What's going on in my world? More things, other than having no computer, to district me from blogging and writing.
First off, it's hot. And we all know how I despise hot. I've been lucky this year, so far. There have been years where this heat has started in May and continued through September. This year it didn't really get hot until mid-July. I'm anticipating heat through August, but September better cool off.
Other news. I'm moving. Again? I know. It seems like just 2 years ago since I moved and that's pretty close to correct. But I'm broke and I can't afford my lavish life style anymore. One housemate wasn't enough. I need two. And my current house is too small for that. So I'm out.
On the bright side hopefully the money I save on rent will allow me to get my computer fixed. I'm not counting on it, just wishing.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Weekend
I have the weekend off from work. So today is my last chance to post without going a whole week without posting. Unless of course I made it to the library this weekend, which could happen.
Unfortunately, I don't have anything deep and meaningful to write. Just a few updates.
Writing group went well on Monday. Sadly, we're starting to fade out again. August is filled with vacations and weddings. Before you know it, school will be back in again. We're going to try to have a few more meetings in August and make an attempt at meet once a month during the school year. Hopefully, we can hold it together.
My summer reading list is getting longer. I started reading the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz, as well as continuing with my werewolf series by Patricia Briggs. I'm not sure what the series is called but I just read the second book, which was Blood Bound.
And I've given into peer pressure. Thanks to my co-worker, I'm now on the third book with of the Twilight series. Those young adult romance novels about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Apparently, they're huge. There's a movie coming out in December and the fourth book comes out next week and they're having midnight book parties for it. I have some thoughts about these books but I'll share later when I'm done.
Also, I miss my Internet friends. I hardly ever get a chance to e-mail Jenni anymore. I haven't had a IM chat with DBEcho in forever. I've tried my best to keep up with every one's blogs. Hang in there with me. I'm trying to fix this.
And I've added another link to the sidebar. Chad is another writer who stumbled into this blog. I've checked out his blog and I think the links worth sharing.
Unfortunately, I don't have anything deep and meaningful to write. Just a few updates.
Writing group went well on Monday. Sadly, we're starting to fade out again. August is filled with vacations and weddings. Before you know it, school will be back in again. We're going to try to have a few more meetings in August and make an attempt at meet once a month during the school year. Hopefully, we can hold it together.
My summer reading list is getting longer. I started reading the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz, as well as continuing with my werewolf series by Patricia Briggs. I'm not sure what the series is called but I just read the second book, which was Blood Bound.
And I've given into peer pressure. Thanks to my co-worker, I'm now on the third book with of the Twilight series. Those young adult romance novels about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. Apparently, they're huge. There's a movie coming out in December and the fourth book comes out next week and they're having midnight book parties for it. I have some thoughts about these books but I'll share later when I'm done.
Also, I miss my Internet friends. I hardly ever get a chance to e-mail Jenni anymore. I haven't had a IM chat with DBEcho in forever. I've tried my best to keep up with every one's blogs. Hang in there with me. I'm trying to fix this.
And I've added another link to the sidebar. Chad is another writer who stumbled into this blog. I've checked out his blog and I think the links worth sharing.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Unsorted and unnamed
Last year my computer crashed, thankfully I had everything on a flash drive. The flash drive that eventually erased itself somehow. Then I was left with nothing. All my work gone, except for anything I had hand written or had sent to someone.
It wasn't the first time I had lost work but it was the most work I had ever lost. Someone was able to recover big chunks, but not everything. The minute the recovery happened, I spent my day saving everything to an e-mail account. I figured I'd always be able to access my work from anywhere.
Don't worry I'm not about to say that something devastating happened to said e-mail account. Everything is fine *Knock on wood*.
What did happen was that I quickly saved everything not bothering to label any of it. So now that I'm considering showing some of my work to others, I wanted to find some of my really early stuff, or at least stuff that I'm not currently submitting. That means that I had to open every single e-mail I sent to myself and figure out what the heck was in it. Thank goodness it's been slow here at work.
It's really sad to realize how much I lost. The thought of retyping everything that I have printed or handwritten makes my head hurt. Not to mention my recent computer malfunction that did take a few une-mailed documents with it. Whether or not I'll get those back remains to be seen.
It wasn't the first time I had lost work but it was the most work I had ever lost. Someone was able to recover big chunks, but not everything. The minute the recovery happened, I spent my day saving everything to an e-mail account. I figured I'd always be able to access my work from anywhere.
Don't worry I'm not about to say that something devastating happened to said e-mail account. Everything is fine *Knock on wood*.
What did happen was that I quickly saved everything not bothering to label any of it. So now that I'm considering showing some of my work to others, I wanted to find some of my really early stuff, or at least stuff that I'm not currently submitting. That means that I had to open every single e-mail I sent to myself and figure out what the heck was in it. Thank goodness it's been slow here at work.
It's really sad to realize how much I lost. The thought of retyping everything that I have printed or handwritten makes my head hurt. Not to mention my recent computer malfunction that did take a few une-mailed documents with it. Whether or not I'll get those back remains to be seen.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I don't want to share
Sometimes I have these weird moments when I tell somebody I'm a writer and they tell me they would love to read something that I wrote. Most of the time I don't stress it because I might never see them again or at least not often enough to have it be a huge deal that I keep "forgetting" to bring my work.
There are other times when people I see everyday, finally ask to see some of my stories. That's when I seriously panic. There's no way of getting out of it other than to say "no," which of course they'll take personal offense to when really it's not them, it's me. Seriously.
I'm paranoid that they are going to think my work is a joke and I can't just not ever see them again, like when I send my writing to editors. I never have to see them. No problem. But if it's someone I have to see because I work with them or just like their company, then that's stressful to me. If my story is not good enough to be published then I can't convince myself that it's good enough to let others read.
What if these people I see everyday, think my story is ridiculous? They would never tell me that to my face, so I would spend every minute thinking that they think I'm a bad writer.
Anyway, this all started when my boss decided he was going to write a novel and decided to chat with me about writing. Now he wants to read my work. How can I get out of that? I can only put it off for so long.
Then the other night, Slipstream decided he wanted to read what I've written. And to me that is even worse. He's very accomplished in his creative work. Lots of people pay him money to share his creative genius. It's hard standards to live up to.
Sure, I give my work to my writing group but they're putting themselves out there as much as I am so I feel like it evens out. Of course, I can always share work that the writing group has already read. I know that it can't be too incredibly terrible if my writing group had positive things to say, right?
There are other times when people I see everyday, finally ask to see some of my stories. That's when I seriously panic. There's no way of getting out of it other than to say "no," which of course they'll take personal offense to when really it's not them, it's me. Seriously.
I'm paranoid that they are going to think my work is a joke and I can't just not ever see them again, like when I send my writing to editors. I never have to see them. No problem. But if it's someone I have to see because I work with them or just like their company, then that's stressful to me. If my story is not good enough to be published then I can't convince myself that it's good enough to let others read.
What if these people I see everyday, think my story is ridiculous? They would never tell me that to my face, so I would spend every minute thinking that they think I'm a bad writer.
Anyway, this all started when my boss decided he was going to write a novel and decided to chat with me about writing. Now he wants to read my work. How can I get out of that? I can only put it off for so long.
Then the other night, Slipstream decided he wanted to read what I've written. And to me that is even worse. He's very accomplished in his creative work. Lots of people pay him money to share his creative genius. It's hard standards to live up to.
Sure, I give my work to my writing group but they're putting themselves out there as much as I am so I feel like it evens out. Of course, I can always share work that the writing group has already read. I know that it can't be too incredibly terrible if my writing group had positive things to say, right?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Give it up?
With my computer down, I've been hard at work on other stuff. Thankfully, I had a full printed out version of Going It Alone.
However, the more I edit it the more I think it's an insane mess. It might be time to just let it go. There's just too many bits and pieces. Too many different formats. Too many different perspectives. Too many different stories, which means too many different characters. I just think it's too hard to follow.
There are a few scenes that are good, but I could always use those later in other works or perhaps I could add a little to make them into short stories. And then there are the short stories themselves. I still have the five short stories that can definitely stand alone without the whole novel. So it wouldn't all be a loss.
I'm just having a really difficult time with the connecting story. I feel it's too boring. And part of it was suppose to be journal entries and the other part third-person narration. I tried changing it all to third-person narration because it all seemed a bit much, but I'm still not sure.
I'm not sold on the idea of being done with it. Perhaps I'll pass it around to the writing group and get their thoughts.
However, the more I edit it the more I think it's an insane mess. It might be time to just let it go. There's just too many bits and pieces. Too many different formats. Too many different perspectives. Too many different stories, which means too many different characters. I just think it's too hard to follow.
There are a few scenes that are good, but I could always use those later in other works or perhaps I could add a little to make them into short stories. And then there are the short stories themselves. I still have the five short stories that can definitely stand alone without the whole novel. So it wouldn't all be a loss.
I'm just having a really difficult time with the connecting story. I feel it's too boring. And part of it was suppose to be journal entries and the other part third-person narration. I tried changing it all to third-person narration because it all seemed a bit much, but I'm still not sure.
I'm not sold on the idea of being done with it. Perhaps I'll pass it around to the writing group and get their thoughts.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Summer reading
Not having a functioning computer has given me lots of time for reading. I was hoping to have 25 by the end of June to have me on track for 50 books in a year. I have 26 books read and am working on 27. YAY!
I finished the Thirteenth Tale and it was pretty good. There was a crazy twist at the ending. And the author wrote it so that the clues were there all along but they weren’t obvious clues. I enjoyed it.
After that I didn’t really have anything on hand to read so I started reading an Ann Rice book I had on hand but had never read, The Mummy. I haven’t read all of her stuff, just a few things. For the most part I like her work, but I wasn’t really getting into this book. I had been reading it for three days and only had 50 pages done. For me that’s not normal.
So I went to the library looking for Dean Koontz, James Patterson and Patricia Briggs books, all which have been recommended to me, and I promised I would give a try. I went to a smaller branch that didn’t have much in stock, except for books that seemed to be in the middle of series and I can’t dive in like that.
Then I remembered a movie preview I had seen when I went to see Get Smart, which was hysterical, go see it. Anyway, the trailer for this movie looks funny so I thought I would check for the book, He’s Just Not That Into You.
It was a short book that I read in a day. Not funny at all. In fact it was non-fiction but I can see how they would get the idea for the movie from it. It got me thinking about situations that myself and my friends have been in or are in and it bummed me out. Of course, this book is just one guy’s opinion but if he’s right, which seems logical, then I must say ‘boys are stupid, throw rocks at them’.
Then I finished up my Ann Rice book, because I really can’t start reading something then stop. It got better the more I read it, but the ending was a bit boring. And overall it just moved too slow.
After that I did find the first of a Patricia Briggs series, Moon Called, and the book was really good. It revolves around the lives of werewolves, which I thought was interesting. Usually, they rarely show the human side of werewolves, it's more a "they're scary and will eat you" kind of thing. This book really went into how they live normal lives and how they control themselves, so that they can blend in with society. It seems like this is pretty common with modern vampire fiction, but this was the first time I found it with werewolves. Maybe I just don't read enough werewolf fiction.
Now I'm reading Atonement, another book about a writer writing. I saw the movie, which, I really liked and was worried I wouldn't. I thought it was going to be a cheesy romance and I was happy to be wrong, even though the story was tragic.
I find it really interesting how the movie stuck so strongly to the book, even with what the characters were wearing. At least as far as I can remember. Maybe I'll have to watch it again once I'm done with the book.
Just saw: Hancock
I finished the Thirteenth Tale and it was pretty good. There was a crazy twist at the ending. And the author wrote it so that the clues were there all along but they weren’t obvious clues. I enjoyed it.
After that I didn’t really have anything on hand to read so I started reading an Ann Rice book I had on hand but had never read, The Mummy. I haven’t read all of her stuff, just a few things. For the most part I like her work, but I wasn’t really getting into this book. I had been reading it for three days and only had 50 pages done. For me that’s not normal.
So I went to the library looking for Dean Koontz, James Patterson and Patricia Briggs books, all which have been recommended to me, and I promised I would give a try. I went to a smaller branch that didn’t have much in stock, except for books that seemed to be in the middle of series and I can’t dive in like that.
Then I remembered a movie preview I had seen when I went to see Get Smart, which was hysterical, go see it. Anyway, the trailer for this movie looks funny so I thought I would check for the book, He’s Just Not That Into You.
It was a short book that I read in a day. Not funny at all. In fact it was non-fiction but I can see how they would get the idea for the movie from it. It got me thinking about situations that myself and my friends have been in or are in and it bummed me out. Of course, this book is just one guy’s opinion but if he’s right, which seems logical, then I must say ‘boys are stupid, throw rocks at them’.
Then I finished up my Ann Rice book, because I really can’t start reading something then stop. It got better the more I read it, but the ending was a bit boring. And overall it just moved too slow.
After that I did find the first of a Patricia Briggs series, Moon Called, and the book was really good. It revolves around the lives of werewolves, which I thought was interesting. Usually, they rarely show the human side of werewolves, it's more a "they're scary and will eat you" kind of thing. This book really went into how they live normal lives and how they control themselves, so that they can blend in with society. It seems like this is pretty common with modern vampire fiction, but this was the first time I found it with werewolves. Maybe I just don't read enough werewolf fiction.
Now I'm reading Atonement, another book about a writer writing. I saw the movie, which, I really liked and was worried I wouldn't. I thought it was going to be a cheesy romance and I was happy to be wrong, even though the story was tragic.
I find it really interesting how the movie stuck so strongly to the book, even with what the characters were wearing. At least as far as I can remember. Maybe I'll have to watch it again once I'm done with the book.
Just saw: Hancock
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