Saturday, May 24, 2008

Birthday Wishes

Readers, it's my birthday tomorrow.

And that brings me one year closer to no longer being a 'teen' author. What will happen when I leave teenhood for good to become a 'real' adult? Will this blog still exist? Will it have to become 'Blog of a 20-something... normal person... who is uninteresting...'?

Anyway, Happy Birthday to me, and I suppose we'll find out in the coming year whether I make it... or not.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alright, I have yet to read the entire Eragon series so, don't classify me as a fan of Chris P.

I used to be a fan of your works on FP, thinking you were someone awesome to look up to when it comes to looking up to someone who wants to bw an author in the FP world; someone nice and kind, basically, also.

Seeing what this blog has turned into, I'm beginning to doubt myself and laugh at who I thought you were. You're someone who apparently HAS to make fun of someone just because you don't like theirs, and I just don't respect that at all. In my personal opinion, it makes you seem immature and kind of, I guess, pathetic. Why can't you just accept something you don't like, and move on and talk about things you DO like? It's kind of unprofessional to constantly be talking about Chris like you are.

I'm not exactly a fan at all of his writing and series (because I'm over fantasy, to tell you the truth), but that doesn't mean I have to constantly talk about him and his books.

p.s. Saying how good your work is, and basically bragging about it is just making you seem not only stuck up but pretty full of yourself, too, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

Ignore previous commenter.
Continue with Paolini-posts. They're some of the funniest stuff I get to read on a daily basis.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!

- Jaden

Mathilda said...

I totally agree with Jaden. It was the anti-Paolini stuff that made me discover your blog and I've learnt so much from you! You're ten times better than my teachers and I owe you for that.
Happy birthday!!

Thing in the Coat said...

"It's kind of unprofessional to constantly be talking about Chris like you are."

Hear-hear! Finally, someone has spoken up with the words that have been simmering within me all along! After all, Blogspot is reknowned the Internet over as a pillar of journalistic integrity, and its writers should do nothing less than adhere to the lofty set of standards expected of them, striving to cultivate only insightful, persuasive pieces from the most credible research and maintaining a neutral, sober voice throughout.

I scoff at this Savannah's utter contempt for the mores of respectable blogging. Harrumph.

Mathilda said...

Ok, this might be odd coming from a Swede, but I don't think that being neutral is the best. Criticism is needed in the world, no matter how unimportant the subject is. Criticizing Paolini might not save the world from anything (because I really don't think that Paolini will ever read this and even if he did he's too stuck up to listen to the critique), but wait! It has saved the world from something:

Me.

I used to be a misguided Paolini fan myself - not that I would be writing hate mails or so - but I've read the books like a million times and wanted to write like C.P.

Then I read an article about Paolini stealing his story from StarWars, and suddenly I realised that the books weren't good at all, and C.P. himself was just a self-loving prat.

As the time passed by I discovered more and more that made me dislike the Inheritance series even more, like the steling of the ancient Nodic language and the stereotypal caracters.

So what should I do? Paolini's books had been what I based my writing style on, and without him I wasn't sure how to do it anymore.

As time passed by I discovered new authors to learn from, like Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling or Lian Hearn. I also found this blog when I did not only learn about writing and English - I was also given arguments not to start liking C.P. again, something that's needed when you spend time with Paolini-loving friends.

I don't know, maybe it's unprofessional to criticize the hell out of someone like this, but in my case it was needed... Just think about it. I might have ended up like Ferdinand.


oh... this became a very long comment, maybe it would have been better to post it at my own blog instead.

Mathilda said...

Have discovered some severe grammar mistakes in my comment and am sorry for that.

Thing in the Coat said...

Um, was that last comment rebutting Anonymous Prat or myself? Because I really can't tell.

Mathilda said...

Um, I don't know really. I was kind of tired.

Thing in the Coat said...

Hopefully it wasn't directed towards me, since my post was sarcasm slathered on all thick and sour like mayonnaise.

Mathilda said...

It wasn't for you, I like you.

Anonymous said...

Yes, critism is needed in the world, but Savannah's not doing the right thing, which would be constructive critism. She's just making fun of him for ridiculous reasons, aka she doesn't like his writing.

So, what?! There are tons of authors and books out there I'm sure you don't like so, why not make fun of them, too, while you're at it? It's not like what you're doing is even funny. It's stupid and immature, and a waste of your time.

You could be doing so much more with your time. Productive things, including writing and improving your writing style.

I realize I'm wasting a moment of my time writing this, but I'm used to it. I'm used to my time being wasted, on accident by myself or others, but that's not the point.

You should get back to how this blog used to be. Back to writing tips, for one, and etc. It was WAY better and useful back then.

Anonymous said...

p.s. I am the anonymous writer.

Thing in the Coat said...

"Yes, critism is needed in the world, but Savannah's not doing the right thing, which would be constructive critism" [sic].

Because no doubt Paolini is scouring Blogger to figure out how to improve his writing. Scores of editors and translators are poring over his work and deeming it fit to be published, he's raking in cash at a rate of one Stephen King and a half a Dean Koontz, but despite this, one person on Blogger is going to change him into a better writer.

Paolini is never going to read this blog, and even if he did, he's not going to take any sort of constructive criticism within it to heart, because his way of doing things is reaping results by the fistful: He's tapped into an audience that will greedily suckle at the withered, sour teat of his mediocrity until that well inevitably runs dry, and is apparently content with that.

In any event, this is a blog. A diary kept up in public view. A place to type whatever happens to tickle one's fantasy at any given time. If it happens to be that some smarmy writer makes a skeezy feeling shoot up and down your spine, then so be it, into the keyboard it goes. Making suggestions on how to go about it is one thing, but expecting it to conform to some arbitrary standards you've happened to apply to it and confrontationally calling out the writer for failing to do so is another.

Of course, that's not to say I don't have my own complaints to file with this blog: Primarily, that the screeds against Paolini tend to eschew jokes for "PAOLINI!? ARRGGH! GRAAAHH! PAOLINI SHORT, HAS WEIRD SIGNATURE! SAVANNAH SMASH!" and similar other histrionics. Such a fertile vein of parody, Paolini is, but sadly it goes without mining to its fullest extent.

P.S. Real and valuable constructive criticism of Paolini's opus, if that's your thing, can be found here, at Anti-Shur'tugal.

Anonymous said...

Dear Fellow Posters,

I quote:
"Continue with Paolini-posts. They're some of the funniest stuff I get to read on a daily basis."
I would just like to say that, for all it's worth (which is absolutely nothing to you) I do not agree with this.
I can hardly bear to imagine what kind of a person would get any amount of amusement by scorning and mocking a fellow. When you can get high by pulling others down, than you are pretty low. And since every author's works reflect a part of his/her soul, I shudder to think of what your work must portray.
Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, of course, and is welcome to state it. As far as I am concerned, though, no opinion should be respected or taken seriously if it is not based on logical thought. Since none of your comments against Paolini (that I have seen so far) have been backed by logical thought, I not only disagree with them, I do not respect them either.
Do you understand that your constant ridicule and horrible debating not only defaces Paolini but you as well?
I came here as an interested publisher whose curiosity was roused by the title, "Teenage Author". I leave here as a disgusted reader whose very soul shivers at imagining what you must debate like.
For all its worth, this is my opinion; and a it's logical one, at that.

~Tally Marx

Unknown said...

hmmm... interesting. what other authors do you dislike?