Aderia

this blog entry made me smile, i'm happy for you. huzzah!!

@Quotation Grammar: From your friend and mine, Bio Gio. I actaully received this as part of a review on a short story a while ago, I refer back to it often, and quote it in reviews when I find it necessary. Have at it. @Proofreading: I'd love to but I've found myself swamped with school. But I will say, if you've read over your stuff that many times, go ahead and post it, and there is always the Epic Critics Club at your disposal. =) Also, people, thanks for all the tips on naming characters and all, up thar. They were really interesting to read through, and see how diverse the authors here are.

[3:48:51 PM] Aderia: Does anyone talk to Eyru? [3:48:53 PM] Aderia: "Samantha Barks played Éponine brilliantly, so much so that I would say I almost enjoyed her scenes more than Jackman's." [3:48:58 PM] Aderia Because I want you to send him my love. [3:49:07 PM] Aderia: He's my new favorite person. ^skype log, after i read this entry. thought i'd share. =3

Nice excuse there. But notice he opened the other presents first.(heh, you caught me there. oops) I guess he had to be sure he got the right one. Oh, and it was quite funny when he opened his father's socks, too. (i took this bit from a real life experience, actually =D) The kitten was, well, cute, but I didn't find her (well, I imagined it as a she) (So did I.) quite as amusing as the kid. Well, not until she knocked over the tree, anyway. And you finished it off with one of the funniest lines: "Unconscious children don't cry." I can just imagine the dad's reaction there... And then the mother's. I wonder if that will remain her favorite type of tree. I did find a few typos in the first few paragraphs, but otherwise it was quite an amusing ditty, if without significant meaning. (although I admit, I like your given moral) And obviously the judges agreed. Kudos! =) Thank you both! I put comments I could think to make in your review I quoted up there. I've seen that style of replying to reveiws around the forums before, decided to give it a go. I think I like it.

Dear Mr. Cederak! Hiya!! I was really happy when I saw you wrote another short story. I went straight for my awesome pens to write you a letter again. Then I remembered that my scanner is really poopy quality, and you wouldn't be able to read the letter. So I'm typing my letter again. =/ I wanted to write earlier, you see, but holiday stuffs got in my way. So happy New Year!! I hope you get to write a lot more awesome stories this year. I think that one of the things I like most about all your stories are the names that you come up with. They got smiley faces (stickers this time!! =D) on my printout. (printed out, by the way, on snowflake holiday paper, to my mother’s annoyance. Mais, je ne regrette rien.) The family words you used like daughter, father, mother, and so on, I liked that too. It gave the story plush-ness. And that got smiley-face-stickers too. They’re sparkly and come in 3 different colors. It was fun following your character through the paragraphs of your story. It was like an adventure!! I got to see all her powers and leaderlyness and root for her when the bad guys were after her and boo her evil stepsister and all that jazz. (I didn’t have stickers for all of those things, though. That was just in my head) And just like in your other story I wrote a letter for, the character learned a good growing up lesson in the end. With greater power comes greater responsibility not to do stupid things =) or something kind of more or less maybe possibly along those lines. (?) I’m glad Verolias got to see that lesson up close because she’s so strong too. I would be sad if she turned evil too. This was a good story and lots of fun to read =D And I hope my letter makes it to you so you know that. Sincerely, Your biggest fan =)

Hey. People. How do you name characters? I'm having issues. For made up names (i.e. bionicle), and also human names. What works for you, because the method I was using doesn't work very well for me anymore.

Would aliens really use human terms for those galaxies? I think that was my only nitpick. The scientific style of this story, while I'm definitely not the most sciencey person out there, I appreciated. It made the story stand out even more. I definitely like the idea of the story. Do you plan to expand this? I really can't say very much, other than that I approve and that you also need to enter December's FFC XP I look forwards t reading more from you, hopefully something I can lend more insight to, since all this science is beyond me. =P

Name - Aderia Theme - Christmas Word Count - Classified Entry - Holiday Cheer =)

He shook the present near his ear, trying to guess what it might be. It was a box with things that shook inside. Peanuts? He ripped the paper off. A box of treats. He dared let his hopes rise. The second was small and oblong, like a pencil case. But when he peeled it open, it was a collar with a nametag in the shape of a heart. His eyes lit up as he turned to the largest box. It was almost half as tall as he was. It was loosely wrapped, with holes along the sides for air holes. And only one kind of present needed to breathe. “We got a puppy!!!” He squealed, grabbing a fistful of shredded wrapping paper up in the air, and it snowed down around him. He shredded off the wrapping paper of the last box, and the stood stock still, hardly daring to breath. Slowly, very slowly, he reached out and placed a shy hand on the lid. “Go ahead, son. Open it!” His mother beamed at him. Beside her, his father nodded encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, he flipped the lid of the box off and saw… “ITS EMPTY!!!!!” he wailed. His own cry woke him up. But he breathed a sigh of relief. It was only a nightmare. He reached for his glasses on the night stand, and saw the time. 6:23 AM. Conflicted, he sat in bed for thirty seconds. Finally, he decided he couldn’t stand it anymore. Usually his mother and father opened presents together, after breakfast. But this Christmas, it had to be different. So much was at stake. He had to know if his nightmare was a reality. It was really eating at him. And besides, if there really was a puppy, it might be awake already, and very scared, wondering why it was in a box. He had to save it. He galloped down the stairs and saw a modest pile of presents at the foot of the wobbly, delicate tree. He didn't like these trees, but it was his mother's favorite kind, for some reason. It wasn’t until he turned on the lights that he saw what he was looking for. A large box, in snowflake wrapping paper, that was almost half as tall as he was. But first, he dug through the other presents. He found the box that rattled, and opened it. Treats! Shifting through the pile, he found the oblong present. Except it was a roll of socks for his father. Embarrassed, he shoved the opened present under the sofa. He picked out the only other oblong present. It was a collar! Small and adorable, and just right for a puppy. It had a square nametag, though, not a heart. And finally, he turned to the large box that was half as tall as he was. Without any of the hesitation of his dream-self, he ripped the lid off and reached inside and pulled out… “A kitten!?!” He wailed in dismay. Throwing the kitten back in the box and slamming the lid on top, he began to cry. Not just little sniffles either. Big, obnoxious wails that make a wheezing, diabetic walrus sound attractive. “What? Tony, what are you doing awake so early?” His father looked at the opened presents, having stumbled halfway down the stairs to peer into the family room. “What happened to our tradition? Opening presents as a family?!” Tony was too distraught to answer any of his father’s questions. Between sobs and gulps of air, he howled, “This is the worst Christmas ever!! Santa told me we were getting a puppy!!!" "Well, Santa can't do everything," his father sighed. "Santa can go chew on a stinkbug! I hate him!" the child blubbered. Fat tears rolled down his face. Sighing again, heavily, his father clamped a hand on his son's shoulder and looked him in the eye. He began to give him a lecture. He started with Thanksgiving, and for each day between the two holidays, he gave a reason why Tony should be thankful for what he has. Neither father nor son noticed the small gray and white striped kitten nose its way out of the box. --- Lights! Bright, beautiful lights! And that scent! Like winter and spunk in the air. The kitten scrambled over the pile of presents towards the source of this wonder. It was a playhouse! With shiny, solid rain drops hanging from the sides of it. Tentative, the kitten batted at one of the shiny objects. It swung back and forth charmingly. Perking up its ears with glee, the kitten batted at the object again. But it went flying off the playhouse! Oh no! Frozen, it watched the object sail through the air. The large, shouting animals standing in the corner, a large one with a deep scary voice, and a small chubby one with keening cries that hurt its ears, didn't see the object fly, or land safely on a cushy, plush chair. Letting out its breath, the kitten went to explore the playhouse. There were steps spiraling up through the spicy green prickles. Such an adventure! Up, up up, the kitten climbed, stopping to smell a curious smell here, pausing to reach out and poke another shiny object there, and occasionally untangling itself from a vine that wasn't alive, but still grew berries that glowed with life somehow. At the top of the pointy playhouse, through the rafters, the kitten could see a star. Instinctively, it wanted to reach the star, to be on top of the world and look down in the superior way that only cats can manage. Standing as high as it possibly could, the kitten stood up on its back legs, tiny needlepoint claws digging into the rough brown surface in its playhouse for security. It's bright amber eyes were focused on the star, and it reached up, almost in a trance. It didn't notice the tree swaying dangerously back and forth until it was too late. --- With a yowl that was drowned in the people's yelling, the kitten leapt awkwardly from the tree as it toppled down, down, down, straight for the small crying child. The kitten landed gracefully by some feline miracle on the soft plush chair next to the ornament, purring with contentment. Finally, it was quiet, no wailing to hurt its ears. Unconscious children don't cry. --- End (Written originally as a Write Off, then modified casually for the Flash Fiction Contest. Nothing serious, just spur of the moment stuff. Moral is, love kittens no matter what.)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. I saw a trailer for the movie and thought it looked cute, so I picked up the book, or whatever the e-book equivalent terminology was. I expected a comical girl and zombie love story, nothing serious. Let me tell you, friend, I was wrong. There was so much heart and wit and insight in this book, and it really told a great story. A page turner, cleverly and accurately critical of the world we live in, I really want a hard copy now, so people can see what I'm reading and ask me about it. I would most definitely recommend it to anyone who asks. I'd love to go on and on and on and on and on about how much I loved it, and how much I need to read it again and again, but I really don't want to type it all up, I want to go read it again.

Wow. 2015? I don't think that far ahead, like Smoke Monster said. So I'll probably do nothing special.

This makes me happy. Many thanks to the powers that be. =)

This made me laugh, beacause I used to think it was 'cubbard' as well, and also where the word 'cubby', like where you put your bookbag and lunch in pre-school. But apparently its 'cupboard'. Anyways, since you assured me that "Erin" is also a guys name, that's it for nitpicks. So we just finished watching All is Quiet on the Western Front in my history class, yesterday. This story, even though it was pretty dark and unfortunately what I picutre to be realistic, was really vivid in my mind. It was also well done, between the flashbacks and the present, I wasn't lost at all or anything. The way they tied together in the end really hit home. Good work has been done here, Eli. I look forwards to reading more from you.

Coloring Between the Lines, Thinking Outside the Box “He can’t stay in my class! I can’t take it anymore!” Words escaped mischievously under the crack of the door that led to the principal’s office. Miss Dause’s shrill voice could be heard harping at the principal. When the child leaned over in his seat, he could see the principal, Dr. Hill, sitting at her desk through the glass that was built into the door frame. “Miss Dause. You have half the year left with him in your class. Tough it out.” Dr. Hill told her, taking a break from massaging her temples and placing her wire glasses back on the bridge of her nose. Miss Dause tried to quiet her voice enough to keep it from drifting out to the waiting room, but he heard her hiss anyways. “That child is evil, I swear.” He saw the principal look through the window beside the door at him, and he made no attempt to disguise the fact that he had been eavesdropping. He grinned widely. He had just recently lost one of his front teeth, unfortunately. It detracted from his strapping good looks, he thought. Miss Dause stepped deliberately between the boy and the principal. He couldn’t see around her ample frame, high-piled hair and heeled height, no matter how much he leaned in his seat. “Just look at what he drew!” He heard the flapping and slamming of a paper on the principal’s desk. “The assignment was to draw a rainbow,” Miss Dause explained. He heard Dr. Hill let out an exaggerated sigh. Then she said, “Dylan, come in.” He smiled his imperfect smile and strutted through the door which his terse second grade teacher was holding open impatiently for him. “Thank you, Miss Dause!” He chirped. His teacher ignored him and snapped, “Explain this to Dr. Hill.” And shoved his picture he’d only just drawn at him. “Oh! Well you see, Mrs. Principal, ma’am. Miss Dause gave us all new colored pencils in class today! And the spelling word of the day was ‘rainbow’, and we had to illustrate it!” Dylan held up his picture for the principal to see. “Go on,” Dr. Hill folded her hands in her lap, and Dylan could tell she was trying not to look amused. “My mommy, I think you met her last time I got sent here to your office, she always tells me that leprechauns live at the end of rainbows and guard lots of gold! You know? That story?” He looked to his principal to make sure she was following along. “I understand.” “Well, I couldn’t take the gold if the leprechaun was guarding it, right? So I fixed that! The leprechaun is out of the way and he won’t bother me when I go to take the gold! I didn’t draw anything wrong!” He looked pleadingly and a bit triumphantly at Dr. Hill. Surely, she couldn’t argue with his logic. “Miss Dause,” The principal said. “I have to say, the child’s reasoning is sound.” Dylan swore he could see all the makeup she had on flake off, Miss Dause’s jaw dropped so dramatically. “He drew a leprechaun roasting on a spit! That is not okay!” She shrieked. “I used all the colors you gave me!” He protested. “Look! Red blood, orange fire, yellow sun, green grass, blue sky –” “You’re in second grade! You shouldn’t be drawing things like this! What would your mother say? What does she let you watch? For heaven’s sake…” Talking over Miss Dause’s tirade, the principal said to him, “Dylan, you can go back to class now. I’ll send an aid down to supervise your class while I have a talk with Miss Dause. Thank you for your time.” -End- Hehehe, just a little write off piece from a while back, the theme was "Rainbows", and I thought I'd share in this spiffy new COT Creative Forum. =D

I just can't get over how much I love this picture!!! I just really admire any digital artwork, ever. So much details!! =O Plus plus plus plus plus plus!! The birdie is really really adorable =3 And ummm I can't say much else, except keep up the awesomeness. And didn't you say this was your first ever dragon? I'm still admiring it. Still. =D

*pokepoke* Hehe, happy birthday, friend.

This was very beautiful, to put it simply. Nice pictures, btw.

You called? no but really its adorable

A Streetcar Named Desire, the script version, which I wasn't wild about mostly just because of the theme of the play.

Okay so I came back and actually read everyone's posts. Basically we're a tight knit group of great personalities with decent to excellent writing skills and always working to improve, and I think you would fit in perfectly. We'd love to see you there. =)

Oh! Zox posted a new story!! =D And my raction was thus: happy cat huggle time. and then by the end sad cat huggle.*with irritating watermark* it was so...touching!! But yeah, I can't say what hasn't already been said by the good reviewers. It was a brilliant story, albeit tear-jerking. The fact that it was more or less taken from real life really drove it home. Oh, and also. you already showed me this, but mini french horns squeee!!So yeah, great story by great author and having to follow two really great reviews was too much greatness for me. So I had to resort to visual aids. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, technically I schooled all ya. =P

You called? XP If it justifies anything, I was actually working on art IRL as well, although probably not as great as yours =/ But yes, I liked this story. The thought behind it, I think I mentioned over Skype, I originally thought was Coldplay, just to throw a random thought out there. Anyways. You have a nice, strong opening, it really portrayed the feel of your story nicely, leading into the bulk of the narrative eloquently. The whole thing has a slightly remniscient tone to it, almost a dream-like quality that you mentioned in the first paragraph. While we're both aware that this looks less like a story and more like a highschool essay, like you stated, I still liked it. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it a piece for an Ambage write off. Suffice to say, you fit right in. Your story was a bit vague, but not in a bad way. It gave it that dream-like feel I mentioned earlier. I'm not sure what you did, but it worked. You had me admiring the noble beasts grazing in the fields of the paradise, and looking on, distraught, as that same paradise fell from perfection. Very well orchestrated, I salute you. So yeah, I really have no complaints. You wrote because you felt like writing, and you posted it, offering up your raw work for scrutiny. I can't say I've done the same. Good work has been done here, Alex.