tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62316402480335140532024-03-13T06:45:06.123-04:00One More Writer's JournalOn life, on writing, on writing about life, etc.Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-9870807324037837092013-02-16T11:06:00.000-05:002013-02-16T11:50:09.494-05:00Recent Progress for February<br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She's back! To write more personal stuff!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I haven't kept up with posting updates much thanks to a few
factors. One of which was being sick the last few weeks. I lost a lot of time
sleeping and being grumpy but managed to achieve a few things:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Finished <i>Writing Down The Bones</i> by Natalie Goldberg and
wrote a <a href="http://charlenewilkins.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-writing-down-bones.html" target="_blank">very short opinion</a> on the book to work on my reviewing skills, and
started <i>Bird by Bird</i> by Anne Lamott.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Got to page 80 of LBW. If the ideas keep flowing and I keep
up two pages a day then I'll be making sweet progress. Actually I'd be happy
with just a page a day or four pages a week.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Low standards? Nope, I'm just a slow writer with trouble
getting ideas. <b>Goal:</b> page 90 by March 5<sup>th</sup> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Started my first weekly critique after a short break. By
the way, I recommend <a href="http://www.critiquecircle.com/default.asp" target="_blank">Critique Circle</a>, great place.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Finished the paper revision I was doing of Serpenttongue.
Now I'm plugging it in and making slight revisions as I go. Still finding spots
lacking something uncertain, but there's always another go-through. I haven't
set any goal other than be past chapter 25 by month's end.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Still working on a new short story featuring my vampire.
It's proving difficult to write. I just don't know the story. <b>Goal:</b> just work
on it!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have uber faith I can succeed, especially if I spend more
days getting up at three like I did Thursday. I went back to sleep of course,
but I figure why not use that time if I'm up anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are your goals for the rest of the month?</span></div>
Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-34403779665917706462013-02-13T10:30:00.000-05:002013-02-16T11:07:21.478-05:00Review: Writing Down The Bones<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44905.Writing_Down_the_Bones" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1170271469m/44905.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44905.Writing_Down_the_Bones">Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25189.Natalie_Goldberg">Natalie Goldberg</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/535018868">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I gobbled up the book. It was full of ideas and experiences that compelled me to sit down and write about something, anything, but just try writing again, and to feel less self-conscious about my work. It gave me ideas for writing and writing practice. I think the biggest takeaway for me was to get a journal and do writing practice, and to just write.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The book's zen feel is I think why it resonated so well with me, it was different from others I've read and inspired me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a writer and simply needs an encouraging and inspiring read, or looking for something different from the common how-to-write books.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9173332-charlene"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View all my reviews</span></a><br />
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Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-18002988830584391422013-01-30T10:13:00.001-05:002013-02-16T11:07:12.044-05:00Review: Joe Vampire<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13495183-joe-vampire" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Joe Vampire" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344303336m/13495183.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13495183-joe-vampire">Joe Vampire</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5757470.Steven_Luna">Steven Luna</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/488705725">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What would you do if you woke up one morning and found yourself among the living dead? Try to make the best of it? Tell your loved ones? Start a blog? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Joe Vampire is the story of an average guy and how his life is rocked by one small mistake that turns him into a vampire and his attempt to continue a semi-normal life in spite of it, told in blog format.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I liked Joe and his story. It's funny as much as sad as you read about his mini-misadventures and mistakes, often in bulleted lists. After I finished I wanted to find him and give him a hug and say "It's all gonna be okay Joe" but that would be odd...and impossible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you're looking for a read that's funny and easy to do in small increments, or a change from the glamor of many turned-into-a-vampire stories this is a good one to pick up.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9173332-charlene"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View all my reviews</span></a><br />
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Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-88346359611695844492013-01-26T11:37:00.000-05:002013-01-26T11:37:48.693-05:00The LipsFeeling chapped, despite the balm. <div>
Perhaps reapply, perhaps hold on?<div>
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Anyway, the latest physical attribute entry at The Bookshelf Muse is about <a href="http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2013/01/physical-attributes-entry-lips.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feedburner%2FtKhz+%28The+Bookshelf+Muse%29" target="_blank">lips</a> and all the things they can say about us without ever mouthing a word. Useful stuff.</div>
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Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-76904030724131706802012-12-31T11:41:00.001-05:002012-12-31T11:41:53.999-05:00New Year's Eve / Make Up Your Mind Day <p>Hello, and happy New Year's Eve to those who celebrate it.</p>
<p>Today also happens to be Make Up Your Mind Day where you...make up your mind, obviously. I'm going to observe it by picking one of three short story ideas I started and working towards completion; I think it will be the short about a certain vampire anti-hero that I began freewriting a few months ago and never finished. Silly me tried to type it out first, and that's just not how my brain works.</p>
<p>It's the perfect day to set those resolutions too.</p>
<p>So happy Make-Up-Your-New-Year's-Eve-Mind-Day to you. Hope it's productive and fruitful.</p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vw8VBssNUvs/UOHATlZk4AI/AAAAAAAAAKU/SS8wEOh2gEw/s1600/IMAG0117.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Vw8VBssNUvs/UOHATlZk4AI/AAAAAAAAAKU/SS8wEOh2gEw/s640/IMAG0117.jpg' /> </a> </div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-21793514186256269912012-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-29T00:00:08.714-05:00Are You Ghoul, Revenant, or Zombie (Part II)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLIYE3AnFtg/UM9gTbSb51I/AAAAAAAAAIY/M5r6GOcF_QE/s1600/large__275371357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLIYE3AnFtg/UM9gTbSb51I/AAAAAAAAAIY/M5r6GOcF_QE/s1600/large__275371357.jpg" /></a>Welcome to part two of my rinky-dink
series on what I've learned from brief research about ghouls,
revenants and zombies. You can<a href="http://charlenewilkins.blogspot.com/2012/12/are-you-ghoul-revenant-or-zombie-part-i.html" target="_blank"> click here</a>
for the section on ghouls.</div>
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<u>The Revenant</u></div>
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Having a
revenant sounds cool, but Wikipedia defines it as a ghost or an
animated corpse similar to a vampire* so not sold.</div>
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In some
folklore, it's a person who returns to harass neighbors and family*.
Nothing special, like another ghost there.</div>
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I
do like the other definition it offers: a dead hero brought back by a
wizard to go on some quest no one else would brave, under the
wizard's control. It also referenced Jason (<i>Friday
the 13</i><sup><i>th</i></sup>)
as a revenant, and the protagonist of <i>The
Crow.</i> Side fact: I
have never actually seen that movie.</div>
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My
experience with revenants has been through the <i>Final
Fantasy</i>
series, a stronger version of a zombie (causing life-drain when it
attacked. Like a vampire, if I recall). They're mentioned as
spreading disease among the living, which I could make use of.</div>
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I'm undecided on revenants.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Taken
from </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenant">www.wikipedia.org</a></span></u></span></span></div>
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Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-62108816062728727722012-12-24T12:01:00.001-05:002012-12-24T12:02:07.599-05:00Happy National Chocolate Christmas Eve Day <p>Yes, I did just mash two observances together, but wouldn't it make the day that much better? </p>
<p>- "Happy Chocolate Christmas Eve Day! Here’s your gift." <br>
"You shouldn't have." *gasp* "My favorite chocolate truffles! Thank you so much!" </p>
<p>This should happen. Everywhere. Because chocolate is awesome. In fact, I think my writing reward today will be some hot chocolate. </p>
<p>Spread the joyful day by enjoying some chocolate, or giving chocolate, in the spirit of the season. </p>
<p>Don't do chocolate? Okay, we'll make an exception. You may substitute with butterscotch candy :) </p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UciicV2C3fs/UNiKaG96Q4I/AAAAAAAAAKE/YY65nJI5Vpw/s1600/IMAG0115.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='http://lh3.ggpht.com/-UciicV2C3fs/UNiKaG96Q4I/AAAAAAAAAKE/YY65nJI5Vpw/s640/IMAG0115.jpg' /> </a> </div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-90653591261051554692012-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:002012-12-21T00:00:04.414-05:00National Look on the Bright Side day<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Today is National Look on the Bright Side Day, where you take a not-so-positive event and give it a positive spin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Your submission didn’t get accepted? On the bright side, you have more time to look over your work and find that one publication that’ll adore it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dogs woke you up early? Look on the bright side: not only did you not sleep in, but now you can get up and get more done than you originally planned (and there’s always power naps. I survive by power naps).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Today, simply try to find positives in all the negatives you encounter. It sounds cheesy, but it’s pretty neat how something so small can affect your mood for the better. I’m a compulsive complainer and epically pessimistic, but today I’m going to try and counter that so I can have one less exhausting day in my week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Encounter your spin-worthy occurrence. Share with someone or even just in your own journal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Here’s to the bright side!</span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-2864731854038378992012-12-18T09:00:00.000-05:002012-12-18T09:00:14.226-05:00Are You Ghoul, Revenant, or Zombie? (Part I)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLIYE3AnFtg/UM9gTbSb51I/AAAAAAAAAIY/M5r6GOcF_QE/s1600/large__275371357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLIYE3AnFtg/UM9gTbSb51I/AAAAAAAAAIY/M5r6GOcF_QE/s1600/large__275371357.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I wanted to write a short story, recycling the beginning of
a novel idea I once played with, and realized the idea I had for the main
character's disposition, I guess you'd call it, would do better with some kind
of explanation or at least a reference to other monster types.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Originally, she was to be a zombie. However, my experience
with zombies (and urge to do something a bit different) led me to find another
species she fit into. My search led me to explore three: ghoul, revenant, and
well, zombie.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Ghoul</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I considered using the ghoul based on their folkloric origin
of undead creatures that feed on flesh. They actually originated from Arabian
folklore as shape-shifting demons, most often appearing as hyenas, that led
travelers into the desert or abandoned places to eat them.* It also eats the
dead and takes the form of the person most recently eaten. I found the relation
to a Jinn interesting, but while interesting, my story wouldn't take place in a
desert, and I don’t require the shape-shifting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Their depiction varies a lot in fiction, from the
flesh-eating horrors of The Dresden Files (first encountered in Summer Knight.
Little trivia from a fan), the slightly-stronger vampire-like creatures of
Final Fantasy games, to even the unseen, ghostlike inhabitant of the Harry
Potter world that lived in old homes (its name escapes me, but it lived in the
Weasley's attic in book two).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It's an alternative to the mindlessness of a zombie, and
possibly a bit more unique and different, however I'm not sure on a being that
also shape-shifts. Not my plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It's back to the dictionary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">*Taken from </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoul" target="_blank">www.wikipedia.org</a></span></div>
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photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/earlg/275371357/">Earl - What I Saw 2.0</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com/">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a></div>
Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-55056974335895760892012-12-02T13:39:00.001-05:002012-12-02T13:39:36.628-05:00Testing <p>Just trying out the Blogger app I downloaded. Here is a picture for your trouble. </p>
<div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pew50F_C4cc/ULugZnBG-lI/AAAAAAAAAIA/yuUoxJwGoF4/s1600/IMAG0084.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border='0' src='http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pew50F_C4cc/ULugZnBG-lI/AAAAAAAAAIA/yuUoxJwGoF4/s640/IMAG0084.jpg' /> </a> </div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-47188117821433989472012-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:002012-11-22T00:00:08.204-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-12298127160040374282012-10-31T12:45:00.000-04:002012-10-31T12:45:01.501-04:00Restless in October<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal; text-indent: -0.05pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jerking, twitching.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too restless.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Racing, spinning.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too anxious.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aching, burning.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too much distraction.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buzzing, whizzing,</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too many whispers,</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And too much white page to fill.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.36305784108117223" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Random, yes, but accurate. Halfway through October my trudging train of progress chugged right into a ditch that silly conductor me has been trying to trudge out of instead of stopping to reassess the cause.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I probably should have used the metaphor of an RC car with a dying battery trying to drive over a speed bump or something. Oh well.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've still got no clue what caused it, all I know is whenever I sit to do any work on the novels or the short stories I get uncomfortable and anxious, jittery and-–well just see above. Maybe it's time for a new chair, one that actually </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">began</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with cushion. Maybe I need to rearrange my desk and relocate it again.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(God I hope not. There's limited functional space in here as it is.)</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or perhaps I need to drop two projects and focus on fewer stories.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Possible, but this anxiety feels deeper somehow, and doesn't quite address the jitters (No, I don't drink coffee and haven't had a soda in over a month. Just not my thing.) Maybe I should think about breaking tasks down to amoeba-sized steps.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step one: Divide writing tasks further to designate </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> day to </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">one</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> story until you get your head right. Must ponder this one.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So if I accept it's my workspace (it likely is; this chair was never meant to hold anyone for such long periods of time over two years of use), I must hunt out a replacement of ergonomic quality likely requiring self-assembly, not beyond $100 if that chair exists. Meanwhile, I've picked up a lap desk to work away from my flimsy assembly of kindling; it looks like it should suffice for short sessions on the couch or on my bed.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Does anyone have experience with a good ergonomic (or just very cushy) desk chair they're willing to recommend me? I think armrests might be nice, but they aren't the necessity.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Happy Halloween should you be one to celebrate it.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(I totally forgot to get myself candy pumpkins this year.) </span></b>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-78421426168303643142012-09-13T11:24:00.001-04:002012-09-13T11:32:47.421-04:00New Project<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SP9b6wIXXgI/UFH6vjlfPiI/AAAAAAAAAGw/eHKtR6Euu0Y/s1600/IMAG0071-785738.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SP9b6wIXXgI/UFH6vjlfPiI/AAAAAAAAAGw/eHKtR6Euu0Y/s320/IMAG0071-785738.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787682691061071394" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPQsJcko1a8/UFH6v6gSgEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/A1dJPvHZ7lg/s1600/IMAG0070-787540.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QPQsJcko1a8/UFH6v6gSgEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/A1dJPvHZ7lg/s320/IMAG0070-787540.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5787682697213280322" /></a></p><p>I woke this morning with uncharacteristic energy and motivation to get things done, my main goal shall be to handle this clutter. A lot of it is the same information, or useless.</p> <p>A part of me is considering washing down those doors. I have a few other things to do so that probably should wait.</p> <p>It's too easy to build clutter and not notice as it saps your mood and motivation in miniscule increments. I'm a tidy and organized person (okay, okay, I'm obsessive) but it catches me all the time.</p> <p>-Some unasked for advice: set at least a day aside every week to really look at your workspace and consider tidying up. Or washing surfaces down. A fresh smelling, allergen-free workspace is wonderful, but simply returning books to their shelves can be just as revitalizing. Setting a schedule keeps you from forgetting, so you deal with it before clutter takes effect.</p> <p>I should probably go handle my clutter now.</p> Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-43721424896597511552012-08-31T12:55:00.000-04:002012-08-31T12:55:15.267-04:00August in Review<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">August is concluded. Pretty sure I completed most of my goals, or
enough of them to be satisfied with myself considering three weeks of crushing
frustration about writing and plotting.</span><br />
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">I have discovered the timer is my friend. With the help of the <a href="http://www.spacejock.com/yTimer2.html" target="_blank">yTimer</a>
program*, I've managed to get more done this month than in past attempts, and
I'm only doing 30 minute intervals.</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">The reasons (in a bullet list!):</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Forces me to focus on one thing at a time, and not
worry/consider/daydream about anything else because I have a limited amount of
time to work before the obnoxious buzzing occurs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Allows me to focus on task at hand because I know
that I only have to toil at it for 30 minutes before I can fly from my chair
and forget about it for a while instead of staring at a page blankly until I
nod off.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">I don't stare at a blank page until I doze off.
Somehow, actually having a timer cut back on the frequency of dozing off at my
desk, and proceeding irritation of trying to translate what I wrote down right
before sleep struck. It wasn't cool in high school, and it isn't cool now.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Hand-in-hand with the previous, the 30 minute
timer buzzes before boredom swoops in and I start playing with fonts in the
editor or embellishing letters and doodling in page margins. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">The short breaks between force me to get up and
handle other tasks, like preparing for the next day of work, getting more
water, or just stretching (which helps with that whole falling asleep issue –
who knew?)</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-top: 5.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Don't ask me why I didn't take to this strategy
sooner when I've read and printed so many articles about it already.</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">I still have the impression of time missing in my week. I've been using
methods to track my hours, but still haven't found all those missing minutes.
Maybe they never leave bed when I get up in the morning.</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Writing</span></b></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-bottom: 5.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.75pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Made it to the end of the first scene of the new
short I'm working on. Haven't devoted much time to it.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Sketched a brief outline for the short.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-bottom: 5.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.75pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Still struggling with outline for <i>LBW</i>, but
stumbled across a blog, Do-It-Yourself MFA(<a href="http://diymfa.com/" target="_blank">DIYMFA</a>), with helpful articles, and through playing
around with a mind mapping app to make character sketches I surprised myself by
finding more ideas for back story, and a few for the plot.</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-bidi-font-family: OpenSymbol; mso-fareast-font-family: OpenSymbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">I also played around with free form character
interviews of two characters, and dug up some more back story.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Revision</span></b></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-bottom: 5.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.75pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">The short in revision is, well, still in revision.
It's one of three stories I've ever done that began right in the middle of the
action, and not before. It feels cheesy for that reason, but maybe it really
isn't.</span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin-bottom: 5.75pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 5.75pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo6; text-indent: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">ST</span></i><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;"> is <i>so</i>
close to being done its 2<sup>nd</sup> revision. Goodness, it's been a chore.
Call me Madame Treeslayer.</span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="margin: 5.75pt 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">I'm working to take the advice of numerous writers and break writing
tasks down to the smallest goals possible. I do it all the time with my daily
chores, but never tried with writing. I'm thinking it might help.</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;">Hmm...I should probably decide what my goals for September will be too.</span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New";">*yTimer by Spacejock software. Free to download and use. I am a fan of his <a href="http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html" target="_blank">yWriter</a> program, which is how I found the timer.</span></span></i></div>
Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-41781275394239604532012-08-03T10:29:00.001-04:002012-08-03T10:29:56.649-04:00Otakon 2012<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And now I shall detail my four day vacation/journey to Otakon, where creativity runs like sweat from the skin of an armored cosplayer. I got to experience the smelly </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">glamour</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Friday and Saturday in my own costume, an assortment of items I threw together to get the full Otakon experience. Worked out nice though. I even ended up on Wikimedia, somehow.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9v-a2EjrUI/UBl25l8pQUI/AAAAAAAAAGI/WVTKQ7YlLLo/s1600/12+-+2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9v-a2EjrUI/UBl25l8pQUI/AAAAAAAAAGI/WVTKQ7YlLLo/s200/12+-+2" width="119" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me (right) with my splicing sister.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mine paled in comparison to others of course, such as my sister's battleworn samurai (no picture yet, sorry), and Spider-Splicer. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I'm apparently collecting Harry Dresden now too, as I have one picture for each year.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We got a little crazy and shook it up this year by actually</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;"> going</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to panels. I sat in on a hilarious show by <a href="http://plustwocomedy.com/about/" target="_blank">+2 Comedy</a>, witnessed some ridiculous deaths in anime, and awesome anime openings. Unfortunately, the panel I was jazzed for, an Avatar: the Last Airbender panel (which promised to be epic) was canceled, so we never got the chance to show off our fanatical knowledge of the show. I'm sure he'll turn up in a hundred years.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Biggest highlight of the convention: I found her, the one plush I've been looking for for over a year. The elusive Lina Inverse plush. Of course I now have to find the</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;"> other</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> characters and build myself a collection.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm glad Otakon is over now; I haven't been this exhausted and overstimulated since my last martial arts tournament way back in childhood. All the things to see and do, and the multitude of people. I'm confident there were enough people present over those three days to tear down and rebuild the convention center in just a day. Actually, the site mentioned this year had upwards of 30,000 people attend. Sheesh.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's time to begin planning and saving for next year's 'Con, and resume my writerly tasks.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My slightly-fuzzy pictures are available to view on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.774409764983.2128336.52203360&type=3&l=c05cab1c39" target="_blank">Facebook</a> (the whole darn album), and I plan to add more when possible.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0pt;">
<br /></div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-4087031454904780972012-08-01T10:59:00.001-04:002012-08-01T10:59:35.342-04:00End of the Month Update<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goodbye July, and hello August. Yet another month has come and
gone already.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I tried
hard, but my birthday was not to be resisted. It bowled me over, leaving an
achy 27 year old me in its wake. I would have let this atrocity go without
complaint, except the cheesecake I brought for my birthday was beyond mediocre,
and there are some things I just can't let go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turns out
I did not accomplish my writing goals for the month, because of personal
oversight, as is usually the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>LBW:</b> In
my goal setting, I forgot to look at my past writing and figure out where the
middle might be. (Oops). I can say I at least reached the scene my brain has
envisioned for some time now, except it has no idea what the M.C. is supposed
to learn from it yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm 0 for
4 here now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>ST:</b> Why
did I think I could make it through 150-plus pages of revision this month when
I'm a slow writer? I managed a lot, but not even close to a hundred pages, even
with the work I did during the convention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not
bothered by that as much as I am over my writing goal; revision is still very
challenging for me.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Untitled
Short:</b> Now I<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i>did</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>get this goal completed. It's all
typed up, waiting its first revision. Take<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i>that</i>,
procrastination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>And my
goals for August, so far, shall be:</b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Begin work on a new short story that's been tapping my shoulder
for two or three weeks now. This time I'll start with development of an outline
and basic character sketch before starting, to see which style of writing I
prefer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have just a few more pages of LBH awaiting critique, then I will
compare notes to my draft and contemplate another revision. This month, I just
want to take this stage of the process slow.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The short I wrote has waited patiently for revision so I'll hit
that too, and then try to get into a paper revision after my initial computer
screen revision is complete.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Continue revision of ST – of course. I'm not expecting to get
through my two stacks of pages this month.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reexamine my outline and plot points for LBW to guide me to the
next major plot point. I'll need to fix the outline and elaborate on it a
little more to make sure I get the plot points to build to the ending I have
mostly plotted out. I need to write up a sketch for the antagonists and one or
two more characters while I'm at it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not forget my sister's birthday is next week. She shall show no
mercy should I make that mistake.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any goals
for the month of August? Were you able to accomplish any you set for July?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-38428863734487554092012-07-03T11:12:00.000-04:002012-07-03T11:12:23.344-04:00Fireworks, Flame-grills, and Fantastic Fabrications<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July, here again, hot and heavy. Tomorrow will bring fireworks and smoking grills, and my least-favorite question to be asked, “What are you doing for your birthday?” That question never gets easier to answer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do have plans to get a fair amount of writing and revision done during this yucky month. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a>I want to reach the middle of LBW before the month is over, which may take some more outlining and thought. ST is almost through a 2nd draft -woo- and I'd like to do another run-through by month's end. LBH is in a beta-reading stage done by a friend so I just have to wait, and the most recent short requires a type-up with a quick pre-revision before actual revision. I should be able to get all my goals accomplished, provided I get up in the mornings like I'm supposed to and stop dragging my feet.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This will be a fairly busy month with the planning and arrangements my sister and I have to do for our vacation. July marks <a href="http://www.otakon.com/" target="_blank">Otakon</a>, an anime convention held every year at the Baltimore Convention Center. This will be my 3rd year attending.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's amazing. For three days, the city of Baltimore fills with an army of tourists and colorful costumed characters united by a love of anime and Japanese culture (and video games, and comics). The costumes are a sight, many are handmade (sewing machine, fabric, and felt handmade) masterpieces that were crafted shortly after the previous years convention. My sisters are planning on dressing up (it'll be year two of cosplay for my younger sister) and are trying to get me into the act.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll see.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll likely post a few pictures when I return. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any plans for this muggy month?</span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-64329440370784255792012-07-02T14:34:00.001-04:002012-07-02T14:34:41.525-04:00Techno-Fail<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June was a month of epic failure for me. The spontaneous, ironic, computer kind of failure. More than once I imagined smacking a few people over the head with my dead net-book.<br /><br />Darn thing didn't even live long enough for me to give it a stupid name, reflect on the stupidity, then rename it.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The story begins, shockingly, at the beginning of June, when my fancy flash drive pretended to become corrupt and useless, right before I was to backup my revisions on the new net-book. Almost suffered a breakdown over the numerous PDF's and writing articles I'd just saved to it while at work becoming wasted time in front of a computer screen.<br /><br />And the prices of data recovery people were quoting me...I made many incomprehensible noises over multiple phone calls because “Excuse me?” was just too logical for me. I never received a reaction, so it must be a typical response.<br /><br />When time had passed and a payday arrived I resigned to buy a new flash drive, and get a Geek Squad quote on recovery for the older one (for giggles I guess). She plugged it in and I discover everything returned and working like normal. No identifiable reasons for the missing files or drive I couldn't save on. Like “Hah! I'm not broken at all. Joke's on you, moron!”<br /><br />I've swapped it out for the replacement I'd purchased, leaving it sitting on my desk ignored. Joke's on you now, flash drive.<br /><br />And then I power up my net-book to a ruined hard drive holding a fair amount of revision captive.<br /><br />Techno-karma, I'm sure.<br /><br />Now I sit with a useless net-book and files I can't access to back up like good workers do unless I front a massive sum of money for a professional to save it. Once the rescue mission is complete, I'd have to buy a hard drive for the net-book. The data recovery process alone would cost more than what I paid for the net-book to begin with.<br /><br />The company, naturally, doesn't do data recovery or cover the price of it despite their product started out faulty. They will, however, talk you through a system restore – no charge.<br /><br />I've settled myself on the worst case scenario, and counted the work lost with hopes I can retrieve some of those words from my fragmented brain while I continue this 3rd revision. If there was a message in this it would be back up your work, and then back up your work again somewhere else (Because no one ever harps about this, right.), but I didn't write this post to deliver that message (originally, it was to be a negative but accurate review of the particular company and model of faulty product they're not claiming is such but changed my mind). Frankly, intention to back up does no good if your system chokes before you get a chance.<br /><br />I seriously had not figured the thing would falter before it reached two months of ownership, or that data recovery would be so pricey. <br /><br />Live and learn. And consume lots of chocolate.</span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0Maryland, USA39.0457549 -76.641271237.4674879 -79.1681267 40.624021899999995 -74.114415700000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-878877073424594992012-06-29T13:02:00.000-04:002012-06-29T13:02:06.966-04:00Reflection on Another's Post<a href="http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/27/the-business-rusch-perfection/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If a flawed novel entertains, it has done its job."</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is my biggest takeaway from the June 27th post over at <a href="http://kriswrites.com/" target="_blank">The Business Rusch</a> (Yes, I'm late, I've had a bad week of techno-failure that's kept me busy). Don't get me wrong, it's a good post, that line was the emotional face-slap for me. The whole post deals with the idea of perfection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the peak of a month of failure and headache (How fitting I should be suffering a migraine as I type this) involving technology and my writing, I sat down to read this post, and nearly cried when I got to that line (I resisted, to keep my coworkers from worrying about me). It carries a sense of relief for me, since I've increasingly felt like a failure at writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've also thought I was lazy and making poor excuses for my writing because I agree with the above quote. One shelf of my bookcase is half-full of notebooks with stories I abondoned because the story had no deep, insightful message within. Most of them weren't meant to have any insightful message to begin with, and I felt they were worthless and unpublishable because no one would read them <em>for</em> that reason.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm destroying the message of a good post at this point, so I'll leave the link again and suggest that if you have not read it already to at least skim through. It's interesting, as are </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the comments.</span><br />
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<a href="http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/27/the-business-rusch-perfection/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfection, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I'll go home and stop stressing over my words.</span></span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com2Maryland, USA39.0457549 -76.641271237.4674879 -79.1681267 40.624021899999995 -74.114415700000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-17336795565342861412012-05-04T12:20:00.004-04:002012-06-29T13:24:09.571-04:00Do You Mind, I’m Trying To Study<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns=""></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">Once upon a time, there was a place you could go for peace and quiet, where everyone sat with their head bowed over book or paper, or scanned shelves of books soundlessly. You could even hear the pages flipping in this sanctum of silence. We called it a library.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">In a month of employment at the library, I've experienced just two days where I didn't need to tell anyone to turn down their music or lower their voices. Of course that had everything to do with campus police officers being in the building most of the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">When did the library lose its status as a quiet zone? When did it become the mall food court on a Saturday afternoon, hangout for boisterous groups, cell phone conversation about television shows, and dinner dates of fast food and soda? This isn't confined to the college's library either, it's taking place at the local public library and many others I've been out to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">Obviously patrons there to work have a hard time concentrating over all the raised voices or the scent of fried chicken drifting from somewhere among the books, I know from experience, but I have never had to deal with those conditions in a library before. It's still astonishing when I have to tell a group to keep it down because I can hear them across the room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">The library was my last haven for tranquility, for quiet I could hear myself plot stories in. The peace is suffocating slowly in the grip of inconsideration. I can't be the only person experiencing this unfortunate decay and hoping it isn't permanent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">My library is working on ways to stop the consistent disruptive behavior and abuse without a need for us to remind people on a daily basis. No success yet, but just being involved in the planning brings me some hope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">If you have similar problems at your local library, I can assure you, you aren't the only one there grumbling under your breath about the lack of respect, at least one employee there, and probably a few patrons, share your opinion. Everyone is just trying to wait the disturbance out, when general policy is on our side. Just one complaint could begin a change for the better. Could bring a return to the standards many were taught to instinctively uphold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" xmlns="">How is it at your local library, have you noticed signs, or is it still a haven?</span></div>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-67280825654520766082012-04-16T21:06:00.001-04:002012-06-29T13:25:11.953-04:00My Latest News And A Double-Whammy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mother Nature definitely got the best of me today. Not only was it disgustingly hot and humid, but pollen was rampant. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't sneezed out chunks of brain or melted into gooey writer-remains. I did not escape drowsiness and the infernal itching caused by pollen. Both make it difficult to get any writing done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a three day break from writing (for day long errands away from home) it's back to the plotting and catching up. I'm still working on the unnamed short story I had originally planned to finish by the end of March. I'm only a few pages from completion, at least, while revision of Little Bit Hexed is moving along and giving less hassle than I assumed it would. At the other end of that spectrum is my fantasy novel, where I can't seem to shape rough draft ideas into well rounded forms due to a missing thought in the middle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Little Bit Witch is crawling forward. Ideas I previously gripped firmly in my mind wriggled free while I was distracted and I still haven't found most of them. Sneaky little jerks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow starts a new day of tasks needing to be done, starting with work on Little Bit Witch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's to productivity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And no more itchiness.</span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-8215250134679897822012-03-28T20:24:00.001-04:002012-04-19T10:41:52.401-04:00Smartphone and MeDear Smartphone, can't you see,<br>Your lies, they're just too much for me.<br>You boast of your capacity,<br>But yet, everywhere, I see "No Compatibility."<br>Perhaps you and Productivity were never meant to be?<p>-Thoughts from a worn-out worker.Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-14951447331361584492012-02-02T14:13:00.000-05:002012-06-29T13:25:57.343-04:00At Last<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello again, how have you been? So much has changed since my wholly unintended disappearance, I have a lot of catching up to do, learning Blogger's new features included.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Considering all the sites I use to keep up with, and the habits I'd settled into prior is fairly shocking; I had never noticed everything I was doing while I was doing it all, but I also had daily Internet access and oodles (great word, by the way) of time. That, however, has been altered indefinitely. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During that period of absence, I've managed to relocate multiple times and find myself in quite a few situations best described with keywords like "drama" or "chaotic." They would probably make for good stories, if anyone believed they were possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My adventure brought me back to my home area with a few new lessons learned:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cats <i>can</i> growl. People should be warned prior to the experience. It would lessen the cold fear.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do, in fact, have a questionable obsession with a certain series about a certain wizard detective which makes me squeal when I hear about upcoming installments.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Children can give the evil-eye like no adult can. It cuts into your very soul. Stay out of view when one is getting a shot.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No matter where I am, mentally, emotionally, or geographically, I have never stopped writing a story. I've simply changed mediums from paper to grey matter. Stories are on the short list of things I can ponder for prolonged periods voluntarily. (Out of Reality actually hung around for eight years before I had the heart to rewrite the novel after losing it to a damaged floppy disk.)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That final observation is most important to me in a decade of uncertainty about my usefulness and my potential for achievement or progression.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's all. More posts to follow in time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a great weekend ^_^</span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0Maryland, USA39.0457549 -76.641271237.4674879 -79.1681267 40.624021899999995 -74.114415700000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-90823478783923503722010-05-03T14:35:00.005-04:002010-05-03T14:51:26.981-04:00Busy, Busy Day<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Saturday was the Walk; I began at roughly 9am and ended around 10:40am with barely a throb of soreness or exhaustion. It was a nice walk around a nice area. It gave me time to think and try to recall the sensations you get from a park (or near a lake, or in a wooded area).<br /><br />That failed. I lifted my mood by taking in the scenery, but thanks to the heat it was hard to notice anything other than "It's hot!"<br />I figured I would go ahead and put up a picture of the team I walked with, and horrible camera pictures of the view.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98anLS1SHI/AAAAAAAAACk/PCt01E51mIU/s1600/5-1-2010+Druid+Hill+Lake+skyline.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98anLS1SHI/AAAAAAAAACk/PCt01E51mIU/s320/5-1-2010+Druid+Hill+Lake+skyline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467117733000071282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98aYZzlcqI/AAAAAAAAACc/HeNPYA3aCpE/s1600/5-1-2010+Druid+Hill+Lake.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98aYZzlcqI/AAAAAAAAACc/HeNPYA3aCpE/s320/5-1-2010+Druid+Hill+Lake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467117479197504162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98a9Ntt0fI/AAAAAAAAACs/svNsYenKrkk/s1600/DSCN0757.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 152px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0aF115KsBQw/S98a9Ntt0fI/AAAAAAAAACs/svNsYenKrkk/s320/DSCN0757.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467118111606821362" border="0" /></a></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Oh yes, and still working on Serpenttongue, almost to the second to last chapter. Being so close to the end of the manuscript I've work</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">ed on sporadically for the past two years gives me a strange feeling. It's not despair, disappointment, or joy just...different.</span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /></span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231640248033514053.post-76088158630992343992010-04-29T14:48:00.005-04:002010-04-29T15:57:31.735-04:00Why Yes, I AM Still Alive...And I've Done Stuff Too.<span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Hello, hello, been awhile of silence but I'm back-hopefully for more than three bad posts. Life kind of crept up on me, reenacting the shower scene from <span style="font-style: italic;">Psycho</span>. I didn't die, but it halted things for some time. I've caught up, mostly: gotten used to the busy mornings, the afternoon exercises, the strange disappearance of that block of time between morning and evening. It's ironic that right after I created and printed a schedule for myself, everything kind of back-flipped, so I have to analyze my days again.<br /><br />So, on April 17th, 2010 I attended a festival with my sister, the Black Heritage Festival at University of Baltimore. There were vendors and performances-mostly vendors-and it was a nice taste of what she and I are in for.<br /> I mention the festival because our table happened to be right across from the table of an author who also runs a publishing house (J.M. Benjamin, A New Quality Publishing). He made conversation with us, gave me a little info about writing a synopsis (or at least something to tell people on the street when they ask what I'm writing) as soon as possible, and told me to try submitting work to them to see where I'm at. I made my first connection, woo!<br /><br />I did something I have never really considered before on Tuesday. I always read people's suggestions on other places you can go to write and thought "yeah, that sounds good" with a noncommittal nod to myself, but for whatever reason it occurred to me to spend my free day there. I didn't get many pages, but the atmosphere was a nice change; with nothing in the environment to distract me it was a bit easier to get coherent lines on the page.<br /> It was a nice experience for me...or maybe it was the hot chocolate. I learned two things: I need to be in the library writing more often, and Seattle's Best makes very sugary hot cocoa, or sugary vanilla, or sugary hazelnut, I threw both in so I'm still narrowing down the suspects.<br /> It hadn't occurred to me until a few days prior that the notebook was nearly full, and I was but two chapters away from the ending...and that I'd wasted most of the month being lazy instead of working toward my goal of finishing before May.<br /> I did the same thing in February, and March. Pattern?<br /> I think I've made some good progress. There's a frame, but the door is still under construction...and someone painted the bottom half puce instead of white. I'm not an expert painter, but I can fix it.<br /><br />Lifewise, I'm just a bit anxious about May 1st, when I participate in the NAMIWalks event: a 2.5 mile walk through a park in support of NAMI (I'm lazy, so I'm just going to post the link to NAMI's website for more information- <a href="http://www.nami.org/">www.NAMI.org</a>). It'll keep NAMI functioning, which I'm all for.<br /> It'll be 2.5 miles of me getting to know my teammates better and get a lot of thinking done. And if my sister says it's cool, I might take her camera to take pictures of the park. Should be nice.<br /><br />There's my updates for the past two months, and now I have to get work done.<br /></span>Charlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16301371544126800289noreply@blogger.com0