My Binge Experience

By Lizzie Ruprecht

Hey readers! I’m Lizzie, a sophomore at Guilford College and I am going to share some of my personal experiences of media bingeing. I learned about bingeing as I was actually doing the binges through articles on the topic as well as chapters out of books on emotion and psychology. One of the most striking things I read, pre-binge sessions, was on a comparison between singing in a church choir and using heroin. Both have the ability to alter moods, and this struck me as shocking. Now post-binge, I totally understand how external, sensory stimuli can affect me in such strong ways. While I was doing the third binge, I played a video game called Plants VS. Zombies for sixteen hours in three days. During this time, I recorded my emotions and thoughts in daily journals. I remember one moment feeling totally engrossed in the world of extreme, defensive gardening, and looking up at the clock to see over two hours slipping away with absolutely zero awareness of the clock. About ten minutes prior to this shadowy two hours, I had been appalled that I had to keep playing, and looking at the clock about every eight to ten minutes. These extreme waves of contradicting emotions show how external stimuli has a truly unique ability to alter moods.

I experienced a type of this pull during the reading binge as well, but it felt very different. While I was reading, time definitely took on a different mask, and I felt almost euphoric physically. I was much more in this world, but I was also deeply connected to the narrative teleology that Philip Pullman presented in the novel His Dark Materials. During our group binge sessions, I offered to read outloud to start everyone off, and my group was very fond of this idea. So I began reading, and stopped thirty or forty-five minutes in to see how everyone was doing or if anyone wanted to read, but everyone said they were really enjoying me reading out loud and asked me to please continue. As I read, I was minimally aware of the library around me, or of the bean bag I was sitting on. I was in Pullman’s world, really didn’t even recognize my own voice. It seemed to heighten motivations for my group, as well as pulling everyone into the storyline.  The television series binge was the first binge I undertook, and also the most difficult to me. I think this has to do with the plotline of the shows my group and I watched. We started with Marco Polo, which seemed to move very slowly, but have an enormous amount of characters, and in my opinion had pretty horrible acting. The second series we watched was Vikings, which was so much more enticing to all of us. The differences between these shows had to do with a number of factors including the pace of the narrative arcs within each action-packed individual episode, convincing acting, and a more distinguished hermeneutic progression throughout the series. (All of my group has continued to watch this series, after the binge was over)

What I am taking away from my binge experience is a new way to relax and get away from everyday life. I think I would cap most of these binges to a one day event of six hours, or two days of four to five hours, just for my own personal satisfaction. I noticed that when I am totally captivated by the fictional world, I come back to “my world,” with a different perspective, because I was literally allowed to leave the normal world for a period of time, and dedicate my thoughts to something other than my own head. The only other activity that seems to have the same type of hypnotic quality, by means of totally engaging my thoughts, is my homework. But homework is something I have to do, and I am also under significant pressure of how I perform. With binge media, I have the same level of fascination, but subtract that negative stressing of total veracity. I binge for myself, and it helps me to relax, but I do remember the grave warnings of too much binging from all the articles I read. Multiple people have quite literally binged to death in Taiwan and other parts of Asia in Internet cafes. I hold myself to a standard that when I binge, to remember that what I am doing is not real, and the real purposes are entertainment and satisfaction. The real world is where I reside, participate, and designate my energy and life, while the fictional world is a imaginary parallel universe, used to satisfy alongside the world we live in.

Please feel free to check out my Instagram posts throughout the Binges here:

TV- Marco Polo/Vikings: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAQCZ0zoYVg/

Book- His Dark Materials: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAf2Op-oYfQ/

Video Game- Plants VS Zombies: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAxhlRPIYQr/

Click for picture URL’s

Animated Girl Watching the Eye

Man Found Dead in Taiwan After Multiple Days of Binging

Girl Binge Reading

Come to the Dark Side, We Have Cookies!

The third binge was focused around binge playing video games.  Our group chose to play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR).  Everyone had a different experience playing the game and this is some of the thoughts of the group members after the binge was over.

Heather Dukes: I wasn't crazy about KOTOR as I thought I would be. I was so excited about this game and the change to binge-play it and was a little disappointed in the binge itself. I think that this was largely because because I had to play on my iPad. My hands got tired because of the controls for moving the character. I also felt like there were too many missions to choose from. Also I wish I had background information on the controls and how to use them. The game also had different levels that did not match the linear progression of easy, medium, hard. Instead it was easy, hard, impossible. Also in terms of setting there were a lot of dark places that were hard to see, and that made it hard to see who and what I was shooting and fighting against. Overall I liked the game but not to binge. I think I would have liked it more if the levels would have been easier, setting would have been lighter, and I would have liked background information.

Suzanne: I love videogames and I love binge-playing them. Binge-playing, for me, is a way to reward myself for something like sitting through class when I’m not feeling well, rather than a guilt-inducing waste of time. I have a fair amount of experience with a variety of games, but I hadn’t played a Star Wars game before trying Knights of the Old Republic, so I was excited about it. I wish I’d started my Star Wars game experience with something else. The story is supposedly great - if you can make it past frustratingly difficult boss fights really early on in the game. I love games that give you a lot of freedom to choose how the story progresses and how you play your character, which this game does well. But I feel like my player choices almost don’t matter because I end up being target practice for enemy blasters regardless. All that said, I’ll keep trying. I’m not willing to give up on a game set in one of my favorite alternate worlds just yet.

Yuki:  Let me start off with a simple statement: I FREAKING LOVE STAR WARS. Good, now that that’s out of the way, let’s discuss Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR).  For starters, I love the storyline of the game. Despite how easy it is to predict what may happen next, I enjoy it.  And the most obvious reason I like it? It’s a Star Wars game, and I love them all.  However, I think what really appeals to me about the game is the blending of an RPG style game with a somewhat open world game as well. Traveling to different planets? Count me in. The character customization as well as the dialogue options are also appealing to me, with each option potentially leading you to either the light side, dark side, or neither.  The game does lack a bit in the graphics but hey, it’s a fairly old game, so I’m not going to take points off for that.  The gameplay is fairly simple: move here, shoot that guy, save this person, upgrade to this weapon or armor, save the world, get the girl (optional).  While to some it may seem monotonous, the game does provide you with a fairly good storyline as well as beautiful sceneries from the cityscapes of Taris, to the ancient ruins of Korriban, to the crystal waters of Manaan. Overall? Give the game a shot! You may love it. I know I did.

Lucas Wakefield:  I liked Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  While the combat system took a little bit of time to get used to, I’ve primarily enjoyed the storyline as well as the dialogue options that seem to have a karma value.  While you technically can run around like and be all light side noble jedi warrior, I’ve found it’s much more fun to play the role of a dark side jedi, running around and doing what I want and destroying anyone who gets in my way… to the limits that the game will let me.  While the game does allow some form of an open world exploration, it obviously does have limits since it still is a fairly story driven based game.  Overall though, I’ve found myself playing this for more than the required time during our binge because of this and I’ll probably continue playing it once this binge class is done.  Also, don’t go to Manaan unless you’ve got a good lawyer or you’re really well versed in law.

Andrew Hinckley: If you were to ask anyone who knows me they would tell you that I love video games and that I play them nearly everyday. I like video games that have a good story and good gameplay. Unfortunately this game only had a good story. At least in my opinion, this game had a bad combat system that ruined the experience for me. It was too random and too much out of my control. Luckily, I was able to take my frustration out on other characters and turn to the dark side. The story and the fact I like Star Wars are what is going to drive me to finish this game.

Civilization III Binge: Bang or Bust?

Jimmy Hall, Keenan Blough, Daniel Finn, Allison DeBusk and Paul Norwood

When it came time for our video game binge our group selected and played Civilization III: Complete. We had three days to binge play the game. Our first day consisted of us playing individually for two hours. The second and third days consisted of two hours of group play and five hours of individual play. To say whether the video game binge was a success, one may want to define success since there were mixed feelings across the board regarding user satisfaction.

Civilization III: Complete is a game that gives the user a fair amount of control over the narrative. While there is a heuristic approach to gameplay, the narrative teleology is such that short gameplay is out of the question. A game will take hours to finish. The gameplay has a sharp learning curve and can be very simple or complicated depending on the difficulty setting and what you want to achieve. You can destroy those that oppose you and wipe them from the face of the earth or you can be a man of peace. Beginning gamers may need some research and background to understand the mechanics and goal of Civilization III.

Once the user has a handle on the mechanics of the game, playing it will consume their time. During individual times, most of the group found themselves playing beyond the required time. We did not experience much community during our group play because of a lack of communication. Perhaps the time required for the game and the need to focus on strategy hindered these communications. Civilization is a game that allows the user to be completely immersed one second and swearing and arguing with yourself the next. With emotions all over the place, it can be hard to get a grasp on whether you love or hate the game. It is not an easy task to decide if you just wasted five hours playing or whether you feel that you have conquered the world through your genius, strategic gameplay.

The way that Civilization plays on your emotions is enough to accidentally find yourself addicted to its gameplay. While you may hate that you just wasted the biggest part of your day trying to invade the Incas, there is nothing like the excitement you get when you conquer their tribe and take all of their gold.

While it may not be for all gamers, or even those that never played, you do have to give Civilization III respect. The game can steal all the hours away in the day. Non-gamers in the group even found a hard time completely hating the game. While they complained about it being a waste of time, there was a hidden joy when they completed any number of goals.

To sum up our binge of Civilization III, our group would have to say it was a success overall. Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, it definitely can and will consume the entirety of your days once you start playing. Beginner and expert gamers should be ready to be immersed into a world where you can achieve multiple kinds of victory, all of which require strategy and planning.

Gotta Play It All!

For the final binge Katie, Will, Eric, Ward, and Mara played Pokémon Glazed. A fan made game, which uses components from the original games to create a new one. Pokémon Glazed had several differences from the originals, for example players had the option of choosing from five starter pokemon (as opposed to three) and it had a combination of Pokémon starting from the first 150 to the most recent versions. It was sure to be a grand adventure.

Eric prefered playing in groups rather than in the individual binge sessions. During the group binge he found support and enjoyed playing. While when playing alone time dragged on and the game was not fun. To try and improve his experience he turned to the online communities to find the same support, it did make a difference but over all playing with other people who were around the same level/spot in the game was the best part of all the binges so far.

Katie found that this binge session was one of the two that she preferred. The first night she got more absorbed than she was expecting, which helped her for the remainder of the binge. After the first group binge she found that she preferred playing with the other members of her group due to their support. During her individual binge Katie sought advice from the online communities in regards to what elemental types to use when battling specific types, as well as what type Pokémon were. Aside from these two main moments when she looked online, she also used videos other people have made in order to know what was coming up within the game. Overall Katie found this binge to be more enjoyable than she was expecting and she intends to continue playing.

Ward thought that this was the best binge out of the three, and he felt that it was the best to group binge as well. He felt like he could get absorbed into it for hours and not feel the drain of boredom. This might have been the game itself as Ward found Battlestar Galactica extremely boring, and he found American Gods to be lacking in characterization. Pokemon Glazed provided Ward with attachment, which he says is what he looks for in a good TV show, book, or game. However tough it was it provided Ward with motivation to surpass the difficulty of the game. He felt like he wanted to talk with others about his progress and help them in turn.

Will enjoyed the Pokémon Glazed binge, it reminded him of why he fell in love with the series in the third grade. He felt like the game was more challenging, but it was not to the point that the game was no longer enjoyable. At times he did feel frustrated, but out of this frustration came a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. “If it were not for these moments of frustration, I would have had a boring experience with the game,” said Will. He also felt a sense of attachment to his Pokémon which he found interesting as well. “I felt like they were really ‘my’ Pokémon, even though they do not actually exist,” he said. “I can honestly say that if I had not felt anything for my Pokémon, I probably would not have enjoyed Pokémon half as much as I did." In his opinion, creating this relationship between the player and the Pokémon is probably the biggest strengths of the series.

Mara enjoyed this binge more than the reading binge but less than the television binge. She felt she had more time to discuss with her group mates while the binge was going on without letting the discussion disrupt the progress of the game or the binge itself. This binge required attention, but in a different way than the first two binges, and Mara enjoyed the pace of the game. She noticed that she didn’t feel particularly emotional or drawn to the game, and it was hard for her to get invested. She enjoyed learning about the world of Pokemon, but felt like she needed more time to fully understand the motives of the game.

Written by: Katie Bullard, Will Burton, Eric Kelley, Ward Sandberg, Mara Stern

Edited by: Will Burton, Eric Kelley, Katie Bullard

Plants VS. Zombies VS. Our SanityAleah Honeycutt, Ian Wiesenberg, Lizzie Ruprecht, Shanna Welch, and Wanda Eaddy

Plants vs. Zombies is a game, typically played on a cell phone, adorned with brain eating zombies and a selection of militarized plants. It is categorized as a “sandbox game” because the landscape stays consistent throughout the game, with the player choosing which plants to use and where to plant them. Our group of five, Aleah, Ian, Lizzie, Shanna, and Wanda, were tasked with three days of intense days of zombie slaying madness. The first day began with high motivations and energy as everyone flew through the first level. Day one was solely an individual binge and mostly consisted of everyone making sure that the proper app was downloaded so that we would know what to do come the group binge the following day. Some people got a lot farther into the game than others.There was some interest in the game, but no one seemed enthralled, and this could be due to learning how to play or getting use to playing video games. After the first level people seemed to stray apart in opinions. Some of the group stayed positive on winning streaks and others were stuck in certain levels.

The second day, our group binge began and there were varying levels of interest among us. Lizzie really got into the game. She was on a role. She loved everything and did not mind playing. She even had helpful advice for the others. Shanna was the same way. She seemed to like it and easily flew through the levels. She reached the night time zombie attacks and emphasized the importance of certain plants in aid of defense. Wanda seemed to be doing pretty well and did not mind the game. Ian seemed content with the game but mentioned that he did not see the enjoyment of it in such a long binge. The game itself did not have much of a real storyline which may be a part in why different people had different levels of investment. The only storyline we could pick up on is that zombies are attacking and eating our brains, and plants are our only hope. As the story progresses (by the progression of levels) the zombies leave us notes and the game slightly become more interesting. One note said, “Meet us for a midnight snack -the zombies.” When zombies learned how to spell remains a storyline mystery. Later that evening, some of the group members checked in and the consensus was that five hours of bingeing alone was not necessarily a fun task. In fact, some members hated it. The plot was not interesting enough to truly enjoy bingeing. The group as a whole would pretty much agree that the game would be more fun if it was not being binged as the story line would not seem to drag near as long.

However, we managed to push on into the third day, starting out slowly and spread across different levels. In the groupchat we all talked about who liked what type of zombie. Lizzie had a fine affinity for the disco zombies because they made her laugh. Ian was a fan of the zamboni zombies, and Shanna talked about the baby zombies! Aleah hated the pole vaulting zombies, and Wanda thought the flying zombies (with balloons tied to their backs) were a nice zombie edition. Characterization and setting were the main focus in the game as plot lagged. We believe this is why everyone either liked or did not like certain zombies.  The setting also changed when one was advanced in the game. The character and setting change were what kept any interest in the game.  One of the members felt like there were times that she was dreading the thought of continuing the game, and other times when she loved it and barely noticed large lapses of time. This type of game seems less likely to be addictive because of the simplistic nature of sandbox games, but even so addictive qualities can be seen in the previous statement. Luckily, the majority of our group came out dreading the game (mostly because of how long we had to play), and we don’t think any of us will be suffering from a zombie addiction.

Bingeing On Gods

The second week of the class was dedicated on bingeing texts. Ward, Katie, Mara, Allison, and Will were in the group reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. The text was long with the tenth anniversary edition consisting of over five hundred and fifty pages. Within the text Neil Gaiman had short chapters where he told stories about various gods, which were never again mentioned, in order to give more backstory (?).

For the second binge Katie did not enjoy reading Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. She felt as though the characters were flat and vast in numbers, which made it difficult to follow. During our group binge we, as a group, discussed wanting to have had more information on the various gods. Katie thought it would have been nice if we had this information due to it helping understand the characters in addition to the small amount of information we were told about them. Katie felt that if she had known some of the mythology behind the various characters then she may have enjoyed the text more than she actually did, though she speculates on whether or not if she had the opportunity to have spent more time with the text then she would have enjoyed it more.

Mara started the second binge with high hopes. She chose American Gods because she felt that the story line would be thought provoking, and would encourage in-depth thought and analysis. She unfortunately was disillusioned with the book. Throughout the first day, she couldn’t help but check her watch every half hour at least as time seemed to slow down. She tried to get into her reading rhythm, as she tried to make rituals like making tea, putting on cozy socks, sitting by a window with natural light all of which were unsuccessful in helping her enjoy the book. Mara continued through the second and third day to look for some sort of meaning that she could apply to her life, and for something that spoke to her on a deeper level that would stick with her. She was again disappointed. The pleasure and profit that she hoped to come from this piece of literature did not come to fruition.

Katie and Mara

Ward Sandberg also felt that the characters did not have a lot of flavor to them. The idea was thrown out there that this maybe because he is a comic book artist as well. His characters could be described as archetypal. Wednesday is the bad guy, but to us that’s all he is. We see him as Odin and as the All Father, but other than that we don’t really know much about him or his character. In a word, Neil Gaiman’s characters are bland, and that’s really how Ward felt about them.  

Will Burton, another student in the American Gods group, said that reading American Gods taught him the importance of characterization. “One of the biggest lessons that I learned from this binge is that no story can survive off of plot entirely, there must be a balance between characterization and plot. This is evident in American Gods by the fact that Neil Gaiman focuses more on plot than on character development and really loses the readers because of the lack of attachment to characters,” he said. Will also points out that any novel that focuses primarily on plot rather than characterization will not keep the readers invested because it is hard to maintain any level of investment in a story about characters that people do not care about or feel any type of emotion towards. In his opinion American Gods definitely suffers from this lack of characterization and it is really the only weak point of the story. “The narrative style of the novel is great and the plot is extremely strong and I found myself to be very intrigued when I read the novel. The problem is that this interest in the novel fades as the book goes on because of the lack of characterization,” said Will. Overall he felt that the lack of characterization in the novel turned a potentially great story into at best a mediocre one.

      Allison was initially excited about American Gods. After the first day she felt like the text had a lot to offer. It had an exciting premise and had the potential to provoke a lot of discussion about the presence of religion in American society. However, the book failed to fulfill this potential. In the second day of the binge, Allison read the second half of the book. She continued to enjoy the variety in the point of view. On the third day, she read Gaiman's Stardust and was disappointed by the lack characterization and felt like the book would have functioned better as a short story by cutting the unmemorable parts of the plot. However, Allison did enjoy taking the time to read and letting her brain enter the words and imagine the worlds of the text.

Ward, Will, and Allison

Coyotes, Werewolves, and Vampires Oh My

     The second week of class was devoted to binge reading.  This group read the Mercy 

Thompson series by Patricia Briggs for six hours a day over three days.  Here's what the 

students in the group had to say about the book and their experience with binge reading, 

both alone and in a group.

Heather Dukes:

I had never heard of Patricia Briggs, so I had hoped I'd like her work. The cover of her 

book looked very interesting, however I am a huge believer in not judging a book by its 

cover so I hoped the book was as good as the cover made it seem. On the first day of the 

binge I had a migraine but I pushed through. I was impressed that Mercy was a strong and 

independent female main character. The next binge I was sad to discover that she lost 

some of her independence and was more submissive. I loved the Second book Blood 

Bound better. There was more action to me and Mercy regains some of her independent 

nature. I think the First Book, Moon Called, was slower paced because the author had to 

explain what Mercy was as well as introduce the werewolves and vampires. Overall I liked 

the series, but I just don't see myself continuing it.

Wanda: 

I was really excited to get started on the reading portion of the binge since reading is 

what I do. While there was an excitement going into the TV binging there seemed to be a 

different type of excitement going on as we started the second portion of the binge. Patricia 

Briggs's Mercy Thompson series serves up plenty of characters to try to keep straight and 

that one could connect to. Although the story was completely fictional with its werewolves, 

vampires, fae, a witch and coyote the setting was believable in its descriptions of 

Washington State and winter in Montana. This book is definitely meant for a younger 

audience as it provides a pleasurable literary escape from reality. If you're looking for a book

that provides something deeper this may not be the book for you.

Suzanne: 

I was excited to have a chunk of time to dedicate to recreational reading instead of 

textbooks, but reading in a group killed some of the excitement. The other group members 

themselves were great, but reading is something I’ve always done on my own so I can get 

lost in the story without feeling pressured to catch up or slow down or talk about the plot. 

The Mercy Thompson series is decent for getting lost in. I’ve always liked books about the 

supernatural - they make me think about what other hidden things might be right in front of 

me that I haven’t noticed, which inspires me to be more aware of my surroundings and to 

enjoy the fact that there are things I don’t understand rather than be irritated about them. I 

may not ever reread the books, but I am still working through them even though the binge is 

technically over.

Yuki St. Amour:

This is probably the first time I've ever binge read a book series.  Despite lasting only three days, I was able to complete one and three quarters of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson book series.  Completing the first book, I definitely noticed that it was a refreshing change for me personally of what I binge.  It never occurred to me to try binge reading, usually I only did video games and TV shows.  However, I feel that binge reading this supernatural fiction series has started to increase my interest in reading once more.  The dialogue between the characters displays their personalities as well as their cultures (vampire, werewolf, shapeshifter, human).  It was refreshing to have time to read a book new book series that I grew an interest for due to the description rather than the usual readings that I do which revolve around research articles.  Overall, I may actually continue reading the rest of the series.

Andrew Hinckley:

This is the first time I binge read a book. I despise reading and I thought that I would have a hard time with this, but reading this book was not as bad as I thought it would be. The characters were well done and the plot was exciting and surprised me at some points. If only the book would stop focusing on minute details it would be a lot better. I was not able to finish the book, but I got really close and I do want to finish it at some point.  

When Ink Comes to Life: Bingeing Inkheart

Day 1

The first day of our reading binge was exceptional with little or no complaints.  We found ourselves reading on the first floor of the library on the couches. It was nice because the couches didn’t allow us to get too comfy and it was a quiet setting. The text opened up nicely and caught our attention with its inventive and accurate descriptions. Early on we were interested in attaining more knowledge of the characters, especially Dustfinger a fire eater who behaves cryptically. Some group members found themselves restless at times which led to the use of music, pacing around, and unorthodox reading positions. At the end of our first group binge we hashed over the text, we discussed the subtle use of animals to describe characters, the absence of Meggie’s mother, and several mysterious nicknames. One group member, Eric, began keeping track of every time a bird was mentioned. Overall, our entire group had a quality experience in our first two hour group reading and we were excited to continue reading Inkheart and begin to unravel the mysteries in the next four hour individual binge session.  

The story takes place in several hillside Italian villages with churches in the center.

Day 2

The second day of our group binge went very well. Before we began reading we discussed our individual binge to see how each of us saw the characters as people who are familiar to us. For example; some saw Capricorn (bad guy) as Kylo Ren, others saw him as Voldemort, one even compared him to their father (in appearance). We all felt that it was easier to read together, as we found motivation in seeing others around us immersed in the same world. The pace of the novel was steadily building momentum and kept our interests easily throughout the second day. 

There are birds, insects, and other animals and weather that kept appearing throughout our text which all have symbolic meaning. These symbolic meanings vary depending on the setting and which characters are involved in the scene. For example Capricorn’s men are described as "crows" and Mortola (Capricorns head housekeeper) was described as having a face like a magpie, while Capricorn himself was represented as a Red Rooster. Fenoglio (the author of the book inside the book) was described as having the face of a tortoise, which can symbolize wisdom and knowledge. Weather was also symbolic the rain, which the characters keep getting caught in, shows a storm brewing inside the story. Then when the setting includes blue skies and sunshine there was a sense of relief, though it was short lived. The narrative teleology of the novel has a flow that kept us in tune and completely immersed in the plot. By the end of day two lot of us had almost made it to the end of Inkheart and were excited for the conclusion.

There are also a couple chapters that take place in a coastal village like this one.

Day 3

Wrapping up our third and final group binge session of Inkheart, everyone was captivated by the story and still extremely invested. This was achieved by the narrative arc of the story. It was paced well and the arc was pretty basic, with only a slight variation from the “typical hill”. This story is like a roller coaster for children, but her words are eloquent and keeps even the more advanced readers immersed. While plot does not show a lot of variation throughout the text, the setting does. The Italian countryside is described in such vivid details. Eric had been to Italy over the summer, he shared his pictures with us (as seen throughout this blog post) and we were all amazed at how close they came to our own ideas about what the fictional world looked like. The author “brings the words to life” creating a visual image of the worlds in the story that are strong enough to take one's breath away. The point of this is that even an elementary plot can have a beautiful story. Majestic fairies, lakes, vast mountain ranges, colorful house, vibrant leaves, pure darkness, and dancing fire; all of the visual characteristics that are missed in most books, are not missed in Inkheart.  With the right language, words are powerful and can come to life when pieced together correctly.

In the coastal town there are many brightly colored buildings.

While set in current day, the story has an older feel.

Written/Edited by Aleah Honeycutt, Shanna Welch, Ian Wiesenberg, Jimmy Hall, & Eric Kelley

Photos taken and provided by: Eric Kelley