Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Themed Movie Nights

Ladies and gentlemen, I have discovered a great injustice on the internet. Last year, a few of my friends and I started monthly (for the most part) movie nights. All our movie nights have a theme, and if possible, we try to match food to said theme. Anyway, I was looking for a new movie theme last night, and guess what? I couldn't find theme nights anywhere. Whenever I typed in themed movie nights, all that popped up were movie decorations. Lame right? So anyway, I thought I'm not the only one that might appreciate some themed movie night inspiration! Here ya go:

Greek:                                                            Italian:
   My Big Fat Greek Wedding                           Letters to Juliet
   My Life in ruins                                             Eat, Pray, Love
Teenage Masterminds:                                   Southern:
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off                                Steel Magnolias
    Catch Me If You Can                                     The Help
                                                                           Fried Green Tomatoes
Classics:                                                          80's Chick Flick:
     Back to the Future                                         Pretty in Pink
     Young Frankenstein                                      Sixteen Candles
     Blues Brothers                                               Breakfast Club
Pets:                                                                Marvel Comics:
    Air Bud                                                           Hulk, Captain America
    Flicka                                                              Thor, Iron Man
    Dreamer                                                          Avengers
Baseball:                                                         Independent Film:
     Sandlot 1 and 2                                              Juno
     Field of Dreams                                             Little Miss Sunshine
     Angels in the Outfield                                   The Way, Way Back
     Million Dollar Arm
Wedding:                                                         Food Junkie:
     Bridesmaids                                                   Ratatouille
     Bride Wars                                                     No Reservations
     You Again                                                      Julie and Julia
Sci-fy:                                                             British Lit:
     Star Trek 1&2                                                 Romeo & Juliet
     Aliens                                                              Hamlet
     Men in Black                                                  Much Ado About Nothing
     Independence
Jason Bourne:                                                 Mythology
    Bourne Identity                                                Percy Jackson 1 & 2
    Bourne Supremacy                                          Hercules
    Bourne Ultimatum                                           Troy
    Bourne Legacy
American History:                                          Law:
    Lincoln                                                            Legally Blonde
    Gettysburg                                                       To Kill a Mockingbird
                                                                             A Time to Kill
Music:                                                             Band:
    August Rush                                                    Almost Famous
    Mr. Holland's Opus                                          School of Rock
    The Soloist
90's Teen:                                                        Halloween:
    10 Things I Hate About You                            Addams Family and Values
    She's All That                                                   Edward Scissor Hands
    Boys and Girls                                                  Hocus Pocus
Bruce Willis:                                                   Sandra Bullock:
    Die Hard                                                           Miss Congeniality
    RED                                                                  Miss Congeniality 2
    Armageddon                                                     The Heat
Vince Vaughn:
    The Internship
    Delivery Man
We're doing the Indie Movie Night Next week :) Have fun and enjoy!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

How to Write a Novel While Successfully Surviving School

High school is no slice of cake. No matter what classes you're in, what type of student you are, or how many activities you're involved in. It's four long years of hard work. Let us count the countless activities you must partake in whilst in these four years:
       1. Waking up early five out of seven days (sometimes more if you work)
       2. Going to school between 7:30 and 8 am
       3. Sitting through seven hours of classes and teachers talking mostly about things that you really             don't care about but have to pay attention to to be successful.
       4. Partaking in after school activities (A.K.A. Marching band, clubs, private lessons, tutoring, community service, jobs)
       5. Completing several hours of homework (sometimes all nighters depending on your previous record of procrastination)
       6. Having friends and a social life (although that's not the most important thing in life, FYI)
       7. Catching up on recent movies and good TV
       8. Reading the best books (because to be a good writer, you have to read and read more)

And that's just a very short summary. Now add writing a decent sized, thoughtful, interesting novel into all that. You need about ten more hours in the day right? Well, here's the thing... Multitasking is your BEST friend. You know, maybe do a little homework, take a break and write. Turn on your favorite TV show, pull out your laptop or journal. Believe me, unless it's a show like Sherlock, TV does not need your full attention. Weekends are also you're best friend. Get your weekend homework done early so that you have the entire two days to just relax and write your little heart out. If you finish your class work early, pull out your journal and write and page or two.

The key to being a high school novelist is knowing how to utilize every minute of your day. Spare moments are crucial. Just know when to steal them. It's okay if you don't write the entire novel in a couple times. Take your time. Make sure every word counts. This is something you love to do, right? I know I love it. Don't make it into work, or else you won't love it anymore. Don't force anything, and don't tire yourself out to where your work is just meaningless words scribbled onto a page.

But remember...high school is your first priority. I know it seems overrated, but without a high school diploma, life will be hard. And I don't mean, the TV's not working; I can't find a pen hard. I mean real life hard. So study up, make good grades, and graduate! And...go to college. I'm not kidding. Just keep your priorities in mind, and always remember to love your writing!