Last year, it was my first time at the Hay Festival, and I loved it. Not just for the fact I got to meet some of my favourite YA writers, but everywhere there are people sharing their love of books, and I had never experienced that before. As you stand in queue, those behind you are discussing the likes of The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars(I heard a lot about these books in the queue for a Cassandra Clare signing this year), and you see all sorts of merchandise including Harry Potter t-shirts as you people-watch. I adore the atmosphere, and just soak it up. You don't usually see children in public reading on their Kindles, or even adults trying to navigate the crowds of people heading to events while holding a hardback. Never have I heard teenagers behind me playing a game I recognise from a John Green novel. The one difference between these two years was clear though: the weather. It's Wales. And it never stops raining.
On my way!
My first event was on Saturday and this was Cassandra Clare's talk, ahead of the release of City of Heavenly Fire in a few days! I read City of Bones last summer, but have yet to continue the series, so I spent most of the time trying to avoid spoilers, although they usually make me more excited to read the books for myself. Clare was being interviewed by her friend Sarah Rees Brenna, and at that time, I wanted nothing more than an American accent. She was incredibly bubbly and absolutely hilarious - especially when reading an extract from the Bane Chronicles, imitating Isabelle's voice along with Clare. Topics went from the Mortal Instruments series to the Infernal Devices, and the love interests to the movie adaptation. When it came to questions, one of them was whether Clare thought the characters were brought to life like she imagined. Of course, you expect an author to agree and then praise the screenwriter at this point. But, without hesitation, she bluntly said, "No." I loved this. A quick, knife-sharp answer that said so much. It was surprising, admittedly, but hearing her talk about the film adaptation made me realise how rare it is that authors are actually involved beyond being invited onto the set once or twice.
I think I own enough books to do this.
Another topic of conversation was the representation of sexuality in her books - as we find out both Alec and Magnus are gay during the series. What shocked me that most was how publishers had turned down the series because of the homosexual characters; but, both Clare and Brenna laughed about how they must feel about this decision now. Currently, Clare is in the UK to research her new book series, set Edwardian times called The DarkArtifices, which is also based in the Shadowhunter world. Although, she did say that she would use any excuse to spend some time in London! My favourite part of Clare's event was during the Q&A, and listening to what fellow fans of the series were desperate to know about CoHF. One of my favourite theories though must be that Isabelle is adopted(she has a different eye colour to her parents and brother). Although we didn't get any answers, we did learn a little about Biology from the author, where I was quite proud that I understood what she was talking about(revision).
Jacqueline Wilson!
On Sunday, my nine-year-old self came out onto the surface for Jacqueline Wilson's event. I can't remember a time when there wasn't a book by Wilson on my shelf, as she was the author that introduced me to a love of books in the first place. The first book that I found myself sobbing through was My Sister Jodie, and my favourite heroine was Hetty Feather. So, I was both anxious and excited before her talk, as I had a very clear image in my mind of the women whose books I have grown up with. Her talk was brilliant. Rather than being interviewed, she took to the stage herself, and talked to a captive audience for almost an hour. I may have been one of the oldest people there - apart from the parents who were probably dragged along by their children - but, I enjoyed myself so much. You can't describe listening to somebody you have looked up to talk about their experiences, and Wilson spoke about everything from her love of animals to meeting the Queen and knowing J. K. Rowling. What struck me the most was how humble she was, thanking everyone for being there. My admiration of her grew even bigger in the space of an hour.
Roll on next year!
Have you ever been to a book festival? If so, what was your favourite event? Tell me in the comments!
The title of this post may have been a hint, but I'm now back from my break! Now I've got a few exams done, I feel much more relaxed, and with only English, Welsh and Maths left, it's great to be back writing again. Throughout my two years of blogging, this has been the longest break I've taken, but it's definitely helped to keep me calm during my first few exams, especially since I've had absolutely no time to read these past few weeks. Ever since the first mentions of GCSE exams, I've had a very clear image of what they would be like, from the eerie silence that fills the room like the moment before the rain pours, to the invigilators that stalk past you as if they are in a funeral-procession. Suddenly, I was getting thrown into something that I had always feared, and after months of revision, I hardly knew how I felt. I had bought my clear pencil case, new black ball-point pens and was about to walk into the exam room. Just like thousands of other teenagers across the country.
Here's the thing. That hour? It flew by! When I opened my paper, took part in the panic that ensues when the first question proves impossible, and then began to answer those I did know, it was soon coming to an end. Biology was horrible, admittedly, but Chemistry was better. Physics, on the other hand, I'd rather not discuss.These past few weeks have been incredibly stressful, so I'm now taking a short revision break, spending this weekend at the Hay Festival instead of at my desk, slouched over revision notes. It's difficult to judge my performance in the exams - although I'm certain I answered an eight mark question in my History exam on the wrong doctor. Luckily, I've got the comfort of being allowed to resit if my result is not what I hoped it would be. That's the blunt truth about revision; you can revise for months, learn every detail, but you can't change what happens in that exam room. Under pressure, you can easily make mistakes, and the only thing that can help that is to stay calm. Unsurprisigly, I'm anything but this before an exam starts!
Away from exams, a couple of days ago I became a Prefect! Over the past year, I've worked extremely hard in school running projects, writing newsletters and organising trips. The fact that I now get to pin a shiny red-badge on my uniform everyday is a huge confidence-boost, and hopefully, I'll be able to take on the role and do it well. That marked the end of Year Ten for me, as when I return to school after the holidays, I'm into my final year; which I still can't believe.
Since I'm back blogging, I have a few posts planned for the next week:
26h May - Event Recap: Hay Festival
27th May - Discussion/The World from YA Eyes
30th May - Fandom Freak Out: Anticipating TFiOS
I've had quite a few weeks to think about new post ideas, so keep watch!
If you're sitting exams, how have they gone so far?
Not only do I suffer from writer's block regularly, but I tend to spend most of my time procrastinating on Twitter, rather revising or organising blog posts(the reason I'm writing this at midnight). Over the past few months, I've been adding songs to a writing-playlist after seeing that many authors have written scenes that have been inspired by a certain song, and they have know also become what I use when doing schoolwork. Mainly consisting of songs from movie soundtracks(Frozen, The Hunger Games and Divergent all make an appearance), it's also filled with bands including Imagine Dragons and Snow Patrol, and also distinct artists that I adore like Ellie Goulding and Birdy.
I've tried to organise them into categories, but sometimes, I've thought some songs from movie soundtracks fit better elsewhere.
Movie Soundtracks
Of course, songs from book-to-film adaptations fill the list, which is why I'm waiting in anticipation for the Fault in Our Stars soundtrack release. Personally, I love 'Beating Heart' from Divergent because of it's upbeat chorus, and that makes me write and work that little bit faster. Although, the song overall has such an interesting sound, and it's great to listen to in the background. 'Atlas' from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire builds up slowly and steadily, and it has such beautiful lyrics; the piano in the background is always such a nice touch, especially since I spent a lot of time listening to movie-scores too. If you haven't yet listened to a score, you need to listen to THIS gorgeous piece of music from when the arena crumbles in Catching Fire. Isn't it incredible?
I adore the simplicity of songs such as 'Safe and Sound' from The Hunger Games, from the guitar to the country-feel of the song, away from writing, I prefer to listen to songs like this when I'm revising. Also, I do have a little bit of Twilight woven into my playlist, as Christina Perri's, 'A Thousand Years' is one of my favourite songs.
Heart-wrenching
I like to deal with really tough-topics in my writing, and most of the time, I struggle to begin. I've written about subjects I've never had to experience, thankfully, and the playlist is also filled with the type of songs that make you cry no matter how many times they're played. So, I couldn't help adding Adele to the list, along with Ellie Goulding(again), Birdy and Katy B.
They have released incredibly emotional songs, and my latest piece of writing is something I pieced together after listening to 'I Know You Care'. This is from Now Is Good (an adaptation of Jenny Downham's novel) but it's a perfect song to write too. One of my absolute favourites is also 'Skinny Love'; a gorgeous song that I can actually get something done whilst listening to.
Emotional, heart-wrenching ballads are probably what I like listening to most. Personally, I won't take any offense in somebody saying that I'm not, for example, Jay-Z's intended audience. Instead, I'm constantly playing 'Skyscraper' and 'Someone Like You'. These types of songs fill the majority of my playlist, as you have probably seen from this post so far. Music is such a huge part of my writing, as it can make me feel angry or sad, and put me in the type of mood I need to be in to write a scene.
Nostalgic
Sometimes, just like I'm sure many of you do, I find myself becoming caught up in the 'Recommended' videos that appear after each song has finished playing on Youtube. One moment Imagine Dragons is playing, and the next I'm rediscovering Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars' and 'Run' and R.E.M's 'Everybody Hurts'. These have appeared every now and then throughout the past few years, and I adore how different they are to current pop music. Am I the only one?
Then, my few additions of country-music lead me to Passenger, and the Taylor Swift songs that fill the playlist end up bringing me to songs such as 'Teardrops On My Guitar' and 'Mine'. I was very tempted to add 'Love Story' to the playlist, but couldn't because it was the first song I was completely obsessed with from the moment it first played on Disney Channel. So, I realised it wouldn't be the best companion when I'm meant to be concentrating on revision.
Uplifting
Despite the seemingly heart-shattering playlist, I do have feel-good songs thrown in sporadically. Let's begin with the fact that it all begins with 'Let It Go' from Frozen which is currently on repeat endlessly. I think, even when I use this playlist when I'm doing some work, songs such as 'Radioactive' and 'It's Time' are needed as a pick-me-up.
When I'm just piecing together a review(one recently took me three attempts of retyping it as the post wouldn't format correctly), or really enjoying writing a post, these are the songs that I play, as posts can take a while. Imagine Dragons are that type of artist that I would fill my whole playlist with if I could.
All the songs featured above can be found on my playlist HERE.
Do you have a playlist for when your writing or working?
As a Year Ten pupil, I'm currently in the middle of my first year of GCSE stress. Admittedly, I love the subjects I chose to take: Media Studies, History and Food and Nutrition, and these are the hours I adore when in school, but I can't help but still be stressed. The fact remains that I'm realising I have hardly anytime left in school; and this is the hardest to comprehend. Not the endless updates on grades showing I'm doing okay, or the Maths past-papers every week(I saw the homework coming), or the amount of revision I'm now doing, but the way everything I do now matters. I'm realising that, if I stumble and fall now, it could potentially effect my career, and my future. This alone is an incredibly scary thought. Recently, I was looking at College courses, and I felt ready, searching through everything. Then I saw what I needed to get in and thought, "I will never manage a B Grade in Maths" as I'm absolutely awful. I'm hoping to scrape a C!
I didn't write this post to worry you, though! Instead, I wrote it as sometimes you just need to type until your fingers ache about the things that are on your mind; and school is that 'thing' every day - to the point where all my dream seem to be set in my school. They used to be a little more exciting, finding myself in the Hunger Games twice definitely fits that description, but I'm now pretty sure that GCSEs are taking over my life. My existence, even. The revision hasn't even started yet! There is homework, and there are the revision sessions, and those I'm not finding as bad(so far). I don't mind attending revision-classes as these are probably doing more for me than the TV shows I would be watching at home. Although, just like a lot of bloggers I know, and have been moaning to on Twitter, I have horribly high expectations of myself. All the pressure that's there is not from my parents or my peers; it' s from me. As I always have to be perfect at everything. When doing GCSEs this is such a hard-task. To do every piece of work perfectly and to complete every test and CAT(Controlled Assessment Task) without error, is impossible. Putting pressure on myself is currently the biggest problem I'm having to face.
Although, wanting to do well is not a bad thing at all. I think it's good to be determined to get good grades; as this is the aspect that makes you pick up those revision-sheets and revise! Even so, knowing there are just so many exams in a few months time makes me realise that it's going to be really hard to get high-grades in every one. I'm also the biggest worrier in terms of exams and that means I'll be sleep deprived to co-exist with the stress. There must be a fear of failure. Wait, there is: Atychiphobia. Is it only me that thinks that pressure just makes you achieve less? Let's use an example of a recent English CAT, where I knew what I was expected to get, and sat there for hours trying to plan it, as I had writer's block. For a girl who loves to write, knowing that I needed it to be at a certain level meant that I couldn't write.
On the plus side, the coursework and homework is not as bad as I though it would be. It's all about meeting deadlines and doing some work and soon, it's done. I've had moments when I've broken down in tears during these past few months, and I have no doubt there will be more, but I've also had some where I've been extremely proud. Other times, I've ended up cracking up laughing because you just have to laugh at how, really, these things are such a small worry in the world, although so important to an individual.
My studying has begun - and with a one-hundred page Science text book to learn, admittedly I'm quite scared. Anyway, back to the books...
If you're currently working towards results, or GCSEs, how are you coping?
