Sunayna

I'm noticing a lot of movies changing the time settings to later than when the book sources were set. Sometimes, they even make them set in the year the film is released. "Crazy Rich Asians" is one example. The film is set in 2018, but the book was published in 2013, so it probably isn't set later than the early 2010's. I haven't read the book, so I don't know. "The House with a Clock in its Wall", the movie, is set in 1955, but the book is set in 1948. Other examples of movies set later than the books they were "Paranorman" and "It", the 2017 film.

Some movies, like the "Harry Potter" films are still set in the same time as the books. Both the "Harry Potter" books and movies are set in the 90's. But why would many filmmakers change the time settings to either the same years the film versions are released or closer to the current times? I know filmmakers constantly change and cut content from book sources, by the way.

I have seen so many blogs with images of either public-domain or copyrighted content. I want to add images to my blogs. However, I don't know what I can use, besides my own images (pictures I've taken), even though I am not making money off of them. I write about cooking, travel, writing, film, TV shows, and eventually will write about art. I have a lot of movie and TV show posts.

I read somewhere that if your blog has images, it will be better at attracting people. I know search engine images are copyrighted. So I was too afraid to upload them to my blog. What is fair use when it comes to adding pictures to blog posts?

I announced a trip I want to take to my friends online and four people were interested. However, I don't think I can afford that, not just by cost (even if everyone pays for him or herself), but it may be too many people. I also worry it could lead to conflict. So I would rather just go with one person, maybe two at most. How can I politely pick one person to travel with without hurting the other's feelings? By the way, I'm 24 years old.

I’m 23 years old and want to travel solo to a state not too far from my house. But, my parents won’t let me. I tried to convince them that I’m an adult, that I would call them every night, I would only be there for a week, and that I even have a relative who lives 2 hours away from where I want to stay. I even called the place I want to stay at and they said it was safe for young adults to go there alone. It’s not a city, but the country. But my mom said she wouldn’t travel alone. Both she and my dad worry about unlikely dangers, which drives me crazy, because I’m too old for that.

I’ve traveled a lot with my family in the past. I live right outside a major city and I’ve been going to that city by myself for the past 5 years. I’ve even been on a plane by myself a few times.

Another reason I want to go to the other state by myself is because I want more control and want to learn how to vacation alone. But my parents act like I’m 13 going to Asia alone. They even define adult as someone who lives on their own and makes their own money rather than 18+. But legally, I’m allowed to make my own decisions and am too big to be overprotected. I’ve heard of lots of other people (including those around my age) who traveled alone. I even know a lot about the place and area I want to stay at (I’ve been researching for a year now) as well as the things I want to do. What can I do to convince my parents that I will be okay traveling alone and not to worry too much?

I was considering mailing a letter to a friend I've known for several years, asking her if she wanted to attend a week-long trip with me at a resort south of me (like in the center of the east coast, between Florida and Maine). It would be to celebrate my graduation from college. Because of the digital ways of communication being bigger now, would it be odd to mail the letter to her?

For a long time, regardless or the year, audience, or company, I notice that movies, TV shows, commercials, and still ads do not often show females wearing bikinis, even if they're at the age where it's the style or a popular style. I usually see them in one-piece suits. The companies seem to act like they're not allowed to show bikini-wearing. Even if the program is for mature audiences, the bikini look is not usually common.

Just like how the "Happy Birthday" song used to be considered copyrighted, and movies and TV shows had to pay expensive royalties to use it, the attitude toward showing females in bikinis appears to be treated very similarly. I don't think that's the case, though. Otherwise, the Internet would have mentioned it somewhere. Plus, when I tried to find a reason for why bikinis are rare in ads or on screen, I didn't get relevant results.

I have originally planned to only take my friends out to dinner for a day around my birthday next month. My mom is going to India for two weeks and I have asked her to be home for my party. I wanted her to be there when the guests would arrive and depart from my house. She thought she wanted me to come out to dinner with her. But when I told her what I had in mind, she exploded and accused me of being rude. So I invited her and my dad.

However, now I am feeling less excited about my party with my parents at the restaurant. In fact, I am also feeling embarrassed, because I'm not a child anymore (I'll be turning 23).

That being said, I was going to talk to my mom about maybe doing a separate birthday celebration with my family the day after the party (my real birthday will be on a busy school day at college). I had in mind a day trip and dinner in the evening. I also wanted to politely tell her that I would feel more comfortable if I did a family celebration separate from the friend party (I kind of don't want my parents there anymore). How should I explain this to my mom without offending her?

I will be turning 23 in the fall (I haven't had a birthday party since my sweet 16). I see that some events on Facebook that are 3 or more months away are already up. Some of my friends are either interested in or going to those events. So far, the ones I want to invite haven't seemed to have committed to anything the day I want to hold my party. The party won't be big or fancy. It will just be taking some friends out to dinner at a restaurant near my house.

Different websites say different times of when you should invite friends to a birthday party. Some say two weeks ahead (which I personally think is too late) and others say up to two months (which I was considering for a while since many of my friends make plans pretty ahead in advance). Since it is too early to mail the invitations (I don't want to do a Facebook invite since some of my friends don't use social media), I am not sending anything out. However, I see different sources about sending save the date emails for events, not necessarily as big as weddings as well as reminding people about your party. If I were to tell my friends about my birthday party now, how should I do it. Or do you recommend I wait at least a couple more months before they even get to know?

I thought it would be an easy search on Google and Amazon. But it wasn't that simple. I didn't find anything relevant to what I wanted.

I am writing a story about a girl who can communicate with the dead. I would like to read something similar to get some inspiration. A few years ago, I watched a movie with my family called "Paranorman", which I really enjoyed and have watched on my own every now and then since. It was about a boy who talked to the dead. However, I would like to expand my inspiration and research sources and read books (short stories or novels) about characters who talk to the dead. Btw, I'm 22 years old and the main character in my story is 14. So anything from upper middle grade to new adult (if possible) would be appreciated. Slightly younger or older is okay, too. Thanks.

I'm in college and one of my friends just deleted me from Facebook. I was shocked and heart-broken because we never ever had any conflicts... ever. In fact, she showed interest in me first, last year, when we first met. She was nice to me and I was nice to her all the time.

After this morning, I realized that friendships can be fixed and don't have to be permanently over. However, most results I found online were about how to restart a friendship after a conflict or something bad that had happened. That did not apply to me since I never get into conflicts with anyone at school, no matter how well I know them. And since nothing bad happened during the friendship between me and this girl, it shouldn't be too hard to mend, right? I know I should wait a little while before I even contact her. But when the time comes, what would be the right words to say to her in order to regain the friendship? I would prefer not to be told to give up and move on. I still believe there is a second chance since nothing bad happened between me and the other girl.

I want to have a successful birthday party this fall and I have 16 people in mind so far. However, I only feel friendly with a few. For my last birthday party, which was my 21st, only 1 out of 9 people came. I held it 5 days before Christmas and many people had holiday plans then.

My idea is to get to know them via text or online communication. However, I am worried that they either won't want to come to my party or that their parents won't let them come if they don't feel friendly enough with me. Seven months should be plenty of time.

A girl who've I've been friends with since third grade (I'm now twenty-two), told me that she got a job in California for the summer. So she'll be moving there then. I live on the east coast of the US and I am considering having a birthday party where I take some friends out to dinner at a fancy steakhouse. I have been hearing mixed answers on other sites. And since this is a very close friend who I have known for several years, I can't decide, whether or not, to invite her.

Up until yesterday, I was controlling my hunger and only eating every 3 to 4 hours. Since I need to lose weight, I decided to really cut down on the unhealthy food. However, eating fewer carbs just seemed to increase my appetite. I was snacking all day yesterday with mostly fruits, some veggies, and fewer carbs than what I am used to. Today, my appetite is high again and I am having trouble craving healthy foods. I can't be diabetic since I don't have most of the symptoms. I am also 16 pounds overweight so not obese.

I have taken a break from my story in progress for over a week. And I am getting sick of the same scenes as they're starting to bore me. I want to keep the basic idea of my main character's goal and antagonist's force, but replace most of the scenes with new ones. I have a couple of ideas for changes, but I don't know how I can incorporate them into the story. I can't seem to steer away from the plot I have been using for several months. I want to start fresh again. Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

I want to stop using the same scenes for a novel I am writing, but every time I revise, I write the same story with few differences. I heard that taking a break from writing can make you look at it with fresher eyes. I might consider that.

I'm going to be 22 in November. My idea is to do a backyard party in a heated tent during the day. I can't decide if I should do my party on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I'm in college and some of my friends might work on Saturday afternoons. The party might be big enough that I'd have to invite my relatives. However, they all live very far away from me, like I'd have to fly on a plane to get to them. Do you think a Saturday or Sunday would be more convenient? By the way, my closest cousins are in high school, so they might have homework.

Something I'm selling got a good review. However, the reviewer copied and pasted two other reviews into his review. The words weren't his own. Although I like getting good feedback on something, I feel suspicious of this customer.

The plan is to see a movie and have dinner at a diner. All the guests are female, and two of them are under 21. So I don't want to give out anything alcohol-related. I was going to give out M&M's, jellybeans, and mint candies, but I feel that's a little young. I also don't want the favors to be too expensive. The party is in December, so the favors shouldn't be summer-themed or anything like that. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I am almost 21 and still need my reading content to be simple to understand what's going on and to follow through easily. I also write stories, but can't make my writing complex enough for older kids (I have one book published for kids 8-11). I don't feel ready for adult novels and can barely remember what I've read in YA or upper middle grade. Unlike everyone else, who likes to read up (about characters older than them), I've usually read down, about characters younger than me. The only time I've ever read up for fun was when reading Harry Potter. I want to improve my reading skills. But where should I start and how long do you think it will take till I'm at adult reading level?

I'm writing a sequel to a published book that I want to appeal to the upper middle grade audience. However, two editors have said that the story and characters were suited more for the younger end of MG, despite the characters being 13 and the story being over 53, 000 words. One of the reasons was that my writing was too simple.

One thing I'm doing to practice is taking paragraphs for upper MG novels and writing their structure (in my own topics) on word documents. What else could I do?