First Draft... Done!

I am happy to announce that on sunday I finished the first draft of 'The Vatican'. It currently sits at 63,744 words before editing. I need to do some extensive work on editing to make sure my grammar and spelling is as accurate as possible and there are some scenes I want to add in.
Once I've finished my personal editing, I'll be handing it to a good friend for her to look over. She'll pick out anything I've missed and give me some critiques. After all that, I'll be submitting it to publishers. Within the year I'll be going through the motions of getting my book submitted to publishers, and hopefully have it on shelves soon.
When I've got another step completed, I'll do another update. For now I'm off to do some more editing. 

The Dark Night Rises

When on holiday with my dad, one of the movies we rented was 'The Dark Knight Rises' starring Christian Bale and directed by Christopher Nolan. I've loved the combination of these two people with their take of the Batman story. My opinion, for this movie, is that it's the best out of the three. It was well written, equally as well directed and the acting was top quality. I don't have any criticism of this movie.
The casting was brilliant. Tom Hardy played Bane and the justice he did to the character was amazing. I applaud his performance. I really think he's someone to be watched over the next few years. He could develop into a really brilliant actor, he's well on his way.
This is also one of the only movies I've seen with Anne Hathaway where she didn't annoy me. Usually she gets on my nerves, but in this, I thought she really did well. Her performance in this film proved my perception of her wrong.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt also played his role with skill. I remember him first from his role in'Third Rock from the Sun' then for his part in '500 Days of Summer' and later 'Inception'. A good friend of mine also has a huge celeb crush on him, so he's impossible for me to forget. His interpretation of his character in Batman has made him stand out even more to me.
And, as always, Christian Bale took the role of Batman and Bruce Wane to unbelievable heights. His skill in this role always amazes me.
I give this movie the highest rating. I loved it. If you haven't seen it, then I recommend you do. 

It's Chritmas Time

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope everyone's holidays go to plan and something wonderful happens over this time of celebration. 

Rampart

This movie was not one which I would have chosen myself, but when my parents brought it home from the video store, I figured that I may as well give it a go. Woody Harrelson plays the main character and does the role well, but that has to be my only praise for this film. I struggled to watch it the whole way through. It was dull, the direction was strange and the plot didn't seem to go anywhere.
When it first came out I heard a lot of praise for the movie, but I personally don't understand that. Perhaps it would be a better watch for people who remember the rampart scandals of the late nineties. It works well with that context, but I know very little about it. I was only just starting school when the scandals arose, so my interest in world news was non-existent.
For me, this is one of the few movies that I wouldn't give another shot. I found it boring and completely uninteresting. I'd like to have something great to say about it, but I'm struggling to see any greatness in it. I would like to applaud Harrelson for taking on the role however. It was a big commitment to make and he did it so very well.

Shinedown

I've known of Shinedown for a couple of years now. I first heard their music on a compilation album which I was given for christmas a while ago. About six months ago, I got more of their music, but it's only been in the last two weeks or so that I started to listen to it.
I'm quickly beginning to realise that I really enjoy their sound. The leading singers voice has a certain quality. My mum and I have had many a conversation about this. Singers such as Scott Stapp from Creed, Chris Cornell from Audioslave, J.D. Fortune from the show Rock Star INXS, M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold and so on, have this quality. It's like they're crying their emotions out through their song. It adds a depth to the listening experience. It's also a quality which is almost solely masculine. Very few women have it, unfortunately.
Shinedown for me, is becoming music which I will purposefully listen to, instead of letting it simply just play whatever. They're definitely rock, which I love, but they're not so heavy that they become overbearing. So far I haven't had to avoid them because of my mood, which I have to do with other music.
If you haven't heard of them yet, and like a bit of rock, I'd say that it'd be worth giving them a listening to.

One left

With only one exam left for the year, everything is coming to a close for me.
I don't have any more lectures, friends hanging around the city or reason to keep bussing in, yet, I wish it hadn't gone so fast.
Before starting university this year, before leaving high school, I was terrified. The unknown scares me immensely.
Now that I've done it, I don't know why I was so worried. Sure, there where some trials along the way. I've lost touch with a lot of people I consider friends and I miss them. I've met new people, gone out on the town partying for the first time, and learnt what life outside of my once small world was like. The culture shock had been massive, yet I wouldn't change a thing. I like things how they are. I care about the people I've got to know. I enjoy the social group I've formed.
Regrets would be futile. That's what this post is aimed to say. There are things that could have gone differently, or I could have handled differently, but mourning that would not do anyone any good.
Live life for today, for now, and for yourself. Planning for the future is great but living within it is useless.

Rock of Ages - Movie

So apparently Tom Cruise can sing...

I first heard of this movie while on a date. I immediately wanted to see it. I had no idea what it was about or who was in it, but 'Rock of Ages' by Def Leopard is one of my all time favourite songs.
Unfortunately the guy didn't work out, but seeing the movie did.

Last week my family and I managed to rent this movie from the DVD store. Watching it on a rainy day while eating junk food and singing along to every song.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I won't give away the plot, but I'd say it would be worth a watch for anyone who enjoys eighties music. I loved it and it set me in high spirits for days. 

Point of View

Recently I've noticed something. My point of view on life can be dependent on the weather, and so can my writing. I tend not to write when I'm in a bad mood because it comes across in the story. The tone of my writing changes. It's something I've been attempting to change, but have not yet had the success I require. A good day translates to decent writing, where a bad day does the opposite.
So I do my best to avoid bad days for my writing's sake, but this isn't really a way to continue. I need to find a way to detach my feelings from what I'm writing. The story requires an emotion of its own, and forcing myself to feel that emotion can be unhealthy, and waiting until I feel that way makes my writing process slow.
I'll let you all know if I make any progress on this front, but for now, I'll continue working how I always have. So far its worked for me, hopefully I'll be able to find another way which works too.
Peace out y'all.

Dedicated

Just a few hours ago I started up a new twitter account dedicated to all my writing. If you're interested for a little more information, check me out at https://twitter.com/AlyssaHillWrite 

Keep being amazing everyone.

Three More Days

Including today, it's only a mere three days until I go on study leave and be done with lectures for the rest of the year. I can't tell you how insane that feels, but it does make me wonder what life will be like next year. I'm changing my course completely, even moving faculties  as I'm finding the art history here far too basic. I'm loosing my passion for it and I can't let that happen.
Wednesdays are my days which I use to tie up any loose ends. For most of the day I'm alone, so I have a lot of time to do nothing much. It's my day to finish any study I should have already done, write blog posts if I feel I have anything to say, and just generally organize things. Sitting downstairs in the business building drinking coffee is pretty much what my day looks like, if you throw the laptop into the mix anyway.
For some reason, today has inspired me to have a look at the year just been and the one that could be coming up. Very soon it will be my little sisters seventeenth birthday and that's made me realize that I don't actually have that much time up my sleeve. Time has passed so quickly.
Maybe it was seeing an ex who I haven't seen in a long time, or noticing the difference in my own attitude which has sparked my inspiration, but whatever it is, I've decided one thing.
I don't want to waste another moment stressing about what others think of me or being too hard on myself. I want to be my own person. I want to live my life the way I deserve to and not feel bad for that. I also want to spread a little advise. It has helped me this year, although I haven't always been good at practicing it.

Take every moment as it comes and live life the way you want to live it, not how someone else convinces you should. 

Of course this advise is relative, I mean, don't go out hurting people because I worded it wrong, but be who you actually are, not who you tell other people you are.