even the classiest will fall ill.

That is a picture of the toaster oven I am about to make toast in. I just woke up about a half hour ago on a Friday. Why not at school, you may ask? Yesterday I was sick and basically felt like rolling over and dying, and this morning I vaguely remember grunting at my father that I wasn't getting out of bed so he should probably call my ride and tell her not to worry about taking me to class. Sleep has always been my cure-all, or my second best one next to NyQuil, so here I am feeling a hundred times better, and what am I to do with all of this free time after roughly fifteen hours of napping? Obviously, write.

I started writing something I don't plan on finishing or publishing anytime in the near future. It's not what will come out by the end of my sophomore year, that's for positive. It's going to go slowly and it's going to be really tedious, but I feel like I need to get it down on paper. More on that later.

Character development is still going. I think that's what I tend to have the most trouble with. I'm not the most creative person in the world, and all of my characters tend to be based on people I know in one way or another, whether or not I mean them to be, which is something I'm trying to break away from. This particular story is probably going to be all in third person, because I don't think its going to have one specific main character. Probably more like six or seven, so I need to be able to hop between points of view more easily, and having one narrator just feels like the most logical solution. I'm not very good at first person, to be honest- I always sound like the same person, no matter who I'm trying to be. I think maybe I'm going to take some acting classes in college, to help with that, because that's really all first person is. You just have to be a good actor, only in text instead of on screen/stage. Hopefully that'll help- first person can sound really immature if it's badly done, but if its executed well it can sound really good and it's something I'd eventually like to try.

I think I'm going to go make myself noms and type for a while. The house is quiet, which isn't exactly common, so I'm basically going to revel in the silence while I can. Noise is overrated. I hope none of you catch what I have/had.

dear interweb, get classy, plz.

love,

loch.

classy people in classy places.

I had an orchestra rehearsal after school today, and I spent my time afterwards nomming on Chipotle and running around WalMart in a shopping cart. I feel accomplished, fat and happy, and ready to write.

Last night I sat down and did some seriously reevaluation of what was going on with my current writing processes. I went through all the word documents on my laptop and deleted the useless ones and duplicates, and started expanding something seriously. Then, my entire world flipped upside down. I am still unsure of things so I'm going to wait to post an explanation until I feel more like I'm standing on solid ground, but take my word for it that I would be stupid not to write a memoir now. My night got infinitely more interesting and dangerous and exhilarating and terrifying in the span of roughly 2.8 seconds. I will let you know in a couple of posts once I'm for sure about a few more things.

I'm still, however, going to work on what I began expanding last night, because I do think it has potential, plus I have serious inhibitions about allowing the first thing I publish to be a memoir. I mean seriously? Way to scream pompous at those wandering the bookshelves in Barnes & Nobles. I came up with a bunch of characters and started developing them last night. You know, there's something about finally giving a character a name that makes them really alive- it might turn them into someone you don't want them to be, but at least they're someone, you know? Names change everything.

I'm having a lot of trouble focusing right now and I should probably be working on my AP English 4 homework, but rest assured that I'll be back soon, and eventually you might get to hear about my ridiculously interesting life. The picture is a tribute to WalMart in all it's glory. Als, thank you for pushing the cart, and Jen, thanks you for taking the picture and capturing my true essence on film.

Stay classy, all you cool cats,

Loch.

always make your entrance classy.

Hello, I'm Alexandra, and I'm a budding novelist.

I decided recently that blogging would be a good way to do several things, some of which include getting the rapid flow of ideas sorted out in my head so I can write more efficiently, and to help me work out some things with my style. I was completely clueless concerning what I would actually write about, though- that was the problem. I can't very well publish my novels serially on the interweb, and the thought of posting plot ideas gives me the heebie jeebies. So today, walking to class, I was discussing this dilemma with a close friend of mine, and she immediately said that I should be like Julia Child. I had no idea what she meant, and she explained to me that I should follow whatever it is I'm writing through a blog: that is, not publish it, but more tell people how it's going. So, that's what I've decided to do.

I am a senior in high school. I plan to have my first work published by the end of my sophomore year of college. These are my records.

Here's the low down on where I am right now-

I had writers block for a while, starting in sophomore year and running through most of junior year. Honestly I didn't pay as much attention to it as I should've for a while; I think it's because junior year was my first year on newspaper staff, so I was writing articles once a month anyway, which held me over pretty well. Then over summer, I went to work at summer camp, and I guess something went on there with my psyche because when I came home in August, I couldn't stop coming up with ideas. It wasn't as bad at first, it started slow. I got two or three good ideas between August and November, all of which I planned on persuing. I was going to see which one went the best, and make that one my main focus. Unfortunately, in November, any restraint the right side of my brain had possessed was gone. It got to the point where I was typing out monologues on a text message draft on my Motorola razor between classes. It wasn't even plot ideas any more, it was just random scenes of novels that I haven't looked at as a whole, like picking up a book and only reading a page except I was the one reeling it out. I have so many things written and only so much time. Right now, it's looking like I'm going to try and form a collection of short stories, andhave that be what I publish first, but who knows. Maybe between now and the end of my sophomore year of college that'll change.

The picture of Julia Child is for my friend- Zay, I hope you enjoy that. You too Jay, because I know she's your girl crush. I would like to state that I did not take that picture, nor do I claim to have taken it. Kudos to whoever did. I did, however, grayscale it and crop it a little.

All of you, stay classy. You'll hear back from me soon.

Signing off,

Alexandra Loch.