Killian's Blog/Website/Whatever

I generally consider myself to be a pretty low-key tomboy. Some of it is natural inclination, some of it is lack of experience with mysterious rituals like 'contouring,' and some of it is possibly (probably) a result of dating at least one guy who hated when I wore makeup. However, I've learned something important about myself--particularly after being sick for a week and a half and feeling like a lump dump every time I look in the mirror: I like how I look when I wear makeup. I like it a lot. It makes me feel more beautiful and confident. Like many of us, I grew up under the impression that, as a girl, I could like pink, or I could like dirt. I chose dirt. But in the past few years, I've realized that I kind of like pink. Yeah, I almost exclusively wear jeans and I still get into who-can-punch-harder fights with my brothers, but I also love Justin Timberlake and Covergirl's Lash Blast mascara. I used to view my occasionally well-manicured nails as a sign of fragi...

I don't usually share my creative writing online, because the way that the publishing world works is so insane and I fear the plagiarists. But (1) I am becoming less uptight and more rebellious in my attitudes towards publishing, and (2) this is a finished poem and not a piece of fiction that is still in-progress. So, here you go. A rare gift of artful (not just spontaneous) words from a month or so ago, which I am finally presenting to you on a day that's been a little too heavy for me. Untitled In the grass, there are white stones small enough to swallow. Bitter powder. Don't let them touch your tongue. Saint Joan, I was only twelve and already pinning windows shut to keep the eyes out. Telephone poles, pulling hair out by the roots. Teach me how to bear the pain of the burns on my back-- I never learned my lesson about sitting in the sun. Eight legged creatures crawling into me, For Every Car You Pass You Must Lift Your Left Shoulder (feel the wing bo...

Daniel was telling me last night about how "like" is probably going to be an official part of speech, as in "My dad was like:..." or "Her boss was like:..." At first, he was like "I don't know about this." Oh, shoot--you see what I did there? I actually think this is a useful distinction in English. When you say "X person said Y," then you are basically relaying a quote. Even if it isn't a quote, that objectivity is what you're going for. It's straightforward. It's the reliable narrator. If you say "X was like 'Y'," then there's some implied wiggle room. The "like" suggests that what comes next will probably be an approximation  of a quote that is [slightly/majorly] changed to fit the mood of the story or the storyteller's agenda. It's less reliable, and a lot more conversational. So there you go! Don't feel bad about "like"! Embrace it! It's the unreliabl...