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A blog tracking my journey as a writer. |
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A New Writer's Thoughts I'm starting down the path of writing, picking up from pieces I started putting together well over a decade ago. I sometimes have gotten the creative itch to write again, but never put in the effort to follow through. Now, I'm at something of a turning point in my life, and have decided to put some effort into this itch at last. I'm hoping to write with some amount of regularity, and believe this website will be an excellent source of motivation. Here, in this blog, I hope to keep track of my struggle, successes, and motivations. |
| It has been eight years since I worked on my novel, Cinra. I remember going to a really indepth writing workshop with a famed author, and throughout the process realized I needed to write my novel in the point of view of the Female main, rather than the male main. It is requiring a full re-write and I was scared to take it on. So..I set the novel down for ages. Recently, I have decided to pick it back up and try my hand at writing out my novel again. Wish me luck! |
| Week 60 / Prompt 4 - Share an interesting/funny story/anecdote from your life. Invalid Photo #1038506 I'm going to brag about the cute little valentine's day surprise I gave to Collin. I'd been telling him for weeks that I had no interest in doing anything for Valentine's day, because I made the fool mistake of filing for divorce last year ON Vday, so I had no interest in immediately turning around and celebrating it, even though I have a new man. So he's not planned anything, and I'm fine with that. But I had a brilliant idea that I simply had to do, because there would be no way for me to remember it a year from now. I cut little hearts out of pink paper, as shown above, and wrote little "I love you" statements on them. Collin's been sick all week, unfortunately, so we haven't really seen each other much. Last night, though, I told him I was going over to his place, and we'd just take care not to get me sick as much as we could. Well, he went to bed really early but I wasn't sleep yet, so I stayed up. After he'd fallen asleep, I stashed the little hearts all over his apartment. I hid some of them fairly well (one of them SUPER well - good luck finding that one!), and others were in plain sight. I knew at least one or two of them would be spotted when he got up in the morning, so I'd get to enjoy the surprise with him. The first one he spotted was in the closet - the heart I'd put in his shoe. He gave me his adorable "aww" and came over for a hug and a peck on my cheek as I smiled giddily from bed. He spotted another one as he got dressed and laughed. He then went into the living room and promptly found another six more - under his keyboard and mouse, under the WiiU controller, and a host of other spots. It was such fun hearing him giggle every time he found one. I know he found the one in the microwave, and laughed heartily when he found the two in the bathroom. Everyone made me smile, and I know he heartily enjoyed them. I hid a few particularly well in hopes that he would find them much later and remember that he is special to me. We've hopefully got a move coming up, which may make most of the remaining lost hearts be found as we pack up. One though.. he'll have to dig for. Sometimes, super simple and cheap ideas make for the best gifts. |
| Week 6 / Prompt 1 - How do you find motivation on difficult days? On those days that I really can't seem to get my writing mind into gear are a pain in the butt. I hit several of those days recently. It often comes from looking at what I've written recently and finding a great number of faults in it. So many that I can't see how to fix it through the forest of errors or lackadaisical writing. And rather than begin to write better from there forward, knowing that with more care I can write better, I get stuck in the rut of believing I can't write and it clams me up to get past it. January was not a good writing month for me. I got less than 10k words written on my novel. My most recent attempts fell into the cycle above. I realized I was just writing dialogue with almost no description to accompany it. I know I write good description, but sometimes it doesn't flow as well as I would like. Last night, I went to a critique group. I took with me the first few pages of my novel that I wrote back in November. This group is frequently quite good in their critiques, giving plenty of constructive feedback and tearing apart the submitted pieces to give lots and lots of advice. I'd been wary to submit one of my own works, for fear of it ruining my confidence, but I finally remembered that it is only through these types of readings that I will get my piece to a publishable level. Anyway, the group had a lot of great things to say about my piece. They loved my descriptions and my dialogue. Their biggest questions came in that they didn't understand anything about my world, which left them a little bit confused. Most of the suggestions were small minor edits. One great suggestion was that my main character likely needed a bit stronger goals even at this early stage. But overall, I came away with the secure knowledge that they really liked my writing. And today.. I want to edit and write and fix. I feel like I'm past the doldrums. And when I read back over the piece I submitted to the group, I can honestly understand why they loved it so much. It really was very well written. Looking back at those pieces I have written well is definitely a way to get me back in the right frame of mind to continue working on my writing. It reminds me that I CAN do this, I have done it. Doubting myself is a hole I don't want to get caught in, and I just need to remind myself that I'm good at what I'm doing and need to keep at it. |
| Week 60 / Prompt 6 - Have you ever been told you "think too much" or are "too much of a perfectionist?" Just the other day Collin told me I'm thinking too much about my writing. I've been struggling a lot lately on it. I haven't been able to duplicate my efforts from November at all. And when I look back at what I've written over the past month, I mostly don't like it. Funny enough, I like a lot of what I wrote in November during the mad dash of NaNoWriMo. But now that I'm out of the frenzy, my writing gets worse? That just doesn't make sense to me. I can only think to blame it on the fact that I'm not focused enough any longer. My head isn't in my book where it needs to be, so my attempts at writing are half-assed and it shows. I told him the other day that I'd realized a major flaw in my writing of late -- too much dialogue, not enough description. And I'd gotten pumped after reading a few things that made me consider ways to fix that balance. But then, when I went to try and make those edits.. I looked at what I'd written and was filled with such despair that I had to set it back down and not touch it. It then went further and made me second guess myself, question whether I could really finish this novel or not. Collin tells me I'm crazy, and I'm thinking too much. He has faith in me, knows I can do this, and thinking too much about it will only preclude me from finishing this amazing goal I have set for myself. He's likely right. I'm just really struggling right now to get words onto the page. I'm in the middle of my book, almost exactly, which is the hard part to write because my characters haven't reached the big climactic end yet, and are really just moving through the world trying to learn things. I love my outline, and think it's got a great story. But writing my characters through it is really difficult. I'm second guessing myself throughout everything -- are my characters strong enough? do I need to add (and focus on) more flaws? is this boring? And it's really hampering my writing flow. UGH. Writing is Hard. Week 60 / Prompt 3 - Write a book review for the last book you read. The last book that I finished was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It was suggested to me by Collin who loved it, and I could see why as I too fell in love with the book. I couldn't put it down! The story is set in a futuristic world where a virtual reality gaming system has been developed, and as the real world crumbles, the majority of people spend all of their time within this game world. The game world has in many ways superseded the real world, including currency valuation and job opportunities. The creator of the game has died and left his entire fortune up for grabs in an elaborate scavenger hunt. The story follows the progress of one teenager as he attempts to beat everyone in the biggest 1980s scavenger hunt of all time. This book is absolutely perfect for anyone of Generation X or the elders of the Millennial Generation. The scavenger hunt depends on the character's knowledge of 1980s gaming, movie, book, and music knowledge. It is a homage to that decade in all ways (both within the story and as a book). I can almost guarantee that the book will mention obscure references to things that even the most hardcore 1980s fan will not be aware of. But it is fun to recognize those items from your youth that you do remember. Cline paints a very bleak image of an American dystopic future. But some of the images are totally believable and interesting to consider. His revamped trailer parks, bus rides, and corporations are impressive to read about. He does a great job of going between real world and virtual and explaining how the characters exist within his dystopic virtual world. If you enjoy the 1980s, or the history of gaming, or video games in general, I highly recommend this book. It is a fun read and poses some interesting considerations for future societies. |
| Week 59 / Prompt 7 - Tell us about your week. What did you do? Who did you see? Anything interesting happen? This week was a big step for Collin and I. No - he hasn't proposed. But... we did put money down to reserve a wedding date. Backwards? Oh yeah. We're doing a lot of stuff really backwards in order. We've talked so much wedding talk, and house talk, and baby talk.. and he hasn't proposed yet. But he really can't. You see, he's not officially divorced yet. Now, before you go all super upset at me.. don't. His ex filed for divorce before he and I met. She was already pregnant by then with someone else's baby. Our state refuses to let the divorce finalize without a paternity test to ensure that the baby is not his, and they won't do that until the baby is born. So he's been stuck in the marriage (though happily separated) for months and months. My own divorce took three months. Theirs is taking almost nine. He wants out of the marriage officially before he officially proposes, which I completely honor and respect. But.. we also want to get married this year. And wedding locations fill up weekend dates early. So.. we really needed to secure a date. So.. we did. We Put Money Down On A Wedding Date!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!! (And I'll get to get all super excited about it all over again when he finally proposes too!) My mom tells me this is going to be an awesome story to tell our children one day. I agree. I mean, come on, who reserves a wedding date before the proposal? I guess it was weird for people to start living together before they were married way back when. And I've already done that. He and I aren't living together yet, but that's just because we need divorce money from the house to use as a downpayment. My life is weird. And yet - it's all going perfectly for me. And I'll take it as I can get it. |
| Week 59 / Prompt 4 - What makes you feel guilty? A friend of mine has recently been inviting me to a lot of events. She and I are still fairly new friends (less than a year that we've gotten close), and so we're definitely still judging what each other enjoys doing. Lately, I've felt pretty guilty that I've had to turn her down to most of the events she is inviting me to. You see, I'm mostly an introvert. But really truly, I have a form of Agorophobia. Per Wikipedia, Agorophobia is an anxiety disorder. Agoraphobia is a condition where the sufferer becomes anxious in environments that are unfamiliar or where he or she perceives that they have little control. Triggers for this anxiety may include wide open spaces, crowds (social anxiety), or traveling (even short distances). While I love open spaces and those have never bothered me, crowds frighten me. So does public transportation, but the crowds one is the big one. I get really really anxious around big crowds. I feel super uncomfortable, and sometimes frightened. I never want to remain somewhere that is full of crowds for very long. I also despise places that are fraught with questionable persons, like subways, bus stops, and the like. Basically, I'm afraid of people I don't know and situations I don't know the people in. So when this friend keeps inviting me to events, like concerts, or festivals, I have to take into consideration my fear, check it against the value of the event, and determine if it is worth facing that fear to go. Collin took me to an event that sounded like a lot of fun - Feast with the Beasts. Local restaurants set up tents within the Zoo and you could gather plate after plate of free food and then spy on the animals (that were mostly all sleeping, so it wasn't really all that great). There were so many people that I got pretty uncomfortable really quick, enough to make me a little ill too. She invited me to a similar event, but inside a closed location, and I had to immediately turn her down. I apologized to her because I felt bad turning her down time and time again, but explained to her about my agorophobia. I've not been diagnosed, or anything, but it is pretty obvious for me. She's totally understanding, and I'm super thankful for that, but it still makes me feel guilty. I wish I was more willing to go out and do things that lots of other people enjoy doing - but.. I just can't take the crowds. |
| Week 59 / Prompt 2 - Tell us about something or someone that made you happy recently. My birthday is not for a month and a half, but my boyfriend just surprised me with a super super awesome birthday gift. The week of my birthday he is taking me to the Ballet!!! I used to dance when I was a youth. I did ballet, tap and jazz for 12 years, starting when I was only three years old. I was really good at it too. But the main thing was, I enjoyed it. My first solo was as Tinkerbelle in a Peter Pan production. I was.. I don't know.. eight? I was really young. I got many more solos over the years, too, because I was often at the top of my class. I loved ballet and jazz. I could do tap, and I was good at it -- I even did a Mother-daughter tap dance once with my mom -- but it was not my favorite. I think Ballet was my favorite. Or maybe jazz. Jazz was nice because it had way less rules than ballet. You could really do a lot more with it. I only brushed contemporary dance, though I did enjoy what little I did. My school just didn't focus on it. Ms. Suzi, the dance instructor, was well loved by all of her students. I remember the parties at her house after the yearly recitals. They were always full of such love. And the christmas parties she held at the studio were always a blast. Everyone from all her age groups would show up for that. And eventually someone would put on "Sleigh Ride" which we'd all learned a specific dance to. And we would fill the dance floor as everyone got on the floor, all ages, and did the same dance together. It was a blast. My ex never had any interest in going to the ballet. He would never even think of buying tickets so I could go. They would likely have been out of our budget anyway. But it wouldn't have occurred to him to buy tickets to a Ballet, and then plan to go with me to see it. But Collin came up with the idea All On His Own, asked me if I'd like to go, bought tickets, and is excited to go (if only because I'm so excited to go), and is GOING to go with me! I've found myself a keeper. |
| Week 59 / Prompt 1 - What's your favorite thing you've written? Share it with us. Why do you like it so much? Right now, my favorite work is the novel that I am currently working on, in the world of Cinra (which I've made up). I've made a ton of progress on it, but have a long way to go yet. I also have not begun editing it yet, so it is definitely a diamond in the rough. I don't love it because my writing is spectacular, because at this stage I know it is not. But because I love the story I have developed. I am so enthralled by it that I just can't help but love that I am writing this. And amazed that I came up with it. I don't know how original it is, or how much other people will enjoy reading it, but I am excited to know that I have done this all on my own. It may be that I'm more enthralled by the details that are running around in my head more than the words that have thus far made it onto the paper, but that's okay. I'll eventually finish this thing (still working hard on it!) and make it as good as I see it in my head. And the 60,000 words I've written so far are definitely not garbage. At this stage, I don't really have much to share for it, as I'm keeping it private on this site in the case that I might look to publish it the traditional way eventually. I am, however, willing to share the outline and one of the backstories I wrote for it.
The backstory is of the main character to my novel. A few people reviewed it and generally enjoyed reading it. The outline I haven't completely kept up to date with the edits I've made as I'm writing, but it's close enough. |
| Week 59 / Prompt 6 - Tell us something about you that might surprise us. I used to pretend I was a vampire. and a werewolf...and a faerie.. and a mage.  I belonged to an organization that was the White Wolf Official Fan Club, a gaming production company that created role-playing games. The organization ran hundreds of games across the world. We would gather in groups, all decked out in costumes, and portray characters in a live-action setting. We would take on the persona of our character and interact with others portraying their characters to create a living story. There were storytellers that would create events for our characters to deal with, but the majority of what I was involved with was stories we created ourselves - political and social. We would vie for positions of power over one another, make alliances to topple others from power, gain favors and make deals to accomplish other types of goals. In reality, we created our own form of government and then went through all the processes of ruling, executive, legislative, and judicial. There were some that enjoyed chasing after the evils that our storytellers would create, exploring those stories rather than the socio-political ones. But I was a social-nut and focused more on that. I was involved in this gaming group for well over eight years. I portrayed numerous characters in that time. Vampire tended to be my favorite (as it focused more on the socio-political avenues), though I love werewolf as well. My favorite character was easily my Italian vampire named Adriana Vitelion de' Medici. I've been told I still have quite a lot of information out on the web about her, if you cared to google that name. I loved werewolf as well because of where I got my initial introduction to role-playing. In eight grade, my family was uprooted from my hometown and we lived in the Pacific Northwest for two and a half years. It was really hard to make new friends in eight grade.. that awkward year just before high school.. and I was really shy. I spent almost my entire eight grade year at home in chat rooms when I wasn't in school. I found this Wolf-pack roleplay chatroom. We pretended we were wolves (not werewolves, but wolves), and we roleplayed with each other in a wilderness setting as if we were true wolves in a wolf pack. I loved that group of people, and I loved learning about wolves and pack mentality, and all that. Those years have forever cemented in me my love of wolves, and I now consider the Wolf to be my totem animal, from what I learned in those years. The world where most of the eight years was spent in was a dark, gothic-horror world. The vampires didn't sparkle, but they did drink blood (we pretended that part, never actually partook). The werewolves would change to massive half-man-half-beast creatures that could easily kill, but they had such a great sense of family and setting that they were actually a ton of fun to play even when not killing evil baddies the storytellers created. In all this time, I also acted the part of the storyteller on more than one occasion. Those were great, too, as it let me be the one to develop the stories through which the players would deal with. All of this gave me such incredible experience. As a player, I learned how to speak publicly with more confidence. Sometimes as Adriana, I would have to speak in front of over 100 other vampire players. Sometimes as a storyteller I had to do the same. I learned how to negotiate, manipulate, scheme; and how to host a party, manage conflicting personalities, and a host of other skills. All of these directly translate to real world applications. I also honed my writing skills. I wrote so many backgrounds for characters, and some of them incredibly detailed. I know several of my vampire characters were incredibly old, and I loved doing research into history to find out little tidbits about the places they'd been to use for my characters. Adriana was from the Renaissance (Medici?), and another of my characters was Roman, while yet another was from old Russia. Such fun to do research into those old worlds to learn what they were like! I've since stepped back from these games for numerous reasons, though my old friends that still attend them do miss me and have asked that I come back again. We'll see. Maybe some day. |
| Week 58 / Prompt 5 - What tips and tricks do you have for managing stress that you can share with others? I knit, and I talk with friends. Those are my biggest two stress relievers. I learned to knit in 2010, so I've been knitting for nearly five years. I picked it up as a hobby when I was trying to come up with something to do with my hands while playing table-top games with my friends. The table-top games have a habit of sometimes focusing on one or two players at a time, leaving the others at the table outside of the combat or event for a while. I needed something to do to keep myself entertained during these breaks. Knitting was a quiet hobby I could pick up and easily do at the table. I taught myself using Youtube. Honestly. I didn't have anyone nearby that could teach me, and since I could replay the videos over and over and over, I was able to pick it up at my own speed. Turns out, I was able to figure it out pretty easily. And I'm really good at it too. I've made gloves, two sweater tops, a few hats, lots of scarves, and a pair of socks or two. I learned lace fairly early, and while it is incredibly time consuming, my lacework is gorgeous. I've tried cables, and while I'm capable of doing cables, I'm not very good at them yet. Anyway, I almost always keep a knitting project with me these days. The practice of knitting is incredibly relaxing for me. Sometimes the piece requires a lot of focus, which can be useful to take my mind off of whatever might be stressing me out. But often just working on a mindless scarf with repetitive stitches is enough to just let my mind relax and go into a zone that relieves my stress. It is almost always a sure-fire way to get my mind calmed down. My other method is to talk with friends. I sometimes have a habit of over-thinking a problem to death. I'll work myself up going over a million scenarios, worrying over something that probably doesn't deserve to be worried about. The practice of just talking it out verbally to a person acting as a sounding board will generally help me work out the different sides of the problem and come to a conclusion, often without them even really saying much. This usually helps with all sorts of situations, including writing blocks as well. It's not always easy to have someone to talk with about everything, but it is definitely a necessity for me at times. |
| Week 51 / Prompt 3 - What is your opinion on video games? Okay, I'm pulling from the archived prompt posts for this one, because I want to talk about future children today, and none of this week's prompts really put me in the mindset to do that. This blog post might get a little twisty-turny, but I'll eventually get to answering the blog post. Last night was extremely odd for me. I'd been super tired all day, so much so that I could barely focus on anything at work. I was lucky in that I didn't have much work to do, but it definitely made for a very long day. I was really just hoping I'd be able to stay awake on the commute home and immediately fall asleep upon arrival. Well, the whole way home I wasn't really falling asleep, as expected. Instead, I was antsy. I SWEAR I could feel my ovaries dancing inside me. It was like I'd been hit with an arrow filled with "baby" juice or something. I suddenly Wanted A BABY. Apparently, I haven't shared much about this part of me on my blog yet, so let me amend that problem. During my last marriage, no part of me wanted children. Married for five years to my ex, and neither of us truly wanted kids. We weren't financially stable enough to handle it, and really, we had plenty of other things going on that just did not leave time to add a little bouncing child to that. We were also in our twenties. Divorce, and now a new boyfriend that looks super promising. Also, in my thirties. And my biological clock has started TICKING. Furiously. We've talked kids. We both want them. He actually said he wanted them first, back in the early days of our dating. I wasn't sure. But then the clock started. And He's awesome enough to make me know we could handle it. I also recognized that so many of the things that I used to do that would make staying at home with a child difficult aren't really things anymore for me. And, well, I feel like I'm ready. Of course, assuming we get married first. No pre-marriage kiddos for me. So anyway, back to yesterday, I'm going crazy with this sudden overwhelming want to have a kid. I want one. I want one that cries, screams, poops, talks, smiles, laughs, learns, grows, and inevitably makes me a proud momma. I want the good and the bad. But I want one. or two. I really really do. Two years. That's our 'schedule'. Married this year.. next year for "us", and then the following year - pregnant. Yes, we have a schedule. We have to. I want a child before I'm 35, and well..that's coming up quick. And no - I'm not marrying him just because I want a baby. Believe me - I've looked hard at my feelings about this. I love him, and I want to spend my life with him. We work very very well together. Okay.. so anyway, I did promise I'd discuss the prompt, didn't I? Well, back in early December, Collin showed this article to me  https://medium.com/message/playing-with-my-son-e5226ff0a7c3 . It discusses a dad who introduced his 21st century child to video games starting with the very first game systems that were created back in the 70s and 80s, and then took him through all of the systems as they were released, up into modern day games. He started this when the child was four. Anyway, Collin said he'd like to do this with our children. And I honestly agreed. Both of us are video game nerds. We enjoy them (him waaay more than me). We manage them in our lives and they are one of our main hobbies. I'd taken a small break from them, but have always enjoyed them. And kids these days all play them a great deal. It is almost impossible to have a child that doesn't know/enjoy/play video games, because kids will peer pressure them into it. But, you know what, I like games, He likes games, so of course so will our children. Hell, my DAD still plays Mario Kart All The Time, and beats Collin at it every time they are together. Games are a part of this family, and will continue to be so. It is our opinion, then, that we will ensure that our child(ren) have a proper appreciation for the video game industry, and learn it all. I think i spent more time talking about children in general than the post prompt, but I don't care! |
| Week 58 / Prompt 7 - We are so good at looking after others that we often neglect ourselves. This week set aside one hour just for you. What did you do during this hour? How did it make you feel? Are you ready to incorporate something like this into your daily or weekly routine? Why or why not? I did, actually, set an hour aside (really, a few hours) just for me this week. I needed a night alone, just me, my cats, my couch, my knitting, and Downton Abbey. This season's Downton Abbey episodes had just been released through the end of the season, and I was dying to see it through. And although I can watch the show in jumps and spurts, I really prefer it in marathon mode, where I can watch episode after episode, and catch every little connecting nuance between each. So I poured myself a glass of baileys, pulled out the scarf I am knitting that doesn't require much thought, and cuddled on my couch under a quilt and two cats. I then proceeded to enjoy four or five episodes of Downton Abbey. It was probably one episode too much for that one night, as I got to bed later than I would have preferred, but with only one episode left by my bedtime, there was no way I was stopping without having watched it. And that last episode was the absolute perfect end to the season. I cried and I laughed, giggled with glee, and squee'd (technical term) about so many events in the last episode. Downton Abbey is one of my simple pleasures, and one I cannot share with Collin. He isn't interested in it in the slightest, and that is just fine. He loves anime, which I only have a cursory enjoyment of. We share plenty of other things together, but this show is one of those that is purely my own, and one I can curl up to and watch by myself and get full enjoyment out of on my own. And sometimes - we need that night to ourselves to do things just for us. |
| Week 58 / Prompt 2 - Do you enjoy keeping up to date with local and global news, why or why not? At this stage in my life, I do like to keep up with local and global news. I get the majority of my news from NPR, fed through my local city's public radio. I have a long commute, and listening to the news radio every morning on my way in gets me my daily intake of news stories. I like NPR because it does a fairly good job of covering stories from several angles, so it isn't especially biased (possibly a little on the liberal side if any). It also covers political, local, and international stories. Granted, I still haven't heard NPR talk about Iceland's political revolt, but I have heard about Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, Russia, China, Malaysia, Africa, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, and so many other countries. I love hearing from Cokie Roberts on Monday mornings about the political happenings in Washington. And while some of the local stories are rather uninteresting, it is still good to have them covered and know how well, or how terribly, my local officials are doing. I don't subscribe to cable, so I don't watch any of the television networks. But all of those are so heavily biased they are painful to watch anyway. I also don't subscribe to any newspapers, online or paper. Collin asks me what I do with the information I obtain by listening to NPR each morning. My honest answer most of the time is... nothing. When election years come around, I always vote Democrat, so it's not like hearing about how awful some Democrat may be is going to change my mind. And there is pretty much no way some Republican could be so awesome I'd want to vote for him/her. And NPR doesn't usually give me enough information to be able to vote knowledgeably in a Democratic Primary. I'd have to go online to find real information for that sort of thing. (Also, living in a staunchly RED state makes voting almost superfluous, but I do anyway.) It does keep me up to date on big global disaster situations, which I am often curious about. I've kept up on the Ebola epidemic, even if most of America has forgotten about it now that no more cases exist on our soil. I don't know what I do with the information - but I am happier knowing it. Living in a bubble of just my day-to-day just seems.. pointless. Oh wait - I know one thing I do with that information. I have discussions with my dad about it. So I can feel knowledgeable when I talk with him about politics. That's what I do with it! |
| Week 58 / Prompt 3 - What motivates you? Funny story about motivation.. On Friday, Collin and I went to a book signing by Brandon Sanderson. He was super excited that Brandon was going to be in town, so of course we went. He is one of Collin's favorite authors. I have been introduced to Brandon through his finalizing the Wheel of Time series, which I thoroughly enjoyed, though had not yet gotten a chance to read any of his own fiction. When I was searching for a new series to read, Collin suggested the Mistborn series, which I fully intended to take up, but I'd gotten distracted. I had just begun reading Mistborn when this book signing came up, and I actually felt a little ashamed that I went to a signing for an author I had yet to fully appreciate his writing for. Bad me! Anyway, Brandon's talk and Q&A session (as well as his reading) were quite fabulous. Some really good questions were asked and he gave some great answers. One question that was really funny was from a young girl who asked "Have you ever written any fanfiction?" Brandon's answer was something like, "Well, yes, some little story I'm not sure any of you have read, for the Wheel of Time." It got all of us laughing. But anyway, I don't remember what the question was that led to the answer that stuck with me the most, but here's his answer: "Keep writing. It doesn't matter what you write, but keep writing. Even if you throw in totally off the wall nonsense scenes.. say Ninjas... even if ninjas get thrown into a scene, it'll get your fingers working and you'll find yourself back into your work in no time." Collin's been harping on that ever since, telling me to throw Ninjas into my work. But that brings me back to at least one of my motivational sources. Collin. He does his absolute best to encourage me vehemently every time I mention writing. His mother is a published author, and so he knows what it takes to get a story written. And he's super understanding. He's also great at being upbeat and encouraging at every step of the way. It is incredibly heartwarming. NaNo did a lot to motivate me to doing this for real. It was my first NaNo and I won. And I fell in love with my book. And now, I look back at that and say - "I did it then.. I can do it now!" And, "I can't give up after all that work!" It's a great motivational factor. In case you are wondering, I actually did use Brandon's advice this morning. Actually, last night while I was reading Mistborn (by Brandon Sanderson), I was struck with a revelation to help me fix a problem I was having with the opening of my book. It occurred to me how to add a scene that would offer a lot of hole-filling I felt I had. And what did I add? Ninjas. Thank you Brandon Sanderson!! |
| Week 57 / Prompt 7 - What made this week special for you? This week was all about solid planning for myself. Not in my writing goals, that I'd done before (a second 50,000 words by April 31st, a third 50,000 words by August 31st, first draft of book finished by December 31st). ((I'm writing a fantasy..those are long.)) No, my solid planning was completed in regards to other important parts of my life. I visited my family over the weekend, because I wanted to discuss some big ticket items with them. I wanted to make sure they had no problems with my boyfriend -- because it looks like marriage very likely. After my divorce to my ex, I'm shocked to find I've fallen in love so fast, but I have. I think I'm honestly wanting to have the married-with-kids thing, and I'm sort of running out of time for that. So, we talked about him, marriage, wedding, and babies. I hope to be pregnant in two years, which means we have to get married this year. We'd already been planning on buying a house this summer, so now we need to tack on wedding on top of that. So many big purchases this year. Anyway, it was great to roughly plan out my next three years or so, knowing that all of it needs to happen before I hit 35. Lots to do! We also finalized plans for our vacation this April. Bought the plane tickets and so super excited about going. We're visiting Orlando with my parents and brother. Years ago, when my brother and I were still in grade-school, our family used to take yearly summer vacations. We usually did it with my dad's side of the family (my uncle and aunt and their families, and sometimes with grandma and grandpa too). It has been years and years since we did that, however. When my brother and I left for college, those vacations pretty much stopped. Well, now that we are all back to living close to one another (not really the trigger for starting this up again, just happens to be true), we're going to start them up again. And this year is Orlando -- and HARRY POTTER WORLD!! Hehe. Danielle (and maybe Weston) might even join us, which would be awesome. So yeah, making all these plans is just making me feel really good this week. The stress of wedding planning isn't hitting me yet. Hell, he hasn't even proposed yet. But he does know I'm going to start planning the thing for reals probably before he proposes. He's okay with this. It's hella odd, but.. honestly we don't have all that much time. Last time I planned a wedding I took over a year. I don't have that this time. And really.. I just need to solidify the date and then I can relax again. >_> |
| Week 57 / Prompt 1 - If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen? I actually just finished reading a book called The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson that dealt with this very question. Two scientists had discovered time travel, and they traveled back to witness Jesus' death and resurrection. One of them had chosen that destination because he wanted to prove that Jesus was a fake. The other went back after him to keep him from ruining time. Although I don't follow that faith, I was brought up on it enough that I could recognize the parables, and it was a well written book that I enjoyed. In a similar vein to this novel, I, too, would like to go back to a long-distant past to witness some religious occurrences. However, mine have more to do with my own faith. Of all the places I would like to witness, I would truly like to go back and witness the creation and use of Stonehenge. While we have hypotheses and ideas about who created Stonehenge and for what purpose, I would like to go back and learn the truth about the people that placed the stones and their purpose to them. The stones are shrouded in so much mystery (in addition to the foggy mists of England) that I am insanely curious to know about the ancient peoples of the Isles. I find real connection with the Druids and Celts and find their peoples fascinating. I really would love to know more truth about them than the little theories our research has given us. |
| Week 57 / Prompt 6 - Do you agree with the adage "write what you know"? Off the cuff, I want to say that I agree with this saying, for several reasons. First, it is probably easier to write about things that you are knowledgeable about. I'm one that has a really hard time writing about things that I don't know anything about, and will often do a lot of research about a topic to ease those gaps. You could probably make stuff up about a topic, but I hate to think your made-up work might be read by someone who thinks you know what you are talking about and takes it for gospel. On a different level, you might try writing in a genre you don't know much about. This could either lead you to being completely ignored because you didn't match the genre, or you could open up a whole new side of the genre that no one had done before and yet it works! That is probably one of the few traditional methods that I think it is okay to Not "write what you know." Of course, knowing when you will succeed in that method is almost impossible.. When I think about it more, however, I realize that my favorite genre to write in is Fantasy. And most of the time, this genre is everything but writing what you know. In Fantasy, you create worlds that are totally different than this one, you incorporate magic and beings that could never work in our world. You can't truly know anything about these items or worlds, because the whole point is you make them up! So how in the world can you "write what you know?" Well, you can't. Not really. You can create outlines that might help you stay on your own track, but really you aren't writing what you know. And that is the point. |
| Week 57 / Prompt 5 - Talk about three other writers who inspire you. I have many reasons to be inspired by Jacqueline Carey. My all time favorite novel was written by her. My all time favorite novel was also her First novel. The heroine is strong, yet feminine; the plot is intricate and twisting; and the world is a lot of fun. Her writing is probably the most inspiring to me for my own writing, as I want to feel as good about my books as I do about hers. J.K. Rowling cannot help but be inspiring in her sudden and massive rise to fame. The Harry Potter series began with her debut novel, and took off with outstanding success across every age group. The world was involved, imaginative, dangerous, and fun all at the same time. She brought all of us into the amazing world of Hogwarts and we all loved it. To reach that level of fame would be mindboggling, and yet it is definitely something to strive for. I just won’t hold my breath  The last is a totally unknown writer. She is my best friend. She doesn’t even write novels. She writes for gaming companies. She writes as a freelance writer, primarily. But she’s my age, and has been making slow and steady progress into the writing world that she enjoys writing for, getting more and more contracts as each year goes by. She gets paid for what she loves to do. She is now taking on the idea of creating her own game from scratch. And I’ve played in it, and it’s awesome. I see her becoming an awesome game designer as well as writer. I can’t wait to read the first novel she writes. I love the ideas she comes up with. She is amazing, and a true inspiration to me because to see her writing and making deadlines reminds me that I need to sit my butt down and write as well. Danielle Lauzon is my down-to-earth, minute-by-minute, writing muse. |
| Week 57 / Prompt 4 - A genie grants you three writing related wishes, what are they and why? I wish, I wish.... I wish for the capability to focus on my writing and not have to go to work at a full time job to earn money. Isn't that every writer's dream? To be able to focus completely on their craft and not have to fit in the writing craft in the nooks and crannies they can find between their normal lives? I'd guess so. I know that I'm only at the beginning of my writing hobby/craft, and I have many many more years ahead of me, and a great deal of work to earn the write to consider myself a true author. For now, I'm just a writer hobbyist. I'm not published yet, so obviously not making any sort of a living off of my writing. Maybe some day I will be able to do so. I only wish I can find the time to be able to practice my craft enough to become really good at it. I wish for the regular attention and inspiration from my muse. So far, I've had pretty good luck as far as my muse goes. I think that is based my extraordinary efforts put in during October to write an outstanding outline for my novel, which has given me something to turn back to again and again - a roadmap to keep me in line. I definitely have relied upon that outline over and over. There are times that I have lost my creative spark, been uncertain about where to take my story or how to get through a scene. But so far, I've been able to pull myself through those with at least some reliable speed. But it understandable that I wish for my muse to continue to support me so that I can continue with this good luck!! I wish to gain the confidence to write short works and enter them into competitions to get my name out there. I haven't done many competitions; I could probably count on one hand the number i've entered with my own writing. I find myself focusing primarily on my own novel writing since I started this whole venture in October, and haven't stretched myself to do much else. I know I have the skills, although they are a bit rusty. I really need some confidence to write those shorter pieces, and get them out to be reviewed, and then compete with them to garner confidence in my own writing. |
| Week 56 / Prompt 3 - Share a photo from your life for each day of this week. Monday Invalid Photo #1038122 Collin got into a wreck on Monday. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, even though three cars were involved. It took until Thursday to find out that his car was luckily not totaled, and it was getting repaired. We'd spent the first couple days considering possible cars to go look at this weekend for test drives. Since I know I'm getting a new car this summer, it was a little scary to think he was also going to be taking on a car payment this year as well. We've already got a lot on our plates this year to consider adding that as well. As a note - he did like the GMC Acadia he was driving around as a rental (it was the last car the rental agency had, so he got the big suburban rented cheap!) He looked into cost on the thing if he were to buy one. I told him it'd be handy to have when (because I fully believe it is a when at this point) we have kids. But, price is probably out of our range, sadly. Tuesday Invalid Photo #1038123 I was heating up some soup in the microwave at lunch. It was sorta boiling when I took it out, which I thought was a good sign it was done. And I was happy to see it hadn't spurted all over the microwave. Of course, when I take it out and stir it, that's when it decides to have a fit and spurt/jump/spit up all over me and the counter. And, of course, that is the day I'm wearing a white shirt. Sigh. I try and rub out as much of the soup as I can from the shirt, and that is when I notice the soup burned my hand as well. It took most of the afternoon for my hand to cool down enough for this pattern to emerge. Apparently I have a bird burn :) Wednesday Invalid Photo #1038124 I technically moved into my new office on Tuesday, but I didn't get the wall items up until Wednesday. I need to add another picture or two on the wall behind where I'm standing, but for now this is doing pretty well. I love all the little details I have in my office to make it feel cozy. Thursday Invalid Photo #1038125 Collin and I went out for sushi on Thursday. It was yummy!! I had a bottle of sake and he had a couple beers. I'd intended to write that night, but the sake hit me hard.. and I probably needed some extra sleep by the fourth day of the week. We got home around...8:30 or so.. and I think I was out before I hit the bed. So much for writing. Friday Invalid Photo #1038126 Friday has begun so absolutely beautiful. We've had gray gloomy rainy days all week, and it's been a struggle to have high spirits when it's cold and rainy. But this morning, while still crisp, was slightly warmer, and no rain - instead lots of beautiful sunshine. Collin took this pic out on the docks where he works, and it's absolutely stunning. Even I was enjoying the walk to work this morning with the sun shining. Great start to the day has me in much brighter spirits! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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