Writing Used To Be My Hobby, But Now That It's My Job, I Have No Hobby - Except Watching Tv And Laying Around The Pool Reading 'u.s. Weekly.' I Have Tried Many Hobbies, Such As Knitting, Pilates, Ballet, Yoga, And Guitar, But None Of Them Have Taken.

-Meg Cabot

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Writing Used To Be

Meg Cabot

Topic

Jobs

Yoga

Taken

More From Meg Cabot

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

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

People

Alcohol

Forget

I Was The Kind Of Kid Who Couldn't Really Stop Making Up Stories During Class. I Didn't Do Very Well Academically Because I Was Always Drawing These Little Doodles In The Margins Of My Notebooks And I Wasn't Bringing Home The Best Grades.

Notebook

Home

Kids

Sorry, Bex," Jason Said "you Don't Have The Recognizable Facial Characteristics - Such As A Huge Chin, Or A Large Amount Of Real Estate Between The Eyes - That Would Merit The Bestowing Of A Criminal Mastermind Nickname Such As Lockjaw Or Walleye. Whereas Crazytop Here...well, Just Look At Her." "atleast I Can Blow-dry My Hair Straight," I Pointed Out. "which Is More Than What I Can Say For Your Nose, Hawkface.

Sorry

Real

Eye

I Love Jezebel.com For The Latest On Fashion, Style, And Celebrity Gossip. I Also Love Gawker.com For New York Celebrity Sightings, And Galleycat.com And Trashionista.com For Book News.

Fashion

New York

Book

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

Whatever. Boris, Must You Constantly Breathe On Me?

Breathe

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

Said

Reasonable

I Didn’t Know What I Was Supposed To Say About That, So I Just Said, "wow

Wow

Said

Knows

I'll Put A Bullet Through My Own Brain. Let Alone Wait For Stark To Do It. Your Sister Will Drive Me To It, Howard. No Offense.

Waiting

Brain

Bullets

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

Why Can't You Just Get Married In Las Vegas Like Normal Americans?

Vegas

Las Vegas

Normal

There Was A Dj Who Stayed Up For Eleven Days Straight, The Longest-recorded Period Of Time Anyone Has Ever Gone Without Sleep, And He Started Playing Nothing But Crosby, Stills And Nash, And That's How They Knew It Was Time To Call The Ambulance.

Sleep

Gone

Eleven

Every Moment Away From You Feels Like Time Spent In A Sort Of Cell. I Can Think Of Nothing, Dream Of Nothing, But You. Unfortunately, I Will Have To Remain In My Self-inflicted Prison A Bit Longer, Since Work Will Keep Me From Meeting You Tonight. I Can't Seem To Find A Way To Avoid This... However, I Hope This Gift Will Make Up For My Unforgivable Behavior. I Saw This And Though Of You, And St. George. You Have Slain The Dragon. Until We Meet Again, I Am Your Lucien.

Dream

Thinking

Dragons

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

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

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

Hands

Perfect

Mankind

Sleepy Pulled The Car To A Stop In Front Of This Paved Entranceway, Which Was Flanked On Either Side By These Enormous Palm Trees, Kind Of Like The Polynesian Resort At Disney World. In Fact, The Whole Place Had Kind Of A Disney Feel To It. You Know, Really Big, And Kind Of Modern And Fake.

Car

Fake

Tree

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

Oh, That's Just Great. I Come All The Way Back Here, Risking Major Brain Cell Burnout, And You Don't Even Believe Me? I'm Basically Guaranteeing Myself A Lifetime Of Heartbreak, And All You Have To Say Is That You Think I'm Not Right In The Head?

Believe

Thinking

Cells

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

There's Nothing Secret About It. Everyone Knows That I Am Waiting For My Real Parents, The King And Queen, To Come Restore Me To My Rightful Throne.

Kings

Queens

Real

Why Does Anyone Commit Murder?' He Asked In A Low Voice. 'i-'i Blinked.'how Should I Know?' 'three Reasons,' Christopher Said. He Held Up One Finger. 'love.' Another Finger. 'revenge.' And Finally, A Third Finger. 'profit...

Revenge

Voice

Doe

Home. Wow. I’m Already Calling It Home. Well, Isn’t That What Any Place Is? Any Place That You Share With Someone You Love, I Mean?

Home

Mean

Calling

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

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

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

Guy

Slides

Hot

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

Maybe Nobody Has A Right To Tell Anybody To Shut Up. Maybe This Is How Wars Get Started, Because Someone Tells Someone Else To Shut Up, And Then No One Will Apologize.

War

Apologizing

Shut Up

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

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

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

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.

Safety

Wrecks

Due Date

Nikki "brandon's Never Hurt Anyone. He's Competely Sweet And Adorable." I Choked A Little On The Sip Of Sparkling Water I'k Just Swallowed. If Brandon Was Sweet And Adorable, I Was Satan's Bride.

Sweet

Hurt

Adorable

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

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

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

So Take My Advice: Whatever You Do? Don’t Blink

Advice

Blink

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

Saws

Feels

Wanted

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

See? Anger Can Be Healthy. When The Time Comes–and It Will Come–remember That. And What I Said. Embrace Your Powers–love Yourself The Way Nature Made You, And You Will Prevail. Always.

Love Yourself

Healthy

Way

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

Problem

Feels

Knows

My Heart Is Broken. It Really Is. All The Signs Are There. I Can't Sleep- Not Even Burgers. Every Time The Phone Rings, My Pulse Leaps... But It's Never For Me, It's Never Him.

Heart

Sleep

Phones

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

I Might Look Like A Honey-eyed Schoolgirl On The Outside, In My Skirt With Its Regulation Four-inches-above-the-knee Hem. But I'll Rip Those Tassels Off Your Shoes, Old Man. Just Try Googling Me.

Rip

Men

Shoes

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

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 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

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

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

Me: “ngh” Cal: “well Put.” ...... Every Boy's Got One

Boys

Wells

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

Taken

Should Have

Class

I Realized That Life Is So Short: Why Waste One Minute Of It Worrying What Other People Think Or Say About You, Or What Score You Got On Some Test? Why Not Believe What You Want To Believe, And Do What You Love?

Believe

Thinking

Worry

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

Husband

Stupid

Ems

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

Kissing

Doe

Sigh

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

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

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

Hormones Are Very Powerful Things. We Are Helpless In Their Wake.

Powerful

Hormones

Very Powerful

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

Speak English

Doe

Language

Who-who Are You?" Seth Asked, Hesitantly."wh-what Do You Want?" How Else Was Was I Supposed To Reply? The Words Were Out Of My Mouth Before I Could Stop Them.i Mean, I'd Only Seen The Movie Like Seventeen Times. "i'm Luke Skywalker," I Said. "i'm Here To Rescue You.

Mean

Want

Mouths

There’s No Accountability Anymore, Pierce, No One Holds Anyone Accountable For What They Do. It’s Always Someone Else’s Fault. Usually People Just Blame The Victim.

People

Accountability

Faults

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

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

Jesse, This Is Craig. Craig, Jesse. You Two Should Get Along. Jesse's Dead, Too.

Two

Should

Suze Simon

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

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

Escape From The Realm Of The Dead Is Impossible. She's Not Dead. Not This Time.

Impossible

Realms

Honey, Some Boys Stopped By To See You. They Had Wood.

Boys

Honey

Woods

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady

Heart

Cowardice

Faint Of Heart

Anybody Can Be A Princess. All You Have Todo Is Have The Right Parents. It's No Harder Than Being Born Paris Hilton, For God's Sake. At Least You Remember To Put On Underwear In The Morning, I'm Assuming

Morning

Princess

Paris

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

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

I Wonder What It's Like To Live In Tinaville. I Get The Feeling It's Very Shiny There.

Feelings

Wonder

We Were A Very Funny Family. Humour Was The Tool With Which My Brother And I Tried To Get Attention. We Were Always Trying To Be The Funniest.

Brother

Always Trying

Funny Family

Lana Says J.p. Makes Matt Damon From The Bourne Movies Look Like Oliver From Hannah Montana

Looks

Montana

Damon

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

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

It’s My Own Fault, Really. For Believing In Fairy Tales. Not That I Ever Mistook Them For Actual Historical Fact, Or Anything. But I Did Grow Up Believing That For Every Girl, There’s A Prince Out There Somewhere. All She Has To Do Is Find Him. Then It’s On With The Happily Ever After. So You Can Only Imagine What Happened When I Found Out. That My Prince Really Is One. A Prince. No, I Really Mean It. He’s An Actual Prince.

Girl

Growing Up

Believe

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

The Brave May Not Live Forever, But The Cautious Do Not Live At All.

Stay Strong

Courage

Business

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

Real

Book

Unrequited Love

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

Save Your Rejections So That Later When You Are Famous You Can Show Them To People And Laugh.

Funny

Motivation

Sea

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

I'm Sorry, Heather, But Everything Was Not Just Fine Before I Got Here. You Know How I Know That? Because You're Dead. Okay? You Are Dead. Dead People Don't Have Lockers, Or Best Friends, Or Boyfriends. You Know Why? Because They're Dead.-suze Simon

Sorry

People

Heathers

Remember... Life Is Short. Each Moment You Have Is Precious. Treasure Every Second. Don't Spend Them Doing Anything You Don't Love.

Life Is Short

Treasure

Remember

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

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

I Thought You'd Like It," He Said, Seeming Hurt. "you Look Very Pretty.

Hurt

Looks

Said

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

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

Being True

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

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

Upset

Noise

Loud

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

War

World

Tabloids

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

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

People

Would Be

Ghost

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

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

Drama

Imagination

Needs

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

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

Lovely

Doe

Coke

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

Character

Stories

Passionate

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

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 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

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

„everyone Wants To Believe That There’s Something Else – Something Great – Waiting For Them On The Other Side. Paradise. Valhalla. Heaven. Their Next – Hopefully Less Horrible – Life.

Believe

Waiting

Heaven

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

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

No Matter How Nice The Company One Might Be With, However, It Is Never Pleasant To Have A Rifle Pointed At One's Back.

Nice

Rifles

Meg

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

Liars

Boys

Thinking

It Was Considerably Larger Than A Knife Hilt.

Knives

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

Offense

Ifs

Offended

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

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

We Can All Agree That First Loves Can Be A Scary Thing, And That Growing Up Is Hard To Do.

Growing Up

First Love

Scary

Chaz Looks Me Dead In The Eye And Says, 'why Yes, Lizzie. I’m Manically Depressed Because The Girl I’ve Finally Realized I’ve Always Been In Love With, And Who I Was Beginning To Think Just Might Love Me Back, Turned Around And Got Herself Engaged To My Best Friend, Who, Frankly, Doesn’t Deserve Her. Does That Answer Your Question?

Girl

Eye

Thinking

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

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

Have You Tried This Shrimp? It's Freaking Amazing. Would You Get Away From Me? I Hate You. You're So Moody. Just Because I Kidnapped You And Tried To Force You To Be My Girlfriend. I Thought You Would Be Over That By Now.

Girlfriend

Hate

Would Be

Look, Mr. Uh, Wulf I Appreciate Your Trying To Warn Me About This, Ireally Do. But There's No Such Thing As Vampires. They're Made-up. We Writers Made Them Up. I'm Sorry We Did Such A Good Job That We Made The Whole World Paranoid, But It's True. They're Fictional. Blame Bram Stoker. He Started It.

Jobs

Sorry

Appreciate

You'll Blow Up A Helicopter, But You Won't Go Out With Me? What Is Wrong With You?

Relationship

Blow

Helicopters

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

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

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

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

Courage Is Not The Absence Of Fear But Rather The Judgement That Something Is More Important Than Fear; The Brave May Not Live Forever But The Cautious Do Not Live At All.

Brave

Forever

Judgement

You Know Your Lamborghini Is On Fire, Right?

Fire

Lamborghini

Knows

My Original Inspiration Was My Mom: A Few Years After The Death Of My Dad, She Started Dating One My Teachers!

Mom

Teacher

Dad

I Lay There In My Black Slip Dress And Wondered If I Ought To Have Worn Pants. I Mean, Who Knew What I Was Going To Find Up There? What If I Had To Do Some Climbing? People Might See My Underwear.

Mean

Climbing

People

When I Was A Kid, I Had A Couple Of Really Good Friends, Like Some Really Good Best Friends, But I Was Really Shy Other Than That.

Couple

Kids

Good Friend

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

Emerson:bite Me Whitne:you Wish

Wish

Bite Me

Bites

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

Zach Had Rushed Down To Rescue Me Without Remembering To Put A Shirt On...maybe I Had Died And Gone To Heaven.

Heaven

Gone

Remember

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

I Wish I Had Taken Spanish Instead Of French In High School. I Could Eavesdrop On A Lot More Conversations On The Subway If I Knew Spanish.

Taken

School

Wish

If Kisses Were What You Were Looking For, Little Fool, Why Didn't You Come To Me? Quoted By Susannah Simon

Kissing

Littles

Fool

She Hadn't Slain The Dragon. Not At All. She Hoped No One Ever Would.

Dragons

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

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

Looks Can Be Deceiving.

Looks

Deceiving

Dear Mia, What Can I Say? I Don't Know All That Much About Romance Novels, But I Think You Must Be The Stephen King Of The Genre. Your Book Is Hot. Thanks For Letting Me Read It. Anyone Who Doesn't Want To Publish It Is A Fool. Anyway, Since I Know It's Your Birthday, And I Also Know You Never Remember To Back Anything Up, Here's A Little Something I Made For You. It Would Be A Shame If Ransom My Heart Got Lost Before It Ever Saw The Light Of Day Because Your Hard Drive Crashed. See You Tonight. Love, Michael

Kings

Book

Heart

It's Simple, Really," Alaric Wulf Said. " Lucien Antonescu Is The Prince Of Darkness." Jon Nodded. "yeah," He Said. "we Know. He's Got A Castle And Stuff.

Simple

Darkness

Castles

It's What's Known As An Origin Myth. What Happened To Me? That's No Myth.

Myth

Happened

Known

I Thought About Telling Him The Truth: 'oh, Nothing. Just Having My Soul Exorcised So I Can Roam Around Purgatory, Looking For The Ghost Of The Dead Cowboy Who Used To Live In My Bedroom.

Cowboy

Soul

Ghost

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

Nice To Know I Have That Effect On Boys. I Mean, Christopher Doesn't Even Know I Exist, And Brandon Stark Practically Throws Up When He Sees Me. Having My Brain Transplated Into A Supermodel's Body Was Doing Wonders For My Love Life.

Nice

Love Life

Mean

No Offense, But If You Want To Be With My Niece, You Should Think About Getting A Haircut. My Mother Is Very Conservative.” “no Offense Taken,” John Said Mildly.

Mother

Niece

Taken

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

For Each Book, I Do End Up Making A Kind Of Playlist To Fit The Characters.

Book

Character

Kind

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

Senior

School

Mean

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

Mom

Forever

Looks

It’s Only By Studying The Mistakes Of The Past,” Lucien Said Mildly, “that We Can Even Have A Future

Mistake

Past

Study

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

If It Turned Out Brandon Stark Also Likes To Dress Up As Strwberry Shortcake While Playing Croquet With His Miniture Pony Collection, I Totally Wouldn't Be Surprised Anymore.

Dresses

Ponies

Likes

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

You’re Not A One Hundred Dollar Bill, Not Everyone Is Going To Like You.

Dollar Bills

Dollars

Like You

It’s One Thing To Protect Yourself,” Dad Yelled At Me During Our Very Next Lunch. “that I Get. Have I Ever Told You Not To Defend Yourself? No. But Did You Have To Permanently Maim Him? I Spent All That Money On That On That Fancy School For Girls-not To Mention All That Money For The Shrinks-and What Did That Get Me?” I Shrugged. “a Seven-figure Civil Suit?

Girl

Dad

School

I Love The Princess Diaries Series! Do You?

Princess

Diaries

Princess Diaries

You Know," I Said, Holding My Ground. "i Gotta Tell You. The Goatee Thing? Yeah, Way Over. And You Know A Little Jewelry Really Does Go A Long Way. Just Something You Might Want To Consider. I'm Actually Glad You Stopped By, Because I Have A Couple Things I've Been Meaning To Say To You. Number One, About Your Wife? Yeah, She's A Skank. And Number Two, You Know That Whole Thing Where You Killed Jesse And Then Buried His Remains Out Back There? Yeah, Way Un-cool.

Couple

Two

Numbers

I Don't Give Books As Gifts. Books Are Extremely Personal, And I Would Hate To Give Someone A Book That They Don't Like Or Want, Because It Would Break My Heart If They Didn't Read It.

Hate

Book

Heart

You Can't Be Friends With Someone Who's In Love With You If You Don't Love That Person Back The Same Way.

Love You

Way

Persons

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

Order

Littles

Firsts

What Is The Sound Of One Hand Clapping? What Is The Weight Of A Single Grain Of Sand? The Answer Is Equal To My Interest In The Message You Are About To Leave. So Make It Short.

Hands

Voice

Sound

You Want A Happy Romantic Relationship? Don’t Ruin It By Getting Married.

Want

Ruins

Married

Susannah." My Dance Partner's Breath Was Soft Against My Cheek. "susannah...." Yeah. In My Dreams. In Real Life, The Voice Calling My Name Wasn't A Bit Masculine. That's Because It Belonged To A Twelve-year-old Boy.

Dream

Real

Boys

Summer Is My Favorite Time To Read Mysteries.

Summer

Mystery

My Favorite

Great. Now I Was Starting To Get Jealous Of Myself.

Jealous

Starting

Get Jealous

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

Breakfast

Soda

Six

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

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

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

Hope Springs Eternal, Even In The Heart Of A Fat Girl.

Girl

Spring

Heart

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

It's Just That The Times I'm Wrong Don't Register In Your Memory With As Much Clarity As The Times I'm Right.

Memories

Clarity

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

Fall

Trying

Imagine

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

Being Brave Is When You Have To Do Something Because You Know It Is Right, But At The Same Time, You Are Afraid To Do It, Because It Might Hurt Or Whatever. But You Do It Anyway.

Strength

Hurt

Bravery

Meg Cabot Is The Best Author Ever

Meg

They've Arrested Sebastian! For M-murder! You've G-got To Stop Them! He D-didn't Do It! He Can't Have Done It! He Doesn't Believe In Murder! He's A V-vegetarian!

Believe

Done

Vegetarian

Jesse, Who Had Not Stirred The Whole Time From The Spot He'd Been Standing, Confident I Could Handle Cheryl Myself, Was Grinning. "it's Every Girl's Dream To Guy To Go To Prom With The Guy She Loves?" He Echoed, Not Just One, But Both Inky Black Eyebrows Raised. "don't Start With Me," I Said. I Tried To Hide My Suddenly Flaming Cheeks By Scraping Away What Was Left Of The Cannolis, And Replacing Them With The Contents Of An Upended Bag Of Chocolate Chip Cookies. "i Have Things To Do.

Girl

Dream

Eyebrows

I Was Too Lazy To Start A Whole New Story, So I Just Stuck A Princess Into The Story I Was Working On... And The Princess Diaries Was Born!

Princess

Lazy

Diaries

Hasn’t Anyone Ever Told You,” Jesse Asked, In A Semi-amused Voice, “ That A Gentleman Never Lays A Hand On A Lady?” Which I Thought Was Kind Of Funny, Considering Where Jesse Had Had His Hand The Last Time I’d Seen Him. But I Thought It Better To Let That Slide.

Hands

Voice

Gentleman

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

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

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

Writing

Editors

Effort

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

I Look Around For A Conveniently Loaded Pistol.sadly, There Doesn't Seem To Be One Available, So I Have No Choice But To Answer The Question. - Queen Of Babble Gets Hitched

Queens

Choices

Looks

This Was Something You Had To Work Through On You Own," Jason Said. "besides, I Knew You'd Do The Right Thing." "oh, Right," I Said. I Wanted To Throw Something At Him. I Really Did. "and If I Hadn't?" Now Jason Brandished Something He'd Been Holding Behind His Back. It Was A Golf Club. "i Figured Big Bertha Here Would Drive Them Away," He Said.

Golf

Clubs

Jason

I’ve Never Enjoyed Myself More Than I Have The Past Forty-eight Hours, During Which I’ve Been Trapped In A Car With One Of The Worst Drivers I’ve Ever Seen, Run Up The Spanish Steps And Then Down Again So I Could Be On Time To Wait In Line To Perjuer Myself At The American Consulate. And I’d Like To Continue Doing Those Sorts Of Thing With You On A Regular Basis For The Foreseeable Future.

Running

Past

Eight

It’s So Much Easier To Walk Away Than It Is To Have To Explain To Someone That You Never Want To See Them Again.

Want

Easier

Walks

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

Hey," Dopey Said When I Was Finished Reading. "how Come They Never Mentioned Me? I'm The One Who Found The Skeleton." "oh, Yeah," Sleepy Said In Disgust. "your Role Was Really Crucial. After All, If It Wasn't For You, The Guy's Skull Might Still Have Been Intact.

Reading

Skeletons

Skulls

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

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

I Think If I Hadn't Been A Writer, I'd Have Been A Teacher Like My Dad. He Was A College Professor, And One Of My Greatest Regrets Is That He Passed Away Before I Was Able To Prove To Him That I Wasn't Going To Be Stuck Working At Rax Roast Beef For The Rest Of My Life!

Teacher

Dad

Regret

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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