Kids/Teens Book Club discussion
Welcome & Introductions
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Dreams for the Future
@Kate, I know what you're talking about! I've also sort of developed a story since eight grade (I'm on the tenth grade now), and I know the characters so well and settings, but the plot's still kind of hazy. I like to picture a certain scene, and spent nights developing the dialogues and actions, before writing them down. I doubt it'd be a real book, though. There are too many plotholes in my story. Besides, I don't live in an English-speaking country (hence the terrible grammar), and the publishers here don't publish English books. For some reason, I can't write anything good/decent enough if it's not in English.
I do dream of becoming an author, though. A lot, actually. But my folks told me that I need to go abroad for college if I'm really serious, and that means I have to spend a good amount of dough from them (which I really don't want to do).
Katasha, that sucks. But you don't have horrible grammar. Honestly, some native speakers of English have worse grammar then you. :)
I agree with Rae about your grammar Katasha, and I wish you luck in getting something published. Where do you live? It's nice to know that someone else does what I do, though. I could tell you anything about most of the characters or main places, but the plot? It's iffy.@Frank-most publishers won't even look at your manuscript if you don't have an agent. It's called the slush pile, and for the most part stories without agents quite literally travel directly from the slush pile to the garbage bin.
Mod
my top five were:
Ad writer- I forget the official name, but it's some who writes magazine/tv ads
Author-YAY
Editor-reading through and editing articles for a magazine before it's printed
Journalist-tv or newspaper :)
Teacher- subjects English/history
I was the only one who got a cool, unusual job in their top five, like actor, fashion designer, or my case : author
Good for you. Other than author, which is your favorite?We did a version of those in FCS last year, but I don't think it was very accurate. I don't remember what they told me, but the testing process was really flawed.
Mod
It would be. I'd like to work somewhere in the publishing company- like maybe an editor. :)
It would be really fun, I think...you get to read stories all day.
Seriously, although having to decde betweengood stories and bad ones would be really rough
That's true. I'd probably accept everything and then be yelled at.
Mod
I live in Jakarta, Indonesia :)I don't like magazines much, and newspapers are kind of dull for me (their chosen words are so formal and rigid), so yeah, I don't think I'd be a good editor.
I'd like to be a translator though -- from my native language to English. There's plenty of good books here in Indonesia (though we lack fantasy books) and it'd be awesome if more people from English-speaking countries can enjoy them.
Katasha wrote: "@Kate, I know what you're talking about! I've also sort of developed a story since eight grade (I'm on the tenth grade now), and I know the characters so well and settings, but the plot's still kin..."Universities are very interested in having a diverse student body, so you could quite possibly find one that will pay for you to go there, so you wouldn't have to spend any of your parents money. Some will even set you up with a work study position, so you can have some money to live. If your goal is English speaking, American schools are very interested in the whole diversity thing. So if you get very good grades in Indonesia, you might be able to find something the U.S.
Kate wrote: "That's true. I'd probably accept everything and then be yelled at."Seriously. :)
Jess: you've got a point, but like I prefer novels to those things. Although depending on the magazine. :)
I usually prefer novels, and when a novel is sent to the editor, it has already been edited many times, whereas I believe an article is sent to the editor right away. And for a newspaper or magazine, you have a very definite deadline.The other thing is that, with novels, you get to help create a world, but with articles you just decide whether it's grammatical.
I'm sure every teen has the same dreams to be a rockstar or actor. I of course want those things, but what if that doesn't work out for me? So my "fall-back" job is most likely be journalism or marine biology. I'm starting to lean more towards journalism though. I love animals and I love being on camera. As a little girl, I used to want to be a firefighter one week, and then the next an artist. Just goes to how you can't be positive on anything.
I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I want to learn Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. I want to marry, this is embarrassing, someone Korean, haha *blush*
Mod
Very true.
However, magazine and newspaper articles are often edited a few times before they are given to the 'editor' to be published.
Often the editor will just add or take sentences, changing the structure a little.
Anyway, I'd prefer to do that. (plus, its like the head job at the magazine. Imagine being in charge of TIME magazine or something).
If I was editing manuscripts, that would drain all my creative energy when Im writing a novel for myself.
Paige Anne wrote: "I'm sure every teen has the same dreams to be a rockstar or actor. I of course want those things, but what if that doesn't work out for me? So my "fall-back" job is most likely be journalism or mar..."I used to want to be a mommy-lawyer-ballerina. Then it changed to mommy-lawyer-artist-ballerina. That was before I realized I hate to dance.
I still just think it would be great to read stories for a living, so editor/publisher would be good. I also think it would be cool to be a teacher.
Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I want to learn Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. I want to..."Hey Lisa,
That's great! I really want to learn Chinese as well but fear I don't have the mental capacity, haha.
I once dreamed of starting a band with my closest friends but I kind of had a falling out with those friends and we couldn't play any instruments, so that failed.
Good luck though, that's a really cool dream :D
(By the way, Korean's are adorable)
Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I want to learn Chinese, Korean, and Japane..."Thanks!! I'm not to sure the band dream will come true, if it doesn't I want to do something in either South Korea or Taiwan, something to do with business. I listen to a lot of K-pop (Korean pop music) although I can't understand it, hehe. But I like Koreans, and yes, they are really adorable, cute, funny, handsome, beautiful, amazing, talented, perfect, cool, awesome, and so much more ^.^
Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I want to learn Chinese, Kore..."You never know, with a dream you can accomplish a lot of things (;
That's really cool! I'd love to visit South Korea one day.
There's soo many places I'd love to vist. :P
I used to listen to a lot of K-pop, too. Mostly 2 PM and SHINee, though I was the same as you, I could not understand a word they were saying (well singing, I suppose) haha. The music was just so fun!
That's great. :)Kate: totally. man, we really need to differ in opinions on some things. :) it's getting kinda creepy how alike we think and our opinions on things. lolz
Yeah, it is kind of scary. (another agreement :P)
Gosh darn it! Maybe we can find a disagreement in our tastes in music. First off, are you a Bieber (or however it's spelled) fan?
Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I want to learn ..."Really? You listened to K-pop!?! Cool! I still listen to K-pop. I don't listen to American music at all, unless I turn on the radio because I'm bored. There was never an American artist I actually ever liked. Weird :) But I like, no, excuse me, LOVE K-pop. SHINee, is the first band I ever listened to ^.^ And I've heard of 2pm. K-pop is the reason I want to learn Korean, and work in Asia, haha. People might find that... different... But I will work hard to make my dream come true!!
Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a singer, haha. I ..."Yeah, I did for a long time. I really liked it, especially SHINee. (:
What bands do you listen to? Any recommendations?
I know what you mean. I only turn on the radio when I get bored too but most of the time I turn it off just as quickly because of how horrid the mainstream music is.
I think that's great how K-pop has inspired you! And I wish you good luck. I'm sure if you set your mind to it, you can achieve your dreams. :D
Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so I guess a sin..."Yes, SHINee is amazing :) my bias is Key oppa!! Hmm, I like a lot of K-pop bands. I recommend Teen Top, Super Junior, and Beast (B2ST). I'll put on some songs here for your convenience ^^
Super Junior "No Other"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnMoDD...
Teen Top "Supa Luv"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQFnQ...
Beast "I Like You Best"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyNOfg...
I'm currently really into Super Junior-M (they are the sub-unit of Su Ju, the "M" stands for Mandarin, because they sing in Mandarin :)
Some of my favorite Su Ju-M songs are:
"Off My Mind" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKxwEw... (This song is written by Su Ju-M's very own, Henry, and my bias. He's so crazily talented!!
"My All Is In You" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stgzpx... (This song makes me want to cry it's so beautiful)
"Perfection" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PC6yB... (This song was featured on the homepage of Youtube, that's how I found Su Ju-M)
"Super Girl" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pit7RS... (Haha, in the beginning it sounds like Teen Top's "Supa Luv" and then Kyuhyun sounds like he says "Chunji" which is the name of one of the members in Teen Top, and, to me, makes it all the more funnier. I love this song)
Sorry for dumping all this on you :( but I'll give you a little back ground on the members in the groups.
Super Junior has currently 10 members due to 3 members leaving (one left to go to the army, one had a law suit against the music company, therefore leaving, and one went to pursue his acting career.)
Teen Top is a rookie group, with only a few songs out, but I still love them forever. There are 6 members:
C.A.P- 18 years
Chunji- 17 years (My bias!!)
L.Joe-17 years (Wow, he looks really good, just a heads up. He was actually my former bias, I still like him just not as much as Chunji oppa, haha)
Niel- 16 years (Has thick lips, that are cool, haha. Oh, yes, and I like him too, just, as I've said about L.Joe, not as much as Chunji)
Ricky- 16 (His b-day was yesterday!! He acts like the youngest, maknae, in the group)
Changjo- 15 years
I'm SUPER sorry if this is a lot of information, there's actually much, much more, this is just the really really basics, I just wanted to share it with you ^.^
Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a band/group, so..."Yes! I really like one of SHINee's songs, Ring Ding Dong, I think? I can't remember but I know I liked it. :D
Wow, they are all fantastic. Thank you so much! I really loved that Teen Top song you included. They look like futuristic power rangers, I love it. That music video would have taken forever to make, don't you think? It was just...WOW. They are such great dancers!
I think Chunji is my favorite, too. So cute, plus he has a really great voice. Nonetheless, they are all adorable. Why must they look so perfect? :P
I also like that song "My All Is In You". It's so pretty.
But they are all wonderful. Thank you for sharing, I'll have a lot of great music to listen to now! :D
And don't apologize, I really appreciate the information. I like to know a background on the bands I listen to, you feel more connected to the music then. (:
Sheneise wrote: "I hope to become a published author. It's always been a dream. Also I hope to make a film one day. I write scripts, so fingers crossed I'll get my dream. Film is my number one passion. Generally, I..."Hey Sheneise!
My dream is mostly the same as yours, I'd love to be published. It's always been my dream, too. I just love writing, it's so special!
I love film too and would like to be involved with that industry also. I love acting and have consider a career as a screen-writer. I think it would be so fun!
I think that so great that you write scripts and hope your dream comes true. Fingers crossed! :D
Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I want to be in a b..."Yeah, Ring Ding Dong is one of my favorite songs too. SHINee is going to release a MV for their song "Quasimodo" and they are debuting in Japan sometime in March (I hope it's soon!). I agree, all Teen Top members look amazing :) but my heart still belongs to Chunji, hehe. I'm so Chunji-biased. Any who, I'm glad I got to share some of my favorite songs with you. There's actually a group on Goodreads for K-pop and J-rock (I don't listen to J-rock, but the other members of the group to do), you can join the group if you'd like :) That way, we can talk about more K-pop bands, haha. Only if you want, though ^^
Kate wrote: "Not a chance. You?"Of course not! UGH! This is gonna be hard. Fave subject in school?
And just in case anyone thinks this convo is off topic- It's my dream for the future that Kate and I find something we disagree on. :)
You had to ask that one, didn't you? This year it's a three-way tie between Latin, Math, and English.Opinion on Twilight?
UGH! I did. And same minus the Latin (cause i don't take it). It's OKAY. Not great- HP!!, but I did read all 4 books and reread a couple for the heck of it. I've gone to see the movies too, but that was with friends that I dont see very often anymore. :)
What about gnomes?
Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Currently, I wan..."Oh yay, I'll have to keep a look out! I haven't heard that song "Quasimodo" though so I'll have to check it out. (:
They are so adorable, then again all Korean's are. :P
I'll certainly check out that group. Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa! :D
Well, Rebekah, we've finally found a disagreement. I do NOT like Twilight, have only read the first, and have seen none of the movies. Although, I guess at the same time we reached the agreement that HP is awesome....Gnomes are pretty awesome though.
Well it's about time. :) I can tolerate it, but you can't. :)They are. lolz
Maybe not the best we could have hoped for, but still, it's a disagreement.
True- and it's not all that huge. :) But it works. Now we can agree on things in peace.
Knowing that our minds are not completely identical is nice. I feel better about agreeing now.
Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Laura wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I wanted to be an author, I still do, though, but not as much as before. Cur...""Quasimodo" is a seriously sweet song because they say "Saranghae" A LOT, which means "I love you" in Korean, if you didn't know :)
And no problem, I love sharing my K-pop (most of the time, haha) I live in a pretty small, tiny, boring, not-highly-populated town and NO ONE likes K-pop, I've tried sharing with my friends the amazingness of K-pop, but nooo they don't like it, sadly :( Anyways, I like talking about K-pop, if you haven't noticed hahaha ^^
I'm really jealous of those K-pop fans who live in S. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, basically any Asian country because a K-pop band will probably visit there, and plus you could just go to a store and buy a K-pop CD, but in the U.S.A... YOU CAN'T!!!
But what about online?My friend loves K-pop...but she's another one of the people who doesn't understand a word of what's being said. She's fluent in Chinese, not Korean, but likes Korean music (and I think people) waaaay better.
Kate wrote: "Knowing that our minds are not completely identical is nice. I feel better about agreeing now."Seriously, I felt like you were invading my mind- it was violating. :)
And you weren't invading mine? You downplay your own involvement. ;)
I was simply sharing my side. I never denied that i was invading yours.
What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What job would you lov..."
I would skip getting an agent unless you want to get published by a large publisher (Scholastic, Harper, Penguin, etc.). They can charge hundreds of dollars just for looking at your book and not doing anything. Do what you want though, agents can work wonders.