My, my, another tag! How fun! This one comes from Skye Hoffert over at Ink Castles. Go check out her Liebster post. She had some great answers.
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And now on to her questions (which are also great!):
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1. Why do you write?
Because I can’t not write—story is in my bones. Whenever I take a hiatus, by the time it’s over, I am positively itching to get back to writing. But the biggest reason I write is because I believe God planted this seed in me, and I want to develop this gift and use it to glorify Him. Stories are powerful vessels of truth. They pierce the heart like nothing else and deposit eternal treasure there. If I can use a tale to make someone think, to inspire them or give them courage . . . I’ve done my job.
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2. Favorite fictional character this month?
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Ooh, that’s a hard one. I’d have to say Tris, because I just reread Divergent. (Insurgent is waiting quite impatiently on my stack of books to read.) I admire her bravery and identify somewhat with her angsty “what-should-I-choose” moments. Not that I agree with everything she does, but she’s spunky and fascinating, I’ll give her that.
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3. What summer songs are you listening to?
Owl City’s Ocean Eyes: Deluxe Edition, which I just recently bought. His music is perfect for summer! Also Hawk Nelson’s new album, Diamonds. Fun music, encouraging lyrics.
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4. Favorite book you’ve read this month?
Skye, please, are you trying to torture me?? Ahh, fine. Outlaw by Ted Dekker.
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5. What is a movie or TV show you would recommend?
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, for sure. I watched it last year and it impacted me so much. It’s one of those movies that you can’t just walk away from; I sat through the credits and didn’t move for a while after it stopped, reeling from the blow. It’s an incredible portrait of humanity, war, and family. (And yes, I did cry.)
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6. What is your favorite summer activity?
Vacationing with my family and just lazing in the sun with a good book. Oh wait, can I pick two?
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7. What is something you admire about yourself?
My efforts to encourage those around me, or, I suppose, my determination/focus in certain areas.
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8. Favorite Bible verse?
One of my favorites is Isaiah 41:10. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
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9. Do you play video games? If so, what are your favorite games?
No, not really. Or at least, I don’t consider myself a gamer. All those buttons and attacks to remember! I fail epically at anything resembling Super Smash Bros Brawl, for instance. I’m more of an Animal Crossing type of girl. Simple, no frantic fighting . . . But no, I don’t play video games that often.
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10. What is something you’re scared to do?
Jump off a cliff, parachute, swim with sharks, get within a twenty-foot radius of a tarantula . . . Oh, you mean something deep and serious? Okay. Well, some days thoughts about the unknown future can be scary. (Hello there, college/career/BIG LIFE DECISIONS.) But it’s another one of those areas where I’m learning to trust God. His plan for me is far better than anything I can dream up.
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11. What is your goal this month?
May is almost over—where does time go?! But I do have a goal for the remainder of this month, and that is to finish outlining book 2, which I’m about to rewrite. Whether I make that goal or not depends on how many snags I run into during this plotting phase. But here’s hoping that wave after wave of brilliance carries this outline to the smooth, sandy shore of epic story-ness!
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Now ’tis my turn to come up with eleven questions and tag some more bloggers. I’m borrowing a couple of Skye’s questions, but the rest are my own.
1. What’s one of your favorite summer reads?
2. What’s your favorite way to cool off on a hot summer day?
3. What’s a combination of three authors’ “special somethings” that you’d like to emulate in your own writing? (E.g., Tolkien’s worldbuilding, Lewis’s appeal to both children and adults with Narnia, and Bryan Davis’s characters.)
4. What music are you currently listening to?
5. Which superhero (from either Marvel or DC) are you most like?
6. What’s your favorite fantasy creature you’ve ever read about?
7. Chocolate or vanilla?
8. What’s something you admire about yourself?
9. Which do you prefer: writing by hand or typing?
10. If failing was impossible, what would you do?
11. What’s something God has taught you recently, new or rediscovered?
I hereby tag . . . you.
I would be specific, truly I would, but this time around, many of the bloggers I would’ve picked have already been tagged. So I leave it open to all of you reading this! If you’ve never had the Liebster tag, grab it. If you’ve done it too many times to count and want to do it again, grab it. If you suddenly have the urge to answer all 11 questions, or maybe just one or two catch your attention—doesn’t matter. You can snatch any or all of them and do with them as you please. 🙂 Or even just answer some in the comments. I’m curious to see what your responses are!
Oh how fun! I need to do this, too. I'm always so woefully behind on tags. I've got 3 that I know of I've yet to do, but there might be more, who knows! Lol.
Your answers were so much fun! The "Why do you write?" answer was just…*clutches heart* YES. So spot on! Put so beautifully and perfectly. You've put the heart of a writer into words. <333
OWL CITY. OCEAN EYES. *mega ultra fangirl attack* ANY mention of Owl City will turn me into a crazed, flailing, screaming fangirl, just so you know. Because OWL CIIIITYYYY. *FLAILS AND SCREAMS* And Ocean Eyes is probably my favorite of his CDs so far. So much gorgeous! Definitely great summer music!
I've never actually scene The Boy in the Striped Pajamas or read the book. But now that you recommend the movie I'd like to give it a try!
You are absolutely, without a doubt an encourager! <3333 And you're SO focused! I mean, working on one book for what did you say? 7 years running now? So much dedication it blows my mind!!!
Such a good Bible verse, yes!
ANIMAL CROSSING. Oh my goodness! My family has obsessed over those games for years, ever since it first came out in the ancient days of the GameCube. Lol. WHY we love it…I have no idea. You literally do nothing in those games, it's kind of ridiculous. And yet they're addicting. I don't even know…
Smash Bros. is also a big favorite around here!
*raises hand at #10's answer* I'm right there with ya, girl! The future is such a scary place. o.o
Oooh, good luck on your outlining endeavors! 😀 I hope a river of ideas flows swiftly through your mind. 😉 And if you ever need to bounce any ideas/thoughts on me, I'm more than happy to help!
If you can't tell by all my babbling, I really, really enjoyed reading your answers. ;D
You officially win the award for Faithful Commenter. ^^
Hey, you could always combine all the tags into one great big pot of tag soup. 😉
Aww, thanks! It's the beat of my heart, for sure.
*flails and screams with you* OWL CITY. YEEEEESSSS. I've been meaning to buy Ocean Eyes for a couple years already, and finally got around to it…last month, was it? Anyway, SO glad I did! I also love All Things Bright and Beautiful, as well as almost all of Midsummer Station. His sound has changed a bit, but I'm one of the fans that likes both the old AND the new flavor of Owl City. 😀
You should–definitely. It will rip your heart into shreds, but it's entirely worth it because the messages of the movie are so profound. Afterwards, my sister and I reflected that we almost kinda wished we were in that period of time so that we could DO something about the injustice. (Not that we actually wished to live through those horrors; more that we wished that we could go out and change things. But it's the past, so…)
*huggles you and all the sunshine* <333 Yes, it's been seven years with this series thus far. Hey, seven's a good number! 🙂 It will pay off someday!
That one's been such an encouragement to me.
LOL, that's hilarious! My siblings and I all have a copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World. I agree, it's totally pointless…and somehow you still want to play it. 😛 Crazy.
(I fail so bad at Smash Bros. After the first try or two, I just decided to enjoy watching other people play. XD)
*links arms and faces future resolutely*
Thank you! I actually *do* have something to bounce off you, so expect an email! 🙂 And thank you!
Really? I feel special. ^_^ I've been thinking that I've been doing too many tag-type things, and that I should start offering more "meaty" posts, with original thoughts and more in-depth topics. Got a few things percolating, so we'll see. But thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Christine! 😀
Thanks for doing the tag!I love your answer for the first question. There was just something poetic about it, simply beautiful. Owl City and Hawk Nelson, I love both of those things. Yes, I was trying to torture you Muawha ha… I haven't read anything by Ted Decker in a while, perhaps I should amend that. I didn't cry, because I used to never cry during movies, but that show did move me emotionally. I felt affected by it, in a good way it made me think. Love that verse :). My friend plays Animal Crossing it is so cute. I have been in a 20 foot radius with a tarantula, I wouldn't recommend it. The future is so scary, I think that is the scariest thing I have had to face in my own life. I hope you reach your goals, writing goals I find are the hardest.
Well thank YOU for tagging me! 😀 Owl City is the best, and Hawk Nelson is also fantastic. (I wasn't a fan until "Made" came out. But then I was hooked.) YES, go read something by Ted Dekker. All of his novels are powerhouses of intensity and amazing themes. Some are creepier then others…
Yes, exactly, that movie just makes you think so much. I need to go watch it again sometime.
Ewww, tarantulas… *shivers*
I know, that feeling of uncertainty can be a really scary thing. I'm so glad that God sees it all and has a plan!
Thanks, Skye! Progress is going well. 🙂 And thanks again for the tag! It was a lot of fun!
I LOVE your blog, Tracey! ;D
And tarantulas aren't that scary. They move about a half-inch an hour. My sister made one mad once by petting it and it was a grumpy old bald thing and waved its front legs at her. They're only dangerous when they hurl their hair at you, which I haven't heard of happening up here before.
You're awesome! ;D And I totally believe what you said about God giving you your gift!
-Elphie
*beams* ^___^
Half inches are comforting. But ELPHIE, WHAT IN THE WORLD. THAT IS GROSS. A grumpy old bald thing?! 😛 I'm making faces right now. Blegh. Although that word picture is also kind of funny… XD I know they're not dangerous, but I just find them kind of yucky. It's weird, isn't it? Spiders are (usually!) so much smaller than humans, yet many of us find them frightening.
Thanks so much!!! You're awesome too, Elphie. <333
These are some cool facts! I feel the same way about writing. I can't stop. XD I've already went down the rabbit hole and I can't back out now. Yay! Owl City! 😀 I love Owl City! He's one of my top two favorite artists. Between him and Of Monsters and Men lol. Awesome for writing goals! Write write write! I currently have to write 8,200 in three days to reach my goal. XD Happy writing!
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
Thanks! Yeah, if I ever quit, I think I would be…depressed or liable to explode. One or the other. XD I've never heard of Of Monsters and Men, but yay for Owl City!! I wish you luck on your writing goal! That's a sizable chunk to complete. Happy writing to you as well!
I like your post!
(I don't know what else to say… so byes!!!)
-Cece
LOL, thanks, sis. 😉