Featured: Sunshine Award Nomination

THANKS TO MY BIG BBBBBBFF ANGELINA ZOE OVER AT THE RANDOMNESS OF A TEENAGER WRITER FOR NOMINATING MEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

BIG KISSES AT YOU!!!!!! ( `3`) <yes that's a kissy face

Ahem. Anyways.

This award is given to blogs that uplift creatively, and inspire others positively. I'm so glad I have done that with my blog!

I was told the rules for this award are:

• Display the award graphic in your post
• Link back to whoever nominated you
• List ten facts about yourself
• Nominate ten fellow bloggers "who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere"
• Leave a comment on the nominees' blogs to tell them of the award

now....more facts. Be prepared for randomness.

1. I just started Tai Kwon Do. I think I'm a natural. Also I defeated like fifty ninjas soooo...yup. Another day saved.

2. I'm really obsessed with Pinterest but I can't keep up with my blog. It's really sad. I would love to blog more but I run out of stuff to blog about. So, if you have any requests on topics to bog on, I'd be happy to oblige. (email acrossbooks@gmail.com or comment!)

3. I'm obsessed with Batman. I don't read the comics, no, but I've read every wiki article on every character, have scoured Pinterest for comic scans and fan art, and I have successfully figured out the entire Batfam. Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Damian Wayne. DAMIAN BEING MY LITTLE DEMONIC FAVORITE OF COOOOOUUUURSE.

4. I'm finally a teenager at 18 years old. I was still a middle schooler for like my entire teenage years and have just now become a true teenager. I fangirl more than my fifteen year old sister, wear my hair in a bun way too much, and like yoga pants and baggy tee shirts best. But really. I think my fifteen year old sister is more mature than me. And my sixteen year old best friend. They'll deny it but it's true, in the long run. No one else I know can fangirl until a blood vessel in their head explodes.

5. I wanna dress up like characters and run around all day acting like them. I know that really means "go to a comic con", but I just can't do that. I'm not that free and lovely. So I wait every year for Holloween. To dress up like weird people and hand out candy in character. THIS YEAR WILL BE LOKI.

6. Speaking of which, I'm tempted to join twitter to tweet as some random character. Like the Bucky Barnes tweets. I just...that's awesome. I clap for you, person who does that.

7. Literally every time I meet someone new, I have to hold back my personality because if I didn't, I'd intimidate them.

8. My sister is bothering me on Skype right now. I'm going to go virtually choke her.

9. I just virtually choked my little sister.

10. I have to go to bed in like 15 minutes.

Now for my ten blogs...probably the SAME blogs I just nominated for the Leibster Award.

Chloe at Snobby Writing Blog (again)

Jake at Teenage Writer (again...)

Nairam at Nairam of Sherwood (I'm a creepy awarding stalker)

Watzzit Tooyah at The Procrastination Station

That's all...

I have no more.

Shame on me.

OKAY BYYYYYEE. (anna)

Writing Boys and Girls: What's the Difference?

So this is something I've been thinking about for a week or so, since watching a YouTube video about teenage girls writing guys. I've come to the conclusion that boys and girls are very different. (I know right? Who knew!)

Boys and girls are different. More different than, I think, most young writers (and even some older) realize. And they aren't just different in looks; our entire makeup is almost opposite.

(Disclaimer: This is just my thoughts on the difference between boys and girl's minds. I am no professional, nor do I claim to be. Actually I'm mostly coming up with this as I go along. But I have four brothers so I consider myself kinda knowledgeable on boy brain make-up...but boys, please, correct me if I'm wrong because goodness know we writers who mostly write in boy POV want to know what boys think!)





Boys and Girls: What's the difference?


Minds
Boys and girls's minds are quite different. Boys tend to have one-track minds; in other words, they tend to focus on one thing at a time. Instead of having one hundred tabs open in their brains at once, boys tend to strive to complete one goal after another. For example, I doubt a guy would be thinking about how beautiful his girlfriend is while escaping a burning building.

Girls, on the other hand, often over think things terribly. We could be writing an essay but thinking about whether or not your friend really likes you, and if you made your boyfriend mad by forgetting to text him. We also dramatize situations in our minds; things become much more dire when a girl explains it.

Boy: "Well, you know. This house blew up but we got out of it. No one got hurt."
Girl: "This house just exploded! Oh my word, is anyone hurt? I hope Jack made it out alright! Does anyone see him?"


Conversations
Boys talk differently than girls too. While girls blabber and talk about their feelings and otherwise just talk a lot, guys tend to be more quiet (with, of course, exceptions). But one thing can clearly be stated: guys hate to talk about their feelings. Instead, they like to trade stories about their lives, like how they battled the lion at the zoo, or something along those lines. They also tend to focus on the action instead of the emotions, which should be obvious but easy to forget (for girl writers).

Girls, on the other hand, are emotional creatures. We try to read between the lines and figure out what people are feeling through their tone and their choice of words. Oftentimes, we read far too closely in common conversation and end up confusing ourselves. Girls are also multi-tasking thinkers, while (as I stated before) boys' minds are one-track. So, girls usually tend to branch off into a ton of different little conversations, which we bounce between as we converse.


Emotions
In my experience, boys tend to push their emotions down until they want to deal with them (except maybe anger). It's a societal problem that boys that cry/feel tenderly are "sissy", so boys often do the whole conceal-don't-feel deal. When they do feel, they can beat themselves up about it, or just explode into a fit of feelings, depending on their personality.

Girls are feelers, and cry more easily than boys. They also tend to be more prone to mood swings. I know I can go from happy to overwhelmed in a mere seconds. It's pretty incredible. Oh, that's another thing to note: girls feel overwhelmed easily since their brains have branches on their branches.



Of course, there are exceptions to to all of these traits, in both boys and girls, but generally they all seem to be true. So, I know I have missed about forty thousand things, so please, enlighten me! I've been diddly-daddling with this blog post for weeks trying to get it together...it was tough. So please, help me out! :)



P.S.

And please, people, don't make a boy giggle. For pete's sake, just say chuckle.

Please.

Featured: Liebster Award Nomination

I am very grateful to Sofia Marie for nominating me for the Liebster Blogger Award! I didn't even

know this award existed until just recently. Apparently, it is a chain reward given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. It's point is to get new and noteworthy bloggers noticed!


The Rules:

• Thank and link back to the person who nominated you
• List 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
• Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers
• Ask them 11 questions
• Let them know about the nomination

11 Facts About Me:

1. I love the country but hate being away from the city. I am blessed to have lived in a weird between-the-lines sort of area for 10+ years now and I LOVE it!

2. I'm obsessed with the Christian band Anthem Lights, as of about two weeks ago. I saw them in concert on Saturday, and I was stalking them with my iPhone camera by zooming way in and following them as they walked around behind the stage. Then I met them and got a poster signed, and I SHOOK ALAN POWELL, CALEB GRIMM, AND CHAD GRAHAM'S HAND!! AND I PUT MY ARM AROUND JOEY! So yeah, I pretty much am good with life right now.

3. I faint. A lot. Randomly. Like, I don't even know why. I'm such a baby that it's pathetic. And it's really weird because in reality, I myself am all like, "Pain? What's pain? I can take pain all day. Gimme anything, I can take it. No big deal." Like literally. But my body just can't handle it, I don't know. Don't ask.

4. I have discovered the secret to short story writing. It's to just write a short story.

5. I really like Reese's cups. And smoothies. Smoothies especially. Oh, and fish tacos, and mashed potatoes, and french fries, and this afternoon I literally stuffed a loaf of bread half up my nose while smelling it because it smelled like HEAVEN.

6. I can't wait to get my debit card so I can buy stuff online. It should come any day now. I'm kinda excited.

7. Sometimes I dress really pretty and girly, and other times I dress half like a punk rocker. Then sometimes I'm so lazy that I put on a dress just because I'm too lazy to put on pants. I wear buns a lot too even though I've got like 30 inches of long shiny brunette tresses. I like neon nail polish and pink lipstick and sometimes I wish I had short hair. Just sometimes.

8. I have been a Christian since I was about 5 or 6, maybe younger. I love the Lord!

9. I'm pretty pale, and I don't tan very well. I tan, but it takes a while for me to color. Like, my sister tans twice as fast as me. I don't know why. But in winter I look like snow white. But, despite what you may be thinking, I DO NOT HAVE FRECKLES! What's with that?!

10. I'd like to have freckles. Just a sprinkling across my cheekbones and nose would be nice.

11. I am not good at coming up with facts about myself because most of my facts are so random and uninteresting that I'm not even interested in them. So that's that I guess...

My Answers to Sofia's Questions:

1. What time of day do you look forward to most?

Nighttime, because that's basically my free time. The little siblings are in bed, so there's no interruptions. :)

2. What's your favorite genre in fiction?

Either fantasy or post-apocalypse. It used to be fantasy, but now I think I like post-apocalypse/dystopian better, because that's what I'm writing most now.

3. What sport do you like most, if any?

I love to swim, but don't do it often since we moved away from our pool. I preform in dance, though: tap, ballet, and pointe. Does that count as a sport?

4. What's the funniest thing you heard (or did) today?

Me: Hey, sis, guess what?

Sis: *going into bathroom* What?

Me: I'm getting a debit card soon so I can buy stuff online.

Sis: *silence*

Me: ...

Sis: *shuffles out of bathroom with evil little smile on face*

5. Do you/did you like being a teenager?

My teen years were/are some of my best! I loved being a teenager. But being a kid was nice too.

6. Who is your favorite author?

Bryan Davis, hands down.

7. Do you play any musical instruments?

I've been playing piano for about 7 years now. I also sing a little.

8. How many hours a week do you spend in front of the computer? (approx.)

Ten? I dunno. About ten. Maybe less.

9. Do you believe music relieves stress? Does books do a better job?

Music definitely relieves my stress. I love music! Books, on the other hand, can make me cry and throw stuff, so I'm gonna say no...

10. What's your favorite color?

Lime green!

11. You've been given three work-free, child-free, chore-free, study-free hours. What are you going to do with them?

Write!

Nine Bloggers I Nominate:

(Problem is...I don't even know nine bloggers...)

Chloe at Snobby Writing Blog

Angelina Zoe at The Randomess of a Teenage Writer

R.G. Nairam at Nairam of Sherwood

Ginger Zimmerman at Writers Who Need to Talk to Other Writers

Watzzit Tooya at The Procrastination Station

Jake at Teenage Writer

THAT'S ALL THE PEOPLE I KNOW!!!!!!!! I'M SORRY!!!!!! D:

Questions for my Nominees:

1. Who's your three favorite fictional characters?

2. Who's your favorite non-fictional famous/historical person?

3. Why do you blog?

4. What electronic device do you use/like most: phone, computer, mp3 player, or tablet?

5. What's the weirdest thing you've ever done?

6. Have you ever met someone famous?

7. What is your current favorite song? TV show? Book?

8. What's your favorite animal?

9. Do you like lamps?

10. Mac or PC?

11. What kind of candy do you like best? (Sour? Sweet? Chocolate?)

Thanks again for the award, Sofia! Now to notify the nominees!