Writing by Keegan

Author's Note: NaNoWriMo

2009-10-11T23:02:00.002-05:00

NaNoWriMo is coming up! For those of you that don't know what National Novel Writing Month is, check our www.nanowrimo.org.

Anywho, it's coming up and unlike last year, I'm actually doing some prep for it. Plot outline, character junk, that type of stuff. Figure it might help this year go better than last year. We'll see what happens with school, though.

I've gotta go finish a blog for gov now. I would've posted it earlier, but I was at the Twins game. RIP baseball at the Dome.

Remind me to post something here,
Keegan <3

Author's Note: HUH.

2009-09-10T21:50:00.003-05:00

I have not posted any writing here in a while. Then again, I've never gotten any feedback here. So that would probably explain why. But I should start using this again for writing. Maybe I just need to link this to more places and advertise it like I do my dA and Flickr. Yeah? I just think... I think writing was replaced by photography as the thing I want to do for the rest of my life. Not that I still don't want to write. If I could ever publish a book, that'd be friggin' AMAZING. Oh, and I'm doing NaNoWriMo and being the editor for my school newspaper. And my dream job IS owning a photography studio and writing on the side.

EITHER WAY... I guess I'm just saying writing hasn't been in the front of my mind lately. When I'm in college, though? It will be because I plan on being an English major and maybe minoring in art or something? If I could do that? Or maybe a double major? HMMM.

I have a sketchbook assignment I need to finish,
Keegan <3

Playgrounds and Chocolate Malts by Keegan And Laura

2009-06-15T11:14:00.003-05:00

Characters (in order of appearance)
Airhead Mom: Rupert's mother, clueless trophy wife
Lucy's Mom: Lucy's mother, a gossip
Michael's Mom: Michael's mother, also a gossip
Rupert: Age 5, spoiled and a but slow
Michael: Age 5, trouble maker, typical boy
Lucy: Age 5, has an attitude

Scene I:
It is a noisy playground in the middle of the summer. The playground has slides, swings, and a jungle gym. Park benches are on the sides for the parents to sit and watch. Children run around playing. They chase each other and yell and laugh, but the scene is focused on three mothers talking on a bench.

Airhead Mom: Oh, Rupert can finally go to the bathroom all by himself! I'm so proud of him!

Lucy's Mom: (rolling her eyes and muttering under her breath) Took him long enough.

Airhead Mom: (cluelessly) Hmm? What was that?

Lucy's Mom: ("sweetly") Oh, nothing. I just think it's sooo exciting!

Airhead Mom: I know! I'm so happy! We're going to back a cake and everything! I even bought him a new toy truck!

Lucy's Mom and Michael's Mom stifle laughter while Airhead Mom is talking.

Michael's Mom: How wonderful!

End Scene.

Scene II:
The scene is focused on the playground. A girl and two boys are playing by the swings. One of the boys is showing off a bright red fire truck.

Rupert: (bragging) My mommy got me a brand new fire truck! (holds up the fire truck, showing it off)

Michael: (jealously) Why'd you get a fire truck?

Rupert: (slowly) Because... (defiantly) Because I wanted one!

Lucy: (hands on her hips, with attitude) I don't believe you.

Rupert: (getting mad) It's the troof!

Rupert pushes Lucy. She is surprised and blinks back tears as she falls backwards. Michael then steps in to defend Lucy.

Michael: (yelling) My daddy says you're not supposed to push girls!

Michael then pushes Rupert, making him fall and drop his fire truck. Airhead Mom sees him fall and runs over, worried.

Airhead Mom: What happened? Are you okay?

Rupert: (sniffling) I'm—

Airhead Mom: (interrupting) Will ice cream make it better?

Rupert: (pouting and nods) Okay...

Rupert and Airhead Mom walk away, with Rupert clutching his fire truck.

Lucy: (batting her eyelashes) Thank you for saving me, Michael.

Michael: (matter-of-factly) Well, you're not supposed to push girls. My daddy said so.

Lucy: Wanna play house? I could be the mommy and you could be the daddy!

Michael: (hesitantly) But... But you have cooties! And cooties are gross!

Lucy: (in a pathetic voice) No I don't! (Lucy runs towards her mother)

End scene.

Scene III:
Back on the benches, Lucy's Mom and Michael's Mom are gossiping.

Lucy's Mom: Oh my God! If she keeps giving Rupert food to avoid possible tantrums, he' going to be one fat child!

Michael's Mom: And he's already getting to be a little tubby.

Lucy's Mom: I know! Can't you just imagine what he'll be like in—

Lucy runs up and starts tugging on her mom's shirt, interrupting her.

Lucy: Mommy! Mommy! Michael said I have cooties! I don't want cooties! I don't want them! (now on the verge of tears)

Michael's Mom: (slightly angry) Michael said what?

Lucy: He said I have cooties!

Lucy's Mom: (sympathetic/comforting) Aww... Honey, you don't have cooties.

Lucy: (almost crying, her lower lip trembling) But... Michael said I did! He said I have cooties and that they're gross!

Lucy's Mom: (still comforting) Lucy, cooties are just something little boys make up to make girls cry. They aren't real.

Lucy: (hopeful) So... I don't have cooties?

Lucy's Mom: (smiling) Of course not!

Lucy: (also smiling, now happy again) I'm gonna go tell Michael!

Lucy runs off towards the playground.

Michael's Mom: (apologetic) I'm so sorry Michael was teasing your daughter. (thinking out loud) I wonder if I should punish him for that...

Lucy's Mom: Oh, no. I think it should be fine now.

End scene.

Scene IV:
Back on the playground, Lucy runs up to Michael.

Lucy: (defiant/ angry, pointing at Michael) You liar! (she crosses her arms) I do not have cooties! My mommy said so!

Michael: (taunting) Well... You're mommy is lying! Girl's have cooties!

Lucy: No I don't! My mommy said that boys just make that up to make girls cry!

Michael: (losing confidence) Well...

Michael looks around and sees Lucy's hair ribbon. He grabs it and runs off into the jungle gym.

Lucy: (surprised) Hey! Give that back!

Lucy chases after Michael. As she chases him, his shoelaces come untied. He trips and falls on the jungle gym.

Lucy: (seeing Michael fall) Michael!

Michael starts crying when he realizes his knee is bleeding. Lucy's Mom and Michael's Mom heard Lucy yelling and they look over to see what's happening. There are 10 seconds of chaos as they try to get over to the kids. The kids continue freaking out over the blood.

Michael's Mom: (frantically) Oh my God! Michael! Are you okay?

Michael: (crying) Mommy, my knee!

Lucy's Mom: (worried) Lucy, what happened?

Lucy: (scared) He stole my hair ribbon and so I chased him and then he tripped and fell.

Michael continues crying.

Michael's Mom: (remembering) Lucy, there's a first aid kit in my bag by the bench. Can you go get it for me?

Lucy: (nodding and biting her lower lip) Uh-huh. (she runs towards the benches)

Lucy's Mom: (trying to come up with a way to make them feel better) Well... It could have been worse. At least he didn't fall on pavement.

Lucy runs back with the first aid kit. Michael's Mom starts bandaging up Michael's knee.

Lucy: Is he gonna die? He might be mean sometimes, but I don't want him to die...

Michael's Mom: No, Lucy. It's just a scrape on his knee. He'll be okay.

Michael starts calming down a little bit, but winces as his mother finishes bandaging up his knee.

Michael's Mom: There. All better.

Michael: (sniffling) It still hurts.

Michael's Mom: It takes a little while to feel better.

Michael: (perking up) Mommy, can we have ice cream? Rupert got ice cream when he fell. And I got hurt worse than him. He didn't even bleed!

Lucy: (begging her mom) Can we get ice cream, too, Mommy? Please?

The mothers sigh and look at each other.

Michael's Mom: (giving in) Well, I guess we could do that.

Lucy's Mom: (getting an idea) Wait! I have a better idea! Instead of ice cream cones, let's go the malt shop and get chocolate malts!

Michael and Lucy: Yay!

They gather their things and walk away from the playground.

End scene.

Scene V:
Lucy's Mom, Michael's Mom, Lucy, and Michael walk into the malt shop. As they enter, a bell above the door rings. The inside of the malt shop looks like a retro soda fountain, complete with stools at a counter, red leather booths, and a black and white checkered floor. They go up to the counter, order chocolate malts, and go sit down at a booth. A waitress brings over their malts and they all drink them happily.

Lucy: This is fun! We should do it again tomorrow!

Michael: Then I think you should be the one to get hurt.

The mothers laugh.

End scene.

End play.

Author's Note
This was the final for creative writing. We had to write a play. We could write it with a partner if we wanted, so I wrote it with Laura. The things that are in red are things we had to include in the play. Basically, Laura and I were trying to figure out a setting/plot and we figured there are park benches by a playground and there would be chaos there. And then we thought, "Hey! A kid could fall and they could get malts afterwards to feel better!" Or something like that.

So yeah.

I have a few other assignments from creative writing that I think I'll post,
Keegan <3

Stupidity CRITIQUE PLZ

2009-05-01T16:12:00.005-05:00

“Hello. My name is Elizabeth, but I go by Eli. And I... I am apparently addicted to stupidity.”

“Hi, Eli,” the group of tired looking individuals answer back in the most monotone voice.

If there were such a thing as Stupidity Anonymous, I would absolutely for sure be in it and that's how my first meeting would go. Or so I imagine.

Right now? I'm hiding. In the forest/woods/whatever that is basically my backyard. See, my town is on the edge of this forest. It's a fairly decent sized town. Big paper industry. I mean, obviously. But as I was saying, I am hiding in the woods.

That probably sounds really odd. Why would a 17-year-old girl be hiding in the woods behind her house? Although I suppose if I were playing hide-and-seek, it would make sense. But I'm not. So it probably makes no sense to you.
Basically, I have a tendency to do stupid things. Hence Stupidity Anonymous. Anywho, these woods have this strange calming effect on me and there's this random clearing that I know about that acts as my safe place.

I know, I know. You don't even have to say it. I am an odd duck.

Quack.

But the stupid things I do? Oh, you know. I have a tendency to speak without thinking, do things without thinking, stuff like that. For a straight-A honors student, I don't think a lot. And my most recent lapse of not thinking? I kissed the guy I've secretly been in love with for about a year. And he has a girlfriend.

* * *

We were at a party. Just some random person's house that was all, “Omg you shud commme!” I showed up with Cassie, my best friend since forever. Our favorite thing about parties is making fun of the drunk people. We don't actually drink, but it's really funny to watch the stupid people that do. Although at this party, the booze wasn't out yet. Or else it hadn't been brought yet. That didn't stop a handful of people from getting their pre-party drink on, though.

One of those pre -party drunks stumbled into me as I made my way through the front hall of the house with Cassie.
“You wanna get a drink?” he slurred out, holding up a fake ID.

Cassie and I looked at it and tried not to laugh. “Are you 20-years-old?” I asked.

He got a confused look and Cassie had to turn away to keep the laughter in.

“The year is wrong,” I told him. “According to the year on this, you're not 21. You're only 20.”

It took him a second, attempting to do the math in his drunken head before it dawned on him. He gave an “aw, crap!” as he grabbed the ID back and stumble-ran to one of his friends.

Cassie and I let out the laughter we were holding in.

“Oh my god!” she laughed. “You could totally see him crossing his eyes from trying to do the math. Drunk people are the best!”

“Was it really the wrong year?” a voice asked.

I turned around. Sam. Oh, Sam, of my year long affections that are secret to everyone but Cass. Why must you look so cute in the dim party lights?

“Yeah,” I told him, still laughing a little. “You'd think if you were going to all the trouble of getting a fake ID, you'd at least want to get the year right.”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward silence as I noticed his long time girlfriend wasn't hanging on his shoulder. Which was odd because she's always hanging on his shoulder and fawning all over him and preening and... Yeah. I'm not too fond of Kaylee.

“So where’s Kaylee?”

He shrugged. “She’s around here somewhere, I guess.”

“Oh. Okay.” Awkward silence again. For talking about his girlfriend, he sure seemed nonchalant.

“Um, anyways, I think we’re gonna go to the kitchen and find something to drink,” I said, turning towards where Cassie was standing. “...Erm. Actually, I’m gonna go to the kitchen and try to find Cassie. Because she was here just a minute ago and now she’s not.”

“I’ll go with,” Sam offered. “I could use something to drink, too.”

“If you mean alcohol, I’ll kill you.”

“I mean Coke.”

“Okay, then. Good. Yeah. To the kitchen.” If it turns out the dim lights can’t hide my face of “oh God why is this so much more awkward than usual,” I don’t know what can.

I think the lack of Kaylee was throwing me off. In the whole time they’ve been dating, I’ve never talked to Sam at a party without Kaylee by his side. Sure, I’ve talked to him in school without her there, but that’s school. A party is completely different.

Luckily, I spotted Cassie by the fridge.

As I practically pushed her into the hallway, she immediately asked, “What’s going on?”

“Oh my God, I don’t know!” I cried. “It’s me, it’s Sam, it’s oh my God I don’t even know.”

“Eli, calm down,” Cassie said, reassuringly. She’s good at stuff like that. “What’s the deal with Sam?”

“I don’t know! Usually I can talk to him so easily! That’s half the reason I like him! But tonight it’s the most awkward, silence-filled conversation ever and I don’t know what’s going on! Augh!”

“I think... I think you’re just over-thinking everything.”

“Ugh. Probably. Either way, help me avoid him so I don’t do something awkward or stupid. Because you know that’s bound to happen.”

And so began my attempt to avoid Sam. AHEM. Fail.

* * *

To make a long, stupidity-filled story short, I couldn’t avoid him. He managed to corner me by the stairs. Luckily, he started talking about the bad music playing. Music is my safe topic in the sense that I always have something to say about it. I love arguing about music.

And then... I don’t even know what happened. We were arguing about whether or not rap was real music and... He kissed me. Or I kissed him. Oh my God, I don’t even know. All I know is that he kissed me and I looked up and saw Kaylee staring. And then Sam saw her and promptly muttered, “crap.”

And so I left Cassie at the party and drove home. As fast as I could without getting a ticket. Because I kissed the guy I’m secretly in love with. And he has a girlfriend.

And all of that leads to me hiding in the woods in the fetal position.

* * *

“Hey.”

I looked up. “How the heck did you find me here?”

Sam shrugged. “For someone who, according to you, hates all people, your sister is really easy to bribe.”

Melinda. My 15-year-old, stick of a sister is the only person who knows about my safe place besides me.

“Augh... I’m going to kill Mel when I get home,” I muttered, clenching my fists.

“Or not.”

“Huh?”

“How could I tell you Kaylee’s not my girlfriend anymore if Melinda didn’t tell me where you were?”

I looked at him, dumbfounded. “Wait. You broke up with Kaylee? When?”

“Uhh... Yesterday,” he said, sheepishly.

“So I’m a rebound?” I groaned.

“No! Not at all! Eli, let me explain.”

“Fine. Explain. But I’ll have you know I am officially angry with you now,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Ahem. Kaylee and I officially broke up yesterday. But for the past month, we’ve both realized that kissing each other is now like kissing a sibling. It’s just weird and we don’t love each other that way anymore. We’re better off friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. And so we finally made it official yesterday. But it’s felt unofficial for awhile.”

“But what about Kaylee? At the party?”

“She was just a little bit surprised. I got a chance to talk to her and she’s totally fine with it. Oh, and I gave Cassie a ride home. ‘Cause you left her, and all.”

“Aw, crap. Thanks for that.” I stared at the ground. “So what happens now?”

“What do you want to happen?” he asked.

I looked up at him, trying to sort my thoughts. “Okay. Here’s the deal. I like you. I’ve liked you for awhile. But with you just breaking up with Kaylee, this is weird. I don’t care if you’ve felt broken up for awhile. It’s weird. Give me a month to adjust, and I am totally your girlfriend.”

He smiled at me. “I think I can do that.”

And so here’s to waiting for the month to hurry on faster. And here’s to hoping I do nothing stupid in the next month. Like kissing the guy I like.

Author's Note
Another thing written for creative writing. We had to write on three seperate slips of paper a setting, a character, and one line of dialouge. And then we had to put them into piles and draw.

So these are the things I drew:
Character - Melinda, 15 years old, doen't like to talk to people, tall, brown hair and eyes.
Setting - a forest becauseit's quiet and calm and nature is all around (or however that person phrased it)
Dialouge - "Are you 20 years old?"

So yeah. This is the version I turned in and hopefully it's not too crappy. The rough draft was way worse, though. I actually managed to get this to be fairly decent, although it's still not my favorite thing I've written.

I have a poem I need to post,
Keegan <3

Canoeing CRITIQUE PLZ

2009-04-20T22:33:00.004-05:00

We dip our paddles into the clear water and glide smoothly across the lake. Sunshine on our heads, the scene is not as serene as it may seem.

Inside the canoe, we are giggles and laughter and saying stupid things. My cousins and I make fun of each other and talk endlessly on about nothing, about everything.

We are an expert set of canoers. Mostly. Allie is in the back, steering our ship. She's the oldest, and the only one that can actually steer well. Cori sits on her carpet square in the middle, sometimes resting her arms on the bar going across the canoe, sometimes not. There is no middle seat, so she's on the floor of the canoe. She often gets stuck there being the youngest of us. I don't think she minds, though. At least, not all the time. I get to be in the front. I get a view no one else gets, but I often turn 'round because of the conversation.

Allie and I splash Cori as we paddle. It's on accident. Sort of. Sometimes it's on purpose. She splashes back, but we yell as she slightly leans to one side. "Crack on the crack!" so we don't tip over.

We keep a lookout for the loons. It's not called Loon Lake for nothing. We've seen the loons many a time and have even followed them around the lake in our canoe.

I love our canoe. It may be old and full of spider webs when no one uses it and it has a tiny hole somewhere, but it works.

Tommy sees us from the dock and yells something about dinner being soon. We yell back and start paddling back to the cabin.

Author's Note
I haven't posted anything in awhile that's actual finished writing, but with my creative writing class, expect stuff more regularily. This is a vignette I had to write about something that happened in my life. I wrote it about canoeing with my cousins, if you couldn't figure that out. Haha. Yep...

Much love and more to come,
Keegan <3

Author's Note: I need to update this.

2009-04-10T16:37:00.002-05:00

I have a poem that I could post, but it's written in a notebook somewhere. But basically, I'm just updating to say that I haven't forgotten this and I'll try to update soon.

Much love and all that fun stuff,
Keegan <3

Spring Magic

2009-03-22T18:38:00.001-05:00

Spring Magic
Originally uploaded by ViolentKiwi3511

Uhhh... I tried posting this before, but it didn't work out quite like I planned, so... Let's trying this instead?

If I come up with a poem for this like I originally wanted to, I'll delete this filler stuff and post it.

Keegan <3

Author's Note: Ludo's Broken Bride EP

2009-03-06T22:47:00.002-06:00

So I listened to it today, right? Amazing. Ludo's awesome. Although I'm sure you're wondering how this relates to writing, right? Well, if you know anything about the Broken Bride EP, you know that it's a 28 minute rock opera. And I must say... It's inspired me and now I want to write my own rock opera. I've actually asked my friend Elizabeth if she would wanna write it with me. Just because I know she actually listens to rock operas more than me. And then I mentioned wanting to write a rock opera to Emiyl and she said she wanted to help. Or something like that. So if Elizabeth answers me back, maybe it could be a three-part collab?

Now for a subject matter... If you're reading this, ideas?
Keegan <3

12 Years

2009-03-03T22:44:00.005-06:00

1.
A sea of puppies to choose from.
We chose you,
Your fur was soft
And I was four and wanted to call you "Fluffy."
We decided on "Jett,"
Because of the way you raced around the yard.
Mom came home from work,
Completely surprised.
Getting you had been a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Purebred black lab, 4 months old, free.
2.
You had an affinity for brightly colored socks.
You would steal them from my floor
And a few days later,
They would be out in the yard.
I had many mismatched socks.
Once, a neighbor boy left his socks in the sandbox.
You got them, and, well,
Mom found them a few days later
After nature had done its duty.
She washed them and gave them back,
Leaving out the part where
Our dog ate them.
3.
You are the reason
All of our trashcans are under the sinks.
To the very end, you loved Kleenex.
My dad called them "pre-wipes,"
Eliciting groans from all of us.
4.
You weren't supposed to eat people food,
But we spoiled you.
You would come running if someone had cheese
And I always gave you a scoop of vanilla
If I was having ice cream.
You even managed to get a few hamburgers
From when I would leave them on the table
And walk away.
And once, my cousins and brothers and I
Built a fort at the cabin by raising the hammock
And throwing a blanket over it.
We ate Froot Loops and fed you half the box.
You threw up rainbows on the deck.
My dad hosed it off as we apologized to you.
I guess we shared too much.
4.
We used to be able to feed you Cheerios
From our fingers.
Around the campfire at the cabin,
My mom tried doing the with the neighbor dog
And a marshmallow.
Guess who was more gentle?
6.
You loved Daddy best,
No doubt about it.
If we wrestled him when we were little
Or we climbed on him too much,
Or hugged him too long,
You would bark, wanting attention.
You always slept on his side of the bed
And when he went on business trips,
Mom said she would always hear you
Patrolling the house throughout the night.
7.
You were a water dog,
And a protector.
If we swam at the cabin,
You swam.
If I screamed of laughter,
You would jump into the lake
To save me, thinking I was in trouble.
You always had to watch over us,
Especially the littlest ones.
And we couldn't go on the speedboat without you.
Whoever drove,
You would sit at their feet.
Or else you would go to the front
And let the wind blow back your ears.
I bet you wished summer was all year long.
8.
You hated thunderstorms.
Our big, black dog,
Afraid of thunder.
We would find you in the basement,
Between the couch and the coffee table,
Hiding.
9.
You were in the middle of everything,
If we watched a movie downstairs,
You were with us.
If we were all in the kitchen,
You were there.
If company was over,
You would be the first to greet them.
You would stand in the middle of conversations,
Waiting to be pet.
You were such a people dog.
And people loved you.
10.
I was never able to give you walks.
Always, always, always,
You were too big.
We were always the same size.
We grew up together,
Got big together.
Even when you were little,
You were big to me.
Once, I tried giving you a walk.
I was fourteen or fifteen,
And it was just to the corner and back.
You pulled too much for me to be successful.
I guess that's what happens
When we're the exact same size.
11.
You wagged your tail all the time.
It was dangerous.
How many times had we gotten whacked in the shins
And almost knocked over?
Although I suppose it's good,
Because it means you were happy all the time.
12.
You got cancer around Christmas,
The same time as Dad.
Only Dad's cancer could be removed.
Yours was too tangled with everything.
You slept more
And tired easily
And that bottomless stomach
Seemed to grow a bottom.
And you had a cyst on your tail that bled.
How many times had we cleaned up
What looked like a murder scene
Because you had wagged your tail while it bled?
How many times had we had to coax you still
While we bandaged you up?
And how many times did it kill me
To stop you from trying to lick my face
Because the cancer made your breath smell like rot?
We didn't take pictures those last months
Because we didn't want to remember you like that.
But I remember.
And I remember sitting on the floor with you
Petting you and holding you and crying
As the doctor ended your life.
Spencer came home from college that weekend,
But he didn't come with then.
We didn't force him.
We all dealt with it differently.
And that weekend ended,
Along with your like,
As we lost what had added so much.

http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/gallery/#Jett

Author's Note
No critique, please. This is pretty personal and I don't plan on really changing anything.

A year ago yesterday, we put our dog down. We had him 12 years and I still miss him. I love you, pupper dog. You'll always be the best dog, no matter what.

Keegan <3

Now on dA: http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/art/12-Years-114821857

Author's Note: Poem about Jett

2009-03-02T20:03:00.006-06:00

Super long poem coming. I wrote it last night when I should have been falling alseep. It's memories and such about my dog. It was a year ago today that we had to put him down.

I miss you, pupper dog. I miss you, still.

Anyways, I might have to break the poem up. I wrote it in twelve parts, one for each year we had him (from when I was four to sixteen). And did I mention it's long? Twelve years, twelve memories, although there are so many more.

Keegan <3

In the mean time, feel free to critique my stuff. Anything with a CRITIQUE PLZ in the title, for sure. Although the other stuff, too. I just probably won't change it unless it's a glaring problem. Anywho, it's most definitely helpful. As long as you're kind about it and aren't like, "You suck, stop writing." That's not helpful, trust me. So yeah.

We Sat On the Swings - CRITIQUE PLZ

2009-03-01T21:00:00.004-06:00

We sat on the swings,
the sun hitting our backs,
turning us to silhouettes in the dusk.

We sat on the swings,
holding hands,
just sitting there.

We sat on the swings
in silence,
in love.

We sat on the swings
and we felt alive
and we felt at peace.

We sat on the swings
and we whispered sweet nothings
as cotton floated by.

We at on the swings,
our flip-flops off,
our feet in the sand.

We sat on the swings,
disappearing with the sun,
fading with each breath.

Author's Note
Just written, like, a minute ago. I was going to write a short story, and then the opening line led to the next and then it became poetry. This is the easiest it's been for me to write a poem in awhile. I like it.

It's funny because it's the beginning of March and just this past Thursday, there was a snowstorm.

Also, this is complete fiction. I don't have someone to sit on the swings with. And even if I did, the playground near my house has rocks, not sand. If only, if only...

Keegan <3

[EDIT]
Posted on dA. http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/art/We-Sat-On-the-Swings-114595447

Doubts - CRITIQUE PLZ

2009-03-01T14:46:00.001-06:00

Written 2-25-09, 10:33
Why is it so difficult for me to write poetry?
It used to just flow out.
Might not have been good,
But it was there.

Do I just no longer have a single deep thought?
Will I just cry myself numb
Because I feel lifeless enough already?

It used to be,
I liked him, so I wrote.
It faded away, so I wrote.
New guy, new cycle.

Do I just not like him enough?
Is he that uninspiring?
But he makes me laugh
And we have funny conversations
And he likes my writing.

Or do I just like him as a friend?
Am I just fooling myself?
Because I do that.

And it used to just flow.

Author's Note
I can't decide if I like it in stanzas. I originally just had it all together, but I divided it up when I typed it. Good, or no?

Keegan <3

Maybe I'm Broken - CRITIQUE PLZ

2009-03-01T14:36:00.005-06:00

-Written 2-25-09, 10:23 pm
Maybe I'm broken.
Maybe I have this disease,
This brand-new, just discovered disease,
In which you never know what to say.
You have an idea,
But this disease prevents you
From truly knowing and so
You never say anything that you want to say
And only say things easily ignored.
Maybe that brand-new disease explains a lot
And I have it.
Or maybe I'm just broken.

Author's Note
It's always possible, yes? So who will cure me and put me together again?

Keegan <3

Character Study: Christine Fletcher

2009-02-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

Character Study

Name: Christine Fletcher
Nickname: Chris, Tine ("teen"), Stine ("steen"), Fletch, Fetch, Fetcher, Dog, Christ, Jesus-ine, That Chick, Chick, Chicky, Chickling, Chicklets
Birth date/Age: 5-11-91/17
School/Grade: Belmont High/12th
Family: Robert (father, 52), Marie (mother, 49), Sydney (sister, 21), Robert (brother, 15)
Strengths: Sarcasm, being opinionated, insulting people, finding cute shoes on sale for a ridiculously low price, cooking, Guitar Hero/Rock Band
Weaknesses: Being normal, pretending to be normal, being nice, thinking before speaking
Likes: Shoes, food, witty conversations, hanging out with friends, obscure music, Shakespeare, theater in general
Dislikes: Stupid people, the majority of the music in the Billboards Top 40, Twilight, horror movies
Quotes by Christine: "It's not my fault you're so stupid!" and "Awkward, but okay."
Quote about Christine: "Christine is proof that evolution is real. What starts as a single nickname eventually evolves into 500 variations. If evolution wasn't, she'd still have only two nicknames."
A conversation between Christine and her weird friend Steven who likes being annoying:
"CHRISTINE. GUESS WHAT?"
"...What?"
"Did you know your name has "Christ" in it?"
"Why? Have you only just noticed that?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. The point is... you were named after Jesus!"
"I was named after my aunt."
"NO! You were named after Jesus! Except your parents didn't want it to be obvious, so that's why you aren't called 'Jesus-ine'."
"Steven, don't make me smack you."
"Christ doesn't smack people, Jesus-ine."
"What, am I supposed to pray for you instead? 'Oh man. Steven's totally being a stupid bitch, but I'm not going to smack him. Instead I'm going to pray that he'll learn from his wrong-doings and maybe he'll stop being so stupid and annoying and asshole-y.'"
"Jesus-ine, that sounds like the perfect thing to do."
"STOP CALLING ME 'JESUS-INE!'"

Author's Note
Okay. So this might not really be your idea of a character study. In fact, it's probably more a rough outline of a character than anything. But this is my writing blog, so I get to call it whatever I want. Basically, I'ma do stuff like this for characters I've created. Not necessarily because I'm writing about this character, but just for the sake of creating a character. I might do something with them, I might not. For instance, with Christine I have no story for her whatsoever. Just felt like creating a character. She's kind of based off of my friend Cat, although that wasn't originally my intentions.

*Coughcough* So, umm.... I had been doing this around 8 last night and at the bottom it says "Draft autosaved at 8:27 PM." Well, umm... It's 1:30 PM. I accidently left this up on my desktop all night long. Haha.

BASICALLY IT'S JUST FUN CREATING CHARACTERS.
Keegan <3

Author's Note

2009-02-28T00:23:00.000-06:00

So I've decided to start this off by posting three of my favorite things I've done (two short stories and a poem). I'm hoping this will get me writing more, which Spencer said I should do if I want to be an English major or something like that. Even though he was telling me not to. I should also maybe post my newspaper articles? Or maybe I'll just post links to the PDF of each issue. Because I don't have the final edit of each story. Which kind of sucks. So... Here are the links to my stories...?

How Not to Die (in High School) (October issue): http://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/indschool/JFK/documents/sept_000.pdf
Insanity in 50,000 Words (about NaNoWriMo), Pretty in Pink (November issue): http://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/indschool/JFK/documents/nov08.pdf
Note: There was supposed to be a December issue, but the layout computer crashed, losing everything. Emma had to redo the layout from scratch. So the January issue has everything that was supposed to be in the December issue. And apparently now there's a December issue curse because in the two years of the Eastside Edition, they haven't been able to get one out.
Thank God It's Over (January issue): http://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/indschool/JFK/documents/EEjan09.pdf
Love Sucks Day a.k.a. Valentine's Day (February issue): The link I click on leads me to the January issue....

AHEM. Okay. Done with that. As issues for the Eastside Edition come out, I'll just post a link to it here with the title of my story(-ies?). It'll be easier. Trust me.

And new, actually recent stuff. Soon? I hope? Yeah.

Keegan <3

Rae, Sarah, Kate, and Eli

2009-02-27T23:45:00.000-06:00

Original fonts
Rae – Century Gothic, 10 pt Sarah – Kartika, 12 pt
Kate – Book Antiqua, 10 pt Eli – Courier New, 10 pt

Revised fonts for blogger
Rae - Trebuchet Sarah - Times
Kate - Georgia Eli - Courier
---

So let’s start with talking about my friends and our little “group.” Talking about us is the best start I can think of.

My friends are honestly more interesting than me. Not kidding. I’m boring.

Sometimes it feels like my friends have more interesting lives than I do. I’m jealous of them in that way. Of course, that can’t be true all the time. ...Right?

So I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Elizabeth, but I go by Eli. Of course, my parents insist on calling me by my full name. Actually, I guess Eli is mostly what close friends call me. I have three best friends, by the way.

Sarah. Even my name is boring. There are too many Sarahs.

Even if my life seems boring compared to my friends, at least I can go through life knowing I spell Kathryn the right way. Also, going by Kate makes me stand out from the billions of Katies.

Of course, telling you my name might be a good idea. You need to know who’s telling you about my wonderful friends. My name is Rae and if you make a crack about it being short for Raymond, I will literally kick your ass. It’s just Rae. ‘Tis much fun to confuse people about our names with Eli. ‘Tis much fun, indeed.

Rae is... In three words? Insane, uncool, and awesome. She’s always doing crazy things and she’s such a dork. That’s what makes her awesome, though.

Rae doesn’t care if she’s acting like a dork. She actually has a shirt that says “Embrace your inner nerd.” You would think that because she’s so weird and dorky and crazy, she’d get made fun of or something. Well, she does get made fun of, but it’s in jest. Because she’s a total theater geek and a dancer, she’s become universally adored.

Sarah describes Rae as “universally adored.” Rae denies it, but it’s true. There’s something about her that people just like. I think it’s just that she isn’t afraid to be herself.

People always comment on her name. They always ask if it’s short for Rachel or something. While I go by Eli, short for Elizabeth, Rae is just Rae. That’s actually one of the better ways to describe her. She’s just Rae.

One thing that surprises people sometimes is that I’m really sarcastic and swear a lot. Sarah, too. That doesn’t really surprise people, though.

I’m a bitch. It’s true. I’m the first one to admit it. I swear too much, I’m sarcastic, I make fun of everyone (myself included), and I’m a bit jaded. I can also be bitter. I don’t know how my friend can stand me sometimes. I can’t stand me sometimes.

Yeah, Sarah can be a bitch, but I love that bitch. It’s mostly towards people that annoy her. She’s easily annoyed, though... I think it’s mostly a mask. On the inside, she’s not that bitchy.

Sarah’s hella smart. She and Rae will get into sarcasm fights. It’s like a “your mom” fight in the sense that they try to one-up each other with witty and sarcastic statements. They can get annoying, especially when they last longer than ten minutes.

I joke that Sarah has “middle child syndrome” and that she’s how she is because her parents forgot about her. With her older brother in college and her younger sister, the piano prodigy, she does get forgotten sometimes. She’s crazy hilarious, though, for all her middle child, outer bitchiness.

She’s got this column in the school newspaper called “People Are Idiots: The Real Fictional True Stories.” It’s just about everyday high school life, embellished a little bit. It talks a lot about how weird people in high school are. It’s a popular column. I wish I had her writing talent.

Kate’s always saying how she wishes she could write as well as me. Well, she’s got a talent I’m jealous of. That girl can sing like no other. I can’t really describe her voice, but it’s amazing. People melt and angels rejoice when she sings. Choir will die when she graduates. She doesn’t seem to realize that, though.

Kate’s parents met at a law firm they both used to work at, so they’re pretty successful. She has a gigantic house and whenever there’s a group project and they work at her house, people are amazed. It embarrasses her a little bit. She doesn’t like showing off. I, on the other hand, am used to it, and I could probably find everything with my eyes closed. For the most part.

Kate doesn’t really like being considered one of the automatic popular girls because she’s considered rich. She hates that scene and the drama. People don’t really want to start drama with her, though, so that’s good. Being the daughter to two lawyers means that she knows how to argue. She kicks ass in class debates.

People often think that Kate is going to be a lawyer like her parents and that she’ll end up being a rich snob. Kate is the least snobby person I know. Honestly, though? Kate often says her life is boring and she has no idea what she wants to do with her future. That surprises people.

Kate actually likes photography, but she thinks her parents won’t take it seriously. She thinks they’ll treat as just an expensive hobby. They’ll buy her the most expensive equipment and then say, “Now what are you really going to do with your life?”
I wish people would take me seriously.

It’s true. People don’t often take Eli seriously. Maybe it’s because she goes by Eli? Most teachers call her Elizabeth, her full name, but still... She does sleep in class also and is a bit of a class clown when she’s not sleeping. She gets some of the higher grades, despite that. I think she’s just not challenged enough.

Eli hates that people don’t take her seriously. People generally like her. They just don’t take her seriously. They see her as “funny, but won’t amount to much.” People don’t realize she’s a really good artist. She actually wants to write comics or go into animation. She’s a film junkie, especially when it comes to the classic Disney movies. She’d spend hours studying them frame by frame if she could.

Eli works on the paper with me, but people don’t really know that. She does the comic “The Erth iz a Skware” under the pseudonym Darlene McNotreal. It’s popular and really funny. She draws really well, which surprises people.

She’s kind of a tomboy, which is why Eli fits so much better than Elizabeth. She’s tall so people think she plays basketball, but really she likes track. She’s a total track rat. A track rat that draws well.

So that’s us. My awesome friends and me.

That’s us. I love us.

I don’t like saying they’re my friends because honestly? They’re more like an extension of me. I feel like I’m missing a limb when one of them is gone.

They sometimes feel more like family than my real family. I love that. I love them. They’re my sisters and together, we’re awesome. We’re the Fantastic Four, but without the powers and none of us are guys. Although two of us have/go by guy names... Yeah.

They’re the siblings I don’t have.

They’re better than my brothers.

They can get in your face sometimes, but I love them. They’re also less annoying than the piano prodigy sister.

They’re family, simple as that.

Author's Note
Wrote this... in August. The fonts don't necessarily matter, but it makes it a little easier to differentiate the girls. plus, with the original fonts, I had spent so much time trying to find one that would match their personalities.

So, originally, I thought this could be the opening to a story. It would start off with this, and then it would follow the girls through junior year and as it went on, the voices would each become more recognizable and then they would sort of merge into one voice at the end again (like how it does at the end of this). And of course, the whole thing wouldn't be constant back and forth like this. You'd get more extended parts with each character. And I suppose this whole thing could also be thought of as a character study.

In the end, I like this just as a short story-ish thing. Although if I ever wish to expand it, I can. Although I would nee to think of an actual title... I never really came up with one for this. Oh well.

Keegan <3

Oh, also on dA. http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/art/Story-Idea-93808047 You can see the real fonts I used there. You have to click "download," but it doesn't actually download anything. So... Yeah.

Impulse

2009-02-27T23:33:00.000-06:00

There he is. He’s right there. Leaning against the wall in the main hall near the water fountains, he’s listening to his iPod. His hands are in the pockets of his hoodie, along with said iPod. His eyes are closed, oblivious to the people walking to lunch.

They’re oblivious to him. They just walk by.

Except for me. I slow down as I’m about to pass him. A million thoughts flit through my head. He’s right there. I’ve harbored this crush since October. It’s the middle of May. The school year is coming to an end and he still doesn’t know, no matter how obvious I think I’ve been. I feel like I’ve done everything but flat out say, “I like you.”

As if by impulse, a sudden, sudden impulse, I stop right in front of him. I stare at his face with longing. His eyes are still closed. He’s still lost in music, completely oblivious to everything around him. Completely oblivious to me.

Sudden impulse.

Hands clasped behind my back, I go on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek. Tiptoes were the only way.

Surprised, he opens his eyes and pulls his head phones out. He gives me a confused look. “Wha...?”
“I thought I’d give you a hint. I’m pretty sure you’ve been blind this whole year. Just thought you’d want to know.”

It registers in his face that he’s figures it out, but I start walking away before he can say anything. My head is up high and I’ve got a small smile on my face. I did it. He finally knows how I feel.

I feel my arm stop swinging forward and I’m basically frozen mid-step. He’s grabbed my wrist. I look over my shoulder and throw a questioning look at him before he pulls me back.

We’re standing face to face. Other than the kiss I just gave him, this is the closest I’ve ever been to him. I can smell the soap on his skin. He studies my face for a moment.

“If I’ve been blind, then so have you,” he tells me softly, giving me a small smile.

And the he kisses me full of the lips.

I give of small gasp of surprise. Then he pulls away, slightly blushing through his blissful smile.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he whispers, running his hand through my long hair.

“I’ve wanted you to do that for so long,” I say, staring into his eyes. His beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. I could get lost in those eyes.

“So we’ve both been blind?” I ask.

“I guess so.”

“Probably obvious to everyone but us.”

“Yeah. Probably.”

“But at least now we both know.”

“So are we together? Is that what will happen?” He looks hopeful, yet unsure.

“Is that what you want?” I answer his question with a question.

“Yes,” he says, sounding so sure.

“Same. There’s nothing I want more right now.”

He’s holding both my hands now. He’s staring into my eyes with a look I’ve only dreamed of.

For a brief moment, I wonder what other people are thinking. Did they pay attention and notice the start of a relationship? Did they realize it was the start of something that will no doubt be beautiful? Or did they just brush it off as annoying PDA? I push the thoughts away. What they think doesn’t matter. His thoughts are the ones that matter.

And now I know what he’s thinking. Ah, impulse.

Author's Note
Written last year, again, about a year ago and also on dA. http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/art/Impulse-74971615 I had orginally planned to write two other parts to this. The same scene, but from the views of him and an outsider. Never got around to it, though. Maybe I should.

Anywho, I like this. Only a page long (in century gothic, size 10, single spaced), but I feel like it says everything that it needs to say.

Keegan <3

For You

2009-02-27T23:01:00.000-06:00

I hold my heart in my hands
For you.

Take my heart from my out-stretched hands.
It's for you.

My heart is like glass
And it's for you.

Don't break the only heart I have
For you.

Be careful,
Be gentle,
Be sweet.
That's what you do

.And I hold out my heart
For you to take.

When I'm not looking,
When I least expect it,
When I don't think I could fall in love.
That's what you do.

I hold my heart in my hands
For you.

Take it, please. My heart is
For You.

Author's Notes:
Written just over a year ago, originally posted on my deviantART at http://violentkiwi3511.deviantart.com/art/For-You-75277723. This was inspired by the boy I liked most of last year. Figured it might be a good way to start things off.

Keegan <3

Writing By Keegan

2009-02-27T18:26:00.001-06:00

So my brother said if I wanted to be an English major (as all my college surveys/quizzes whatever say would be best for me), I should create a writing blog and write everyday. So... Yeah. So I started Writing By Keegan. Creative title, I know. I'll come up with something better. Maybe. xDD

Keegan <3