Shauntel's List of Things She Hates that are Commonly Done in Books and Movies Much to her Endless Annoyance

Writing my review of "Thief of Lives" got me thinking about some of the things I hate in that are commonly done in stories. Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk about them quite as much as I might've liked to in the book review, so I thought I'd just give them their own post. So with much excitement, I present to you "Shauntel's List of Things She Hates that are Commonly Done in Books and Movies Much to her Endless Annoyance".

*Note* This is in no specific order. FYI

*Another Note* The books that are given as examples of something that didn't do whatever thing I was talking about are all ones that seemed to set up for it and then didn't. I didn't just go out and choose some books at random to use as fodder.

1. Predictable Endings
Almost every story you've ever heard of falls into this trap. I always try to guess the end of books and unfortunately, I usually get it right. I may not be able to tell you exactly what occurs and when, but I can usually give you a correct list of who falls in love with who, who dies, if and how the villain will be killed/defeated, etc. The obvious stuff. Now, you might be thinking, "But seriously Shauntel, that's just how stories are nowadays. There are no original ideas left! And it's okay if you can guess the end, it's still fun to read them." Yeah, maybe they're still fun to read. But there are still unused ideas! Originality is key people!

Example of something that did this: Almost everything
Example of something that didn't: Hannibal by Thomas Harris - the only book* in which the ending I predicted was completely wrong.

2. The whole "I love you but we can't be together because it's too dangerous"
That is one of the stupidest and overused plot devices ever invented. I hate it. I really hate it. Why? Because it's just a dumb way for the author to forcefully insert some angst and drama between their two love leads. And all that does is lead to some unnecessary tension and all that does is annoy the heck out of me.

Example of something that did this: Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
Example of something that didn't: Noble Dead series by Barb & JC Hendee

3. Characters getting needlessly angry at other characters, usually done between love leads, and causing unnecessary plot drama
Oh, how I hate that. Seriously.
When I say "needlessly" I mean something along the lines of "I can't believe you did that 57 years ago! I can never love you the same way again!", or "How could you have lied to me about something as silly and unimportant as that! I can never love you the same way again!", or, by far the most stupid, "I totally saw you doing and you don't even have to explain because I insist upon blowing it needlessly out of proportion! I can never love you the same way again!"

Example of something that did this: Almost any romantic comedy
Example of something that didn't: Thief of Lives by Barb & JC Hendee

This list will undoubtedly be expanding over time. These are just the few I could think of at the moment.

*Although the book had a crazy plot twist at the end, the movie, which I haven't seen, only read the synopsis on the Internet, ended exactly as I had expected the story to.

Completely Encumbered

So today was an interesting day. Besides being my last day of school, which I will get to later, I had a funny experience.

When I left school today, I had a large reading book, a yearbook, and some pencils and pens. And my cell phone too but whatever. Anyway, we're not aloud to bring backpacks to school during the last week (the staff is terrified of pranks) so I brought everything in a medium sized carry bag. Everything fit perfectly.

Because it's also finals, we only went to our 2nd, 4th, and 6th hours (we had gone to the other hours yesterday). Anyway, in 2nd hour, which is Seminary, I had to take home my notebook and my scriptures, which includes the Bible, Old and New Testaments, Book of Mormon, D&C, and the Pearl of Great Price. So, when I left that class, I had my seminary notebook, my scriptures, my large reading book, my yearbook, and some pencils and pens.

Next, in my 4th hour, which is Choir, my friend Rachael gave me back the book she had been borrowing, which happened to be "Wicked". And later, my teacher said we needed to take home our choir notebooks as well. So now I had "Wicked", my choir notebook, my seminary notebook, my scriptures, my large reading book, my yearbook, and some pencils and pens.

Now, at this point, my bag weight about ten pounds. Not too bad except that it didn't all fit in there and I had to carry some things by hand. Also, the bag was getting uncomfortable to put on my shoulder.

On my way to 6th hour, I bought some food. Two muffins and a water bottle. Not heavy. Except I had to carry it all in my already full hands.

Then, at 6th hour, our teacher gave us this stupid AIMS booklet, and it was a big booklet, that said how we had done on previous AIMS tests and told us what we needed to study for next year. And then later, we got the final edition for our school newspaper. And then, on my way to the office to turn in some paper, I met up with some of my friends. They wanted me to sign this shirt, which I agreed too. Then, we had to leave each other as we were heading in different directions and I accidentally walked off with not just the shirt, but the Sharpe marker as well. So, when I finally reached the office, I looked like a total dork. At that point, I was carrying a Sharpe marker, a tee-shirt, an AIMS booklet, a copy of the school newspaper, two muffin wrappers, a half-empty water bottle, "Wicked", my choir notebook, my seminary notebook, my scriptures, my large reading book, my yearbook, and some pencils and pens. You would not believe how stupid I looked.

And that is my story. The moral is, not being able to bring your backpacks to school is a dumb rule.

The End