The Woes of a Writer...

I had an idea.

I thought it was a pretty cool idea. I don't normally get a lot of ideas that are cool enough to write a book about.

Then I realized that there are no new ideas under the sun, and found this at Barnes and Noble today. 

"In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion."

I need not tell you my idea, because this book is, in essence, the exact same thing. (Minus the cheesy love triangle...)

Oh, yeah. It's also a New York Times bestseller.

It ruined my day. There in my hands was the idea I got so excited over, already invested time in, had so many ideas for... and I wasn't the one who wrote it.

I wanted to look on the bright side and find differences between the author's ideas and mine, so I bought it. As we drove home, I scanned through the first few pages and concluded that my ideas were different, but not different enough to not look like I totally stole this lady's idea. I didn't have the heart to continue reading it, so I returned my buried hopes and dreams an hour later.

Now I'm writing this because I know that at least some of you have felt this terrible, sinking feeling of a stale idea. I've decided it's the writer's equivalent of dating some guy and finding out that he's married: After discovering that he belongs to someone else, continuing to think about him just feels wrong. :P

I was able to shake it off a little with some retail therapy, but every time I think of it I get that annoying sinking feeling of all my characters and their world dying off because they already live in some alternate universe... really, it sort of sounds like a Dr. Who episode or something.

I'm hoping that maybe someday I'll be able to write a book. If I do, God probably has a better idea out there for me somewhere deep in the creases of my imagination. It could take some heavy machinery to dig it out... :P

Tag!

Devoted blog readers and bored web surfers: Prepare to be enlightened.

For prior to reading this post you were merely ignorant, but upon stumbling upon such a monumental post, you will come out knowing more about ME.

Please, try not to run away screaming. ;)

I've been tagged by KayleeBeth @ Raising Daisies. :)

The Rules

1.) Post these rules.
2.) Post 11 random things about yourself. (although this one can be optional)
3.) Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4.) Create 11 new question for the people you ask to answer.
5.) Go to their blog and tell them they have been they have been tagged.

So... here I go.

11 Random things about me:

1. I have the habit of talking to myself. (Sometimes just thinking things isn't enough!)

2. I like the smell of chlorine.

3. I think baby turtles are probably the cutest thing ever.

4. I can't whistle.

5. My middle name is Nicolle.

6. I don't like foods that are supposed to be sweet and savory at the same time.

7. People who don't know me think I'm quiet. People who do know me probably wish I was quiet. ;)

8. I'm a fast learner when I'm shown how to do something, but I can't focus when I get verbal instructions. :P

9. I go through 1-2 diaries a year!

10. I can't stand repetitive noises (dogs barking, whining, songs that repeat the same thing over and over again...)

11. I like newspaper comics.

Here are my answers to KayleeBeth's questions:

1. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? Mostly Europe: France, Italy, England, Ireland... I'd also like to go to Japan and Belize (we have some friends out there. :)

2. If somebody told you, We are going to Paris in two hours would you be able to pack that quickly? Yes! I'd probably manage to forget a few things, but I probably wouldn't mind. It's PARIS, for goodness sake! ;D

3. Do you have any pen pals? I do, but I am horrible at writing them back. : /

4. Who is your favorite super hero? This is a hard one to answer, because I've watched a lot of the Marvel movies, but haven't read any of the comics. Going off of the movies, I'd say either Spiderman or Captain America: Spider Man because he's cool, and Captain America because I liked his character better. :)

5. What do you do in your spare time? Read, blog, Facebook, watch TV, go on a walk, talk to my sisters...

6. How many siblings do you have? 6

7. What is your favorite color? Orange.

8. What color is your room? Yellow.

9. What is your favorite flower? Roses. :)

10. Who are your favorite bloggers? I have a lot! Kelsey (A Ray of Sunshine), KayleeBeth (Raining Daisies), Acacia (Capture Life), Lucia (Lucia, Etc.), Mary Ann (Shutter Happy), Sunny Jane (A Beautiful Mess), Allie (Hyperbole and a Half)*

11. Why do you blog? Because I love to write, and I love sharing my writing and thoughts with other people. :)

*Note: If you're going to read "Hyperbole and a Half," look out for language--that's the only thing I don't like about her blog. ;)

Here are my tags!

Acacia

Mary Ann

Sunny Jane

Kelsey

Another note: If you were tagged and don't want to participate, that's totally fine. :) Also, if you haven't been tagged and want to participate, go ahead!

Here are your questions:

What is your favorite memory?

What do you want to be doing 5 years from now?

What is your favorite genre of music?

What do you like to read?

Pirates or ninjas? (And why?)

What would you do with $1,000,000?

What's something that makes you unique?

What's one of your favorite posts you've written so far?

What's your biggest pet peeve?

What's your favorite place in the world?

If you could have a friendly pet dinosaur who knew how to juggle, what would you name him? (Random, yes, but I needed at least one question that hadn't been asked before!)