... I certainly hope so!

I’m not going to lie – I spent the last few days moping as I’ve done the last few years (as one college friend put it, birthdays tend to go downhill once after your 21st) . I just think of all the stuff I should have accomplished in life because anyone who is my age should’ve done so by now. Yesterday was no different, I skulked around and melted into nothingness as I watched the boob tube.

Then a thought came to me –
It’s a new year, a new me. I don’t have to wait until January 1st to do something different and new with my life. I can start today and use the New Year to reconsider the goals I’ve already set and put into motion.
( Read more... )

So, yeah, I’m looking at new beginnings and to be honest, I’m kinda stoked about it. :D


How about you? What are some things you’re looking forward to changing or doing or even keeping the same for 2010 or your next birthday?

Excerpt Monday is live again. Check out some great snippets and make sure to drop a comment for the stories you read! You never quite realize how nerve wracking it is to share a piece of your writing with the world until you're about to do so yourself. My snippet is from a stand alone novel I'm in the plotting stages of (it's a baby plot penguin, you see ;).

I know I owe a 'real post' ...it's coming :)

Happy Monday, everyone!

A fun, eye opening game I love – even if you don’t play in a group, you can sit down with a piece of paper and write down the names of those who fall under the various statements. More, in depth information can be found here.

“Our cultural bias of overvaluing emotional control and undervaluing emotional flow can block us from healing fully from feelings of rage and broken heartedness attached to injustices in the world. This effort to suppress and deny our deepest sorrows ends up blocking our deepest joys and passions and connections to other human beings. During “Touch Someone” please relax and remain open to all of the feelings the activity brings up for you. So let yourself be inspired, let yourself be moved, let yourself be open to the courage, the perseverance, and the love that human beings demonstrate in the face of unfathomable challenges.

( Read more... )

A – I’m stuck for ideas at the moment.

B – I honestly want to know.

The Big Picture is Made Out of Little Details – Terri, Drop Dead Diva

So, I’m sitting on my couch watching Drop Dead Diva, thinking about NaNoWriMo whilst pretending to write since I’ve already given up on doing any homework tonight.

I’m trying to finish two novels by hitting 100k (what a way to get me back into the swing of things, right?) during NaNo and I realize my usual pantser/organic ways isn’t going to work this time round. I need to plot things out and I need to plot it well. Originally, I thought I’d just write out an outline, do a couple character sheets, and just write. It worked all the years I participated in NaNo in the past. This year, however, is the first time I’m doubling up on word count. I’ll be bringing out the big guns for this – outlines, character sheets, world building documents, diagrams, and more. Here’s a list of resources I’ll be looking into using during the remainder of October to plot out a few novels:

Flash drive and email account: Just in case the Unthinkable happens and my laptop crashes, I want to make sure I have my WIPs backed up somewhere.

Paperback Writer: NaNoWriMo Ten

NaNoFiMo:

NaNoWriMo: I can’t forget the site itself, now can I? From articles to the very active forums, it has it all.

It’s interesting how many people do not know how to plunge a toilet, especially those who just finished or currently are in college. When you were a kid, your parents took care of it. During college, the ES staff fixed it, but now you're out and living on your own, suddenly you're the one who has to deal with that stubborn clog in the toilet. Ignoring it won't make the clog disappear. Actually, it may make it worse (um, ew - yeah, I know).

If you're curious, frustrated, or just unsure what to do in a situation like this, take a look below. I can't say all, or any, of these procedures will work, but it seems some people will swear upon these methods.

( Read more )
Remember, like the woman in the video said, "you've been very brave" - just don't forget to disinfect afterwards! :D

NaNoWriMo.

I haven’t fully participated in NaNo since my high school days.

It’s hard and terrifying and can kind of make you nauseous, yet thousands of people from around the world participate.

Why?

Because, at least to me, it’s fun. When I first head of NaNo, I thought people were pretty much crazy. Moving on, I said, clicking away. But then I clicked back and went through the forums. Yep, I said, y’all are loco and I left. Less than ten minutes (because I can be obsessive like that), I clicked back on and read up on NaNo history. I’d leave and come back, leave and come back, pretty much all of October. In the middle of the first week of November, I finally decided what the hell, just do it.

So I wrote.

And I wrote.

Then I wrote some more.

I also didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. Friends and family suddenly saw me carrying notebooks around, ignoring pleas to get off the computer, and muttering about how Character C couldn’t get with Character A because that would somehow destroy the space continuum (I am still so very proud of my first NaNo which I titled Moon Rocks, Pizzas, and Crazy Dancing Elves. One day, I’ll find where I hid it. One day).

When I actually clocked 50,000 words, I thought my eyes would fall out of my head – I couldn’t believe it! I did it. I actually did it! Printing out that NaNoWriMo certificate was one of the happiest moments I had that month. And every year since I found NaNoWriMo, I dragged other people with me on the quest to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of Novemeber (shoot, even when I wasn't participating, I still tried to convince others to give it a shot).

I put aside NaNo (and writing stories) throughout college. Now, I’ve rekindled my love for the written word. And, with that love came people, other writers who ask “Hey, have you heard of this thing called NaNoWriMo?”

Um....

So, I’m doing it again. After a rather long hiatus, I’ve signed up in the NaNo forums, buddied up with other novelists in various stages of their writing career, and will be writing to my heart’s content.

The only difference – this year I’m aiming for 100,000 words.

Even if I don’t end up on the moon, I’ll land amongst the stars, right? Right?

It’ll be hard and terrifying and thinking about 100k kinda makes me nauseous. But I’m also amazingly excited.

Why?

Because come November, it’ll officially be National Novel Writing Month. And during NaNo, well, anything can happen.

*smile and cue dancing elves and pizza slices for everyone*

How about you? Will you be participating in NaNo?

How can you relate the above to your life? Something you've written, a book you read, even a tv show you just watched or a CD you listened to recently? Share your thoughts below!

Bought myself a domain/hosting package, spur of the moment. :)

I've spent pretty much all day fiddling around with my official website and I'm almost done. This blog will be up for a little bit until I finish updating my website.

New blog updates (starting again on Monday) can be

found by clicking HERE!

It’s no secret that Steampunk, and its variants, seems to be on the up and up in the writing community – personally, I couldn’t be more pleased because A) I love (futuristic) steampunk and B) I’ve a Brand New (okay, well, A Couple Months Old) Plot Penguin in the works that just throws me into fits of excited giggles anytime I think about it and this genre. I’m all a-giggly right now *teehee*.

That’s why today’s Friday Treasure Find is Steampunk Fashion on Livejournal. I came across it awhile ago; I’m even a (total lurker) member in it. But, damn, I love that community. While the focus is on steampunk fashion, members seem more than willing to discuss various aspects of the genre.

Through the LJ community, I just found out that there’s a SteamCon in Seattle, Washington. I need to research it more, but I’m actually debating going (a trip to Seattle and a three day membership to the convention for $40 sounds like a great deal to me).

Anyway, Happy Friday, ladies and gentlemen! I'm going to kickoff the weekend by rewatching Treasure Planet! Watch the trailer here!

I’m offering up my first free read, a serial novel. It was the second novel I started writing when I first said (in high school), I should become a published author, post NaNoWriMo...I stopped writing midway because the wip needed a complete overhaul.

When I first wrote it, the story was in first person, past tense. Chapter 1, version 2.0, is now in second person, present.

o.0 Um, yeah.

I’ve only written from the second perspective once (a very short piece of fanfiction that will never see the light of day, if I have anything to do with it...which, obviously, I do :-).

To be honest, when I decided to rework Chapter One in this point of view, I was mortified. Second pov is a no-no. I tried to cajole my main character into sharing her story from third, or maybe even settle back into first, but apparently it was a no go. Second, she told me firmly. At least for the first chapter.

...Who am I to disagree?

I won’t lie – I’m kind of excited. It’s a challenge and I do so enjoy daring myself to push my boundaries and see how far I can go. So come, Monday, you get a taste of my voice in second person.

Here’s hoping it’s something you enjoy!
~RS

The history of Labor Day in the United States is actually quite interesting (and, luckily, the whole white clothing restriction has nothing to do with the holiday, at least anymore).

“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.” ~ Samuel Gompers, founder and once president of the American Federation of Labor

...Interesting food for thought, eh?

I plan to spend the day catching up on sleep and writing. What are you're plans for Labor Day?

I am alive (I know you were oh, so worried – fear not, I’ll update for sure next week when I have things a little more organized). I’ve just been buried under the joyous occasion known to students everywhere as Fall Semester. This week’s Thursday 13 is in honor of surviving the first full week of school.

1) 3-6 more years of schooling I want to attend and finish grad and professional schooling.
2) I love new notebooks It makes going to school more official

3) Laptops seem to be more of a necessity nowadays It’s good I have Towanda (3 points for you if you can figure out where that name came from). Hopefully she’ll last for awhile

4) I don’t miss taking the school bus Took it all through grade and high school. It’s nice not having to take it to get to/from

5) Textbooks are expensive *cries* Over $200 spent on two books I had to buy at the campus bookstore

6) Ebay, Amazon, etc are fantastic Especially when it comes to buying cheaper used books.

7) Syllabus (Syllabi?) I love getting them! I know, weird, right? But it’s nice just having everything listed out for the whole semester. Makes classes less stressful, in my opinion

8) Classmates There are some real intellectuals, some real slackers, and those who fall in between. No matter where one falls in those three broad groups I just noted, it sure makes up for one helluva class.

9) Spring Break So, I usually go on service trips across the country (what can I say? I’m a do gooder). That one week of nothing but relaxation and fun makes up for the stress of midterms and papers.

10) No Assigned Seats! …yet people tend to sit in the same chair every class. Go figure.

11) Pencils I prefer them over mechanical pencils. Why? Just do.

12) Engaging Teachers In my experience, the teachers who make classes memorable are the ones students really look up to.

13) The Freshmen! Seriously, the first few days or weeks when they all look frazzled and scared out of their wits…it’s nice being able to say ‘been there, done that’ while hiding a snicker. And then helping them find their classes while telling them ‘don’t worry, no one knows what they’re doing the first time around. You’ll get the hang of, promise’ – and seeing their relieved grins. Warms my heart.


Your Turn: What do you (or did you) enjoy/hate about school, be it kindergarted, elementary, middle/high school, college, or post grad education? Inquiring minds (well, mine at least) want to know!

The more I think about it, the more I realize organization isn’t my problem.

Balance, however, is a different matter. As I noted on Blueboards, I'm a full time student and work multiple jobs that require a lot of time flexibility. I try to have an active web presence by maintain multiple blogs, checking out various forums (writing or otherwise), etc.

To keep myself organized, I’ve created a writing schedule, a schedule for work, another for class assignments, etc. I take all that info and shove it all into a planner for convience. I like to make daily To Do charts the night before and plan my day around that. I figure out which times are best for writing and try to work then. I also tell myself I must write X amount of words a day (the story's not going to write itself, after all!) - sometimes I hit my word count and even go way above, sometimes I don't get close (this past week's been more of a don't). Nonetheless, I still try to eek out some words on a daily basis, be it 60 or 600.

The problem with my various schedules and To Do Lists is that Real Life doesn’t quite enjoy cooperating with me. You know, when life throws you that curveball

-you’re friends somehow ‘coerced’ you to see the midnight showing of a brand new movie with your favorite actor so you didn’t go to bed early like you had planned to prep properly for that 8am presentation....

- you meant to take a quick half hour nap before settling down to write chapter two of The Amazing Story, but ended up falling into such a deep sleep because the week’s been so exhaustive, you didn’t wake up until four hours later....

-a favorite show (in my case, True Blood) has a new episode airing tonight and you try to convince yourself you can totally multitask television, internet, talking on the phone, and writing at the same time.... (What? You think this is an example from my own life? Whatever gave you that idea?) ;)

You know, Real Life (and yes, Real Life has to have capital letters).

As classes start to wind up again, I worry about keeping everything I have to/want to do in order. I’m nervous because school is a huge part of my life right now and I really rather not screw it up. So (so!), I’ve created a list of ways to keep myself balanced (like I said, makings lists aren’t the problem :) ):

-“Shoot for the moon because even if you fail, you’ll still land among the stars.” – In other words, give myself room to mess up. I’m going to try my best to do everything I set out to do, but I’m also going to keep in mind that sometimes, I can’t get to everything I’ve set out for the day. And that’s fine. I have tomorrow and the next day and the next....

-“It’s alright to make changes and/or get help” – you’re never actually alone in the world. Besides one, friends in real life currently have about 0.5% interest in my writing as far as I can tell (maybe if I became the next JK Rowlings or Nora Roberts, that 0.5% will double). However, there are a number of forums I visit where there are like minded people who have no problem talking about writing – from brainstorming to the publication process. Great communities! I love ‘em all!
In Real Life, I sometimes have issues with saying ‘No.’
Okay, let me rephrase.
I’m fine saying ‘No’ most of the time, but it’s the feeling that comes after uttering that two lettered word, that sometimes tangles me up. I end up thinking, You’re such a cool person/you’re my boss (<--maybe a combo of the two even), maybe I can fit XYZ into my schedule. I’ll just multitask there or wake up earlier here...’ More often than not, I end up falling flat on my face and things go pbbht! Even when things go well without a hitch, at the end I may breathe a sigh of relief and say “never again” (until the next person approaches me...). *Facepalm* This brings me to point number 3.

-“Stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish” – I’m honored when someone asks me to work on XYZ project because I’ve “proven myself,” but between those activities (many of which are things I enjoy/honestly love doing) and my ever growing lists of Things to Do, I’d go stir crazy. Keep your eye on the ball and Getcha Head In the Game and all those wonderfully happy sayings. As long as I have clear goals in mind -- things I truly want to accomplish -- and am striving to reach them so that one day I actually do reach them, I’m happy.

Next time you’re feeling particularly alone in the world, check this out. It kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?

In less than a minute, over 132 people were born while 70+ died. The world population changes every second.

It’s interesting to note which countries had the most changes in population and even CO2 levels.

I filled a cloth bag with a hodgepodge of novels (over 20) and brought them home with me a few weeks ago. They’re currently scattered (seriously, I just pulled a couple from under the couch and inside a haphazardly half packed suitcase) around the room with other books that I’ve read or am currently planning on reading.
 
Following the Thursday 13 cha cha line, here’s the title of thirteen books within arms distance of where I’m sitting right now.

1. Soul Song (Marjorie M Liu) – Fantasy/Romance

2. The Best Short Stories by Black Writers (edited and with an Intro by Langston Hughes) – Short Stories

3. The Rosetta Codex (Richard Paul Russo) – Science Fiction

4. Feminist Theory: A Critique of Ideology (edited by Keaoane, Rosaldo, and Gelpi) – Feminism

5. Gregor the Overlander (Suzanne Collins) – Middle Grade Fantasy

6. Jesus CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership (Laurie Beth Jones) – Success

7. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) – Historical/Literary Fiction

8. Nightseer (Laurell K Hamilton) – Fantasy

9. Urban Politics and Public Policy: The City in Crisis (edited by David and Peterson) – Sociology

10. Making Money (Terry Pratchett) – Science Fiction

11. Cross Bones(Katy Reichs) – Mystery

12.Tales From Earthsea (Ursula K LeGuin) – Fantasy

13. Shadow Touch (Marjorie M Liu) – Romance

Writing is looked upon as a very solitary activity. It’s just the writer and his/her laptop or pen and paper, scribbling or typing away to their word count is achieved. Some huddle away into a private room to avoid distractions, while others are out in the open, working to hit their word count.

However, I think that’s not always a very accurate picture of The Writer.

Especially in this age of technology, writers are apt to build relationships and community with fellow writers across genres. These writers help each other even across the genre spectrum. It’s a long and arduous path to publication, if that is indeed the writer’s goal, so such support is needed. Building community allows the writer to learn more about the publishing industry...that’s something every wanabe published author ought be familiar with.

I frequent various forums regarding writing. I visit sietes that don't relate to writing, but contain material I enjoy reading about and am most likely writing about. Sites/blogs of interest that I found updated often, I’ve subscribed to. I may not read everything on a daily basis, but I do make an effort to stay abreast of going on regarding writers (published or not), agents, editors, etc. There’s a ton of information and I’m grateful that such people are so willing to share data so freely.