Beauty is Brains, Sexy is Personality, and Gorgeous is Confidence. Life is about being more than just another pretty face.

"Confidence is what makes a girl sexy."

Is this true? Are we truly sexy and beautiful when we are more confident? Psychologically, yes. If you feel confident, then you act confident, which in turn means that you feel better about yourself, which comes off as beauty and sexiness to others. Even if your just in sweats and your hair in a ponytail, the guy at the coffee shop will still flirt with you cause you put off a good vibe.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Don't think someone is blind if they tell you that you look beautiful, even when you look your worst. While one person may find something ugly, another can find it the most breathtaking thing in the world. It's like how one mans trash is anothers treasure. Beauty depends on the person, that's why people are different and like different things, so of course beauty cannot be defined by one person's standards.

"Beauty only gets attention, personality captures the heart."

Many guys say they notice a girl because she is pretty or something about her looks stands out. But just as often they say that a pretty girl isn't worth it if she's as dull as a brick. The girls who perfect hair, teeth and nails and gorgeous clothes and figures may be the ones who make their jaws drop, but if she has nothing else to offer but looks, then will it truly last? More than likely, no. There has to be a person behind those looks, a person with thoughts, ideals and beliefs. Are you really a person if you seem to have no mind or thoughts?

"The average girl would rather have beauty than brains because she knows the average man can see much better than he can think."

This is the one reason so many girls go to so much trouble worrying about their hair, nails, clothes, makeup and etc. Guys only see their outside appearances, and they have to draw them in to see their brains and personality. If they don't look their best then no one will ever truly see them or want to see them. Sadly, most of the time this is true. People and society have made it so appearance tends to be everything. Looking good is one thing, but when you do it for everyone else and not yourself, you lose the joy from looking and feeling good.

"Beauty is Brains, Sexy is Personality, and Gorgeous is Confidence. Life is about being more than just another pretty face."

I struggle everyday to feel good about my appearance. All of us do at some point. But it always helps to have people who remind you are beautiful for who you are. It doesn't matter if your hair is a little frizzy, your teeth not so straight, your nose too big or anything else. Just knowing that to a couple people you are beautiful is nice.

But what's really nice is when one morning you just wake up...and you feel beautiful. You put on a pair of jeans that you never where because they are a bit tight and you worry they look bad, when they actually look pretty good, and pick out a t-shirt and don't think twice about it. You do your makeup and try something out you usually wouldn't. You do your hair a little different and find you like it.
That is when you are truly beautiful. It's not what you where, or how you look. It's how you act. People may think you are beautiful, but it won't mean anything until you realize it yourself.  Remember being and looking different is what makes you into you. No one will ever look or act you, so don't try to look like someone else, because that is denying the world the wonderful person you have within.

So be beautiful because that is something we all have to offer ♥

The End...Two Of The Most Dreaded Words

“All good things must come to an end.”

Stories use to begin with "Once upon a time..." or "Long ago, in a faraway land...". Now although the beginnings have changed, one thing remains the same, the stories end with "The End...". Maybe you don't see those words written on the page anymore or at the end of the movie before the credits start to roll, but you don't need to. You know without a doubt that it is the end. You can hope that the story will continue in a series and you can continue to enjoy the tales about characters you love so dearly. But then even that must come to an end.

I am one of those people who absolutely dread endings. Most people can't wait to get to the end and find out how things turned out, but for me it's different. Yes, I want to know how things turn out, but still I have this feeling of dread inside of me as I draw nearer the ending. It's like when my favorite TV shows get to the finale. I'm not talking about those season finales that leave cliffhangers that make you yell at the TV, "What happened?", I'm talking about those series finales, the ones that make you sad as you turn the TV off after it's over, but you still sit there and stare off into space wondering what new show will fill that space you had devoted for so long to the other show.

I have experienced this feeling many times. In August I finally finished M*A*S*H. Since July, I had been watching M*A*S*H pretty much every day, hours upon hours of episodes. From Season 1 through Season 11. As I watched the Season 11 episodes I started to get that feeling of dread inside, because I knew that the final episode was drawing nearer. When I finally got to it I cried during pretty much the whole two hours. I love M*A*S*H, and it felt like a part of me was ending.

I get this same feeling with many of my favorite shows and my favorite books. I remember when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. I stood in line to get my book at 12am, and I read until 4am, and I was up to chapter 12. I spent the next day reading at a friend’s birthday party. My book still has a grease stain from the pizza on the front cover. I even read at the bowling alley. Every time it was my turn I'd save my spot, take my turn and hurry back to keep reading. I remember lying in bed that night struggling through the last chapters. I had to know how it would end, but at the same time I was sad to see it end. I literally started crying in the last couple chapters and said if Harry died I would never read another book, thankfully I still read today.

Even though I know things must end, I still don't like it. Last night was the final episode of Hannah Montana. I managed not to cry until the last five minutes, but when I finally did I realized something. The end of Hannah Montana was the end of part of my childhood. I remember when Hannah Montana came out four years ago. It was an instant hit, and I loved it. My best friend Haley gave me the Hannah Montana cd for my 13th birthday, and that cd was played constantly for months. We had the words memorized within a few hours.

One of my favorite memories is of Haley, Lauren and me at a sleepover. We played the Hannah Montana music videos and danced around singing the lyrics. It was great. I remember going to see the Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds Concert movie with my friend Lauren. I just about died because it was just like being at the hottest concert of the year! Then my parents took me to see the Hannah Montana Movie when it came out and I loved the music and fell in love with the leading man (he was cute!). Hannah Montana was a big thing in my life.

So last night when it hit me that Hannah Montana was over I went back to my room and stared at my walls. I have 58 posters on my walls, and most of them are Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus posters. If you look you can see how I have slowly gotten older. As you turn around the room the walls slowly goes from Disney starlets to Disney TV shows and movies, to boy bands and cute guys and grows into the teenage hit Twilight. It shows the slow progression over the last four years. I wanted so badly to grow up, but now at almost 17, I am not ready to grow up and give up my childish ways.

I want to sit on the couch on Sunday night and watch Disney Channel and laugh my head off at silly jokes. I want to watch the reruns that never get old even though I've seen it so many times I can quote it. I want to dance around my room all night to Hannah Montana, High School Musical and the Jonas Brothers.

But eventually I'm gonna have to say goodbye to all of that. Every once in awhile I can listen to my old Disney playlist, or flip the Disney Channel on and catch a show or two. But in the end, it just isn't the same. So tonight I'll slowly take down my old Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus posters, and replace them with Taylor Swift posters and lyrics from my favorite songs. Maybe I'll leave one or two posters up because I don't really want to grow up. But that's just holding off the inevitable. One day I will grow up.

That'll be the day I look around my room again and wonder where all the time went. I'll remember all those memories, but then they will still just be memories. And I'll be all grown up. Maybe I'll think Hannah Montana and the Disney Channel are just stupid. But deep down those little things will still mean the most to me.

But now it is time to write "The End" and slowly close the book. I can feel that longing for the story to continue, for it to never end. Winnie the Pooh said at the end of the movie "Oh, no, can't we go back to page one and do it all over again?". I'm with him. Let's do it all over again. But life doesn't work that way. It might be nice if it did or then again, it might not be. Now that I think about it, maybe this isn't the end of the book. Just the end of the chapter. I'll turn the page and start a whole new chapter, with more adventures and fun. So in a way while on chapter ends, another is beginning, so the story isn't completely over. But sometimes in life it doesn't feel that way.

"Every ending is a new beginning"

Goodbye to Summer

Today is August 15. Also known as the last Sunday of summer. I go back to school on Wednesday. Summer 2010 will be deeply missed. Here's a recap of my summer.

End of May 

• I got my hair dyed red. Well it looked kind of purple in some lights, but it was red.
• I finished my sophomore year of high school.

June

• I read the entire Pretty Little Liars series in a week. Great books, I'd love to read them all again.
• I competed in Jacksonville, FL. Got a 2nd and 3rd place.
• I got into a major fight with a friend. We are no longer friends.
• One of my best guy friends became my first boy friend.
• I stopped talking to my dad.
• I had two sleepovers with my two bestest friends.
• We went to see Eclipse on opening night. 12:01 am, baby!!

July

• Posted my newest novel Southern Charm on Inkpop at 2:53 am on July 1st!
• By July 3rd, my story was ranked at 261!
• Spent the 4th of July with my two best friends.
• Started talking to my dad again.
• Went to my best friend's surprise Sweet 16th at the beach house her parents got for the week!
• Spent the night at the beach house with my two best friends.
• Finished 11 chapters of my book

August

• Competed again. Got two 3rd places.
• Had a sleepover with my best friends.
• Prepared for the start of my Junior Year.
• Picked my Top 3 colleges.

This all brings us back to now. The sad end of summer. But with the end of summer comes the start of fall. In the midst of fall is my birthday! I'll be 17 this year, and I can't wait! My goal with the end of summer is to start keeping my blog updated. We'll see how I do. I'm off to do some more writing.

Until next time,

~Laney~

Publishing Dreams "Update"

I finally heard back about my story. I heard back on the 23rd of September...so its officially one month. I guess it’s a good sign that I've had no time to blog about it. Maybe that shows I have some sort of life(different topic, so I'm getting off track here.). Anyways, so I heard back.

Sadly it was another rejection, I did better this time, about twenty minutes of crying and then I made up my mind to keep trying, and I put the rejection out of my mind and went to church. Church helped me a lot, because I had to get out and be social and happy, and I can always fake a smile in a big group. It's a talent, though when you're as hyper as I am around people, it really isn't difficult. But anyways...now what to do?
Well that's easy, keep writing. I have a ton of editing to do on my first book, and I'm in the middle of my second one and onto the outlining stage of the next four books. So I'm not without work to do. But I've recently been thinking about what kind of books I want to write, I know I can write romance, anyone who has the smallest depth of emotion can write a romance, it might not be particularly good, but that doesn't mean they didn't write it.

Then this thought came to me, do I want to always write romances? The answer to that...well I love my romances, but I think I'd like to try other genres. I've written a mystery(a rather pitiful little story in my opinion), and I'm on my romance kick. I've got many different story plots, but most are for romances. I do have a fantasy idea that I'm trying to work on. Well actually I have two fantasy ideas, which isn't bad.
Now comes the tough choice. When I finish my second romance, do I take a break from romances and work on fantasy or do I do both at once. I'm not sure yet, I guess when I get there I'll figure it out. With my new mind set and deadline, I need to get to work.

Until then, thanks for reading Laney's Thoughts...
~Laney~

Names

Today's blog will be about names. I love names. I own a collection of baby name books(I have to make my mom buy them for me because you get very weird looks at the check out when the cashier goes to ring up a baby name book and they see that you're just a teenager. I swear one day I'll make a shirt that says "I'm A Writer...I Like Names"...anyways getting off topic). Baby name books offer me a world of imagination. I can spend hours reading thru them. For every name I can come up with a story or a character to fit a story. Certain names give off certain looks to me.

Here are two examples of what I think of when I see two names. I'll use a boy and a girl name.


Girl Name: Blair - I see Blair as a pretty blond girl, maybe a dirty blond or a golden blond. I see her with a pretty smile and a mild temperment. She is a kind sweet girl, maybe a little lightheaded, but still rather smart.


Boy Name: Grayson - I see Grayson as either a dark guitarist or as a biker. He's the kind of person when your around him you get a chill. He's persinality is rather dark and he gives of a feeling of darkness. He probably has dark eyes and hair.
In the complete reverse Grayson could be a depressed boy who acts out for attention but really isn't mean or dark.


See I took two names and gave basic information about how I pictured the names. Anyone can do this and with any name. Someone might have a different view of a name than I do, That's what makes this fun. If your a writer and you have friends who write or even if your not this is a fun little activity and it's even more fun when you choose a name and your friends write what that name wmakes them think of and you compare and you can see how one name can look and feel different ways to different people. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll have a blast.


Love Always,
Laney

Publishing Dreams

August 28th, 2009 will be a day that I'll never forget. Today at 2:55pm I got my first good query letter. Now I didn't find this out until 10:00pm, but it was there. Thursday night I sent out three more query letters. It has taken me a month to gain up the courage to do it.


Last month I sent only one out and my hopes were very high, maybe a little too high and not the least realistic, but anyways I was horribly upset when it came back as a rejection. I understand rejection is part of life, but come on at fifteen most don't handle rejection, actually some adults in their thirties and forties don't. That one rejection, I'm ashamed to admit, sent me into what I call a "break-up state". I'm not exaggerating this, I cried all night and I was fairly moody the next day.

Luckily this only last for about two days, then I was back to normal, well as normal as you can be when you've been rejected. I've never gone thru much rejection of any form, and it is very unpleasant the little bit I have experienced. The rejection letter I received wasn't a form rejection, but a nice kind personal one...honestly I think a form rejection might not have hurt as much, but either way I was rejected. So my confidence was a little low, so I didn't send anymore query letters out.

Until this past Thursday, that night I sent out three. My logic was that maybe three rejections at once might hurt less than one rejection(I realize this is silly logic, but it is called Laney Logic for a reason, because only I would come up with it.) Promptly the next morning I had one rejection, actually two rejections. I still had hope of two good queries, and I went on with my day not expecting that sitting in my inbox was a gold ticket.

I worked late tonight so when I got home I preformed my normal pattern of logging into my Facebook account and my email accounts and doing the usual run thru to see what I had missed while I was gone. There in my inbox waiting to be opened was a email marked RE: QUERY. I was ready to explode then. I saved it for last and opened the other six emails first. Finally I opened it....and it was a request to see the first 100 pages of my book! I was so excited I screamed and scared my mom half to death. When she knew why I was screaming she started screaming too.

Then we started calling people and texting them and I Facebooked it. The whole world knew within ten minutes. I automatically replied with the request 100 pages, now the hardest part comes...waiting...more waiting. I'll most likely have to wait until sometime on Monday to find out. Monday feels like a year away. All day Monday I will be waiting for an email to come...this one email could decide my future. Well so now there is left to do is wait...wait...and wait. Patience is a virtue...it's just one I happened to be born without.

Well hopefully by my next blog I'll know my future...

Until then,
Thanks for Reading "Laney's Thoughts"

Love Laney