the resolution didn't feel very refined. It felt like it could have been done a lot neater.

Sigh. I was even more disappointed than usual because the rest of the book, and the book before it, were so good!

Have any of you guys read it yet? What did you think?

Craft fair

So, my craft fair went well.
And I learned something by comparing this fair to the one last year.
I shouldn't bring bigger fancier stuff. I should bring more cute little things. There are these little felt animal I make, but those are entirely hand-stitched, and take forever. So it's not really an efficient thing to make, considering how much I'd have to charge for one for it to be worth my time.

Most of the time, I just experiment all over the place. But a lot of my patterns are getting pretty solid now. I'm always torn between making something new, and improving on something old.

So, I have a year to think on that for next year.
Simple cute things. Hmmm.

Ghost Chapter

Last week, in my scifi/fantasy class, we had a fun assignment due. We had to write a ghost chapter, from one of the readings we did in class.
Which is a lot more interesting to write than an essay.
We've read dozens of short stories. Some I like, but couldn't find a gap to write about. Others I didn't have any good ideas for, and some I just didn't want to write about.
I finally settled on "We Can Remember if for You Wholesale," by Philip Dick.
This is the short story that Total Recall is based off of.
I wrote my chapter on a certain encounter Douglas has as a child, with some little aliens.
Two of my friends in the class really like it. Maybe I'll share it? I wonder if there's a section for it on Deviantart.

Sewing Sewing Sewing

The little craft fair is coming up in a little over a week. I've been spending all my free time this month sewing stuff to bring. There's a cute pair of cuttlefish on the couch right now~
So I haven't been writing as much as I'd like.
But hopefully I'll get a bunch of new stuff made for the craft fair!

Stress Relief on the Road

Considering the crazy, dangerous stuff some people do with cars, driving can be really stressful sometimes.
Sometimes I just hate cars.
And I've found that music can really help in calming me down if someone just did something really stupid near me.

First of all, music can help re-set your mind, depending on what you're listening to.
But if you're me, I take it even a step further. As in, "I'm really mad at that jerk! But I really want to sing along with this song..."
And almost immediately after I resume singing, I feel better.

I've found a lot of ways to help me not get as upset about things. Which is great. It means I don't spend much time stressing about things I can't change.
Which seems all too common in a lot of people.