Tales of Goldstone Wood

(posted both here and on The Worldsmith's Shelf)

Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Imrelda rose and turned. "My prince?"

"I am here." Aethelbard stepped into the room. His clothing was worn and burned, his face lined with care. "I have come for my sword."
--Heartless

Princess Una of Parumvir has finally come of age and eagerly awaits the suitors who will come for her hand. But when the 12-Year Market brings Prince Aethalbard of Farthestshore out of Goldstone Wood, she is drawn into a greater adventure than she could have imagined.

Rejecting Aethalbard's proposal, she instead turns her attention to Leonard the jester, who turns out to be more than he seems. But when Parumvir falls under attack, Una must choose whether to accept the Dragon's kiss or call upon someone greater than herself.

As much as I love this story, I would classify it as fairy-tale, in the vein of George MacDonald, rather than fantasy, because of the dreamlike quality of the Wood and the nature of the plot. Not that it in any way reduces the beauty of the story--but some of the mysteries are more easily accepted if seen through that lens.

“Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart." C. S. Lewis's quote on the Lord of the Rings could equally apply to this book and all the Tales of Goldstone Wood (currently three, with a fourth releasing in November) Some of the scenes, like the quote listed above, stabbed with a cold, wild longing, what C.S. Lewis would call Northernness. Aethelbard is wonderfully mysterious and beautiful, and Una is so realistically drawn that I find myself sympathizing with her, where I might have been exasperated with others.

Veiled Rose

Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man’s blood with cold.

The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
`The game is done! I’ve won! I’ve won!’
Quoth she, and whistles thrice

Includes spoilers for Heartless

Along with Death-in-Life, the mighty Dragon from Heartless, readers also encounter his sister, the feared Lady Life-in-Death. While her brother grants his victims a life little better than death, she gives them all their dreams, but in such a way it proves worthless. "All yours come to me in the end," the Dragon says to the Lady. These figures, inspired by "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," prove critical to understanding the events of Veiled Rose, as well as throwing a further light on Heartless.

Readers finally learn the story of Prince Lionheart and his bargain with the Dragon on the day Southlands burned and what led him to that choice. When eleven years old and living at Hill House for the summer, he meets a veiled girl Rose Red, who is torn between dreams of the Dragon and the voice of her Imaginary Friend and lives alone on the mountain with her nanny goat Beana. When he sees her again, years later, her father is dead, so Lionheart takes her into his service to care to her. When the Dragon attacks, he escapes, but Rose Red begs to go back and care for his fiancee Daylily and the rest of his family.

Rose Red has a cameo appearance in Heartless, but not by name. Hidden behind her veils, her fierce devotion to Lionheart and her stubbornness sharply distinguish her from Una, but the mystery makes her intriguing and adds ambiguity to the Dragon's temptations. But her story, unlike Una's, doesn't end in her first book.

Moonblood

“I'll never tell you to stop loving. You see, I believe in hopeless love. Oh yes. I believe in it with all my heart, though you may discount the heart of an old nanny like me. For real love brings pain. Real love means sacrifices and hurts and all the thousand shocks of life. But it also means beauty, true beauty.

--Beana

(Minor spoilers for Heartless and Moonblood)

After five years under the Dragon's rule, Lionheart's return to Southlands is viewed with suspicion, especially with Rose Red at his side. When he banishes her to the Wilderlands, he unknowingly condemns her to return to the goblin realms, where enchantment veils the the truth. Eventually, compelled by guilt, he enters the realms in an attempt to atone for his wrong. But it will take more strength than he has to enter the lost realm.

I'll be honest, I did a lot of internal yelling during this book. Felix forgets his promise to Dame Imraldera (and ends up in deep trouble because of it); Lionheart refuses to admit his wrongs, and Rose doesn't admit she needs help, especially Lionheart's. But at the same time, all the yelling was because I loved them and didn't want them to suffer. Another great aspect of this story was all the aspects of Goldstone Wood we learn more about--enough to whet my appetite for Starflower, out this fall.

Follow Anne Elisabeth Stengl at her blog or Facebook .

One Hundred And One

My last post was number 100 on this blog. Afraid I can't host any giveaways or such, but I do have one bit of exciting news...I got a fanfic recommendation online. See the details here:

Companion Crossover

There's a lot of tag-games where you name twelve characters and answer questions based on the numbers. Well, I thought I'd do one for the Doctor's companions.
1. Susan Foreman

2. Jamie

3. Sarah Jane Smith

4. Leela

5. Nyssa of Traken

6. Peri Brown

7. Ace

8. Grace

9. Rose Tyler

10. Donna Noble

11. Rory Williams (Pond)

12. River Song

Here we go...
1) Would 6 or 11 make a better college professor?
I think Rory would be better than Nyssa, just because she's so soft-spoken.

2) Is 2 nice?
From what I've seen in "War Games" and "The Two Doctors," yes.

3) 12 sends 8 on a mission; what is it and does he succeed?

River Song sends Grace to write "Hello Sweetie" on the Millennial Clock. Grace succeeds, but it doesn't mean anything to the Eighth Doctor at the time.

4)What is Nine's favorite book?
"Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs: Tales of the Big Bad Wolf"

5)Would it make more sense for 2 to swear fealty to 6, or vice versa?
Jamie would try to swear fealty to Peri, but she'd burst his eardrums quickly.

6) 5 is looking for a roommate: should he room with 9 or 10?
Nyssa would actually prefer Donna over Rose, because Donna would remind her of Tegan.

7) 3, 7, 12 are going out for dinner. What happens?
Sarah Jane Smith goes out for dinner with Ace and River Song when aliens attack. Ace and River take out half of them with Nitro-9 and laser pistol, but Sarah Jane convinces the survivors to leave Earth alone.

8)3 challenges 10 to a duel. Who would win?

If Sarah Jane and Donna dueled, it would probably become a discussion about how the Doctor annoys them sometimes.

9) If 1 stole 8's most prized possession, how would he get it back?
Susan stole what from Grace? This is impossible on multiple levels, but if I must...Susan stole Grace's diploma while searching for information about her grandfather, but she never gets it back.

10) Suggest a story title in which 7 and 12 achieve their desire?

Time Lords at Last--yes, they were going to make Ace into a Time Lord in the classic series. And then the hiatus happened.

11) What kind of plot device would you use to get 1 and 4 to work together?

Leela and Susan lead the invasion against the Daleks in the last great Time War.

12) How would it go if 7 visited you for a week?

If Ace visited me for the weekend, she'd probably break the minivan and the trampoline on the first day, and then ...goodness knows.

13) If you could command 3 to perform any service for you, what would it be?

Tell me stories about the Doctor, Sarah Jane. And take me on one of your adventures. Please! I'd love to blow up a Slitheen.

14) Does 11 like to write or draw?

I don't know. Rory had plenty of time while guarding the Pandorica, so probably.

15) If 2 had to decide between 4 and 5, what would he choose?
It depends on the situation. Jamie would be more likely to defend Nyssa, but he'd want Leela by his side in a fight.

16) What might 10 say while charging into battle?

Oye, you, shutup. Donna Noble here, best temp in Chiswick.

17) What song would best describe 8?
Starman by David Bowie is a good song for Grace.

18) A good pickup line from 2 to 10?
Goodness, I don't want to think about how Donna's brashness would respond to any of Jamie's polite ways.

19) What would 5 be arrested for?
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or possibly carrying infectious diseases after she (Nyssa) is left at the leper colony.

20) If 11 and 9 were racing, who would get there first?
Rory has taken the slow path once, but he's also determined, so he'd probably defeat Rose.

21) What is the lowest point of 1's story?
When her grandfather leaves her in ruined London with her boyfriend.

22) 1 and 9 team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's secret organization. 11 volunteers to help them, but they learn he's actually 4's spy. Meanwhile, 4 has kidnapped 12 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following 5's advice, they seek out 3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fic?

So, Susan and Rose team up against Leela's secret organization. Rory volunteered to help, but he's actually Leela's spy. Following Nyssa's advice, they seek out Sarah Jane Smith, who enables them to save the day. First of all, why would LEELA have a secret organization? She's much more a to-your-face enemy. But if she did, I'd call it Children of Time: Cain and Abel

The Best of Me: Jack Harkness

If I had my way, I'd strike Jack from the record after Empty Child/Doctor Dances. I'd even settle for his disappearance after the season one finale. And the reason for this extreme distaste?

Jack flirts with everything. Like, everything. I don't watch Doctor Who for the romance in the first place, and every time Jack reappears, I feel like it slips into a reality dating show for a little bit--even if the Doctor immediately tells him to knock it off. Jack has to be the only man who can make "Hello" sound dirty.

To be fair, he doesn't seem the sort to force himself on anybody--but that hardly makes it better. Of all the new series companions, he's the only one I would REFUSE to travel in the TARDIS with. I mean, some I'd like better than others. But if the Doctor showed up with Captain Jack in toe and invited me in, I'd say. "Him or me."

I haven't watched Torchwood (although I'm more tempted since the demise of SJA) and the general sexing up of the Whoniverse disgusts me.

Fanfic Recommedation

A Good Man and A Better Bullet by me

Jack should really be more careful with this new version of the Doctor. Sex-free crackfic

Elisabeth Sladen: the autobiography

As related here , I went through a lot to find a copy of this book, but when I finally bought it, I thought it well-worth the effort. The foreward by David Tennant is touchingly honest and makes certian scenes in School Reunion even more heartwarming. Because of how the filming went, Sladen was at the first block of Tennant's readthroughs. And Tennant's last appearance as the Doctor was on Sladen's show, the Sarah Jane Adventures. How cool was that?

The biography itself is also well-written, detailing her early career in theatre before landing a few TV roles that eventually led to her best-known role: Sarah Jane Smith, companion to the Third and Fourth Doctors (and eventually, Tenth and Eleventh).

Some of the stories are hilarious and others heartwarming, whether about Classic, New or Sarah Jane Adventures. Some of the lines are harsher in hindsight, especially the ones about the future of the Sarah Jane Adventures. Keep a box of tissues handy, but I recommend this to any and all Whovians.

Just as a sample, I'll post a few paragraphs from the book.

"You know, Elisabeth, ” he said as we drove down one Surry street, “We
could probably knock on any one of these houses and ask to watch their
television.”
I laughed. He was probably right, but I didn’t expect him to try and prove it.Suddenly, he leapt up and stagged down the aisle towards the driver.
The next thing I knew, the coach had pulled over and half a dozen of us were
marching up to a random front door.
“Are you sure about this, Tom?” I giggled.
“Oh yes,” he said, his face alive with mischief.
Then he rang the bell and we waited. To this day I will never forget the look on the woman’s face who answered.
“Hello, my dear,” said Tom in his most charming voice. “I’m the Doctor and
this is Sarah. We wondered if we might be able to watch ourselves on your
television tonight.

The Best of Me: Mickey Smith

" There's nothing wrong with a van. I once saved the universe with a big yellow truck!"



By my reckoning, Mickey is a companion, but not a very impressive one. I saw a comment once that compared him to Fourth Doctor companion Harry; it fits. "Mickey the Idiot" has good company in Harry "the Imbecile". Both played second fiddle and straight man while their female counterparts remain the focus of attention.
But unlike Harry, Mickey came on because of his girlfriend. His role as clown was established in the Doctor's response to his request: "Right then, I could do with a bit of a laugh." Mickey does loosen up a bit by the end of end of season two, and has developed into a serious warrior by the season four finale, but in the end, I never moved beyond feeling sorry for him. Rose treated him carelessly, not really caring about how her disappearance affected him. His marriage to Martha comes as a bit of surprise, but they were both hurt by the Doctor and Rose's romance...maybe they bonded over that. Not hate exactly, but...well...
okay, shutting up now. No fanfic recommendations.

The Forgotten Army

If this was a movie, it would be Night at the Museum crossed with Gulliver's Travels. When a white woolly mammoth comes to life in the middle of New York, the Doctor must take a look. What follows is a delightful tale of hijjinks and saving the world.

*Hijinks...I like that word. Hijinks.

The Glamour Chase

Set pre-Hungry Earth, this novel has several delightful moments, including the Doctor talking to a sheep and Amy claiming the Doctor is from Mars. At times the secrets pile up and become confusing, but the ending is well-done, the aliens are intriging, and one line becomes unintentional foreshadowing for season six.

Forever Autumn

Of the books I borrowed, this was the only Tenth Doctor adventure. Set early in his time with Martha, the story has them exploring a Halloween festival in New England. (The American one, in chase you're wondering) The callbacks to previous adventures are intriguing, and the story had a very spooky feeling to it--but not quite terrifying.

Night of the Humans

This story attempts a perspective flip by having feral humans as the monsters against an alien tribe. Something about the story reminded me of the Sixth or Seventh Doctors, especially the character Slipstream (who gave off very strong Giltz vibes). So if you're into those Doctors, this story has similar pacing and themes, but still works with Eleven.

The King's Dragon

In The Hobbit, Tolkien described greed as "the dragon-sickness." I almost wonder if the author of this book had that phrase in mind, because the dragon has that effect on people. When a once-peaceful people become suspicious and gaudy, the Doctor decides to look into the situation further. The pacing is well-managed, and the side characters are intriguing.

Borrowed Time

I'm not exactly sure how to classify this book. Is it satire, social-economical commentary, or sci-fi?

Whatever the catagory, it's a brillant story. After picking Amy and Rory up from yet another romantic getaway, the Doctor stops at a bank on the brink of collapse. Why he thinks this would make a great stop is beyond me, but there's more going on at this bank than subprime morgages and risky stock trades. When Amy is ensared by alien technology that has led to the bank's extraordinary productivity, the stakes are raised to heart-pounding levels.

Of all the Doctor Who novels I've read, this is unquestionably the best. The moments are clear as pictures, the characterization is spot on, and there are some moments that make me cry. (Spoilers) Rory offering to take Amy's debts and making a joke about the cost, while the part where the Doctor creates a run on the bank made me want to cheer and play "I am the Doctor"

Detailed summery here

Nuclear Time

As an explaination, I thought I'd mention that I went to a local libary recently that had Doctor Who novels! While the printed adventures of the Doctor hit their heyday during the hiatus, the revived series has also produced its own novels.

When Amy, Rory, and the Doctor land in Appletown, Colorado, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. But as per usual, appearances are not to be trusted. When Amy and Rory are trapped in the town, the Doctor ends up racing backwards through time in an attempt to save his friends and prevent a bomb that could send Cold War tensions over the edge.
The timey-whimey nature of this novel makes it difficult to follow at time, especially from the Doctor's perspective when the rewind makes him speak backwards. At the same time, it's a nice filler until season seven comes out.

For those who can't find it, a detailed synopsis can be found here

I Love You to God and Back

While I freely admit I am not in the target audience for this book, I have read similar books before--even parenting books-- and enjoyed some of them. This book, a cross between parenting guide and spiritual mentor, collects one hundred prayers by the author's kindergarden daughter and includes comments on them.

The first few pages were okay, but by halfway through, I felt like I was being shown too many baby pictures by an overenthuastic mom. They all started to look and sound the same. The book would have benefited immensely from being trimmed down--while the mutiple stories are fine for causal reading, they become tedious in one sitting. And even with the author's disclaimers about her child's behavor, the stories are a little too cutesy and perfect for my tastes.

The Best of Me: Rose Tyler

As the first companion of the revived series, a lot was riding on the character of Rose Tyler. First of all, let me make it clear that this is not criticism of Billie Piper. I rarely criticise actors, in fact, especially if I have only seen them in one role. Also, she was not my first companion--that honor goes to Amy Pond--but with those confessions out of the way, down to business.

Rose Tyler is meant to be an "everygirl," nineteen years old, stuck in a shop and living in a Council Estate (the British version of public housing) with her widowed mum. Then one night, she is confronted by shop window dummies when a man in a leather jacket grabs her hand and says "Run!"


With the Ninth Doctor, I don't think she was chosen by any paticular merit--but then again, most of the classic ones weren't. They just happened to be in the right place, or they snuck aboard, or (with Ian and Barbara) were captured. As for why he lets her stay, I think that's because it feels right. Even when the Time Lords exiled him to Earth, he had others to hang out with, mostly young women, but sometimes men (Ian, Ben, Jamie, Adric, Turlough). With someone runnning around, asking questions, sometimes being clever and sometimes needing to be rescued, it felt like old times again. He wasn't alone anymore, he could pretend that the Time War never happened. Not to mention that his guilt over the destruction of Gallifrey probably warped his self-image into a monster. In one of my drabbles, "More Complicated," Nine holds on to Rose's heroic image of him because he doesn't fully believe it himself. And in Parting of the Ways, he's so determined to save her because it's something he can do, after all his failures in the Time War.
After the regeneration, there's a slight change in her attitude towards him. Even when the initial suspicians are assaged, she seems a bit more clingy with him, and her response to Sarah Jane in School Reunion implies unresolved issues (Not just because I love Sarah Jane either.) But the real 'breaker' in my mind comes when she's not even there. The Tenth Doctor's reactions to Martha in season three--even Donna in season four to a certian extent--is through a self-pitying lense of "whoa is me, I miss Rose," even making explicate comparisions between Rose and Martha. But her return in season four just....well, it ruined the end of Doomsday, not to mention gave her a very unsatisfactory solution. For everyone who loved the Metacrisis, an equal number would not be satisfied with Rose having anything other than the original. Her appearance on the Doctor's farewell tour was fine in my opinion, even sweet, but it worked because it was before her adventures started, not after a seemingly permenant fairwell.
If I were to base my assessment of Rose on seasons 1-2, I'd be fine with her. But with her continued reappearance, my opinion declined. I hope she doesn't appear in the anniversery special, or I'll really be fed up with her.
As for her romance with the Doctor--his reaction to her departure kind of soured me on that ship, but I'm not a strong shipper anyway. Her belief that she was the only girl in his life was egotistical as well, even her initial reaction to Martha on the subwave network.
I have a fanfic simmering about her and the metacrisis in Pete's World, with the title "Everything You Ever Wanted" and a Narnia quote as the summery "All get what they want. They do not always like it." I haven't gotten far enough to figure out if they'll still end up together, but I think both need to figure out if they're willing to give up all of time and space for each other.

Fanfic Recommendations:
Choices of Gods
Much like An Evening With the TARDIS, this fic is an imaginative exploration of what it might have felt like for Rose to become the Bad Wolf.
An Evening with the TARDIS
The TARDIS speaks to Rose while she has the Vortex in her head during "Parting of the Ways." Written before "The Doctor's Wife," it still has Idris's voice down pat, and an absolutely beautiful perspective on the TARDIS itself.
Find Me
An absolutely beautiful piece in which Rose contacts Sarah Jane during all her universe-jumping. The author might have read my mind regarding Rose and her obsession over the Doctor...and Sarah Jane challenges Rose's views without being harsh. (This one will be on my Sarah Jane list too).
Guardians of the Universe
An AU in which Rose Tyler is a gamepiece used by the White and Black Guardians from the Fourth Doctor's Key to Time series. While the resulting intensity of alien invasions involving Rose (several rewritten from Sarah Jane Adventures) could seem Mary-Sueish, it also gives her more experiance with aliens and greater maturity. It also has a higher proportion of classic companion involvement, including Sarah Jane Smith, Ian and Barbara, and some others.
I Wanted
Reflections by the Ninth and Tenth Doctors about how Rose affected his life. Interesting in focusing on her affect on him, not her feelings about him.
Luminiscence:
An AU with Rose born in the 19th century and living to the present day. With only four chapters up currently, it's hard to tell exactly where it's going, but it seems interesting so far.
The Temptation of Rose Tyler
This one hasn't been updated since last September, but the two chapters that do exist are great. The Trickster, recurring enemy on the Sarah Jane Adventures, offers Rose a ride back to the Doctor's universe.
Other People's Pets
Okay, I wasn't going to include humor or parody on here, but this one is just too brilliant to ignore. What if Rose kept the Dalek instead of Adam in season one? You'd have the goopy, hilarious, and slighly paranoid adventures in this story.

Fics I’ve written:
Divided Hearts
Four poems written about the Doctor and Rose's relationship. I actually wrote the last one first and then went back and did the other three.
Dreams in Which I’m Dying
It's actually more about the Metacrisis and his more human view of death, but it does involve Rose.
Ellipsis
Grammar-inspired drabble about Rose between seasons two and four.
Sleeping
A poem-song for the Christmas Invasion

The Best of Me: A Series on the Doctor's Companions

I decided that, with spring semister FINALLY done, I should start a series on the Doctor's companions. Even though I've seen the majority of the classic episodes, I'm starting with the new series, since my memory on some of them is rather fuzzy. So, first up, the first companion of the revived series:
Rose Tyler
* Companion status defined by my previous post
http://thedyingstars.blogspot.com/2011/10/companion-or-not-simple-steps.html

Babylon's Falling

Because my church’s VBS this summer focuses on the book of Daniel, I have been reading chapters 1-6 once a week, trying to flesh out a fuller understanding of the book. One of the first impressions I received was that Daniel and his friends were real people, not just cardboard heroes. This book further fleshed out those ideas by exploring the life of Daniel in fictional form.
Biblical fiction is a tricky genre to write, containing not only the research difficulties of historical fiction but also the difficulties of adding details without departing from the Scriptural account. Babylon’s Falling manages a good balance within these constraints. Because it attempted to cover most of Daniel’s life, beginning with his exile, some parts were written more like overviews, but the significant events were given details and context. The ending might prove problematic to some, as it suggests Daniel returned to Jerusalem when Cyrus ended the exile, but I see it as merely one possible option.
The character development was well-done, and the setting helped to ground the story in Babylon. The story itself had a well-balanced plot, managing to maintain an element of suspense even in such elements as the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions’ den.

Four Stars

Love Does

“I heard a rumor that love will make you crazy…look at the crazy things that love made Jesus do.” These lines from the Chris Rice song “Love Like Crazy,” could summarize Bob Goff’s life as written in the book Love Does. Instead of the “traditional” Christian life of church on Sundays, youth group on Wednesdays, and summer ministry, this book contains many stories of a man led by God to make choices that most people would consider odd at best and ridiculous at worst. The forward is written by Donald Miller, the author of Blue Like Jazz as someone who was influential in Goff’s life.


In some ways, I see this book as a compliment to the last book I reviewed, Miraculous Movements. While that book focuses on overseas ministry that could be employed domestically, both books encourage a different approach to the Christian life. It’s a shame the word “radical” has been so overused in modern culture, because it leaves it with so little meaning for the things that truly are. This book does show a radical willingness to listen to God’s call and voice, without so much concern for outside concerns. If more Christians were willing to listen in this way, we would have a totally different perception by outsiders.

My only quibble with this book is that someone might take it as a prescription rather than what this looked like for one person. We need people in all walks of life, both ‘boring’ and excitement-filled, to fulfill God’s purposes and plans. But there are people today who live too timidly and need to be jolted out of their comfort zone—myself included.

I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson’s Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.

Four Stars

Commuter to Reality: Conclusion

Reflect on the class and what has been helpful or meaningful to you.
I glare at the sheet of paper, blaming it for the past four months of headaches, screams, tantrums and tears. Two different classes, true, but the frusteration level was exactly the same.  What have I learned from this class?

• Concrete details are important.
• Consider your audience.
• Some people don't think fantasy is real literature.
• Some people only wantyou to practice writing 'real literature.'
• This professor cannot be pleased.

The last one summerizes it all, really. How else can I explain her notes of 'too many adjectives" on the first page and a conclusion that I did not have enough detail? Peer critiques were no help; she thinks I added too much thought and turned it into an essay on the spiritual state of the English church, while the peer critiques said it was too much of a travel narrative.  I have one week from tomorrow to finish edits on this and my poems from earlier in the class.
I want to bang my head against the desk until I have a concusion, but she wouldn't give me an extension on that account. I glance at the paper again. What I really want to to do is scrawl a big fat "NOTHING"  across the paper, or print it in 72-pt Hobbiton font and hand it in, but she wants 350 words minimum for 10 pts, and my perfectionist nature won't let  me squander the grade on revenge. Plus, I have her next fall. Can't burn my bridges just yet.
"Rule 1: The Doctor Lies."
 So do I. All the time. Have to. Spoilers"
--Amy and River, "The Wedding of River Song"
I feel like I've been lying to her the whole time. Lying that I liked this poem or that essay, that I agreed with this theory of writing or didn't really mind the assignment. Lying by omission, if nothing else. She talked about vulnerability yesterday, about being adventurious and unafraid before that, and I scrawled in my notebook,Of course you can say that, you aren't the one getting graded! You aren't the one who spends hours on a short story she doesn't even like and gets told it was lame! (even when it is lame. Let me use my ideas, then it won't be lame.)  If you want me to write about my world, acknowlege that it largely takes place in my head. And stop calling us apprentice writers! People act like they are treated. It's a self-fufilling prophecy that will we never be anything more than apprentices.
On Tumblr yesterday, I saw this quote:

Assignment A: "Write 1 page paper on this really interesting subject that you know lots about."

Me: *writes 5 page paper*

Assignment B: "Write 10 page essay on this really super boring subject that no one cares about."

Me: *writes two paragraphs before beating head violently against desk*

Exactly. This blog post is probably already close to the word count--(checks)--500 words. Five hundred words about how I don't want to write a 350 word refllection. Reflection is a funny-looking word, too, but I digress. And it's May 1st today...no, no more digressions. So, what should I do about this? I have roughly 25 hours to finish this assignment, which must also include sleeping, eating, and two more classes. Drats.