Been Sick

I missed posting Wednesday  because I was down with  a flu.  I also have a blog hop to post soon.  Beginning to feel better!  So more posting will come soon. Until th...

News!

So I am not finishing Nano but I have a good reason!  I got work.  Yes, I did.  This past week I've been working not just one job, but two!  See that?  That is accomplishment! I was looking back on my posts and thinking "damn, I got kinda depressing in there!" Didn't mean to.  It's  a problem with being honest. I am a little too straightforward, sometimes.  All...

IWSG Post

My life is much the same, I am still applying for work, and that on-going effort has continued to make me very insecure and feed my self doubt.  But I decided to participate in Nanowrimo, and this project has given me a healthy obsession. I have surpassed 16000 words on my Nano-novel and...

Less Buggy Template? + Nano

I loved the colors in the other one, but this template is hopefully less buggy.  As I launched into Nano I realized that I would not have much time to work on the web coding. I see this still has a few things that need fixing.  I'll get on that :) In other news, Nanowrimo is going well.  I've successfully managed about 3k words a day.  One day I did more, as  I...

New Template: In Progress

I love this new template...but it'll take a little bit of work.  So it will look a little awkward and messy while I work out the html changes.  I apologize! This makeover should help me have a workable set up to post some fiction on other pages, and have everything presented in a pretty workable manner.  That's what I'm going for at least! On Writing Progress: Making final changes...

90's Blogfest

Sorry all, posting late in the day due to some technical difficulties...like a completely dead laptop. This is my entry for the 90's Blogfest hosted by Dave Wrote This , a wonderful idea. The 90's spanned, for me, from 1st grade to 11th grade.  The film and literature certainly left a major impression on me. 1990 -- Home Alone.  The 1st one, as  a total kid fantasy, I loved...

IWSG & Nano

This past month I moved.  Again. Most of my insecurities have revolved around not having the most stable life, but ironically in the spurts of writing I've managed I've noticed a lot of growth in my storytelling and style.   We are temporarily staying with a friend, just until we can get our feet under us. This past month we--my guy and I-- hauled our belongings to our friend's house...

Still Moving

Thought about characters...a sort of mental check-in while consumed by chaos. Curious how my recent experiences will be changing things. I am usually very omniscient. But this time I saw through Gellayna's eyes ( female main character in current main project). I related this to my dear friend, and she said: "Well, holding things together while everything is falling apart around her, is what Gellayna...

Might not post for a week or two...

My world fell to pieces a bit this weekend. If not for the supreme graciousness and generosity of a friend, I would be without a place to stay. The guy and I are moving again, but at least there will be a roof over our heads, and we get to keep our puppy. She has brought joy to life in hardship. I am determined to see this latest turn of events in the most positive way possible. There is much good...

Thinking about Nano

Nano is a little ways off.  But I thought it'd be good to start thinking about it.  So... I am. What happened last time I tried Nano? 1) I loved it 2) The story got really weird by the time I was hitting the end, and that made me stall. 3) I chose something off of my main world, and as such, I think the characters had even more control than usual. So what am I thinking...

Goals, Angst & ISWG

This is my first ever ISWG post.  Go check out the list here for inspiration, from all the people participating in this wonderful network. My Achievements! I have made painstakingly slow progress on my novel, with no fault but a general sort of distraction.  Part of it is a writing distraction, which, ironically led to more achievements.  I have written 3 short stories. I am working...

On the Writing Environment

We all seem to need different environmental requirements to write.  For me, I need peace.  An environment lacking drama, dramatic people, or non-musical loud noises.  Unfortunately, due to other concerns, this is not always a practical requirement. Non-writing stresses, changes in routrine that happen for whatever reason--and is usually related to living with other people (and these...

The Writer and the Story

It's always crazy when you meet an author you have absolutely loved, and you find that their personality is so different from their writing.  I think, because it is inevitable that large bits of us wind up in our writing, we expect, see or think it's similar for others. And it is, I think.  But readers are wired to spot the familiar, relate-able things in the books they read....

Should you Write With a Cause?

Since I spent the week looking at SFF relevant to its place in a feminist sort of history, I felt it was fair to clarify this point: Should you write with a cause? NO. I think addressing social issues directly is more a part of literary fiction than genre fiction.  I think genre fiction has a history of playing with ideas, but I don't think it has a place in main plot because I don't believe...

Are strong Women Realistic?

Before I left a writer's group I'd participated in for quite some time, this question came up. I was honestly horrified that a group of girls wanted to even ask this question.  It really made me wonder at the role models we have given girls. But since I've been writing about the portrayal of women in the genre I feel the need to look into this question in more depth. First, I established...

Violence, Strength, and Women

I loved women's literature courses in college.  One of the most interesting things discussed in Intro to women's Lit was the classically depicted strong women. Classically, strong women were those who endured.  City of Women, a text by a Cristine de Pizan was full of early "strong women," and then you could look at the more recent Jane Eyre. While some women in City of Women were fighters,...

Women in Fantasy

Sorry all, I hate to bring up politics, but my inspiration for posts this week comes from two sources: a lively FB topic and ongoing media installments demonstrating a massive misunderstanding of female biology. Growing up, reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, Andre Norton's Witchworld books, and watching the ever increasing roles of women in TV: Scully, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Kira and...

Not One of My Better Weeks

This week has been very slow.  I wrote a bit in the novella, made some changes to the two and a half short stories I have floating around, and began the next chapter in the main WIP.  And I've been lurking in the blogosphere :( Sorry--Will leave comments! I hate these weeks.  No amount of coffee seems able to keep the grogginess at bay.  My focus swings between different projects,...

What was your Childhood Monster? Blogfest!

Thanks Christine for this exciting blogfest!  Everyone be sure to visit for more entries. Monsters were definitely present in my childhood, but thanks to Sesame Street, perhaps, they weren't manifestations of my fears.  They were my best friends. At a young age I developed a family of monsters that I used to understand my world and justify my dislikes. Like orange juice.  With lots...

Attempting a mobile post

Fiddling with my phone today, and I decided to try a mobile post. I have a to admit that this is quite slow.But on those blue moon days I suppose I felt can share pics easily....

Wrote a Short Story Today :)

After being preoccupied for a week by random stuff, I'm back on the right track!  Further, I managed a story in  a day.  Lately short stories have taken me a few days and sometimes more than a week.  Then, they don't often end up as short as I want them to be. I really want to make August better, since my birthday is early September and I'll be 29 :( So I want to get two more...

Writing: Slow, Cooking/Baking: Many New Recipes

I've slipped back into a planning mode.  I hate it when routine falters, but in the past week I've been busy with a lot of non-writing stuff.  There was problems with the AC, spending time deciding how to use all of my veggies from my garden, and feeling like I'm playing an eternal game of catch-up with the housework (thanks to my shedding puppy), and the tons upon tons of cooking/baking...

Writing Progress: The Need for Flexibility

The Main WIP: Silver Mask, my main work in progress is coming along. piece by piece.  It feels slow, but I've had to revisit my "thinking time" in order to catch up with the directions my characters are going in.  And so much is changing! My last critique group helped me work out what scenes to include from my villain's POV.  Not my strong suit, writing bad guys.  I'm far less...

Books: The Hidden Stars by Madeline Howard

I meant to finish the book by today, but I failed there.  So I'll discuss what I've read and follow up with the rest next week. First Impression: Howard's style is gorgeous!  Since I am a big-picture person when I write, and do all my tweaking after the fact, I am particularly enamored of writing styles that maximize word choice and achieve a sort of lyrical quality. The oh-so-careful...

TV I'm Watching: Eureka :(

Eureka is one of Syfy's "Hoarder" cliche shows, which seem to be beginning to disappear.  Eureka is going off the air and Sanctuary has been cancelled.  Not that I'm crying over Sanctuary, I couldn't really get into that one or Warehouse 13. Eureka, on the other hand, I have found entertaining.  The last two seasons have had recurring guest roles from Felicia Day and Wil...

A New Week

So after an attack of laziness and general feelings of being "unwell" I got back to business last Friday, beginning with housework. I don't know what it is about housework, but whenever I've felt the need to assert more control over my life, or if I've been sick and suddenly regained energy, or anything of that ilk--the first thing I do after overcoming a slump is housework.  Dishes, laundry,...

TV: True Blood

The next season is definitely interesting...I'm liking the (likely) temporary hold on the love-circle..ish.  though, now she's moving onto yet another creature? I have to admit--I didn't get into the books.  Sookie's trust issues, while understandable, were manifesting in too much annoying internal dialogue for my taste. I lasted into Club Dead...  I should probably just skip over...

Crafts!

I've been  spending a decent chunk of time making things, hoping to sell them. Debate going on in my head:  Yes, I've been down this road before.  Why is this time different? It is different because I have found a somewhat silly, but relatively simple project that comes out very nicely: Napkin rings. I'm making beaded and crocheted napkin rings right now.  I'm researching (again)...

Writing Progress

I've been working on some short stories, a few which might end up novellas. Two are off to receive critiques at the moment, and I can't wait to put them into shape.  I don't know how I'm going to release them, but I do plan to.  I  have a few ideas in mind, and when I make a decision--I'll post it! Also, work on Silver Mask continues.  Just (finally) completed chapter...

Geeky News

While I'm not generally a Microsoft fan (Nor am I an Apple fan), I must say that this keynote and product excited me. Why? 1) The tech here will compliment my increasingly paperless home. I have been doing more reading and critiquing on Google Docs than in another form.  The ability to use a pen to edit could help the screen adopt the same functionality as paper + pen, which is really...

Book this Week: Alloy of Law

Steampunk met Detective story met Fantasy and then came Sanderson's latest installment from the Mistborn world. Awesome Stuff About this Book: For any fan of the trilogy proceeding this, there are many snicker-worthy moments.  Your main characters from the 1st three books have become religious...

TV I'm Watching: Falling Skies Season Two

A year ago my guy and I were waiting for new shows starting in the fall, and this is when it got fun.  The last few years have seen a rise in SciFi and Fantasy across small and big screens.  These shows have been more than an escape, I've found more than a few inspiring.  The acting and story...

The Project Idea that Hogged a Few Months

One of the things I love to do is cook.  There have been a number of alterations of my style and the content of what I cook the last few years.  I got into cooking specific recipes for awhile, and tried to blog, but realized that cooking is more of a lifestyle thing for me.  I constantly fail at taking picture of what I cook, and the failures went on so long that I became less interested...

Writing Progress

I’m working on producing at least one short story and one chapter a week.  I know that I often box myself in, expecting more than my current lifestyle permits.  But I’m working on that, and transparency helps.  I’m human, and stuff comes up.  But I think that one short story and one chapter is not overly ambitious. So here I’ll be stating my progress (at least for the rest of the...

Geeky News

This will be anything I find cool, from technology, movies, book releases, genre news, etc.  I am a big geek (or nerd--though that is the term that instills the picture of Erkel in my brain and so I tend to avoid the term).  I love anything SFF-- if you haven’t realized already.  I also love things a little more academic, so I might just share what I am learning at the time.  And...

Book this Week

I am going to cover a book a week here on out, best that I can. Because I am not buying very many books at this point in time, I’m going to be going through my collection and reading all those books that I meant to get to, and bought in better times.  So some of these titles might be quite old.  I do not want to go into so much detail on these books that I spoil it for other readers, so...

TV I’m watching: Continuum

This is a twist on the distopian future, where the police woman and terrorists (rebels) attempting to upset the tyrannical corporate-owned world go back in time.  Our policewoman (or Protector) was carried there by an accident, and all she wants is to catch the gang and get back to her husband...

2012 Midway Through

I started out this year saying: “2012 will be better!” and mostly, that’s been true.The trials have been different this year, and I have found some excellent friend-support, in the form of an old High School friend I’ve had the pleasure of reconnecting with.  I planted a garden, have been working on crocheting (and this wonderful friend of mine took the time to spot *exactly* what I had been...

Shows I'm Watching: Misfits

This show is awesome if wildly inappropriate.  However, having now completed the first 3 seasons I fear that with 3 of the original cast now gone, I may not like the next season too much. The premise is a bunch of late teens/young-twenty-somethings who are drafted into community service for having been charged with misdemeanors (public fighting, drunk driving, theft of bowling-ally-candies,...

Garden Carried Me Away

So the last two weeks I got my very first garden going.  Having been moved in for a few months, my focus has been on getting things-- life-- in roughly the order I require. Also, in there, I had a week dedicated to job applications.  The hunt continues! I have to say, the garden is really helping maintain routine. Concerning the WIP, I hit a bump. I do this, much like with the blog--plunge...

TV I'm Watching: Grimm

Grimm is one of the new urban-fantasy meets fairy tale types of shows.  It does not treat the material in a fairy-tale way, but in the true Brother's Grimm Folkloric way.  This, combined with its Dresden-inspired-police- procedural, actually makes for a delightful combination. It is darker than Once Upon a Time, and the German cultural references are like icing to fans of folklore.  The...

Addressing an Epic Cast: Slimming Down POV's

I fall in love with all of my characters.  That's just the way it goes.  So how do I pick favorites to carry a plot? I had to break up the plot, that's how.  I fear I'm a gusher.  Meet me for coffee and you get my life story.  That sort of thing.  And my writing was no different. So I had to scale back my focus and ask not: "Who's going to carry the plot?" but rather,...

Epic Fantasy versus Aspiring Author's Limitations

If you're like me, and you've been writing for-ev-er, or following someone who has been doing so, without quite getting to the point of submitting to agents and editors, you might be wondering, "What's up with that?" For Epic Fantasy there's a Cast of Character issue.  Epics have lengthy casts. That's just how it goes.  When you fall in love with Epic fantasy, as a reader, the complex casts...

Changing Character Strengths: WIP

Running late today!  Battling neck pain yet again.  But after food, medicine and me just getting tired if being in pain, I am trying to kick myself in the butt and get a move onto my goals.  This post, of course, will be one check mark on my list :) Yesterday I posted about how my main character's flaws were changing, so I think it's only fair to look at their strengths and how they've...

Changing Character Flaws in WIP

My characters, plot, world--everything has changed so much from the earlier versions of my WIP that I am stepping back to discern the character flaws all over again.  I knew them once, but my characters are so changed by the new circumstances that I need to "get to know them" again.  Which feels weird since I'm a quarter the way trough the rewrite.  But, hey, it will help when I hit...

SciFi/Fantasy TV (What I'm Watching) : Game of Thrones

This is such a good time to be a geek-girl. Oh my happy eyes.  I know there are a bunch of shows that people have massively different takes on, but there are many that I enjoy. Geeking-out was one of the first things my guy and I shared in common.  From Sci Fi to science documentaries and books, we shared a lot in common from the get go. So when **** flew into the fan, and...