Okay - how the heck is it already the end of September?? THE YEAR’S ALMOST OVER AND I AM NOT READY.

Also NaNo is in a month and I barely know what the plot of my novel is. This is going to go well.....

But enough complaining! Let’s take a look over September and see how it went....


Obviously, school kicked into full swing this month. I’m actually starting to get used to the homework load now, which is nice!

In other news, my wisdom teeth got taken out (but you already heard me complaining about that, so I’ll just stop now), and MY NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE CAUGHT ON FIRE. They live down the street from us, and a lightning bolt hit them. It was really scary. Please pray for them.

Other than this . . . September was all school!
Miraculous Ladybug. You guys. My friend introduced me to this series and I AM HOOKED. And while I think the main character is just a LITTLE too obsessed with her crush, it is also one of the most shippable couples I’ve ever seen! 4/5 (because let’s face it, some Season 2 episodes are weeeeird.)

But hey, Miraculous gave me a new story idea, so I’m happy!

Pirates of the Caribbean. Our band has played the themes from this for literally YEARS, and yet I’d never seen the first movie, or any other, before now! I . . . actually didn’t really like Jack Sparrow - but I loved Will Turner! 4/5

Aaaaaaannnddd, I also got a story idea from Pirates. Go figure. :)

Lord of the Rings. I think you already know my feelings about this, so I’ll spare you for now. There may come a day when I decide not to mention Lord of the Rings any more. BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY. ;)
Ha ha ha.

Did I write much?

Heck no.

School is really taking a chunk out of life right now. But - I DID start outlining my NaNo novel! (Don’t worry, you WILL hear about that at some point - I promise!)

Also, I learned just two days ago that an essay of mine that I had submitted for a contest had been published in our local Catholic newspaper!!!! (Let’s not mind the fact that I wrote it a year ago......)
Here are the posts I wrote this month:

Am I Being Authentic?
This Is a Serious One
WIP SPOTLIGHT: The Inhumans
7 Reasons Why You Should Read the Amulet Series

Elsewhere in the blogosphere:

The always-on-point Abbiee did a YouTube series on creating relatable and unique characters! You can find her videos here.

Go Teen Writers moved to an awesome self-hosted website!

Allison did a post on why she loves Harry Potter which features some of her amazing calligraphy!

And MiddleEarthMusician posted her vlog for her blogoversary! Congratulations!

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Well, guys, the year is almost done! School's getting busier, of course, and clubs and such are getting into full swing.

If you notice that I miss a post this month, don’t worry - I’m not dead! But I miiiiiiiight have to cut down my posting schedule a little. We'll see how next week goes.

See you around, my friends!

-Nicole

So I was planning on writing a book review today, but then I realized:

This is it, folks: the moment you’ve all been waiting for.

There was a blog post foreshadowing it. I’ve been meaning to put a page up about it. But still, you haven’t the faintest idea what exactly it is.

Never fear: your curiosities will be put to rest. It’s time for:


also let’s not point out my poor naming skills, shall we?

Yes, it’s about time you heard about my current Work-In-Progress, otherwise known as the Reason I Lose Sleep At Night.

Honestly, I’m kind of freaking out. Only two people (besides me) have any idea what this book is about. Which means . . . you are one of the FIRST PEOPLE EVER to hear about The Inhumans! *chocolate party*

But, because backstory always makes everything more interesting:
(SPOILERS FOR "MURDER, SHE WROTE" AND "HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE")

So, if you will, turn back time to August of last year (that’s 2017, for any of you from the future). My family had just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and my brother and I were on a major Murder, She Wrote bingeing spree. (Both are excellent, by the way. 10/10 recommend) And yes, both these points are relevant.

There are many differences about this book and this TV show, but they have exactly one thing in common: there is a murder, or at least an attempted murder. This is also important.

One day, I sat down and watched an episode of Murder, She Wrote that the rest of my family had seen, but I hadn’t. It was called Lone Witness. In case you’re not familiar with the episode, here’s a brief summary: a teenage boy named Tommy witnesses the murder of his crush, and the murderer begins to hunt him down. It’s a great episode (TWO CHARACTERS ARE WRITERS!!!!!) but I couldn’t help wondering: wouldn’t Tommy be a little paranoid after these events?

I believe it was the same week that I watched the movie The Half-Blood Prince. Now, I am a firm believer that the book is always better than the movie, and this applies to the sixth Harry Potter movie. However, the movie did something that I sorely wish the book did: they gave us some scenes from Draco Malfoy’s perspective.

I used to hate Draco Malfoy. He was a pretentious little jerk who clearly thought himself superior. But the sixth movie made me pity him. I mean, come on, he had to kill a mentor figure! And he was a conflicted character! (Yes, I’m a sucker for those.) And - the important part - he couldn’t kill Dumbledore.

And then one night, those two pieces mashed together in my head: a boy who was hunted, and a boy reluctant to kill his target.

Thus, The Inhumans was born. *rousing applause*
“So, Nicole,” you’re probably asking, “what the heck is this book even about?”

Well. *rubs hands together* I’ve prepared this little synopsis for you just for this occasion:

Three months ago, Ben Evans was hunted down by a hooded figure. His life was threatened four times. Then, his attacker vanished.
Now, with summer just beginning, Ben’s eager-to-please cousin Shannon tells him that she saw his attacker in her home town, Monsoon. Desperate to find the person who changed his life, Ben embarks on an almost impossible mission: find someone that he’s never actually seen before. He reluctantly teams up with Shannon, the only one who’s seen him. 
But what Ben doesn’t realize is that there’s more to this attacker than meets the eye. Before he can comprehend what’s happening, he and Shannon are thrust into an underground society of people who may not be completely human.
And Ben might just be one of them. 

This is a rough synopsis for a rough draft (that I’m just NOW outlining, my word), so this is subject to change. In fact, everything from here on out is subject to change.

It’s mainly told in dual perspectives, although that might change to three. I don’t know.

Oh yeah. And this is a trilogy. Because APPARENTLY ONE BOOK JUST WASN'T ENOUGH.
So. On to the most important part of any story: characters.

Some people will make aesthetics about their characters and post them here. I almost did that. Then I decided to just do bullet points because to me that’s easier on the eyes. Also, after each character, I’ll put a little snippet about them!

Ben Evans:

• Main character 
• Was hunted by someone he never saw for four weeks straight
• Wants to go into forensics
• Likes country music (I don’t understand why, though.....)
• Is hopefully smarter than the average protagonist
• MOST LIKELY TO obsess over stupid wrongdoings for 48 years
• Has an EXCELLENT character arc that isn’t wrapped up until book 3

Okay . . . how do I write this?

This is something that’s really hard for me personally to write about, partly because it has had a major impact on my life, as well as countless others.

It’s hard to talk about. It really is.

This is not especially going to be a “fun” post. I don’t know how much I’m going to format this. Some posts just have to be blunt and raw. Some things just have to be said. (and honestly I’m exhausted right now.)

Okay. Here we go.



How much do you think about what you do? I mean, really? Do you ever stop and think about the words coming out of your mouth? About the words you post online in comments and tweets and posts? About the way you treat others, even unconsciously?

More specifically: how much do you think about this: how anything you do can affect someone’s life for better - or for worse?

It’s kind of a hard topic to think about. Maybe it’s because you have a hard time putting yourself into someone else’s shoes. That can definitely be hard for everyone.

Answer this question honestly: Do you try to make a positive impact on everyone’s life?

I know this isn’t making much sense yet, but bear with me.

Why do we even say cruel things? Does it make us feel better? Does it convince us that nobody’s perfect? Do we think “Oh, they can take it”?

Or do we think about the kid who sits alone? Do we think about their life, and how we can make a difference in it?



Almost one and a half years ago, a classmate of mine committed suicide.

It was completely unexpected.

He’d been a good, quiet kid. I’d admired him for his ability to listen and for his determination. But I didn’t really know that much about him. Not really. I should have gotten to know him, though.

And then, one day, my family and I were coming home from my brother’s basketball game, and my mom and I saw an email saying that he had passed away. They didn’t say how or when. Not surprising.

I’m not gonna lie: that week was the worst week of my life.

It’s one thing to have someone in your family die. It’s another thing to have a classmate die, and then go through days of school, where everyone knew him, and everyone is trying very hard not to lose it in class. I’m tearing up just writing about this.

I’m not saying this for a pity party. I’m using this as an example.

No one truly knows what goes on in someone’s head. Only that person and God knows (unless the person tells). We don’t know how bad their mental state is. So why do we intentionally hurt others?

If we truly knew the impact our words had, we would start saying more positive things. And if we truly knew the impact our prescence had on others, we would spend more time with the people we love and the people who need it.



Please. If you get nothing out of this post, please don’t just drift through life. Actively try to help people. Actively make a difference in people’s lives. And don’t take life too lightly. We only get one. Don’t waste it.

Thousands of people commit suicide every year. And yet, this is becoming a norm.

Why? Why are we as a society becoming used to this?

Let’s do something about it. Let’s be a positive influence in everyone’s lives. Let us be selfless, caring, and above all, loving.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

-Nicole

Happy Sunday, guys! Congratulations - you have survived another week of school! *hands out dark chocolate*