The one about the Oscars and the writers block

I spent the whole of my exams and revision time desperately wanting to be free so that I could get settled down into my manuscript. I have officially been free for a week, but now I can't seem to write anything! It's so infuriating. I can't work out if this is because I really don't have a good grip on my plot, or if I'm just so zapped from my exams. It's not just a new phenomenon though, this always happens. When I really can't afford to spend time on my writing, it's all that I can think about. However, when I get my free time and sit down to write, a tumble weed blows across my keyboard. ARGH!

On another and brighter note, I've signed myself up for another Blogfest! The 'origin's' blogfest which is happening on the 13th of February. I can't wait for this one either. If you're interested, click on the button on the side of my page!

Also, the Oscar nominee's were announced earlier today, and although I'm happy that there are so many nominations for 'The Help' because that is an awesome book and film, I was very annoyed that Michael Fassbender didn't get a nomination for 'Shame'. Although the film isn't out yet in the UK, I have seen nothing but high praise for it. Not only was he predicted a nomination, but the award itself! I feel very annoyed that he's been snubbed (but when it comes to Fassbender, I am decidedly biased!). But hey, ho, that's Hollywood for you!

Sarah xx

EDIT: I have since seen Shame. Although the film itself is good (well made, well acted), I'm not sure if I enjoyed it. Its a very different style to your typical film. The subject matter is very disturbing also and if you have any qualms about nakedness, this won't be the film for you. It can't have been easy to be an actor in this film so Carey Mulligan and Michael Fassbender defiantly need more recognition than they're currently getting!

Book Haul!

A parcel arrived for me the other day! This is what it contained:

I've already read Anna and the French Kiss. Finished it in one all-night sitting, and I'm nearly finished Looking for Alaska. I'll be giving a round up of my thoughts on the books I've read in January at the end of the month! 

Also, I got my Kindle! I wanted to wait until after my exams were over so I didn't get distracted from my exams but now that they're over, I went to the store and bought it! So far the only books I have downloaded are the free classics, like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I have only read a few of the 'Classics' because I find them difficult to really get into. But hopefully the appeal of the kindle will push me to make a better effort!

My exams were... tough. But I had been warned about this from a friend who finished the same course a year ago. The last exam, which he aptly named the 'bitch' module, was an absolute train wreck. I'm glad it's over but I am worried that I might have failed. If that's the case, I'll have to try again in August. Fingers crossed I won't have to go through the torture of that again!

Sarah xx

Wordless Wednesday : Exams OVER!

...until May.

Prince Of Persia - Movie review and One shot

So, although I'm up to my neck in University exams, I still manage to find the time to write. I don't know how this is possible, but apparently it is!

It always happens around exam time, I don't know why, but the writing part of my brain just goes into overdrive and I can't concentrate on anything because these characters in my head just come alive. I'm always daydreaming, but it gets ridiculous around exams. My current daydreams of choice are that of the recent (2010) Disney action film Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.


This was originally a game, which I've played numerous times on numerous platforms and I loved the game, so I couldn't wait until the movie came out! Unfortunately I never got to see it in the cinema, because of a mix up with dates and the fact that it didn't do quite as well as Disney had hoped. I managed to catch it online, but have since bought the DVD because I thought it was completely epic!

Although some people don't like this because, well, because they're hard to impress. Disney have a habit of turning out their live actions in much the same way they do their cartoons. Think Pirates of The Caribbean, with someone else playing Jack Sparrow, because let's be honest, Jonny Depp brought that franchise to a whole new meaning of Epic.

So, if you don't mind being picky about highly unrealistic story lines, then check it out! For the girls you get to gawp at a majorly buff Jake Gyllenhaal. Lads, you can check out Gemma Arterton who's just flawless, and I love everything she's in. There's also the small matter of Ben Kingsley, who does a great baddie. Personally, I think it's worth a look!

BUT - let's go onto the story. Although I'm making my way through a full length story, I did happen to write a little short story. The film starts off with Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Dastan, being adopted from the streets of a Persian city by the King after rescuing his best friend. The film then jumps to 15 years later, where the friend he rescued is his right hand soldier. However, I got an itching to write what happened immediately after the adoption and here it is:

Friends Forever

Silently, the little boy wept.

He was cold, he was hungry, but most of all he was alone.

The noises of the night were so much more frightening when there was no one else beside you. Every little scratch and scrabble of a mouse, or a bat, sounded like some evil being lurking in the darkness, waiting to devour him. He huddled up even tighter and clamped his eyes shut.

This used to be their den. It used to be their palace, where they sat and talked about all the marvellous things that they would do when they were grown. It was built with love and friendship, from a patchwork of cloth.

Now, in the cold and dark, he could see it for what it really was; a shabby tent of rags stolen from unguarded washing lines.

Blinking back tears, Bis heard another sound, and winced automatically. He wanted the noises to stop, so that he wouldn't be frightened any more.

"Bis!"

The boy's heart began to pound thunderously. It was the shadow demons, he was sure of it. They'd come to take him away to the place where all street boys who disappeared went to.

"Bis, are you there?" the voice hissed again. With recognition, Bis looked up, to the voice that was calling from above.

Leaning over the roof of the building beside him he could see a shadow against the inky black sky. Although the voice may have sounded ghostly, it was certainly no spirit calling him.

"Dastan!" he cried for joy as he saw the outline of his dearest friend.

The boy on the roof swung himself over the edge with no fear, and landed with a comfortable flump onto the pile of rags.

Bis flung his arms around his friend.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he cried in elation, "I thought the King had taken you as a slave, or to be hanged, or… or…"

"No!" Dastan laughed, "Bis you'll never believe what happened! I don't even believe it."

"Tell me!"

"Well… I think the king has… I think he's adopted me."

Bis was stunned. When you see the King's brother taking your friend off on his horse, this was the last thing that you would expect.
"What?"

Dastan heaved a long sigh, before beginning his explanation.
"The King has told me to call him father. He's also told the Princes, Tus and Garsiv, to call me brother. Tus, he's older than me, but he's been very friendly to me, showing me where everything is. I don't think Garsiv likes me very much though, he keeps hitting me when he thinks no-one's looking, but someone always is, and he gets into trouble. Oh and I have a room, all to myself, with a big bed, and lots of new clothes and…"

He trailed off. Bis wasn't looking at him anymore, instead, he stared off into the distance, with an ugly scowl on his face.

"What's wrong?" Dastan asked gently.

Bis sniffed back more tears, but instead of sorrow, they were tears of anger.

"I thought you were dead and I was all alone. But you're not dead, instead you're now a Prince."

He spat out the word 'Prince' like it was a foul taste on his tongue.

"I… I thought you'd be happy for me…" Dastan said in a disappointed voice.

"You come here to gloat, and you want me to be happy for you?" he demanded.

"I'm not gloating!" protested the adopted prince, "Bis don't you know what this means?"

"That you're going to leave me, all by myself on the streets?" the boy muttered bitterly, "We used to be a team. You and me against the world, right? You promised me we'd be friends forever."

"What are you talking about? Bis, I'm not going to stop being your friend just because King Sharaman took pity on me. Tus told me that when I'm older I get to have soldiers and I get to fight in wars like all the knights in the stories!"

"I still don't get it," Bis sulked.

"You can be one of my soldiers! You'll get train with swords, and fight wars!"

"Really?"

His eyes began to sparkle as all the jealousy and anger melted away.

"Really! You'll be my best soldier, and then you'll become really important and have soldiers of your own, and live in the palace too!"

The grin on Bis' face stretched from one ear to another as he thought about it.

Suddenly, Dastan stood up.
"Come on!" he said, "Let's go to the palace now."

"Are you mad?" Bis asked disbelievingly, "I can't go in there!"

"Sure you can. I'll just tell them you're with me. I can go anywhere I like in the palace and I can bring whoever I like."

"I don't know…"

"They let me eat whenever I want. I just call for someone and they bring me food."

The deal was sold on the single mention of food.
"Let's go," Bis said eagerly.

In the palace, Dastan was still a novelty. Sharaman's wives fussed over him, pulling his hair and wiping dirt from his face. Except one, who looked at him like a bug that had crawled out from under the carpet.

The guards, though they laughed at their new prince, let him and Bis through the gates. They didn't even stop to question why the little prince had been out so late, and how, in fact, he had managed to get out.

In the kitchens, Bis' eyes were as wide as great clay plates as he stared at all the food. He stuffed his face with as much bread as he could, a hunk of cheese, a slice of meat and some fruit that, although he'd never seen before, tasted heavenly. He finished it all off with a glass of watered wine which still made his head feel a little funny.

When they'd finished eating, Dastan wanted to show Bis all the rooms in the palace, including his room. They were walking down the great corridor, when around a corner, they practically bumped into King Sharaman and Nizam who were talking about whatever it is adults talk about. Bis made a little noise that sounded like a mouse that'd been stepped on.

"Dastan," Sharaman spoke, with an air of a parent that's caught their child making mischief, "Who is this?"

"His name's Bis, sir," Dastan replied politely.

"It's nice to meet you Bis," the King replied, then he turned and looked very seriously at his new son.
"Now Dastan, I know you think you're doing a favour, but we can't have you brining in every urchin you find."

"But Bis is my best friend!" the prince protested.

Sharaman looked at the two boys.
"Alright, we'll make an exception for tonight, but just this once."

"Actually," Nizam interjected, a knowing look on his face, "I believe the stable boy took fever and died only a few days ago. I don't think they've found a replacement yet. Should I go and have a word with the Horse Master?"

Sharaman looked at Bis thoughtfully, with a corner of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea, Nizam."

The two boys looked at each other and beamed.

If you want to see some more of my stories, only about Prince of Persia at the moment, but I plan to get some other's up when I have the time to write them: go to, http://www.fanfiction.net/~woffles92

New Year's Writing Resolutions!

So I'm hoping to get a few things done this year in the way of writing!

1) Finish my Prince of Persia Fanfic.

I've only started it, but I've already been uploading it to Fanfiction.net If you're interested in fanfiction and that sort of thing for movies, tv shows, games, books, then that's your best bet! I wonder what the word count on that site is! There are literally hundreds of thousands of stories, so the word count would be well into the millions, maybe even billions!

If you're interested in the Prince of Perisa fic, then check it out here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6590275/1/Vengeance

I have every intention of finishing this, even though I can never guarantee that. But I have two weeks after my exams (Which start the 10th January, and I'm messing around with Fanfiction, am I insane? - Probably.)

2) Finish Avatar fic. I started this well over a year ago, and was uploading it, again, to Fanfiction.net but a lot of things got in the way. There was A levels, Part-time job, boyfriend and a whole bunch of other stuff and I just couldn't fit it in. But I have over 25,000 words written on it and I'm hoping that I can pick it back up, finish it, and post it up so that all the people who were reading it will finally get some closure! I'll give it a try in my two weeks off.

About those two weeks off. Have you ever been to a really big Library? I have, the one at my University is huge, and it has loads of snug little corners which I can secret myself away in to get writing done.

I love the Library, I find it so easy to work there! So once all the hard exam work is done, I'll be taking myself there every day to work on my stories!

3) Get another chunk of my original novel done. I'm already three chapters into this Medieval based story, but as always the fanfiction voices in my head got in the way as they demanded that their story be told. What can I say, the characters that I fanfic about have such large personalities that they dwarf my own humble creations.

So, three new years writing for you! Let hope I stick to them!

Oh, and I now have started my personal twitter again. You can follow me @Woffles92