This Was Very Exciting. I'd Never Had Two Boys Get Into A Fight Over Me Before. The Fact That One Of The Boys Was My Stepbrother, However, And Held About As Much Romantic Appeal For Me As Max, The Family Dog, Somewhat Dampened My Enthusiasm. And Michael Wasn't Much Of A Catch, Either, When You Actually Thought About It, Being A Potential Murderer And All. Oh, Why Did I Have To Have Such A Couple Of Losers Fighting Over Me? Why Couldn't Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Fight Over Me? Now That Would Be Truly Excellent.

-Meg Cabot

Please Wait....
Translating....

This Was Very Exciting.

Meg Cabot

Topic

Dog

Couple

Fighting

More From Meg Cabot

Sometimes Between Lunch And Dinner, When There's A Lull, Jill And Shaniqua And I Will Sit Around And Fantasize About What We'd Do If A Real Celebrity Walked Into The Place, Like Chad Michael Murray (although We've Gone Off Him A Bit Since His Divorce) Or Jared Padalecki, Or Even Prince William (you Never Know. He Could Have Gotten His Yacht Lost, Or Whatever.)

Real

Divorce

Lunch

And You Can't Have Two Stars In One Relationship. Somebody Has To Be Willing To Be The Wagon...at Lease Some Of The Time

Stars

Two

Wagons

I Don't Want Water!" Sarah Cries, Her Face Buried Against My Chest. I Can't See What's Going On In The Rest Of The Lobby Beacuse Sarah's Hair Is Flying Up In My Face, Blocking My View. I Want Justice!" She Wails. Well, We'll Get You Some Of That Too." Magda Has Appeared From Out Of Nowhere. "maybe There's Some In The Freezer.

Block

Hair

Views

I Stare At Her, As Dumbstruck As If She'd Just Admitted She's A Scientologist With An Invitation To Join Tom And Katie On The Spaceship When It Shows Up.

Spaceships

Staring

Shows

Usually Writer's Block Arises When Something Is Wrong Internally With The Story.

Block

Stories

Arise

And That Whole Do-able/undo-able Thing? Yeah. Need I Point Out That Neither Ruth Nor I Have Ever "done" Anybody In Our Lives?

Needs

Done

Ruth

Because My Heat Was Too Full Of Appreciation For What My Friends-- My Real Friends-- Had Done For Me.

Appreciation

Real

Done

All I Did Was Die,' I Said. 'and Then, When Presented With An Opportunity Not To Be Dead Any More, I Took It. Anyone Else Would Have Done The Same Thing.

Opportunity

Done

Said

But If That Was Really True, Why In The Name Of All That Is Holy Would Anyone Have Ever Liked Nikki In The First Place? I Was Becoming More And More Convinced She Was A Cross Between Heidi Montag And Hitler.

Names

Firsts

Becoming

Diet Coke Does Not Contain Nasty Chemicals. It Contains Lovely And Delicious Carbonation, Caffeine, And Aspartame. What's Unnatural About That?

Lovely

Doe

Coke

One Of The Reasons That I Think I Do Love To Write Is Because I Did Have A Difficult Childhood And Not So Great Teenage Years. It Always Helped Me Escape From My Problems.

Teenage

Writing

Thinking

Accept The Things I Cannot Change," I Said. "and Pray For The Courage To Change The Things I Can, As Well As The Wisdom To Know The Difference." The Thing Is... I Know This Is Good Advice. It's Called The Serenity Prayer, And It Really Does Put Things In Perspective (it's Suppose To Be For Recovering Alcoholics, But It Helps Recovering Freakoutaholics, Like Me, As Well).

Prayer

Differences

Perspective

I Actually Love Writing For Teens Best. I Had Such An Awful Time In My Own Teen Years - I Love Having The Chance To Relive Them Through My Fiction.

Writing

Years

Fiction

Was It Frisson When You Saw A Guy Smile And It Made Your Heart Act All Weird?

Heart

Guy

Saws

Do Not Chase Boys. Chasing Boys Is Bad. Chasing Boys Can Lead To Horrible Things Like Mansions Going Up Into Flames, Hand Amputations, And Blindness. So Have Some Self Respect And Don't Let Things Get Too Far Before The Wedding Day.

Boys

Self

Flames

But Once I'd Come Up With It, I Realized It Really Was The Perfect Plan. Instead Of Waiting For Maria To Come To Me, I Was Simply Going To Go To Her And, Well... Send Her Back To Where She Came. Or Reduce Her To A Mound Of Quivering Gelatinous Goo. Whichever Came First.

Perfect

Waiting

Firsts

I've Only Been Gone A Week," I Reminded Him. Well, A Week's A Long Time. It's Seven Days. Which Is One Hundred And Sixty-eight Hours. Which Is Ten Thousand, Eighty Minutes. Which Is Six Hundred Thousand, For Hundred Seconds.

Eight

Long

Gone

What's The Point? Was My Attitude. We're All Just Going To Die And Then Not Be Let On The Boat.

Attitude

Boat

My Attitude

What Is The Appropriate Reply To Make To A Man Who Says He Loves You? Thank You. You Are Very Kind.

Love You

Men

Kind

And The Truth Is, I’d Felt Kind Of A Thrill About Wearing Jason’s Big Boy Pants. I Was A Sick Kid, Even Way Back Then.

Kids

Boys

Sick

If The Guy Likes/loves You, He Won't Care If You Are A Good Kisser Or Not. He Should Like You For What You Are - Not How You Kiss.

Love You

Kissing

Guy

And Standing Before Me A Bloodied Bottle Of Absolut In Her Hand, Is Mrs. Allington, Her Pink Jogging Suit Drenched, Her Chest Heaving, Her Eyes Filled With Contempt As She Stared Down At Rachel's Prone Body. Mrs. Allington Shakes Her Head. "i'm A Size Twelve," She Says.

Eye

Hands

Twelve

But I Had Loved Him. A Part Of Me Still Did. Maybe More Than A Part Of Me, Because I'm A Complete Moron.

Moron

Stills

Sometimes I Just Want To Write A Really Intense Love Scene. But I Can't Do That In My Books For Teens, Or Parents Will Complain - Believe Me, I've Tried.

Believe

Book

Writing

But He's Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places. Like Fancy Under Catalogs At Least He Knows Enough Not To Date While He's Campaigning

Looking For Love

Fancy

Enough

Smiles Like That Should Be Against The Law. Considering What They Do To A Girl.

Girl

Law

Should

My Favorite Book Of All Time Is Cold Comfort Farm, By Stella Gibbons.

Book

Agriculture

Comfort

Writing Is A Workout, Just Like Going For A Run!

Running

Workout

Writing

Yeah,” Nicole Said, Her Straw Noisily Hitting The Bottom Of Her Gut Buster. “well, I Would Have Appreciated It If You Guys Had Wrecked A Little Less Stuff. Because My House Smelled Like Smoke For Months. And Construction On The Tarantinos’ New Garage Starts At Eight On The Dot Every Morning, And It’s Still Going On, And You Know How I Get If I Don’t Have My Full Ten Hours Of Beauty Sleep.” “so That’s What Happened To Your Face,” Cody Said. “i Was Wondering.

Morning

Sleep

Eight

I Swear, Sometimes I Am Convinced My Life Is Just A Series Of Sketches For America's Funniest Home Videos, Minus All That Pants-dropping Business. Except My Life Really Isn't All That Funny If You Think About It.

Home

Thinking

America

No One Wants To Pursue Anything Creative Anymore, Because That's Too Risky. They May Not Get The Kind Of Return On The Financial Investment They've Made In Their Education That They Think They Should.

Thinking

Creative

May

One Of The Biggest Motivations For Me With Writing My Books Is To Offer Girls Some Escapism, Especially Girls Who Really Need It, Like I Did.

Girl

Motivation

Book

I Was In Love With Scott Bennett. That I Had Been In Love With Him My Whole Life, Practically.

Whole Life

Been In Love

Whole

I Don't Seem To Fit To Associate With Humans.

Fit

Humans

Seems

That's Enough Of That," Jesse Said. Next Thing I Knew, He'd Scooped Me Up. Only Instead Of Carrying Me To My Bed And Setting Me Down On It All Romantically, You Know, Like Guys Do To Girls In The Movies, He Just Dumped Me Onto It, So I Bounced Around And Would Have Fallen Off If I Hadn't Grabbed The Edge Of The Mattress. "thanks," I Said, Not Quite Able To Keep All Of The Sarcasm Out Of My Voice.

Girl

Sarcasm

Voice

Look, I Know What You're Thinking. You're Thinking I Said No Because The Whole Thing Would Just Be Too Dirty Dancing , Right? Summer Fling At The Resort, Only With The Roles Reversed: You Know, The Poor Working Girl And The Rich Doctor's Son, Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner, Blah Blah Blah. That Kind Of Thing.

Summer

Girl

Baby

And In What Fairy Tale Would John Ever Be Any Sane Person's Idea Of Prince Charming Anyway? He Was The Opposite Of Charming. More Like Prince Terrifying.

Opposites

Ideas

Fairy Tale

But It’s There. Just Because I Haven’t Told Anyone Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t There, All The Time, Lurking In The Back Of My Mind, Like One Those Nsync Songs You Can’t Get Out Of Your Head.

Song

Mean

Nsync

I Loved You Way Before You Ever Had A Chance To Put A Spell On Me. I Loved You At 'i've Never Been To Long Island,'" Zach Said. I Couldn't Keep A Big Goofy Grin From My Face. I Loved You At 'i Like Seals,'" I Admitted. He Grinned Back.

Islands

Long

Way

Sometimes What You Want Is Right In Front Of You. All You Have To Do Is Open Your Eyes And See It.

Mr. Greer Timed All Our Speeches With An Oven Timer. Things Were Nothing At Tribeca Alternative, Considered One Of Manhattan's Finest Prep Schools, If Not High Tech.

School

Alternatives

Manhattan

How Is It That I'd Nearly Been Smothered To Death, And Yet I Could Sit There And Notice Things Like My Stepbrother's Abdominal Muscles A Few Minutes Later?

Abdominals

Minutes

Muscles

Suze, Your Whole Life," My Dad Went On, Not Without Sympathy, "you've Always Made The Right Decisions. Not Necessarily The Easiest Ones. The Right Ones. Don't Mess That Up Now, When You're Facing What's Probably The Most Important Decision You'll Ever Have To Make.

Dad

Decision

Important

She'd Realize Steve Was Her Soul Mate And That She Would Never Love Anyone As Much As She Loved Him.

Soul

Soul Mate

Realizing

Foxy Girls Know That Silence May Be Golden-but Only For Four Seconds. Anything Longer And You're Heading For Awkward Avenue.

Girl

Silence

Awkward

Friend Tim Shakes Hands With Perfect Specimen Of Mankind. Will Never Wash Right Hand Again.

Hands

Perfect

Mankind

Unrequited Love Is All Right In Books And Things, But In Real Life, It Completely Sucks

Real

Book

Unrequited Love

Aaron, In Order To Die You Have To Live A Little First.

Order

Littles

Firsts

He Let His Mouth Linger On Mine, Neither Possessively Nor Sweetly... Like His Mouth Just Belonged There On Mine. And He Was Right. It Did. It Always Had.

Mouths

Abandon

Mines

They Just Kept Grinning At Me From Over The Stupid Sign, Dopey Because He's Too Dumb To Know Any Better, Doc Because – Well, I Guess Because He Might Have Been Glad To See Me. Doc's Weird That Way. Sleepy, The Oldest, Just Stood There, Looking … Well, Sleepy.

Stupid

Dumb

Might

Pretty Isn't The Only Thing That Matters - Being Smart And Kind Matters More, Of Course - But All Daughters Should Hear From Their Moms That They Look Pretty Once In A While.

Mom

Daughter

Mother

The The Tabloids Are Always Going To Be A War For Popularity In The Celeb World.

War

World

Tabloids

If You Give A Man A Fish He'll Eat For A Day, If You Teach A Man To Fish He'll Eat All The Fish You May Have Caught For Yourself

Men

Teach A Man To Fish

Giving

Looks Can Be Deceiving.

Looks

Deceiving

Always Be True To Your Friends, Just As You Are To Yourself.

Being True

French: Why Does This Language Even Exist? Everyone There Speaks English Anyway.

Speak English

Doe

Language

When People Look You In The Eye And Call You Stupid, Dont Look Away, But Tell Them That Half Of The World Is Stupid And They Are One Of Them Because They Are Dening Their Own Stupidity.

Stupid

Eye

People

You Didn't," John Said, Stepping From The Shadows As He Clapped For Me, "even Hit Your Head This Time.

Needless To Say, The Fact That He Actually Spoke To Me At All Practically Caused Me To Pass Out. And Then The Fact That He Was Actually Saying Something That Sounded Like It Might Be A Prelude To Asking Me Out - Well, I Nearly Threw Up. I Mean It. I Felt Really Sick, But In A Good Way.

Mean

Sick

Asking

How To Be The Best That You Can Be

Being Yourself

Hoosiers

Just Be Yourself

The Fact Is, I Love Him. He's The Boy I Want And One Day He'll Be Mine.

I Love Him

Boys

Romance

I Felt As If The Milky Way, Hovering Above Our Heads Like A Celestial Pitcher, Had Suddenly Overturned, Pouring Suns And Planets Down My Throat. Stars Seemed To Be Shooting Out Of My Finger And Toes, The Ends Of My Hair.

Stars

Hair

Pouring

Emerson:bite Me Whitne:you Wish

Wish

Bite Me

Bites

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady

Heart

Cowardice

Faint Of Heart

It Was Only When They'd Rounded The Corner Toward The Penguin That We Finally Sat Up, Laughing Semi-hysterically. "oh My God, Did You See Her Face?" Becca Asked Between Guffaws. "'there's Something In My Hair!'" "that Was Fantastic, Crazytop," Jason Said, Wiping Tears Of Laughter From His Eyes. "best Master Plan Yet.

Laughter

Eye

Hair

Someday You're Really Going To Have To Describe To Me In More Detail What Life Is Like On The Planet You Live On. Because It Sounds Really Great, And I'd Like To Visit There One Day.

Life Is Like

One Day

Sound

I Love The Princess Diaries Series! Do You?

Princess

Diaries

Princess Diaries

> Cracking: No Need To Yell. > Ftlouie: I’m Not Yelling!!! > Cracking: You’re Using Excessive Amounts Of Punctuation, And On-line, That’s Like Yelling.

Yelling

Needs

Lines

Sometimes In Life, You Fall Down Holes You Can't Climb Out Of By Yourself. That's What Friends And Family Are For-to Help. They Can't Help, However, Unless You Let Them Know You're Down There.

Fall

Family And Friends

Helping

Screenwriting Is A Much More Collaborative Effort. When You Write A Novel, It's Just You, With Input From Your Editor.

Writing

Editors

Effort

And I'm Going To Tell The Truth: I Didn't Like That Sean Penn Movie Into The Wild So Much. Yes! I Know It Was Critically Acclaimed. I Know It Won All These Awards! It's Very Sad That A Boy Is Dead And All. But I Thought The Movie Enchanted, With The Singing Princess And The Chipmunk And The People Dancing In Central Park, Was Cuter. So There!

Princess

Boys

Awards

What's A Mediator You Ask? Oh, A Person Who Acts As A Liason Between The Living And The Dead. Hey, Wait A Minute...what're You Doing With That Strait Jacket?-suze Simon's Imagination

Imagination

Waiting

Hey

Looks Fade,' Mom Would Go On. 'but Intelligence Lasts Forever.

Mom

Forever

Looks

Jake Leaned On The Horn, Swearing Loudly. Gina Covered Her Eyes. Doc Flung His Arms Around Me, Burying His Face In My Lap, And Dopey, To My Great Surprise, Began To Scream Like A Girl, Very Close To My Ear.

Girl

Eye

Jake

But. . . You Said We Were Going To Play Parcheezi. . .

Play

Said

Loud Ringing Noises, I've Discovered, Upset Mr.peepers.

Upset

Noise

Loud

Inside The Envelope With The Letter Was A Little Princess Leia Action Figure Usb Flash Drive. For Me To Store My Novel On, Since He Was Right - I Never Back Up My Computer's Hard Drive. The Sight Of It - It's Princess Leia In Her Hoth Outfit, My Favorite Of Her Costumes (how Had He Remembered?) Brought Tears To My Eyes.

Princess

Eye

Sight

Sometimes We Need To Take Big Risks If We Want To Find Out Who We Are, And What We Were Put On This Planet For.

Risk

Needs

Want

Do People In The Twenty-first Century Still Dance?" My Heart Beat Thundered In My Ears, Far Louder Than The Slow Music. "um," I Said, Barely Able To Swallow, My Throat Had Gone So Dry. "sometimes." "how About Now?" He Asked. And Then His Strong Arms Were Encircling My Waist, His Breath Soft Against My Cheek As He Gently Whispered My Name: "susannah. Susannah...

Strong

Heart

Names

It Wasn't Until Hope Fluttered Over And Landed At Alex's Feet, Peering Questioningly Up At Him, That He Finally Tore His Hands Away From His Eyes.oh, My God, He Said, Sounding Disgusted. Why Is There A Bird Looking At Me?that's Miss Oliviera's Bird, Henry Volunteered Cheerfully. The Captain Gave It To Her As A Present.kayla Punched Me In The Arm. John's Got His Captain's License? She Whispered. You Are So Lucky. Frank Says He Just Loads Cargo.i Glanced At Frank. I Wondered If Kayla Would Like Him As Much If She Knew The Cargo He Loaded Was Human Souls.

Eye

Feet

Hands

But I Intend To Enjoy The Weeks I Have Left With You To The Fullest. Because I Know From My Study Of The Philosophy Of Time, Whatever Is Going To Happen In The Future Is Already Unavoidable.

Philosophy

Study

Week

Your Assignment,' He Bellowed At Kelly, 'was To Make A Persuasive Argument. Demanding To Know Whether Detractors Of Your Position Are On Crack Is Not Arguing Persuasively.

Cracks

Arguing

Argument

It's Only In Fairy Tales That Princesses Can Afford To Wait For The Handsome Prince To Save Them. In Real Life, They Have To Bust Out Of Their Own Coffins And Do The Saving Themselves.

Real

Princess

Waiting

I Can't Kill Someone!" "you Hit Your Brother In The Head With A Fire Extinguisher." "but That Was Family! And I Didn't Kill Him.

Brother

Fire

I Can

Of Course. I Was On The Run From Evil Spirits That Wanted To Kill Me And Now, According To The Local Paper, The Law. Yet Richard Smith, Cemetery Sexton And Death Deity Scholar, Had A Book For Me To Read In All My Copious Spare Time.

Running

Book

Law

Adam Gave Me A Scandalized Look. "fraternizing With The Enemy!" He Cried. "for Shame, Wench!

Enemy

Looks

Wenches

He Is The Dark Prince. The All-powerful One. The Leader Of The Creatures Of The Night." Then Meena Said, "i'm Confused Then. I Thought The Prince Of Darkness Was The Devil." [......] "wait," Meena Said, Blinking. " Are You Saying....." "yes," Alaric Said. "that Is Exactly What I'm Saying." Jon Looked Blank. "i Don't Understand. Is He The Devil Or Not?" "lucien Antonescu," Alaric Said. "is A Vampire. Not Just Any Vampire, But The Ruler Of All Vampires.

Powerful

Confused

Dark

Kill Her For Me," She Said In That Whiny Little-girl Voice. Diego Took A Step Toward Me, Wearing An Expression That Told Me He Was Only Too Happy To Oblige His Lady Love. "oh, What?" I Said. I Wasn't Even Scared. I Didn't Care Anymore. The Numbness In My Heart Had Pretty Much Taken Over My Whole Body. "you Always Do What She Tells You? You Know, We Have A Word For That Now. It's Called Being Whipped.

Girl

Taken

Heart

One Of The Biggest Mistakes Girls Can Make Concerning Their Romantic Life Is Sitting Around Waiting For Their Prince To Find Them, Rather Than Getting Out There And Finding Him Themselves.

Girl

Mistake

Waiting

And I Like A Good Horror Story As Much As The Next Person So Long As They Kill Off Some Men Too And Not Just Girls. But The Voices Joan Heard Were Real. There’s Clear And Substantiated Proof They Were Real. She Won Battles That Would Otherwise Have Been Lost Because Of What Those Voices Told Her In Advance Of Them Allowing The French Generals To Strategize In Ways Completely Different Than They Did Before Joan Came Along. People’s Lives Were Saved Because Of What Those Voices Told Her.

Girl

Real

Men

And I'm Sure Than In Poland, Or Somewhere, It Is Considered Cool To Drive A Porsche And Wear Necklaces And Black Silk, But At Least Back In Brooklyn If You Did Those Things You Were Either A Drug Dealer Or From New Jersey.

Drug

Black

Brooklyn

He'd Know That I Think That . . . Well, That Bending An Enemy's Will Through Military Force Is The Absolute Last Way A Nation Ought To Go About Solving Their Problems.

Military

Thinking

Enemy

I Have Nothing Against Sean Penn. I Don't Even Mind That He Ended Up Divorcing Madonna. I Mean, I Still Like Shia Labeouf Even Though He Chose To Star In Transformers, Which Turned Out To Be A Movie About Robots From Space. That Talk. Which Is Just As Bad As Choosing To Divorce Madonna, If You Ask Me

Stars

Mean

Divorce

Wait. Why Am I Thinking About Krispy Kremes? We’re Supposed To Be Exercising.

Food

Exercise

Thinking

I Needed Another Soda. I’d Only Had Six Since Breakfast.

Breakfast

Soda

Six

I Don't Have Kids, But In Many Ways I Feel I've Had Them Already. I Don't Want To Say I Raised My Brothers - That Sounds Too Strong - But Actually I Do Feel Like That A Bit.

Brother

Strong

Kids

Not Like This Vision Before Us, Who Was Shaking Water Out Of His Slightly Overlong Reddish-brown Hair As He Leaned Over To Lay Down His Board (revealing, As He Did So, The Fact That Beneath His Baggy Swim Trunks—so Weighted Down With Water That They Had Sunk Somewhat Dangerously Low On His Hips—lurked What Appeared To Be An Exceptionally Well-formed Gluteus Maximus)

Hair

Water

Swim

Life Isn't A Romance Novel. The Truth Is, The Reason Romance Novels Sell So Well ---- The Reason Why Everyone Loves Them ---- Is Because No One's Life Is Actually Like That. Everyone Wants Their Life To Be Like That.

Romance

Want

Reason Why

But I Don't Care What Megan Fox Or Jessica Biel Say: There Are Definite Advantages To Being The Hottest Girl On The Planet. Number One Was That I Got Paid For It. A Lot.

Girl

Numbers

Care

It Will Hurt. Because Deep Down, I'll Know There Was Someone.. Someone I Was Supposed To Have Met. Only I'll Never Meet Him. I'll Go Through My Whole Life Waiting For Him To Come Along, Only He Never Will. What Kind Of Life Is That?

Hurt

Waiting

Kind

In High School, I Wanted To Be An Actress. Until I Got To College And Took Some Creative Writing Courses. Then I Decided I Wanted To Become A Novelist.

Writing

School

College

Though I Imagine In Your Case, Trying Not To Fall Just Made You Fall Harder.

Fall

Trying

Imagine

It's Kind Of Depressing, If You Think About It. I Mean, Me Being So Young, And Yet So Cynical And Suspicious.

Depressing

Mean

Thinking

I Just Got A Fortune Cookie That Says "turn Off Your Computer And Read A Book" Which Is Odd Because I'm Writing A Book...on My Computer!

Book

Writing

Fortune Cookie

And Try To Remember What We Discussed, Susannah. A Mediator Is Someone Who Helps Others Resolve Conflicts. Not Someone Who, Er, Kicks Them In The Face.

Helping Others

Trying

Faces

I Just Want To Let You Know That When I Look Into My Future, I See Nothing But You.” That’s What Chaz Had Whispered In My Ear At Some Point During The Wedding Last Night. Then He’d Whispered. “and You’re Not Even Wearing Spanx.

Night

Looks

Ears

Tell Me Jesse, Does She Sigh When You Kiss Her Too

Kissing

Doe

Sigh

But As You Age, You Lose Other, Even More Important Things, Like Friends-hopefully Only Bad Friends, Who Maybe Weren't As Good For You As You Once Thought. With Luck, You'll Be Able To Hang On To Your True Friends, The Ones Who Were Always There For You....even When You Thought They Weren't. Because Friends Like That Are More Precious Then All The Tiaras In The World

True Friend

Bad Friend

Luck

I Don't Do Alcohol. Or Other People's Boyfriends. And Don't You Forget It.

People

Alcohol

Forget

Did You See Him? I Know The Photo Was Grainy, But He Looks Like One Of Those Death Metal Goth Heads, Or Whatever They’re Called. All Dressed In Black With Long Hair I Took Umbrage At My Mother Describing My Boyfriend This Way. John Was The Lord Of The Underworld. How Else Was He Supposed To Dress?

Mother

Hair

Long

My Shoulders Sagged. Really, Is It Too Much To Ask That I Be Able To Come Home From A Long Day Of Work And Relax? Oh, No. I Have To Come Home And Read A Bunch Of Letters Written To The Love Of My Life By His Fiancée, Who, If I Am Correct, Had Him Killed A Hundred And Fifty Years Ago. Then, As If That Is Not Bad Enough, He Wants Me To Explain The Vietnam War.

War

Home

Years

Oh My God, She Said Are You Going To Be Reasonable About This?

Said

Reasonable

Summer Is My Favorite Time To Read Mysteries.

Summer

Mystery

My Favorite

Whoa. If High School Was Suppose To Be The Best Years Of My Life - At Least So Far - I Was Truly Destined To Have A Sucky Adulthood.

School

Years

Best Year

Meet Me Inside The Edge Of The Icepack Penguin Enclosure In At Four Fifteen" She Says, Sounding Just Like Kim Possible. If Kim Possible Ever Asked People To Meet Her Inside A Penguin Enclosures.

People

Four

Fifteen

I Think You Get So Wrapped Up In The Book You're Currently Writing, It's Hard To Think About Anything Else. But I Know As Soon As I'm Done With This Book, I'll Move On To Something Else.

Moving

Book

Writing

I Like 'em Big. And Stupid. Don't Tell My Husband.

Husband

Stupid

Ems

I Used To Draw And Illustrate, But I Don't Do That Anymore Because I Just Like To Write. I Like To Leave The Illustrations To Actual Professional Illustrators.

Writing

Illustration

Used

When I Did See The Story Of Persephone, I Was Really Drawn To It. Persephone, The Goddess Of Spring, Was Kept From Olympus By Her Mother, Demeter, Because Demeter Was Very Worried That The Gods Of Olympus Would Do Something Terrible To Her.

Mother

Spring

Olympus

But Who Wants To Hang Aroundfrat Guys ? I Want To Be With Guys Who Have More On Their Minds Than Where The Next Keg Party Is. I Want To Be With Guys Who Care About Making This World A Better Place-the Way Andrew Does. I Want To Be With Guys Who Know That What's Important Isn't The Size Of A Girl's Waistband But The Size Of Her Heart-like Andrew. I Want To Be With Guys Who Are Able To See Past A Girl's Outward Appearance, And Into Her Soul-like Andrew.

Girl

Party

Heart

Strong Female Characters - Even If They Don't Necessarily Make The Same Decisions That We Might - Make Such Great Narrative Material, Especially When There's An Equally Strong Male Character In The Mix.

Strong

Character

Decision

They Say It’s Always Darkest Until Right Before The Dawn. I’ve Worked On Enough Projects To Know How True This Saying Really Is.

Dawn

Enough

Projects

Life's Not Easy For Unicorns, You Know. We're A Dying Breed.

Dying

Unicorn

Easy

My Mother's Psychologist Says I Have An Overactive Anger Switch, But People Just Keep Pissing Me Off.

Mother

Anger

People

When Something Horrible Happens, It's Human Nature To Want To Blame It On Someone. We Want Someone To Be Held Accountable, Even Though Sometimes Things Just Happen.

Want

Blame

Sometimes

If You're Writing A Screenplay, You Need To Be Prepared To Let Go: There's A Good Chance The Words You Write Aren't Going To Be The Ones That End Up On Screen.

Letting Go

Writing

Needs

Lana Looked At Me Like I’d Just Said I’d Never Watched Bring It On, Or Something.

Said

I Like To Think Of My Books And The Movies Of My Books Living In Two Separate Universes. Each Is Very Nice, But Only One Is Correct - The Book. But That Doesn't Mean You Can't Enjoy The Other Versions, And I Always Do.

Nice

Book

Mean

Anything Can Happen In The Blink Of An Eye. Anything At All. One. Two. Three. Blink.

Eye

Two

Three

Whatever. Boris, Must You Constantly Breathe On Me?

Breathe

I May Have Been Dead For The Past Hundred And Fifty Years, Susannah,...but That Doesn't Mean I Don't Know How People Say Good Night. And Generally, When People Say Good Night, They Keep Their Tongues To Themselves.

Good Night

Mean

Past

I Usually Know Almost Exactly How I Feel. The Problem Is, I Just Can't Tell Anyone.

Problem

Feels

Knows

Oh My God. I Thought I Was Going To Have An Aneurysm Right There In Line. Your Hair Smells Really Good? Your Hair Smells Really Good? Who Did He Think He Was? James Bond? You Don't Tell Someone Their Hair Smells Good. Not In A Mall.

Thinking

Hair

Smell

Lilly Says I Have An Overactive Imagination And A Pathological Need To Invent Drama In My Life.

Drama

Imagination

Needs

But Then I Remembered Something Grandmere Had Once Assured Me Of: No One Has Ever Died Of Embarrassment-never, Not Once In The Whole History Of Time.

Embarrassment

Remembered

Whole

Okay, Yeah, He Staggered Back And Fell Into The Condiments. Big Deal. There Wasn't Any Blood. I Didn't Even Get Him In The Face. He Saw My Fist Coming, And At The Last Minute He Ducked, So Instead Of Punching Him In The Nose, Like I Intended, I Ended Up Punching Him In The Neck. I Highly Doubt It Even Left A Bruise.

Blood

Doubt

Bruises

Because When You Love Something, You Want To Do It All The Time, Even If No One Is Paying You For It. At Least That's How I Felt About Drawing.

Art

Drawing

Want

But I’m Living Proof You Don’t Have To Spend A Lot In Order To Look Great.

Order

Looks

Proof

There Is A Difference Between Listening And Hearing, Just As There Is A Difference Between Seeing And Knowing.

Differences

Knowing

Listening

Weight Doesn’t Matter. It Really Doesn’t. I Mean, It Does If You’re A Model Or Whatever.

Mean

Doe

Weight

Don't Cry." "how Can I Not?" I Asked Him. "you Just Said You Loved Me." "well, Why Else Did You Think All Of This Was Happening?" He Set The Book Aside To Wrap His Arms Around Me. "the Furies Wouldn't Be Trying To Kill You If I Didn't Love You." "i Didn't Know," I Said. Tears Were Trickling Down My Cheeks, But I Did Nothing To Try To Stop Them. His Shirt Was Absorving Most Of Them. "you Never Said Anything About It. Every Time I Saw You, You Just Acted So... Wild." "how Was I Supposed To Act?" He Asked. "you Kept Doing Things Like Throwing Tea In My Face.

Book

Love You

Thinking

In High School, I Was Very Active In Extracurricular Activities Such As Art, Theatre, And Choir. I Also Wrote For The School Newspaper, But Not Regularly, Because I Never Liked Writing Non-fiction Very Much.

Art

School

Writing

Every Seven Miles, In America, There Is At Least One Mcdonald's. Not A Hospital, Mind You, Or A Police Station, But A Mcdonald's, Every Seven Miles. I Mean, That's Sort Of Scary, If You Think About It.

Mean

Thinking

Mcdonalds

But I Guess You Would Look Beatific, Too, If The Man You Had Been In Love With Since The Fifth Grade Had Told You That He Was In Love With You, Too.

Love You

Men

Looks

If You Have To Say “no Offense” To Someone, You Have Already Offended Them.

Offense

Ifs

Offended

I Know. I Seriously Need To Just Give Up Men Entirely. I Wonder If Episcopalians Can Enter Convents?

Giving Up

Men

Needs

I Realized Michael Was Right. I Mean, I Am Always Writing In This Journal. And I Do Compose A Lot Of Poetry, And Write A Lot Of Notes And Emails And Stuff. I Mean, I Feel Like I Am Always Writing. I Do It So Much, I Never Even Thought About It As A Talent. It's Just Something I Do All The Time, Like Breathing.

Writing

Mean

Breathing

The First Thing We Did Was Change All The Clocks So That Her Siblings Thought It Was Bedtime, Then Put Them To Bed Ignoring Their Plaintive Protests That They Were Not Tired. They Wept Themselves To Sleep Soon Enough.

Sibling

Tired

Sleep

You Know In Sixth Grade, When They Made All Of Us Girls Go Into This Other Room And Watch A Video About Getting Our Periods And Stuff? I Bet While We Were Gone, The Boys Were Watching A Video About How To Look At Each Other In That Infuriating Way.

Girl

Boys

Watches

You And Me?” I Let Out A Stunned Bark Of Laughter. “there Is No You And Me.” “that’s What You Think,” Chaz Says, Tugging On His Coat. “and I’ll Be Damned If I’m Going To Wait Around Until You Figure Out That Isn’t True.” “fine,” I Say “i’m Not Asking You To, Am I?” “no.” Chaz Is Smiling… But Not Like He’s Happy. “but You Would If You Had The Slightest Idea What Was Good For You.” And With That, He Yanks Open The Door And Storms Through It, Slamming It Closed Behind Him With Enough Force To Cause The Windowpanes To Rattle. And Then He’s Gone.

Laughter

Thinking

Doors

Didn't Your Mother Ever Tell You," Rob Asked, "that You're Supposed To Play Hard To Get?" I Looked At His Lips. I Probably Don't Need To Tell You That They're Really Nice Lips, Kind Of Full And Strong-looking. "what," I Wanted To Know, "is That Going To Get Me?

Mother

Strong

Nice

I'm A Liar. And I Can't Stop Thinking About Boys.

Liars

Boys

Thinking

I Think We Make Our Own Luck. Our Parents Give Us Life, But What We Do With That Life Is Our Own Responsibility.

Responsibility

Thinking

Giving

However, Because They Have No Actual Interests Of Their Own (or If They Do, They Squelch Them In Order To Fit In) And Merely Pursue Those That They Think Will Look Best On Their College Apps, They're Zombies.

Thinking

College

Order

I Looked Where He Was Tapping. "local Girl Missing, Feared Dead" Beneath It Was A Photo Or Me-my Most Recent School Photo. "oh No." My Heart Filling With Dread, I Took The Paper From Mr. Smith's Hands. "couldn't They Have Found A Better Picture?

Girl

Heart

School

You Know. Life's Short. If You Don't Try New Things, You'll Never Know What You're Best At. And You Can Only Make Time For New Things By Quitting The Things You Know Don't Work For You.

Trying

Quitting

Making Time

High School Sucks. People Who Say Those Were The Best Years Of Your Life - Those People Are Liars... Who Wants The Best Years Of Their Life To Be In *high School*? High School Is Something *everybody* Should Be Ready To Lose.

Liars

School

Best Years Of Your Life

Maybe You Just Saw What You Wanted To See. Or Maybe You Justfelt What You Wanted To Feel.

Saws

Feels

Wanted

This Is Exactly Why Patrick And I Chose Not To Have Children." He Muttered. "so We Would Never Have To Have Conversations Like This. Andy Yet...here I Am?""if You Could Answer The Question," I Said As Politely As I Could, "that Would Be Great. I Really Don't Want To Have A Freaky Demon Baby, And I Can't Imagine John Wants One, Either

Baby

Children

Here I Am

But I Let It Slide, Because, Hello, Hot Guy.

Guy

Slides

Hot

That Hurt Querida, That Really Hurt

Hurt

I've Never Even Been To Long Island

Islands

Long

Long Island

When He Smiled, Something Strange Happened To My Insides. It Was Like They Turned To Liquid.

Liquid

Strange

Happened

All Of My Characters Are A Little Bit Based On People I Know In Real Life. You Know When You Do That You Have To Change The Character A Little Bit In Case Your Friend Or Your Relative Reads The Book, Because You Don't Want Them To Know You Wrote About Them... They Might Get Mad.

Real

Book

Character

Write The Kind Of Story You Would Like To Read. People Will Give You All Sorts Of Advice About Writing, But If You Are Not Writing Something You Like, No One Else Will Like It Either.

Kids

Writing

Giving

This Is Not To Say That I Wasn't Completely Repulsed. I Mean, I Wasn't Exactly Proud That My Stepbrother Was In There Tongue Wrestling With The Second Stupidest Person In Our Class, After Himself.

Mean

Wrestling

Class

You Just Said You Were Sorry." ... "i Was Only Apologizing," He Said Stiffly, "for Startling You. The Applause Was To Compliment You On The Improvement In Your Life-saving Techniques Since The Last Time You-

Sorry

Compliments You

Lasts

Bite Me, Harry Potter.

Potters

Bite Me

Bites

You Know What You Sound Like? A Jealous Girl Friend. And How Are Things On Planet You Wish?

Girl

Jealous

Wish

Someone Hot Is Sometimes Can't Be The Person They Appear To Be- Except For Their Hotness... That Cannot Be Denied.

Hot

Sometimes

Persons

I Stood On Susan Boone's Front Porch, Feeling Lame. But Then, Since I've Pretty Much Felt Lame My Entire Life, This Was No Big Surprise. On The Other Hand, Usually I Felt Lame For No Particular Reason. This Time I Really Had A Reason To Feel Lame.

Hands

Feelings

Lame

So Go Ahead And Make Your Way Back From The Edge Of Yesterday No One Knows What Can't Be Known 'cause When You Start You're All Alone But Take Enough Steps Take Enough Steps Take Enough Steps And Someday Someday You'll Be Home ---heather Wells, Untitled

Home

Yesterday

Heathers

It's Truly Weird How Everyone Just Thinks They Can Bring Me Diet Coke And Everything Will Be Okay. Especially Since It's Pretty Much True.-lizzie Nichols

Thinking

Coke

Okay

If All People Became Ghosts My Social Life Would Be So Over" - Suze Simon In The Mediator

People

Would Be

Ghost

There Are Nice, Funny, Totally Good-looking Guys Out There. You Just Have To Know Where To Look…and Apparently, Where Not To Look.

Nice

Guy

Looks

Even If Vampires Were Stupid. Especially American Vampires. They Hung Out In Places Alaric Himself Would Never Have Gone, Especially If He Were Immortal. Such As High Schools. And Walmart.

Stupid

School

Vampire

I Didn't Even Think About Suggesting He Take The Boots Off. There'd Probably Be A Apocalypse Or Something.

Thinking

Boots

Apocalypse

It Just Goes To Show That What One Person Considers A "bad Attitude" Might Actually Just Be Total Frustration Over Being Pushed Beyond The Brink Of One's Mental And Physical Endurance.

Attitude

Frustration

Endurance

What's A Mediator You Ask? Oh, A Person Who Acts As A Liason Between The Living And The Dead. Hey, Wait A Minute...what're You Doing With That Strait Jacket?-suze Simon's Imagination

Imagination

Waiting

Hey

I Really Wanted To Be Veterinarian, But I Got A 410 On My Math Sats.

Math

Veterinarian

Sat

Why Had I Taken All Those Useless Classes Like Bio And German When I Should Have Been Taking Lipreading?

Taken

Should Have

Class

Michael Has Never Cried During A Broadway Show. Except In That Scene Where Tarzan's Ape Father Is Brutally Murdered. And That Was Only Because He Was Laughing So Hard.

Father

Laughing So Hard

Broadway

Even Though I Loved To Write, I Never Liked English Lit. Class Very Much. I Think It Ruins Books When You Dissect Them Too Much. I Liked My Art Classes Best.

Art

Book

Writing

We Kissed All The Way Through The Fireworks Display. We Didn’t Even Notice That There Was A Fireworks Display… …i Guess Because We’d Been Making Fireworks Of Our Own.

Way

Fireworks

Display

A Wrinkle In Time Is One Of My Favorite Books Of All Time. I've Read It So Often, I Know It By Heart. Meg Murry Was My Hero Growing Up. I Wanted Glasses And Braces And My Parents To Stick Me In An Attic Bedroom. And I So Wanted To Save Charles Wallace From It.

Growing Up

Book

Hero

What Did That Mean? Where Could It Go? He Was A Death Diety. I Was A High School Senior.

Senior

School

Mean

Tell Me What Game Steph Landry And I Used To Play In The Big Dirt Pile They Made While They Were Digging My Family’s Pool, Back When We Were Both Seven, Or I’ll Know You’re An Alien Replacement And You’ve Got The Real Steph Up In Your Mother Ship!” I Glared At Him. “g.i. Joe Meets Spelunker Barbie,” I Said. “and Stop Being So Ridiculous. We Have To Go. We’re Going To End Up At A Bad Table For Lunch.

Mother

Real

Games

Remember, If You Don't Feel Passionate About The Characters And Subject Of Your Story, Your Readers Won't Either.

Character

Stories

Passionate

And Generally, When People Say Good Night, They Keep Their Tongues To Themselves.

Good Night

Night

People

Oh, Jason, I Couldn't Get My Locker Open...i Know, I Tried Twisting It Right, Then Left, But It Wouldn't Budge. I Guess I'm Just Not Strong Enough. Could You Help Me? Please? Oh, Great. Oh, Jason, You're So Strong... Seriously? That Was Me Now? On The Other Hand , A Guy Was Following Me.

Strong

Hands

Guy

Well, Hi, Ceecee," I Said. "hi, Adam. Nice Of You Two To Drop By. Ever Heard Of Knocking?" "oh, Please," Ceecee Said. "why? Because We Might Interrupt You And Your Precious Jesse?" Jesse, Upon Hearing This, Raised His Eyebrows. Way Up.

Nice

Eyebrows

Two

Meg Cabot Is The Best Author Ever

Meg

I Think We're Given Multiple Chances To Meet Multiple Soulmates. Sure, You Could Meet A Soulmate In Highschool. But That Doesn't Mean If You Don't Act On It, You'll Never Meet Anyone Else. You Will, Just At A Time That's More Convenient For You.

Soulmate

Mean

Thinking

So Uncle Stuart Is Marrying That Lady? Mom Says She's Going To Be Our Aunt Amy. She's Okay Except She Would't Try Any Peanut Butter M&m Chocolate Chip Fudge Cookies. They Were Good- You Ate Five, Remember? But She Said She Was On A Special Diet, And Couldn't Eat Something Called Carbs. We Told Her We Didn't Put Any Carbs In Our Cookies, Just M&ms, But She Said M&ms Were Carbs. Uncle Mitch, What's Carbs? Email To Uncle Mitch From Haily And Brittany.

Mom

Uncles

Aunt

I Don't Think He Could Ever Be A Serial Killer. He's Way Too Shy. That Ted Bundy Guy, He Was Pretty Outgoing , From What I Heard. -jess About Doug P. 107

Thinking

Guy

Ted Bundy

In A Way, I Was Incredibly Proud Of Her (not That I Had Any Intention Of Letting It Show While I Was Beating The Crap Out Of Her).

Pride

Proud

Way

This Is How Many People Become Artists, Musicians, Writers, Computer Programmers, Record-holding Athletes, Scientists... By Spending Time Alone Practicing What They Love.

Athlete

Artist

People

When You Feel Like An Outsider - For Whatever Reason - You Spend A Lot Of Time Alone.

Outsiders

Reason

Alone Time

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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