mardi muse: vlogs

In an attempt to both add a bit more structure to this blog and keep my creative juices flowing, I've decided to start shedding light on anything and everything that leaves me walking away feeling inspired. This week that thing would be vlogs. Side note: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They seem to be all I talk about anymore, so it only makes sense to showcase them first. After discovering The Lizzie Bennet Diaries earlier this year, I soon found myself mercilessly entangled in the black-hole-esque world of vlogs. But this time it wasn't fictional characters I was wrapped up with, it was real-life people. Though it's been quite some time, I've always enjoyed making little videos. So I suppose that's how vlogging initially captured my interest. But more than that, clicking back through content and seeing these vloggers change and grow, witnessing how their editing and storytelling adapted and improved, was fascinating. Besides, it's just plain cool when you find yourself relating to someone halfway around the world (an excellent A*Teens song, by the way! ha... no really)!

Without further ado, here are a few vlogs that I've really come to love. Honestly, I've started anticipating their weekly updates more than most tv shows. And that's saying something!

JacksGap. This is the exact vlog I can pinpoint for a) fanning the flames of vlog addiction and b) inspiring about 132 ideas for potential YA novels. Here's Jack with his twin Finn on their gap year, taking on challenges suggested by their subscribers:

Aren't they the cutest?! Ah! They make me feel like I'm aging backwards, because... akhfdkjflskfjslkdfj *fan flail*!!!!!! Love them.

The Lizzie Trap & PROXIMITY

Can I just talk about the most recent episode of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries for a sec? CAN SOMEBODY JUST HOLD ME?! It was only the last episode that we finally met Darcy's little sister Gigi aka insta-fictional-BFF. Despite all of Lizzie's anti-Darcy gusto in the past, Gigi seems to be shipping her with her big brother just like the rest of the fandom. So thank you, Gigi! Thank you for this:

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDKLFJSLKDFJSLJLSKDJFSL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was not prepared! I was not prepared! Sure, it was bound to happen sooner or later given Gigi's entrance into the story, but... AH!

OMG! ZOMG!

As soon as this happened, I was breaking out the smelling salts. Then... wait for it...

There he was! After a seventeen episode hiatus! Hallelujah, the much-missed awkward-turtle-ness has returned! First off, they can barely look at each other at the same time. But in a good way! Particularly Lizzie's up-down at 3:50. That moment just scah-reams that her feelings are "quite the opposite." And the episode was overflowing with my favorite thing... PROXIMITY!

Darcy just kept leaning in closer and closer. But was that line about the hills in the city being unforgiving just to show how similar he and the insta-likable Gigi are or a clue that he watched last week's episode? I don't know, but I like it! They're obviously stiff and uncomfortable, but their eyes are FULL OF SOFTENED FEELINGS! Haha. And then of course...

THE MOST PROXIMITOUS OF ALL THE PROXIMITIES!!!!!

THERE WAS THIS MOMENT! It was over almost before it began, but... AHHHHHHHHHHFDKLFJSLDKFJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could not stop squealing! I can't applaud these webisodes enough. Back when they started in April, having the advantage over her of knowing how the story goes, it was easy to dismiss Lizzie's rants about Darcy. But when he finally made an appearance in episode 59, her opinion suddenly made sense. He wasn't insta-likable. And for once I really got a good understanding of Lizzie's frame of mind. This week was episode 78. And it's taken that long for me to warm up to this guy. Just like her! And it's so refreshing to see the way it's played out so far. Tiny moments hinting at a changed opinion stitched together with missed glances and awkward pauses. I love it! I love it! I love it! Can't wait to see more of them together on screen!

uncharted territories

(x)

Six days and over 11,000 words into NaNoWriMo and the winds of change are already blowing me off course. I have a vague list of scenes that I need up to a certain point (read: a cliff-esque point beyond which I have no idea what happens from there to the ending, which is already somewhat mythical in terms of its existence) that I plotted out in advance. When I actually sit down to write the scene, I bullet out everything I need to see and learn by the end of it. This helps me stay focused and has allowed me to write more per hour than I ever have before (major thanks to Rachel Aaron's ridiculously helpful blog post on this). 

But having this vague list of scenes has also allowed for a ton of wiggle room. I like wiggle room. It lets my story breathe a little, making way for unexpected scenes, twists, and elements that end up becoming vital to the story. In the past I've had the tendency to blaze through events. So this has also taught me to slow down and really get my hands dirty in the story, which is good! What's strange is how, despite having these tiny goals mapped out beforehand, bizarre things happen anyway. A character will say something surprising, a new plot line will present itself, heck, I just had a character appear out of nowhere once I'd already begun typing; someone I'd never planned for and didn't realize I had room for. And she's a great addition!

The world my characters live in is becoming richer, the protagonist is finding her voice a bit more, so things are going well. You know, apart from this villain I've created who has such a mind of her own on the page that she's even starting to scare me and I imagined her to life! The story is quickly evolving into something so much larger. It's terribly exciting, but I won't lie to you... I am freaking out! Still, with 24 days and a little under 39,000 words to go, there's no time to dwell on that fear (yet another pro of NaNoWriMo). Full steam ahead!

And just in case you're wondering what happened to my procrastination skills, I give you my latest kryptonite, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It's a weekly vlog that's retelling Pride & Prejudice with a modern twist. I'm absolutely loving it! Lydia and Bing Lee are hands down my favorites and "Darcybot malfunction" might have to be my new go-to phrase when I'm having writer's block! Here's the first episode to get you started:

It really sucks you in when you get going, so I hope you have four hours on your hands. This week we saw Darcy for the second time ever and it was the letter scene i.e. eeee!!!! He gets called a newsie, so you know I'm rooting for him even though I don't really like him yet (which is fantastic because in every other adaptation I'm in love with him by this point, but now I'm truly seeing him through Lizzie's eyes). Enjoy!