Glut of Occurences

Reading Junkie

2009-03-04T14:03:00.003-06:00

I've been on a reading spree lately.

Since the last week of January (when the ice storm hit and we were without power for five days) I've read

Books 1-6 of the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
"Pride" by Rachel Vincent (Excellent, btw. Read it in less than a day - pretty much in one sitting.)
"At Grave's End" by Jeaniene Frost (Enjoyed much more than previous one. I still love Tate. And it left me hanging there at the end!)
"Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand" by Carrie Vaughn (Okay, though I thought the resolution came too quickly.)
"Kitty Raises Hell" by Carrie Vaughn (Much better than the previous. Interesting combining of legends. And it restored my faith in Kitty's ability to kick butt.)
"Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller (Very insightful.)
"White Witch, Black Curse" by Kim Harrison (Best of the series, I think. I was glad I had read the short story that gave the backstory on one of the characters.)

I'm currently reading Devon Monk's "Magic to the Bone" and Lauren Winner's "Girl Meets God".

I don't have firm opinions on them yet since I'm not finished, but so far so good.

There have been so many new releases I haven't gotten to yet. But I will. :)
I know that the reading level has to do with the amount of time I've been avoiding my work in progress. (That includes what I'm doing now too...)

Free e-book

2008-10-16T11:19:00.003-05:00

To celebrate the release of the latest novel by Simon Haynes, the guy who developed yWriter (in all its versions), his publisher Fremantle Press is giving away free e-copies of the first book in the seires.

I've never read any of his books, but it's always nice to support authors. (Especially when it doesn't cost me anything more than a little storage space on my computer.)

Here.

Writing software

2008-10-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

Due to an entry on shay_writes about using Microsoft's program OneNote, I followed a link to a NaNo discussion on novel software. (That would be software to use while writing novels.) They've listed some applications that aid the writing process. And they're freeware. (Overly simplified definition: they're free!)

In alphabetical order:
Rough Draft: A "word processor for creative writers." Found here.
Q10: A very awesome-looking program. It says it will automatically count/display your words, provide an arrangeable format, time your writing sessions with an alarm, and wash your dishes at the same time. Sadly, it's only available in a Windows format.
yWriter4: "It's a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes." Available here. This one allows you to storyboard (!!) and re-order scenes and renumbers chapters automatically.

I'm still looking at things that will work on Ubuntu. It'd be nice to be able to switch between Windows and Linux without having do to a stupid dance. I'll let you know. (Other program suggestions are welcome.)

Why you should vote for who you want

2008-10-05T13:30:00.000-05:00

The United States is merely a handful of weeks away from a big election. As Americans we have the right to vote for officials who will effect our daily lives for years to come - taxes, personal rights, the economy, traffic laws, growth of the area we live in, etc.

It has been impressed upon us that we should be American and vote. Punch that card, click that button, mark that ballot for one of those people on that preapproved list.

Yet many people are disenchanted with the system. "Why should I vote when it won't make a difference?" When most people say this, I believe they are referring to the presidential election. The way that the system works with the electoral college means that often your one vote doesn't really affect the outcome. If you didn't vote, would Harry Potter really have lost the presidency to Draco Malfoy? If you were really the only one who did not vote, probably not. However, when the "you"s out there multiply, it adds up.

There's a saying that if voting really changed things, there would be a law against it.

We can change this. We have other options than the ones spelled out for us on the ballot. Don't just vote for whoever is on that list. Vote for who you want. Write their name in. If everyone actually voted for who the thought would do the best job, the politicians would begin to notice. Sure, it may take a few elections, but eventually we could have more than two political parties. We could have candidates that truly represented us. We wouldn't have to pick the lesser of two evils. There would be other options.

So, be as American as you can be. Vote for whoever you want.

Eroding civil liberties

2008-09-24T08:14:00.002-05:00

It amazes me sometimes how little things just slip by us. And then Americans don't care that the government is chipping away at our rights, doing unconstitutional acts. Now it's legal for the government (TSA/Homeland Security) to copy data on your personal devices without needing probable cause. To quote the Washington Post: "...federal agents may copy books, documents, and the data on laptops and other electronic devices without suspecting a traveler of wrongdoing."

And these changes are taking part without public input. This stuff matters. Read the original article.

Is the government becoming American versions of the Gestapo?

To quote Wikipedia (original source William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"), "The Gestapo had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and Germany. A law passed by the government in 1936 gave the Gestapo carte blance to operate without judical oversight. The Gestapo was specifically exempted from responsibility to administrative courts, where citizens normally could sue the state to conform to laws. As early as 1935, however, a Prussian administrative court had ruled that the Gestapo's actions were not subject to judicial review."

And we all know how that turned out.

*(and your little dog too)**
**I don't believe it's a conspiracy theory, just that our elected officials are not doing their job of protecting our best interests.

Yes sirree, Bob.

2008-08-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

My work is coming in sporadic spurts today. Fortunately, one of my procrastinating endeavors turned into something productive. (Why yes, my pretty, that was all a part of the plan.)

Lynn Viehl has posted a worldbuilding notebook, "It Only Took God Six Days: Worldbuilding within Reason". Here for: blog | PDF. Haven't actually read it yet, but the title is humorous. Plus, I'm getting sick of the 2YN worldbuilding section. Don't tell.

Also, I'm in the market for an internal cheerleader. ... Anybody?

Yetis do Tulsa

2008-07-30T12:54:00.003-05:00

Finally recouped from this weekend's Conestoga 12 conference in Tulsa, Okla. It was an inspiring weekend. Met awesome people and great authors, discovered new books to check out, and learned some secrets of the trade.

Made Mark Henry some brain cake. (See photo of Eliza and the bubble-gum pink icing.) (Guilty admission: Don't have a picture of the final cake. Anyone else?)

Learned interesting tidbits about life that I was better off not knowing. (Can anyone say "olive fetishes"?)

Bought a couple of books, had them signed, and I've already finished one of them (highly enjoyable). Received free books, bookmarks, buttons, postcards, pens and the like. Shay wants a shirt that says "Swag Whore."

The best part of going besides the fun times, cool people, was how the panelists made writing a book and being published seem not only easy, but an attainable goal. The projected mindset was "If we could do it, you can definitely do it."

Pact

2008-07-30T12:39:00.000-05:00

I bit the bullet yesterday. Shay and I made a pact to finish our manuscripts in time to go to RT in April. Technically, my goals are:

* Finished rough draft by January 1, 2009.
* "Final" draft by April 1, 2009
* RT end of April, 2009

Met with the Yetis last night (translation: writing group). Between them and My Favorite (translation: W.) had some world building breakthroughs.

St. Patty's luck requested

2008-03-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

I just applied for an editorial position with a local newspaper. Wish me luck. All thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Rock Band

2008-01-31T20:36:00.000-06:00

Some entertainment for you. Create your own band and album cover. (Courtesy of Burr Settles on FAWM.)

The article title is the Band name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Last few words of the very last quote is the Album Title: http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
Third picture is Album Cover: http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

My results:

Band name: Zealandia
Album Title: "We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." ~ Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

New Ideas

2008-01-31T15:59:00.000-06:00

I had a great Tuesday night. The only thing that could have made it better would have been being in two places at once. I needed that time-thingy Hermione had in Prisoner of Azkaban.

The other night I was looking for "What else is out there?" Or possibly, "What goes bump in the night?" I surfed Wikipedia and distilled it down to a smaller list. I just want something different. (Basically because I have separate vampire and werewolf stories right now.) I have an idea for a heroine and I needed a world to build that she could mold to.

Anyway, I was looking through my American Legends and Folktale books and found a great idea. I'm sufficiently stoked about it. I'm still trying to work the idea out in my head (and on paper). It does fall into one of those categories on the list, but is different enough with a "local" twang that I think it's a rare idea. It's not quite ready for me to share yet. I want to nail more things down before I do.

I have a question: How many projects (stories, etc.) do you work on at one time? Do you have all these other ideas, but only focus on one thing at a time?

2YN-ing

2008-01-28T12:44:00.000-06:00

Been working on my 2YN. (Makes me think of Y2K. heh) The latest assignment is about goals and conflict. I've come up with so much conflict - I think I have some of my subplots worked out because of it. Woohoo! My OWG would be proud of the rocks I've collected to throw at my main character.

I also reread part of my NaNo. Turns out, it has more potential than I thought. There are some really good scenes. A few sentences really dance on their own too. (Of course, those are usually the ones that end up being edited out...)

Update

2008-01-18T13:51:00.000-06:00

November ended up being a very rough month. My personal life hit the fan.

Things seem to be ironing themselves out now. I've joined the Forward Motion 2 Year Novel "class". About 6 others from my rl writing group have too. It's nice to be able to share that with a face-to-face support group.

I've put my NaNo story on hold for now. I did glance back through it and found that it's not all tripe. This heartens me. I'm focusing on my werewolf story for now, though I've been debating on simultaneously working on my vampire novel. I think that may be biting off more than I can chew.

Decisions

2007-11-08T20:00:00.000-06:00

I had a miniature meltdown earlier. I'm better now. I talked it through with Wesley and decided to postpone my defense. I've officially told my adviser. I feel much more relaxed.

I had to decide a few things for me to be able to finish (and not get to this point again in the spring).
I'm not going back to bed after work or taking Wesley to work. I'm going to work at least two hours a day on the paper and write for fun for at least one hour. And I have to do those three hours of work before Wesley gets home in the evenings. That way I'm accountable to myself.

If I actually work two hours a day on the paper, I think I can be pretty much finished in the next month or so. I've set myself a hard deadline (because I told my adviser and Wesley) of March 1 to be through with defense and post-defense edits.

I am declaring it: I AM NOT A PROCRASTINATOR!

(I think I need theme music.)

Tomorrow I'll contact the department so I can sign up for my one-hour extension class so I stay enrolled.

Okay, I'm off to write for NaNo.

NaNo Plot

2007-11-07T12:14:00.000-06:00

I didn't mention what my NaNo novel is about.

My working title is "Golgotha," though it will probably stay.

It's a story about having faith in God, yourself and others. The inspiration came from Zechariah 13:7-9.

It's set in another world and is about a young woman who's world is turned upside down when god punishes her town for not being faithful. There's war, disease, death...Don't worry, there's good stuff to - love, forgiveness, overcoming obstacles, moving on.

So far, so good.

Tuesday-slacking ways

2007-11-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

Jumped the wall Monday and wrote 2.4K+ words. Caught up, plus a little...but then yesterday, I wasn't very productive on NaNo. But my project is looking better. Seems I can't balance the two.

Oh, well.

Write-In was fun, but didn't make up for my Tuesday-slacking ways.

Splat

2007-11-04T23:21:00.000-06:00

I hit a wall.

Okay, so the wall is only at shin level, but it counts. I realized today that while I have the "big" things worked out in my outline, I have no subplots...and as we all know, subplots make the world go 'round. Or something like that.

So I've been trying to sub-outline. It's not going super well. Do you think it's cheating if I jump around in writing my story. I don't have to go "A B C D E F G". I can go "A B F E Z R F", right? (Yes, I know F is in there twice...)

Oh, and I've come to terms with the idea that I might not graduate this semester. I have 2.5 weeks (approx.) to completely finish my paper (edits and everything). My adviser is slower in getting back to me than I'd like. (Sigh) It's not a huge deal that I might have to do that I guess.

Whatever.

Hope everyone else's day was better!

At it again

2007-11-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

Things are going better today. I absolutely hated what I wrote yesterday. So I basically started over. Don't worry, I didn't edit yesterday's. I simply rewound and began the story again. I switched my point of view from third to first person. I feel much better about it now. I also wrote more today than yesterday. (Score!) I want to keep going, but am not because 1) I need to eat supper. 2) I haven't done anything on my real paper today.

(Sigh)

The real world sucks sometimes.

Hang in there everybody!

Success

2007-11-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

Day one is successful! Woohoo!! I hit 1,679 words in about two hours (minus time to stuff my face and answer a quick phone call). I would keep going, but I need to work on my applied project some more before I go to bed.

I'm not super happy with what I've written, but it's a starting place. It was a little difficult not to edit as I went along. (How I normally write!) But I did it and it wasn't that hard. We'll see if I can keep it up.

How'd you do?

Head-first dive

2007-11-01T16:57:00.000-05:00

So I'm about to start my NaNo writing for the day. Wesley made me go to bed early last night. Theoretically it was so I wouldn't take a nap today - which I still managed to do.

I've been quite productive on my applied project paper. I'm determined to be completely finished with it by Nov. 10 before my mother gets into town. That would be 12 days before the final final deadline.

Anyway, wish me luck with all. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh! And I just finished uploading 7 little picture thingies. (Can't remember what they're called. haha.) And you say I'm not productive. I laugh in the face of unproductiveness. ha-ha ha ha.

Ooohhh. I learned a new word today. Profligate. I've decided to use it in my NaNo-book for posterity's sake.

Nada, sorta

2007-10-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I've done nothing productive this week. Today I officially freaked out about my applied project (i.e. thesis). I guess it's really crunch time. Maybe that means I can actually accomplish things now.

Oh, wait! I did attend the "informal" Fayetteville NaNo group (our ML is still M.I.A.) and I went down to Ft. Smith's again. That was enjoyable.

Progress Tracker

2007-10-21T17:52:00.000-05:00

One of the other NaNoers created a topic in the forum showing a sheet they had created for tracking their progress during November.

Taking a leaf from their page, I modified their design and created my own. I have a column that checks my progress and tells me if I'm "behind" or "on target." Of course right now it says I'm behind.

Click for the spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel or Open Office.

Addendum to brilliance

2007-10-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

I forgot. My MC decided she'd wouldn't mind being in the story again if I changed some things (i.e. bumped the time up a little, funded construction projects in her home town, etc.)

I'm stoked about that too.

When you have an addendum to a post about your brilliance, does that make you less brilliant? Let's pretend it doesn't.

I'm brilliant!

2007-10-19T10:57:00.000-05:00

Had a wicked breakthrough last night in my outlining/plotting process in one of those moments in which everything just started clicking. I was so excited I didn't want to stop.

In times like those, don't you just want to shout to the world how brilliant you are?

Pre-Write-In

2007-10-17T01:17:00.000-05:00

So, the pre-write-in was a lot of fun. We met up in a coffee shop in a back "study" room. I was glad I had a jacket - it was a little chilly.

Shay made up a box full of prompts (color-coded even) for us to write a short story. (See her Live Journal explanation entry.) Then there was the usual stuff - talking about what our genre is, how far in the outlining process we are, what our "day jobs" are, etc.

I enjoyed meeting the people and it was totally worth the drive.

Enter Sandman

2007-10-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

Still don't have a new MC since my old one decided she wanted to live in the future (perhaps a sequel), but that's getting way ahead of where the story is right now. Since I'm sort of character-less at the moment I'm not trying to decide if more than one point of view is the best way to tell the story.

I have decided more features of the world and the inhabitants. I'm going to a pre-write-in for NaNo tonight. It's to help us plot and brainstorm before November starts. I'm looking forward to it. I've going to the one in the next big town over. I can't wait until my town's ML announces the write-in for this area. It'll be a big gas/money/time/hassle saver. Still, the girls I've been in contact with down there seem very gung-ho about it all.

Oh, I've also started working on the "soundtrack" for the book. Right now I'm browsing Metallica songs. Nothing's definite yet.

Unruly characters

2007-10-15T13:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I was working on my story and it took an unexpected turn. The character I was going to have be the MC wanted to live further in the future than when this book is set. So, I need a new MC. grrr.

Researching

2007-10-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to brainstorm on my plot. It's slow going. I'm not really sure what I want to even happen. I have the MC (who I think will tell the story) and I know generally what's going to happen, but I don't have the world nailed down yet.

Question: Are there any books in which the MC isn't the person telling the story? (Clarification: A secondary character tells another person's story from their point of view - would that make the secondary character the MC?)

Marching onward - I've got more reading/researching to do.

When in Rome

2007-10-11T15:24:00.001-05:00

Well, having been to Rome, I must say I preferred the smaller Italian cities like Sorrento.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart
Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome
Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand
And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Outlining

2007-10-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

My initial idea for NaNo had a lot of potential. I even wrote it down. But I can't put my hands on it now that I need it. I've looked through all the places I think I'd have written it down.
So I thought I'd flesh out my WiP and just add to that. Wesley talked me out of that. He thinks I've got too much invested in that novel to risk it to a month of potentially disastrous writing. That had merit, so I pulled out those notebooks I couldn't find my original idea in and found another idea that I could flesh out.
I'm still working on it. My problem? I really want to work on my WiP, but I don't think I'll have time/energy to put into both for the next two months. Hopefully the ideas will keep flowing for this new novel.

Refusing

2007-08-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

I posted my first chapter ever on my OWG. It's amazing how nervous it can make you when you're waiting on someone else to give feedback on your work. It's also liberating. I'm stoked about moving forward with this part of my life.

I'm tired of making half-hearted goals. I want one that's a little more challenging, but engaging enough to keep me involved.

I had a major breakthrough the other night with my Work-in-Progress. I initially was disappointed with the chapter thinking it wasn't a good fit with the plot. So I brainstormed different ways the chapter could have gone. And it turns out, my best option ended up fitting my written chapter perfectly. It was awesome.

I'm also contemplating competing in NaNoWriMo. The forecast for November looks pretty busy regardless, but I'm hoping the added pressure will encourage me to perform on deadline. And I want the Web graphic. heh.

It's amazing how you need that push at times.

Friday

2006-08-25T00:48:00.000-05:00

I guess that it's officially Friday now. I have now attended each of my classes at least once. I've also realized a couple of things:
1. Journalism students as a whole are not as intelligent as I previously thought. (Apparently basic algebra scares them.)
2. I complained about not having interesting enough things to blog about because I never saw anyone/thing interesting during my normal day. This is no longer true.
a. I met the Artist - formerly known by an Indian name.
b. I saw a very leggy undergrad driving one of those mini-motorcycles around campus today. It looked like a motorized clown bike. It was banana yellow.
3. Arizona is more like California than I could have guessed. Flyers in the school paper advertised a personal valet service for cleaning your room, bringing bottled water, and doing your laundry. I personally don't want anyone but me touching my dirty underwear. I keep having flashbacks of that scene from Being John Malkovich. yuck.

Saturday

2006-01-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

I am amazed at how much music can turn your mood around. Tonight I've been very restless. It was awful. Nothing sounded good, but I was desperate to do something. I finally decided to put a cd on. It immediately lifted the restlessness. I've felt great the rest of the night.

I'm having issues with atrophy. For so long I've felt like I was wasting away. I'm not sure if it's the state or if it's the city I live in. Perhaps I'm just silly and had a year long pity-party. It's possible. I seemed to be depressed for a little while. I blame it on homesickness and resentfulness.

Tuesday

2006-01-10T22:27:00.000-06:00

My mind won't shut off. It's busy recallin' things I only half wish it wouldn't. It makes me wonder why. Why not? Why then?
Wesley is fast asleep. It's not that I'm not tired. I just -want-.
I tried to write some. My brain apparently doesn't want to work that way tonight. I'd like to get on the ball with it. Someone else might have the idea if I don't.
I know I'm all over the place tonight. I'm not consecutive or transitioning properly. Maybe I am more sleepy than I thought.