Okay this has very little, if not absolutely nothing, to do with writing but I'm posting it anyway. I was having a very bad day. I went to bed upset, and confrontations with different problems were making my day worse and worse. Then I went out to lunch with my grandma. And we were driving along about to turn left on a green arrow when a car coming from a perpendicular direction decided to turn left at the same time although he did not have a green arrow. I swerved and slammed on the brakes avoiding a van slamming into my grandmother. After completing my turn I carried on. Then all of a sudden a young girl comes running jumps over the sidewalk, over the little strip of grass and BAM! she jumps right in front of my car. I once again slam on the brakes, thank goodness I saw her in time, and missed yet another death. Of course both times people honked either at me because they didn't know I was narrowly missing killing people or at the people causing my dramatic driving reactions. So when I pull up to the next stoplight someone is honking again. And I'm thinking it's some ass that's mad at me about one of the previous incidents so my idea is to just not look. I already know what a middle finger looks like. Then my grandma says that it's a woman motioning for me to roll down the window.
I turn and roll down the window and this woman, probably about 60, says "I just wanted to say, you're a really good driver. You avoided two serious accidents that most people would not have even noticed until it was too late."
In shock, I said "thank you," and the light changed so we took off on our merry little ways
but I felt good. My day had gotten a hundred percent better because it is absolutely so rare when someone takes the time to go out of their way to tell you when you are actually doing something well, particularly when driving. I've gotten flipped off a million times and a lot of times I'm certain that I was in the right but whatever. And I try my best to not lose my temper with other drivers because mistakes happen and there's no point in getting angry. But it was so awesome of that woman to let me know that I had done something right for a change. Especially because she was older, I was younger and I feel like most older people think young drivers are careless.
I wish I had more of a chance to let her know that it meant a lot to me. But it was the last thing I was expecting and it happened so fast. Yet, it changed the whole dynamic of my day. So much so that I'm breaking policy and writing about it on my blog that I usually save exclusively for writing related topics. But I guess when you think about anytime I write, regardless of what it is about, it's about writing because I wrote it.
Anyway, I know the odds of the woman ever reading this are about a gazillion to one but to her I say 'thanks'. I sincerely hope that she didn't think I was just some young kid that rolled my eyes and made fun of her for being some weirdo lady. My reaction was the farthest thing from that. And since I have no other way to pass on how it affected me I'm writing it here. Hopefully, it will inspire others to do the same, which is why people write or at least why I do. To inspire others and to show them the other side of the story.
In the end it really kind of was about writing but I think just about everything in my life is.
Now I've got to go out of my way to tell someone something great about them because I'm truly inspired.
*Although it would have been awful, how much more of an entertaining story would this have been had I said that while I was so in shock of the woman's kindness, I took my foot of my brake and rear ended the person in front of me? Here's hoping I don't jinx myself.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Friday, November 09, 2007
Blame Jenni for everything, that's what I do
Well I signed on to write this huge post because I finally had time to do so. Then I noticed that Jenni was online so I tackled her IM style since it's not often I get to talk to my Jenni through non-e-mail form.
Anyway, we caught up on things that have been going on and then I was set into a fit of laughter when Jenni pointed out something to me that I hadn't notice yet. When we started writing Behind the Naugahyde we based a lot of the characters on real people we worked with or worked next to. The further we got into the book the more fictional they became but still they are inspired by real people. And one of those people we didn't really know all that well since he worked next to us.
He inspired a character in the book. Then after a while the store he worked at moved and the person we knew that he worked with got fired so we just didn't see him anymore. Until recently. Now he has ended up back in our lives in a very interesting way and it's was hilarious when Jenni reminded me about all of this.
I know very cryptic and hard to follow. Sorry about that but if I said more I'd be giving away either stuff about the book, which I won't do without Jenni's mutual consent and/or personal information about one or more people that I won't do without their consent. So vagueness it is.
And this lame post is all Jenni's fault so go to her live journal and blame her in the comments. She's a comment whore so she'll love it.
Oh and did you notice Jenni's got her own label now?
Anyway, we caught up on things that have been going on and then I was set into a fit of laughter when Jenni pointed out something to me that I hadn't notice yet. When we started writing Behind the Naugahyde we based a lot of the characters on real people we worked with or worked next to. The further we got into the book the more fictional they became but still they are inspired by real people. And one of those people we didn't really know all that well since he worked next to us.
He inspired a character in the book. Then after a while the store he worked at moved and the person we knew that he worked with got fired so we just didn't see him anymore. Until recently. Now he has ended up back in our lives in a very interesting way and it's was hilarious when Jenni reminded me about all of this.
I know very cryptic and hard to follow. Sorry about that but if I said more I'd be giving away either stuff about the book, which I won't do without Jenni's mutual consent and/or personal information about one or more people that I won't do without their consent. So vagueness it is.
And this lame post is all Jenni's fault so go to her live journal and blame her in the comments. She's a comment whore so she'll love it.
Oh and did you notice Jenni's got her own label now?
Thursday, November 08, 2007
T.V. troubles
Tonight is t.v. night. Thursday and Monday are the two days a week that I succumb to the calling of the glowing box with people living in it that sucks the life out of all that are entranced by it, including me. When the t.v. is on I get absolutely nothing done and I get hooked. I cannot walk away. So now I just don't turn it on. It does seem lonely without the chatter of others but the radio fills in the silence and allows for focusing on other things.
I'm in love with the Thursday night comedies on NBC and come to think of it the two shows I watch on Monday are on NBC. And I'm excited they're having a green week, which has been pretty interesting.
I know that soon my t.v. nights may resort to reruns. I don't pretend to know enough about the writers strike to give an educated opinion or even a summary. I haven't been keeping up well on the news lately. I do see that Tina Fey seems to be the person they refer to the most. Probably because she's really the only recognizable t.v. writer and that's due to her acting as well as writing.
I love my regular t.v. schedule and I will be completely annoyed by reruns. I also think that generally people in the entertainment industry are overpaid but if actors and directors are getting there fair percentage then writers should too. Where do you start if there's no writing?
So I'm off to watch 30 Rock. I know some people may not agree but I think Tina Fey is a hilarious writer. And it seems to be rare to find funny women that make it anywhere, not that women aren't funny they just don't seem to get as far in their comedy careers.
But regardless of who starred in Mean Girls it was hysterical and true. I really appreciated the sketches and comedy that were more aimed at women when she wrote for SNL, like the Barbie sketch where they joke about the giant brush and Barbie losing all her shoes. I doubt many guys would understand it.
Well anyway, I hope it gets worked out so the world doesn't go mad from reruns. Although, I'd probably get more done if shows went into reruns. But then again if it was a particularly good episode I'd just watch it anyway so maybe not.
I'm in love with the Thursday night comedies on NBC and come to think of it the two shows I watch on Monday are on NBC. And I'm excited they're having a green week, which has been pretty interesting.
I know that soon my t.v. nights may resort to reruns. I don't pretend to know enough about the writers strike to give an educated opinion or even a summary. I haven't been keeping up well on the news lately. I do see that Tina Fey seems to be the person they refer to the most. Probably because she's really the only recognizable t.v. writer and that's due to her acting as well as writing.
I love my regular t.v. schedule and I will be completely annoyed by reruns. I also think that generally people in the entertainment industry are overpaid but if actors and directors are getting there fair percentage then writers should too. Where do you start if there's no writing?
So I'm off to watch 30 Rock. I know some people may not agree but I think Tina Fey is a hilarious writer. And it seems to be rare to find funny women that make it anywhere, not that women aren't funny they just don't seem to get as far in their comedy careers.
But regardless of who starred in Mean Girls it was hysterical and true. I really appreciated the sketches and comedy that were more aimed at women when she wrote for SNL, like the Barbie sketch where they joke about the giant brush and Barbie losing all her shoes. I doubt many guys would understand it.
Well anyway, I hope it gets worked out so the world doesn't go mad from reruns. Although, I'd probably get more done if shows went into reruns. But then again if it was a particularly good episode I'd just watch it anyway so maybe not.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
We'll find time eventually
In yesterdays post I mentioned the occasional meeting of a writer's group. We haven't met in over a month. Finding time to meet has been near impossible now that the school year has started. I guess that's a hazard when two of the writers are teachers and the other is an editor of a college newspaper. There's lots going on.
It also got to the point where a few people would show up but only one person, me, would bring work. At that point I just felt selfish like it was the Ashley's editing group. So we decided to only meet if at least three people could make it, because there's not much point if only one person is reading your work, and at least two people were bringing work. We haven't actually had a meeting since this rule. There was one attempted meeting but it was cancelled at the very last second.
We have been looking for new members, figuring it would give us better odds of having three people available at the same time and two of those people having work. But finding new people has worked out about as well as when I originally tried to start the group. Although, we did get a response from one person and hopefully she'll be able to make one of the meetings eventually.
Right now, I'm waiting on responses to see if anyone can meet next Monday.
That's the status of the writing group for now. I have to head to work. I'm back to the night shift but only once a week. Now that I've had the whole day off to do things the way I used to, I'm starting to seriously want my old schedule back. It just seemed to work so much better for me. I think mostly because I am not a morning person.
It also got to the point where a few people would show up but only one person, me, would bring work. At that point I just felt selfish like it was the Ashley's editing group. So we decided to only meet if at least three people could make it, because there's not much point if only one person is reading your work, and at least two people were bringing work. We haven't actually had a meeting since this rule. There was one attempted meeting but it was cancelled at the very last second.
We have been looking for new members, figuring it would give us better odds of having three people available at the same time and two of those people having work. But finding new people has worked out about as well as when I originally tried to start the group. Although, we did get a response from one person and hopefully she'll be able to make one of the meetings eventually.
Right now, I'm waiting on responses to see if anyone can meet next Monday.
That's the status of the writing group for now. I have to head to work. I'm back to the night shift but only once a week. Now that I've had the whole day off to do things the way I used to, I'm starting to seriously want my old schedule back. It just seemed to work so much better for me. I think mostly because I am not a morning person.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
No Expectations
Right now I have a huge to do list. I need to finish editing Going It Alone and I’d like to start a query letter for it. And that would involve sending it out to agents as well.
Remember that Christmas story I was working on, nearly done but not quite, so I need to do that.
Then there are submissions for other stories. Like the stack that I got ready a few weeks ago but have remained on my desk due to my lack of postage.
Also, every now and again, I work on editing one of my previously finished short stories every time we actually manage to have a writing group meeting.
And I haven’t forgotten that I’m suppose to be posting somewhat entertaining stuff on my blog everyday as well as working on Human Decency.
Combine all of this with all the hectic personal stuff in my life and I’ve got one conclusion. I’m not likely to finish Human Decency during November. I know it may seem awful to give up so soon. We’re only six days in. Although, the odds of me not finishing are pretty good considering my track record for NaNoWriMo.
I think it was a good time to start and I will try to write as much as possible, just to see how I do. The problem for me is that I’m pretty sure Human Decency will be longer than 50,000 words. Also I have spent more than a year reading, interviewing, researching and being completely scared to write this novel. So it seems kind of weird to say to myself, ‘it’s the most important thing you’ve ever written, get it done in 30 days.’
I do think NaNoWriMo is a good motivator to get me restarted after the loss of my previous start to Human Decency and it will still push me to write, because honestly I do have a little hope that I might get beyond inspired and crank out the book over a month, but I’m just saying, it’s not likely. And that’s gonna have to be okay.
Remember that Christmas story I was working on, nearly done but not quite, so I need to do that.
Then there are submissions for other stories. Like the stack that I got ready a few weeks ago but have remained on my desk due to my lack of postage.
Also, every now and again, I work on editing one of my previously finished short stories every time we actually manage to have a writing group meeting.
And I haven’t forgotten that I’m suppose to be posting somewhat entertaining stuff on my blog everyday as well as working on Human Decency.
Combine all of this with all the hectic personal stuff in my life and I’ve got one conclusion. I’m not likely to finish Human Decency during November. I know it may seem awful to give up so soon. We’re only six days in. Although, the odds of me not finishing are pretty good considering my track record for NaNoWriMo.
I think it was a good time to start and I will try to write as much as possible, just to see how I do. The problem for me is that I’m pretty sure Human Decency will be longer than 50,000 words. Also I have spent more than a year reading, interviewing, researching and being completely scared to write this novel. So it seems kind of weird to say to myself, ‘it’s the most important thing you’ve ever written, get it done in 30 days.’
I do think NaNoWriMo is a good motivator to get me restarted after the loss of my previous start to Human Decency and it will still push me to write, because honestly I do have a little hope that I might get beyond inspired and crank out the book over a month, but I’m just saying, it’s not likely. And that’s gonna have to be okay.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Left Behind
I’m getting really frustrated. I keep leaving all my stuff behind. When I was at the hospital last week I left my bag, that had all my reading and writing material, in the car, which my sister parked valet. Do you know how hard it is to get stuff out of your car when the valet has your only set of keys? It’s a pain.
And now today I’m at work. I left behind my notebook filled with notes on Human Decency for the second time now that NaNoWriMo has started. I know I can write without them. I can always go back and reflect on them later. Yet, it would be a lot easier to remember what I was planning on writing, what I’ve already covered and what I need to cover, as well as character names and such, if I had that friggin’ notebook with me.
Also these past few weeks have been that clichéd emotional roller coaster for me. I have a lot going on in my head. There’s been a lot of really good and a lot of crappy stuff going on. I just want to write it all down in my journal. Unfortunately, I haven’t really found a lot of time for that lately. So I figured I’d get to work on Monday morning and let all the craziness spill over into the pages of my journal. But guess what? I left it at home.
This makes me even more annoyed because I have writing paranoia, as some may already know. I’m bad with my fiction but I’m neurotic when it comes to my most personal writing of all, which is my journal. And to think I left it sitting at home where there is a recent flow of house visitors that need to be there when I’m not there. It disturbs me and drives me mad.
I know it seems awful that I have people at my house that I can’t trust with something like this. It’s more me than them. I have issues.
Anyway, so I’m at work while I’m writing this and it is driving me beyond mad, to the point where I want to run home and get it. But I will be strong. I will trust. I will be okay. I think.
I’ll just try to keep my mind off it by working on Human Decency and typing a gigantic e-mail to Jenni.
And now today I’m at work. I left behind my notebook filled with notes on Human Decency for the second time now that NaNoWriMo has started. I know I can write without them. I can always go back and reflect on them later. Yet, it would be a lot easier to remember what I was planning on writing, what I’ve already covered and what I need to cover, as well as character names and such, if I had that friggin’ notebook with me.
Also these past few weeks have been that clichéd emotional roller coaster for me. I have a lot going on in my head. There’s been a lot of really good and a lot of crappy stuff going on. I just want to write it all down in my journal. Unfortunately, I haven’t really found a lot of time for that lately. So I figured I’d get to work on Monday morning and let all the craziness spill over into the pages of my journal. But guess what? I left it at home.
This makes me even more annoyed because I have writing paranoia, as some may already know. I’m bad with my fiction but I’m neurotic when it comes to my most personal writing of all, which is my journal. And to think I left it sitting at home where there is a recent flow of house visitors that need to be there when I’m not there. It disturbs me and drives me mad.
I know it seems awful that I have people at my house that I can’t trust with something like this. It’s more me than them. I have issues.
Anyway, so I’m at work while I’m writing this and it is driving me beyond mad, to the point where I want to run home and get it. But I will be strong. I will trust. I will be okay. I think.
I’ll just try to keep my mind off it by working on Human Decency and typing a gigantic e-mail to Jenni.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
An art show and not much else
I have gotten absolutely nothing done today. I did go to the art show. R's work was amazing. She's got serious talent. I'm not really knowledgeable about the technical aspects of art so I don't really know how to describe her work. She does drawings of people, mostly portrait style. Some in charcoal, some in soft pastels and I think a few other types. I'll have to reread her artist's statement.
One thing I did particularly like about her work was that her people weren't stereotypically gorgeous. They were just everyday people who weren't drawn to be glamorous. Real, I guess is the word I'm looking for.
Seeing the results of R's hard work should inspire me to get moving on my novel so that's what I need to do. When I'm at work tomorrow, I'll try to write a really moving and substantial post that talks about more than the things I'm doing to procrastinate writing Human Decency.
One thing I did particularly like about her work was that her people weren't stereotypically gorgeous. They were just everyday people who weren't drawn to be glamorous. Real, I guess is the word I'm looking for.
Seeing the results of R's hard work should inspire me to get moving on my novel so that's what I need to do. When I'm at work tomorrow, I'll try to write a really moving and substantial post that talks about more than the things I'm doing to procrastinate writing Human Decency.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Is it really the weekend?
Wow, you'd think by the third day of NaBloPoMo I'd have something super awesome to write about, but no I didn't really get a chance to put a lot of effort in to today's post. First off I worked all day, which isn't usual for Saturdays but I had to make up for the time I spent in Ann Arbor. And now I'm getting ready to go out for the night because sometimes you just need a break. I've been working, running around like crazy along with starting two writing projects this week and that has pretty much consumed me so I'm slacking off for a bit.
Tomorrow my friend R (I don't know if she would want me to use her name and I know on her blog she calls me Supergirl. Yet, the best I can come up with for her is the first letter of her first name), who I also have the pleasure of working with on occasion, is having her senior art show to get her degree in fine art. I'm super excited but I have no one to go with so that's kind of a bummer since it's a bit of a drive. I hope everything goes well for her. She was having all kinds of dilemmas with framing and censoring. Goodness.
And aside from being a cool person who has an adorable yet not mainstream style wardrobe, that also understands the artistic struggle, she has a crazy resemblance to Jenni. Freakish almost. Not that R or Jenni are freakish its just that they both somehow ended up working at the same shoe store one after the other. They are the same height, wear the same hard to find shoe size, same hair color, similar glasses, both speak German, and both are very creative. R wants to teach English as a second language in Japan. Jenni is certified to teach English as a second language. Also both make things from scratch. Jenni makes a purse out of seat belts, as well as making earrings, rugs and lots of other stuff. R makes scarves, hats and I'm sure that's not all.
The similarities are not all in my head either. Everyone, who has worked at the shoe store with Jenni and R, have noticed it too.
Well this post was just suppose to be about what I am doing this weekend and how I'm slacking on writing, yet it turned out a little different. Writing without the headlights on if you will. Or something.
NaNoWriMo word count: 1325
Tomorrow my friend R (I don't know if she would want me to use her name and I know on her blog she calls me Supergirl. Yet, the best I can come up with for her is the first letter of her first name), who I also have the pleasure of working with on occasion, is having her senior art show to get her degree in fine art. I'm super excited but I have no one to go with so that's kind of a bummer since it's a bit of a drive. I hope everything goes well for her. She was having all kinds of dilemmas with framing and censoring. Goodness.
And aside from being a cool person who has an adorable yet not mainstream style wardrobe, that also understands the artistic struggle, she has a crazy resemblance to Jenni. Freakish almost. Not that R or Jenni are freakish its just that they both somehow ended up working at the same shoe store one after the other. They are the same height, wear the same hard to find shoe size, same hair color, similar glasses, both speak German, and both are very creative. R wants to teach English as a second language in Japan. Jenni is certified to teach English as a second language. Also both make things from scratch. Jenni makes a purse out of seat belts, as well as making earrings, rugs and lots of other stuff. R makes scarves, hats and I'm sure that's not all.
The similarities are not all in my head either. Everyone, who has worked at the shoe store with Jenni and R, have noticed it too.
Well this post was just suppose to be about what I am doing this weekend and how I'm slacking on writing, yet it turned out a little different. Writing without the headlights on if you will. Or something.
NaNoWriMo word count: 1325
Friday, November 02, 2007
Day two ( and yes I know that's a very uncreative title for this post)
Well I started, or restarted really, Human Decency as my NaNoWriMo novel yesterday. I only got 1015 words done on the first day. Obviously, a little short of the 1600 words I should be writing daily but it could have been a lot worse. I could have not started at all. And the way my week is going that would have been likely. So I'm just happy to have started and hopefully I'll make some progress tonight.
In NaBloPoMo news I am happy to announce that my writing pal, Ms. Jenni, is participating in NaBloPoMo this year. I've always been kind of bummed that she didn't update her live journal more. Her posts are hilarious. When we used to work at the shoe store together the posts she would write about our boss and the customers would have me in tears. She's amazing. And I will make her my NaBloPoMo friend on the profile, that I have yet to fill out, as soon as I figure out how to accept someone as my friend. Until then visit here for an awesome post that mentions yours truly. Well the first November post mentioned me. Jenni's already way ahead and has another post up. She's totally kicking my butt.
In other NaNo/NaBlo news, which will pretty much be my only news for the next month, I plan on checking out the blogs of those people that left comments about NaNoWriMo on my post over the last few weeks. I need to see if they are off to a good start. And of course I need to check out some of the NaBloPoMo participants and my usual blogs that I once read daily but have fallen very far behind on.
In NaBloPoMo news I am happy to announce that my writing pal, Ms. Jenni, is participating in NaBloPoMo this year. I've always been kind of bummed that she didn't update her live journal more. Her posts are hilarious. When we used to work at the shoe store together the posts she would write about our boss and the customers would have me in tears. She's amazing. And I will make her my NaBloPoMo friend on the profile, that I have yet to fill out, as soon as I figure out how to accept someone as my friend. Until then visit here for an awesome post that mentions yours truly. Well the first November post mentioned me. Jenni's already way ahead and has another post up. She's totally kicking my butt.
In other NaNo/NaBlo news, which will pretty much be my only news for the next month, I plan on checking out the blogs of those people that left comments about NaNoWriMo on my post over the last few weeks. I need to see if they are off to a good start. And of course I need to check out some of the NaBloPoMo participants and my usual blogs that I once read daily but have fallen very far behind on.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Time to write!
Happy November! I hope everyone had an amazing Halloween. My was a little downsized, I didn't do as much but I did get more kids than last year. I nearly ran out of candy since I didn't buy as much. In fact, I only had one piece left at the end of the night, which is probably best.
Anyway, sorry for the week long absence. I've spent most of it in Ann Arbor sitting in the U of M hospital. I did spend some of that time working on Going It Alone edits but mostly I was reading.
Never worry though, today is the start of NaBloPoMo as well as NaNoWriMo, so if all goes as planned by the end of the month I will have posted here every day and will have my novel finished.
When I went to register for NaBloPoMo I found that they have a whole new website this year where you get a profile instead of just a link on a list. Hopefully, they still have a blog randomizer so I can check out other blogs in no particular order.
I'll try to remember to get my NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo profiles posted in the sidebar until then just click on the links in this post.
Good luck to anyone who's participating in either and happy writing!
Anyway, sorry for the week long absence. I've spent most of it in Ann Arbor sitting in the U of M hospital. I did spend some of that time working on Going It Alone edits but mostly I was reading.
Never worry though, today is the start of NaBloPoMo as well as NaNoWriMo, so if all goes as planned by the end of the month I will have posted here every day and will have my novel finished.
When I went to register for NaBloPoMo I found that they have a whole new website this year where you get a profile instead of just a link on a list. Hopefully, they still have a blog randomizer so I can check out other blogs in no particular order.
I'll try to remember to get my NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo profiles posted in the sidebar until then just click on the links in this post.
Good luck to anyone who's participating in either and happy writing!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Backing up
I know how could I possible get a new computer, and after so long of not being on the Internet, not update my blog a hundred times by now. Well, I’ve been getting all my software back on to my computer. And thanks to Sharon’s husband, I’ve been backing up, and putting back onto my computer, most of my work that was on my flash drive! Woohoo!
This week is going to be crazy hectic. I’ll be at the hospital for about 14 hours on Thursday. It’s a lot of waiting so hopefully I’ll have time to get a lot of work done. I think Going It Alone is at the point where I can print it out and read through it. I usually save that for about the third or fourth time I’ve been through something since the first few times of reading it I make about a hundred changes.
I thought about taking my laptop but I’m not sure there will be a place to plug it in and I’ll have way too much stuff to lug around.
If I get sick of writing, maybe I’ll finally break into the Tolkien books I’ve been meaning to get to.
And as I mentioned before most of work came off the flash drive but not all. That includes a few pieces of what I had started of Human Decency. Plus, since I’ve taken such a long break from it I think it might be a good idea to just start over and what better time than for NaNoWriMo. So that’s the plan.
This week is going to be crazy hectic. I’ll be at the hospital for about 14 hours on Thursday. It’s a lot of waiting so hopefully I’ll have time to get a lot of work done. I think Going It Alone is at the point where I can print it out and read through it. I usually save that for about the third or fourth time I’ve been through something since the first few times of reading it I make about a hundred changes.
I thought about taking my laptop but I’m not sure there will be a place to plug it in and I’ll have way too much stuff to lug around.
If I get sick of writing, maybe I’ll finally break into the Tolkien books I’ve been meaning to get to.
And as I mentioned before most of work came off the flash drive but not all. That includes a few pieces of what I had started of Human Decency. Plus, since I’ve taken such a long break from it I think it might be a good idea to just start over and what better time than for NaNoWriMo. So that’s the plan.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Catching up and slacking off
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I'm still trying to catch up with everything. Also I'm procrastinating as usual.
One of the things I was wasting time on was checking my sitemeter. I really didn't get a chance to check it while I was computerless. I didn't want to waste my precious few minutes on the library computer by wandering aimless through visits.
Apparently, putting the Family Guy-Stewie to Bryan "How's that novel comin'?" quotes on my blog has gotten me a lot of visitors. All the other sites I've been to have the clip from the show rather than typing out the whole quote. So they end up at my site when they type in random lines from the quote since the video clips are usually just labeled "How's that novel comin'?"
The other cool thing on my site meter was "Scrubs the musical, 'Am I going to be okay?' Rent"
I was excited to find that I was not the only person who thought that one or more of the songs on the Scrubs musical episode sounded similar to RENT songs.
One of the things I was wasting time on was checking my sitemeter. I really didn't get a chance to check it while I was computerless. I didn't want to waste my precious few minutes on the library computer by wandering aimless through visits.
Apparently, putting the Family Guy-Stewie to Bryan "How's that novel comin'?" quotes on my blog has gotten me a lot of visitors. All the other sites I've been to have the clip from the show rather than typing out the whole quote. So they end up at my site when they type in random lines from the quote since the video clips are usually just labeled "How's that novel comin'?"
The other cool thing on my site meter was "Scrubs the musical, 'Am I going to be okay?' Rent"
I was excited to find that I was not the only person who thought that one or more of the songs on the Scrubs musical episode sounded similar to RENT songs.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Guess where I'm writing from?
If you said my desk at home you would be so correct! That's right I got a new computer. Well not new, new but that's not important. I'm so very excited yet I keep thinking I'm going to be driving to work tomorrow, the car door will fly open and the computer will fly under the wheel of a Hummer (they're quite popular where I work).
Now I just have to work on getting back my lost work but right now I need to just be happy. And I have nothing else to say since I spent all my new computer time catching up. I'll write a much better post soon. And by that I mean longer, not more entertaining
Now I just have to work on getting back my lost work but right now I need to just be happy. And I have nothing else to say since I spent all my new computer time catching up. I'll write a much better post soon. And by that I mean longer, not more entertaining
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Err: My brain has not been formatted
When my computer had a horrible virus I made sure to back everything up. Then the computer died but that’s okay I had everything backed up. Then another computer died but that’s okay because I still had everything backed up.
I had put everything on my flash drive. Well, when you don’t have a computer your flash drive becomes the only thing with your work on it and it would seem reasonable that you should back everything up somewhere else, right? Too bad this occurred to me after I went to open the files on my flash drive only to have it say “this disk has not been formatted” and a ‘properties’ check showed there is, indeed, nothing on it.
How did it happen? The last time I plugged it in at the library I made sure the red light was off before removing it but I hadn’t ended up using it so whether or not it had been erased then, I don’t know.
I know that some of my stuff is saved in e-mails, most of it, at least the finished stuff, has been printed out or was hand-written originally, but the sad truth is that some of it is lost forever.
Once again, just like not having a computer has given me more time to write and less time to waste on the Internet, I think good can come of this. Maybe the stuff that was lost wasn’t all that good. I still have the ideas in my head or maybe even written down in some giant stack of notes. Sometimes you have to start from scratch in order to let go of the bad stuff that you felt loyal to.
For instance, most of what I had written for Human Decency is gone. I still have notes and character outlines but the actual first pages are gone. Maybe it's not all bad. I could now start over on Human Decency for NaNoWriMo. I had taken so much time away from it anyway, maybe starting over is best.
And right now I’m reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It’s a memoir book and she writes about how her family would never stay in one place very long. Her mother was an artist and a writer. Whenever they would leave somewhere they would only take what they could fit in their car and a lot of times her mother would leave behind almost all of her work. I keep thinking about that whenever I get upset about my disk that has gone blank.
I had put everything on my flash drive. Well, when you don’t have a computer your flash drive becomes the only thing with your work on it and it would seem reasonable that you should back everything up somewhere else, right? Too bad this occurred to me after I went to open the files on my flash drive only to have it say “this disk has not been formatted” and a ‘properties’ check showed there is, indeed, nothing on it.
How did it happen? The last time I plugged it in at the library I made sure the red light was off before removing it but I hadn’t ended up using it so whether or not it had been erased then, I don’t know.
I know that some of my stuff is saved in e-mails, most of it, at least the finished stuff, has been printed out or was hand-written originally, but the sad truth is that some of it is lost forever.
Once again, just like not having a computer has given me more time to write and less time to waste on the Internet, I think good can come of this. Maybe the stuff that was lost wasn’t all that good. I still have the ideas in my head or maybe even written down in some giant stack of notes. Sometimes you have to start from scratch in order to let go of the bad stuff that you felt loyal to.
For instance, most of what I had written for Human Decency is gone. I still have notes and character outlines but the actual first pages are gone. Maybe it's not all bad. I could now start over on Human Decency for NaNoWriMo. I had taken so much time away from it anyway, maybe starting over is best.
And right now I’m reading The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It’s a memoir book and she writes about how her family would never stay in one place very long. Her mother was an artist and a writer. Whenever they would leave somewhere they would only take what they could fit in their car and a lot of times her mother would leave behind almost all of her work. I keep thinking about that whenever I get upset about my disk that has gone blank.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
That time of year is drawing near
I can't believe that I just got an e-mail about NaNoWriMo starting soon? And the NaNoWriMo group on live journal is already filling up with posts. Is it that time of year already?
I’m not sure if I’ll do it again this year. I have yet to complete it. Last year I did worse than the year before. There’s a lot going on right now. I’m still trying to edit last year's book and work on Human Decency. Not to mention all the short stories, comic scripts, submissions and other stuff I try to squeeze in. I just don’t think it would be wise. Yet, I love the spirit and idea of NaNoWriMo. It calls to me. I know I could just participate in one of the spin-offs that happen a different time of year but it’s not the same.
One thing I do plan to do this year, providing I have a computer by then, is National Blog Posting Month. Even if I don’t have a computer I’ll give it a try with the library but I’ll probably fail.
I liked NaBloPoMo. Not just because it brought a ton of people to my blog but it really motivated me to post on my blog, which I know I don’t do nearly enough. Well, I feel like I post when there’s a need, which should be enough. Yet, I feel like I came up with some good stuff last time, especially when I received some great suggestions.
I guess I’ll have to wait and see my situation come November. If I’m miraculously done with a ton of my current work than maybe I’ll give NaNoWriMo another shot.
Either way I’ll give NaBloPoMo another try. If I don’t have the ability to post everyday, maybe I can do two posts every other day. I know it’s cheating but the whole point is to motivate people to write.
Currently reading: Batgirl:Volume One
I’m not sure if I’ll do it again this year. I have yet to complete it. Last year I did worse than the year before. There’s a lot going on right now. I’m still trying to edit last year's book and work on Human Decency. Not to mention all the short stories, comic scripts, submissions and other stuff I try to squeeze in. I just don’t think it would be wise. Yet, I love the spirit and idea of NaNoWriMo. It calls to me. I know I could just participate in one of the spin-offs that happen a different time of year but it’s not the same.
One thing I do plan to do this year, providing I have a computer by then, is National Blog Posting Month. Even if I don’t have a computer I’ll give it a try with the library but I’ll probably fail.
I liked NaBloPoMo. Not just because it brought a ton of people to my blog but it really motivated me to post on my blog, which I know I don’t do nearly enough. Well, I feel like I post when there’s a need, which should be enough. Yet, I feel like I came up with some good stuff last time, especially when I received some great suggestions.
I guess I’ll have to wait and see my situation come November. If I’m miraculously done with a ton of my current work than maybe I’ll give NaNoWriMo another shot.
Either way I’ll give NaBloPoMo another try. If I don’t have the ability to post everyday, maybe I can do two posts every other day. I know it’s cheating but the whole point is to motivate people to write.
Currently reading: Batgirl:Volume One
Saturday, September 29, 2007
What fills the time when you don't have a computer?
My computer is still nonexistent but I did discover that the library computers have a USB port on the front so I can use my flash drive without having to climb over/around the computer like a weirdo. I already feel awkward enough with the loud clicky keyboards. Anyway, that means that I can write blog posts and long e-mails at work then post or send them once I get to the library.
I have been working on writing but not as much as I thought I would be now that the computer has been down. Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s the new fall season on TV. I know that’s absolutely no excuse not to get any writing done. However, I only have Mondays and Thursdays as must see TV. I watched that new show Chuck which wasn’t too bad and Heroes of course. Then Thursday I watched the Office. 30 Rock and Scrubs will be on soon too.
Although, I think I'm done with CSI. I was disappointed that the season finale was nearly identical to the season finale when Nick(Sara this time around) got kidnapped by someone who felt like CSI had wronged a loved one. Then CSI races to find Nick/Sara just before they die.
Other than too much TV, I have been reading. One of my livejournal friends who’s a writer that I don’t actually know, was talking about a series of books by Megan McCafferty. I checked out the first one, Sloppy First, while I was at the library.
Even though they’re young adult books I still liked it. The main character’s best friend moves away and she feels like she has no one to talk to. They keep in touch through e-mails that have funny endings. Like instead of ‘sincerely’ they say weird stuff. I wish I hadn’t returned the book already because now I can’t remember any of them. Anyway, this reminded me so much of Jenni and I. She moved away and I miss her. We still keep in touch with e-mails that we end in ways that usually involve a shoe something and something else like, hugs and heel grips. Sure we’re weird but apparently so are these fictional teenage characters so that must mean we’re not that odd. Right?
Also for a Christmas present this girl makes her friend a mix tape. We all know how I feel about those. And she loves Captain Crunch, which could be the awesomest cereal of all time.
The book also had a good point about perspective. How people who have experienced bad things in their lives don’t worry about the small things being bad because they realize that it could be much worse. And the main character wanted to get the huge bad things out of the way so she could enjoy the small bad things for the rest of her life.
I'll probably read the next one eventually.
And thanks for voting in the poll to name my novel. I know Going It Alone won but now I feel bad that I can't name it what everyone voted for. Couldn't people just all vote for the same one? Well, no matter what you voted for, thanks for voting. Getting more than one vote made me feel very honored.
I have been working on writing but not as much as I thought I would be now that the computer has been down. Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s the new fall season on TV. I know that’s absolutely no excuse not to get any writing done. However, I only have Mondays and Thursdays as must see TV. I watched that new show Chuck which wasn’t too bad and Heroes of course. Then Thursday I watched the Office. 30 Rock and Scrubs will be on soon too.
Although, I think I'm done with CSI. I was disappointed that the season finale was nearly identical to the season finale when Nick(Sara this time around) got kidnapped by someone who felt like CSI had wronged a loved one. Then CSI races to find Nick/Sara just before they die.
Other than too much TV, I have been reading. One of my livejournal friends who’s a writer that I don’t actually know, was talking about a series of books by Megan McCafferty. I checked out the first one, Sloppy First, while I was at the library.
Even though they’re young adult books I still liked it. The main character’s best friend moves away and she feels like she has no one to talk to. They keep in touch through e-mails that have funny endings. Like instead of ‘sincerely’ they say weird stuff. I wish I hadn’t returned the book already because now I can’t remember any of them. Anyway, this reminded me so much of Jenni and I. She moved away and I miss her. We still keep in touch with e-mails that we end in ways that usually involve a shoe something and something else like, hugs and heel grips. Sure we’re weird but apparently so are these fictional teenage characters so that must mean we’re not that odd. Right?
Also for a Christmas present this girl makes her friend a mix tape. We all know how I feel about those. And she loves Captain Crunch, which could be the awesomest cereal of all time.
The book also had a good point about perspective. How people who have experienced bad things in their lives don’t worry about the small things being bad because they realize that it could be much worse. And the main character wanted to get the huge bad things out of the way so she could enjoy the small bad things for the rest of her life.
I'll probably read the next one eventually.
And thanks for voting in the poll to name my novel. I know Going It Alone won but now I feel bad that I can't name it what everyone voted for. Couldn't people just all vote for the same one? Well, no matter what you voted for, thanks for voting. Getting more than one vote made me feel very honored.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Here's the deal
The thing about a free computer is it's too good to be true. In fact it's a blank screen that needs an expensive diagnostics test and then of course repairs, which would probably total close to a new computer knowing my luck. So now I'm on the library computer.
It's weird but I talk to nearly all my friends through the Internet. I do my submissions online, research publishers and books online. I do banking online, shopping and even need my computer for school when I'm actually attending. You never realize these things until it's gone but I'm thinking it's not all bad.
I spent way too much time online not getting anything done. Now I go to the library where I only get 30 to 60 minutes Internet time depending on if I have an appointment and how many people need to use the computer. Of course, I've been going to the library in the wealthy part of town by my work rather than the poor side where I live. On the rich side everyone has a computer so there's hardly ever any wait where as on the poor side you will be waiting for hours, but I digress, I think.
Anyway, the Internet in the library is super fast so that's a plus. The only thing I don't like are the super clicky keyboards that make me feel noisy and that everyone's looking at me while I type.
I can now spend all my time at home, that I would have spent on-line goofing off, working on my writing and then I can type it up at work.
Will I miss my computer? Of course and I am trying to remedy my situation but until then I have to think of the bright side. Right?
It's weird but I talk to nearly all my friends through the Internet. I do my submissions online, research publishers and books online. I do banking online, shopping and even need my computer for school when I'm actually attending. You never realize these things until it's gone but I'm thinking it's not all bad.
I spent way too much time online not getting anything done. Now I go to the library where I only get 30 to 60 minutes Internet time depending on if I have an appointment and how many people need to use the computer. Of course, I've been going to the library in the wealthy part of town by my work rather than the poor side where I live. On the rich side everyone has a computer so there's hardly ever any wait where as on the poor side you will be waiting for hours, but I digress, I think.
Anyway, the Internet in the library is super fast so that's a plus. The only thing I don't like are the super clicky keyboards that make me feel noisy and that everyone's looking at me while I type.
I can now spend all my time at home, that I would have spent on-line goofing off, working on my writing and then I can type it up at work.
Will I miss my computer? Of course and I am trying to remedy my situation but until then I have to think of the bright side. Right?
Monday, September 17, 2007
A reading recommendation and a novel title to vote for!
First off I want to mention that Ian at EnBlog now has a short story anthology available. I was honored to read it in advance and I must say it was an excellent read. The short stories are authored by Ian and his brother, Alex. Each story is unique and entertaining. It's a nice mix of work. There are stories that deal with life experience, revolving around the characters and their growth as well as intriguing, darker stories with unpredictable endings and a touch of science-fiction. All of the stories are well-written and I think that most of the people I know that read this blog would enjoy it. I encourage everyone to support a talented writer and artist by following this link and checking out "Chopper" by Ian Castruita, Alex Kaibab and the foreword by Max Castruita.
I believe writers have to support writers so give it a shot. Also, don't forget to stop by EnBlog for more of Ian's work.
Now onto my work.
Okay this week's been crazy so I've gotten much of nothing done. It was lots of things but mostly another week with another family member in the hospital and this time the hospital was more than an hour away rather than right down the road. Not to mention that we are getting our few fall shoes in at work so I've actually had to do work.
However, I have been editing my last Nano novel and am seriously giving consideration to attempting to get it published. In this case it would probably be good to call it something other than "my last Nano novel". So I have put a poll up in my side bar and I would like everyone to vote for what they like the best. Yes, I realize they're all practically the same but I'm just curious which one rolls off the tongue and sticks in the mind better.
Just to recap the novel is about a writer who is struggling through a difficult and clearly lonesome period in her life. She uses writing as therapy and shows how her life affects what she writes.
Now vote please.
I believe writers have to support writers so give it a shot. Also, don't forget to stop by EnBlog for more of Ian's work.
Now onto my work.
Okay this week's been crazy so I've gotten much of nothing done. It was lots of things but mostly another week with another family member in the hospital and this time the hospital was more than an hour away rather than right down the road. Not to mention that we are getting our few fall shoes in at work so I've actually had to do work.
However, I have been editing my last Nano novel and am seriously giving consideration to attempting to get it published. In this case it would probably be good to call it something other than "my last Nano novel". So I have put a poll up in my side bar and I would like everyone to vote for what they like the best. Yes, I realize they're all practically the same but I'm just curious which one rolls off the tongue and sticks in the mind better.
Just to recap the novel is about a writer who is struggling through a difficult and clearly lonesome period in her life. She uses writing as therapy and shows how her life affects what she writes.
Now vote please.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Somethings Take Time After Time
Sometimes I don't get things right away. Movies don't make sense to me or they're not funny. Songs annoy me. Then just out of nowhere one day, I get it. I understand what they were trying to say, I find what it means to me or I realize I just wasn't in the right mood when I first encountered it.
When I first saw the movie Napoleon Dynamite I felt disappointed. To me it wasn't the movie everyone had made it out to be. Then when I had to watch it again I thought it was funny. Maybe because the second time around I wasn't expecting much.
The t.v show Scrubs use to be annoying to me. Of course, I think I was jaded from the beginning because someone I didn't particularly care for loved the show. Maybe I never gave it a fair chance but the more I watched it the more I liked it.
This happens with books too. The first book in the Stephen King Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, I didn't like it all that much. I think mostly I didn't like that there were so few characters. It seemed a lonely book and I didn't like the choices the Gunslinger made. I forced myself to read the next book because the thought of not completing the series drove me nuts. The next book introduced more characters and the Gunslinger was no longer alone. I started to like it more. Later on I reread the first one, knowing where it was going and while it wasn't my favorite in the series, it made more sense to me.
And would you believe it if I said the first time I saw RENT I loved it but I didn't truly get it? It was a musical and I'm a sucker for those. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it. Then the music got stuck in my head so I finally bought the soundtrack. I started really listening to it and that's when I really felt connected to it.
What got me thinking about all of this? When I was about three years old I ran around singing Cyndi Lauper songs like a maniac. One of her songs, Time After Time, had a significant place in my heart due to an incident when I got lost in a store and thought that if I looked I would find Cyndi and was mad when I ended up finding my parents. Other than that I really had no reason to like the song. It's a good song but I really had no reason that it meant anything to me. A few days ago Jenni wrote me an e-mail where she was trying to put a really difficult decision I had to make into perspective for me and as I was reading her explanation it hit me. For some reason the words to that song popped in my head and I finally understood what the song meant, at least to me, and it kind of helped me figure out my problem.
This whole post probably seems like a really odd thing to write about. I guess one of the reasons that I felt like mentioning it was because it got me thinking. Sometimes things come to people at the wrong time when they're not ready for it yet. They won't like it or understand it for some reason or another but that doesn't mean that all is lost. It doesn't mean that they won't ever like it or understand it but some people need time to think it over and somethings need time to become truly appreciated.
I'm trying to apply this philosophy to my work. Maybe it's not all bad. I'm sure some of it might be. Everyone flops sometime but maybe my work just hasn't been on the right desk at the right moment. The editor might have just been in the wrong mood or maybe they didn't give it a chance for some reason or another. Or maybe it was just a bad story.
And this post may seem kind of odd, like I'm grasping for it to have something to do with writing. That could be because I am having a really rough time with a complicated situation. I wanted to talk about it but I didn't want to share all the details with the entire world. So this is how I ended up mentioning it on a blog about writing.
"Sometimes you picture me, I'm walking too far ahead. You're calling to me, I can't hear what you've said. You say 'go slow', I fall behind..." -Time After Time
When I first saw the movie Napoleon Dynamite I felt disappointed. To me it wasn't the movie everyone had made it out to be. Then when I had to watch it again I thought it was funny. Maybe because the second time around I wasn't expecting much.
The t.v show Scrubs use to be annoying to me. Of course, I think I was jaded from the beginning because someone I didn't particularly care for loved the show. Maybe I never gave it a fair chance but the more I watched it the more I liked it.
This happens with books too. The first book in the Stephen King Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, I didn't like it all that much. I think mostly I didn't like that there were so few characters. It seemed a lonely book and I didn't like the choices the Gunslinger made. I forced myself to read the next book because the thought of not completing the series drove me nuts. The next book introduced more characters and the Gunslinger was no longer alone. I started to like it more. Later on I reread the first one, knowing where it was going and while it wasn't my favorite in the series, it made more sense to me.
And would you believe it if I said the first time I saw RENT I loved it but I didn't truly get it? It was a musical and I'm a sucker for those. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it. Then the music got stuck in my head so I finally bought the soundtrack. I started really listening to it and that's when I really felt connected to it.
What got me thinking about all of this? When I was about three years old I ran around singing Cyndi Lauper songs like a maniac. One of her songs, Time After Time, had a significant place in my heart due to an incident when I got lost in a store and thought that if I looked I would find Cyndi and was mad when I ended up finding my parents. Other than that I really had no reason to like the song. It's a good song but I really had no reason that it meant anything to me. A few days ago Jenni wrote me an e-mail where she was trying to put a really difficult decision I had to make into perspective for me and as I was reading her explanation it hit me. For some reason the words to that song popped in my head and I finally understood what the song meant, at least to me, and it kind of helped me figure out my problem.
This whole post probably seems like a really odd thing to write about. I guess one of the reasons that I felt like mentioning it was because it got me thinking. Sometimes things come to people at the wrong time when they're not ready for it yet. They won't like it or understand it for some reason or another but that doesn't mean that all is lost. It doesn't mean that they won't ever like it or understand it but some people need time to think it over and somethings need time to become truly appreciated.
I'm trying to apply this philosophy to my work. Maybe it's not all bad. I'm sure some of it might be. Everyone flops sometime but maybe my work just hasn't been on the right desk at the right moment. The editor might have just been in the wrong mood or maybe they didn't give it a chance for some reason or another. Or maybe it was just a bad story.
And this post may seem kind of odd, like I'm grasping for it to have something to do with writing. That could be because I am having a really rough time with a complicated situation. I wanted to talk about it but I didn't want to share all the details with the entire world. So this is how I ended up mentioning it on a blog about writing.
"Sometimes you picture me, I'm walking too far ahead. You're calling to me, I can't hear what you've said. You say 'go slow', I fall behind..." -Time After Time
Monday, September 10, 2007
Just an update but with lots of links!
Guess what? The awesome Jenni has posted a brand new nauga note over at Behind the Naugahyde! So stop by and check it out and if you haven't already signed the guest book make sure you do. And in case you didn't know, yesterday was the one year anniversary of BehindtheNaugahyde.com
In other news I have been obsessing over my computer issues and in the middle of it I realized I had a Microsoft Word disk. So now I have Word back and yes I'll have that horrible spell check back but I will have word counts!
Also I didn't think I was in the mood to read fantasy books so I didn't start reading the J.R.R. Tolkien books that are stacked up. Then someone at work suggested a young adult book series called The Songs of the Lioness and I ended up reading all four of those over the weekend. They were pretty short and the print was huge so it didn't take long. I liked them but I felt like time went too fast.
And please stop by my live journal or A Positive Blog in Lansing to help out with the AIDS Walk.
In other news I have been obsessing over my computer issues and in the middle of it I realized I had a Microsoft Word disk. So now I have Word back and yes I'll have that horrible spell check back but I will have word counts!
Also I didn't think I was in the mood to read fantasy books so I didn't start reading the J.R.R. Tolkien books that are stacked up. Then someone at work suggested a young adult book series called The Songs of the Lioness and I ended up reading all four of those over the weekend. They were pretty short and the print was huge so it didn't take long. I liked them but I felt like time went too fast.
And please stop by my live journal or A Positive Blog in Lansing to help out with the AIDS Walk.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Issues, not problems, with my computer and my writing
Well I thought my computer issues were over but I'm still dealing. I have yet to install my printer software, digital camera software and I need adobe reader to open stuff such as my insurance documents. When I tried to download these things my computer says I don't have enough MB, so that's no good. I think what might be causing this problem is that this computer, when given to me, had Windows 2000 on it. I put on XP and it didn't replace 2000 instead both systems are still on there. I have no idea how to get rid of 2000 and I can't use it because it keeps giving me error messages saying that part of it has been erased. I have no clue.
Then I figured out that Windows XP doesn't come with Microsoft Word and that's why I don't have it anymore. Someone must of put it on my computer before and I never realized it. It would be nice to have it again but right now I can't even get everything else on my computer. Oh well, maybe it's for the best. I was a bit too addicted to spell check, which wasn't really all that useful. Although, I'll seriously miss word count, especially when doing submissions and NaNoWriMo rolls around.
I'm trying not to become too obsessed and spend too much time working on my computer issues. I have been working on my Christmas story even though I think the opportunity of getting it published for this season is gone.
I'm having a hard time writing it because I keep getting stuck. I have amazing dialogue between the two characters but I never feel the need to have narrative paragraphs so right now it's nearly all dialogue. Maybe when I type it up (I'm writing it in long hand currently) I'll think of some narrative to put in.
It did cross my mind that I could write a story that's all dialogue but I'm not sure if that would be experimental, annoying, a combination of both or something else entirely.
Then I figured out that Windows XP doesn't come with Microsoft Word and that's why I don't have it anymore. Someone must of put it on my computer before and I never realized it. It would be nice to have it again but right now I can't even get everything else on my computer. Oh well, maybe it's for the best. I was a bit too addicted to spell check, which wasn't really all that useful. Although, I'll seriously miss word count, especially when doing submissions and NaNoWriMo rolls around.
I'm trying not to become too obsessed and spend too much time working on my computer issues. I have been working on my Christmas story even though I think the opportunity of getting it published for this season is gone.
I'm having a hard time writing it because I keep getting stuck. I have amazing dialogue between the two characters but I never feel the need to have narrative paragraphs so right now it's nearly all dialogue. Maybe when I type it up (I'm writing it in long hand currently) I'll think of some narrative to put in.
It did cross my mind that I could write a story that's all dialogue but I'm not sure if that would be experimental, annoying, a combination of both or something else entirely.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Back to reading
First off, WooHoo! Labor Day is come and gone. So today through New Years is my absolute favorite time of the year and not just because of the weather. There are so many great days and events, and not to mention I love the food and clothing of the season.
Now onto a completely different topic.
I must admit that it’s been really hard adjusting to reading after Harry Potter mania. I had read all seven books and Deathly Hallows I read twice, browsed back at sections occasionally before and after reading Deathly Hallows. I even broke down while waiting for book seven and read one of those what will happen books. (I know what the heck is the point in that but it didn’t spoil anything. They had a few of the events right but they were pretty off on everything.)
Anyway, the point is that for the last few months I read nothing but Harry Potter related novels. And when it was time to finally change pace I felt kind of lost. For some reason I felt that maybe a classic would be a drastic change and would help me let go. So in the classics section of the library I found Les Miserables which was on my reading list but was just too long. I ended up picking up Mrs. Dalloway because it was much shorter and it too was on my reading list. I loved the book The Hours, which was inspired by it so I figured I’d probably like it.
It didn’t hold my interest right away. And to be honest it probably didn't get all of a fair chance to impress me because I was reading it while I was waiting for my computer to take an hour just to do one simple task so needless to say it was read in frustration.
The book had an interesting way of going from one person's stream of consciousness to the next It was also interesting to see how scenes in The Hours were taken right from Mrs. Dalloway. Something that I think would be interesting to do with other stories. Parts of The Hours were modern day versions of things in Mrs. Dalloway, other parts were Virginia Woolf writing the book and how the book affected a housewife and her family.
As for Mrs. Dalloway, I didn't really find the title character all that interesting when her whole life seemed to revolve around socializing and throwing parties. I did like another character who wouldn't get out of bed because he was mentally ill. He thought he had been cursed with the inability to feel anything and didn't understand what the point of life was if he couldn't feel. In the end he thinks everyone is against him and throws himself out the window.
And of course I ended up liking Mrs. Dalloway less when she was worried someone talking about the suicide would ruin her party. I really couldn't understand why everyone was so fond of her.
So I liked it but didn't love it like I did The Hours.
The next book I picked up was Watership Down, which I had never heard of until I took a quiz that said I was most like that book.
I've been a little slow on the reading lately with so much going on but I finally finished Watership Down today. I thought it was a very good book. The rabbits' point-of-view is adorable and it was really well written from their point-of-view. They didn't understand everything that humans had made or did, they didn't know what things were that they would likely never have seen before, and the way they saw humans seemed sadly accurate.
I wrote a story from a dog's point-of-view and this actually brought up some things I had never thought of before.
Also, I fell so in love with the rabbits, some more than others, and I was glad it had a very happy ending. Except to find out that rabbits generally only live to be two to three years old, which made it all seem very sad in the end. They went through all of that for what?
I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. Often I try to read books that are similar to what I'm writing or planning on writing. They help with research and inspiration. I can't really think of a book that would work for Human Decency that I haven't already read so who knows.
My friend just gave me just about every book that JRR Tolkien ever wrote but I'm not sure if I really want to tackle one, some or all of those yet so I guess we'll see.
I need to seriously work on some more writing before I get distracted by another book.
Now onto a completely different topic.
I must admit that it’s been really hard adjusting to reading after Harry Potter mania. I had read all seven books and Deathly Hallows I read twice, browsed back at sections occasionally before and after reading Deathly Hallows. I even broke down while waiting for book seven and read one of those what will happen books. (I know what the heck is the point in that but it didn’t spoil anything. They had a few of the events right but they were pretty off on everything.)
Anyway, the point is that for the last few months I read nothing but Harry Potter related novels. And when it was time to finally change pace I felt kind of lost. For some reason I felt that maybe a classic would be a drastic change and would help me let go. So in the classics section of the library I found Les Miserables which was on my reading list but was just too long. I ended up picking up Mrs. Dalloway because it was much shorter and it too was on my reading list. I loved the book The Hours, which was inspired by it so I figured I’d probably like it.
It didn’t hold my interest right away. And to be honest it probably didn't get all of a fair chance to impress me because I was reading it while I was waiting for my computer to take an hour just to do one simple task so needless to say it was read in frustration.
The book had an interesting way of going from one person's stream of consciousness to the next It was also interesting to see how scenes in The Hours were taken right from Mrs. Dalloway. Something that I think would be interesting to do with other stories. Parts of The Hours were modern day versions of things in Mrs. Dalloway, other parts were Virginia Woolf writing the book and how the book affected a housewife and her family.
As for Mrs. Dalloway, I didn't really find the title character all that interesting when her whole life seemed to revolve around socializing and throwing parties. I did like another character who wouldn't get out of bed because he was mentally ill. He thought he had been cursed with the inability to feel anything and didn't understand what the point of life was if he couldn't feel. In the end he thinks everyone is against him and throws himself out the window.
And of course I ended up liking Mrs. Dalloway less when she was worried someone talking about the suicide would ruin her party. I really couldn't understand why everyone was so fond of her.
So I liked it but didn't love it like I did The Hours.
The next book I picked up was Watership Down, which I had never heard of until I took a quiz that said I was most like that book.
I've been a little slow on the reading lately with so much going on but I finally finished Watership Down today. I thought it was a very good book. The rabbits' point-of-view is adorable and it was really well written from their point-of-view. They didn't understand everything that humans had made or did, they didn't know what things were that they would likely never have seen before, and the way they saw humans seemed sadly accurate.
I wrote a story from a dog's point-of-view and this actually brought up some things I had never thought of before.
Also, I fell so in love with the rabbits, some more than others, and I was glad it had a very happy ending. Except to find out that rabbits generally only live to be two to three years old, which made it all seem very sad in the end. They went through all of that for what?
I'm not sure what I'm going to read next. Often I try to read books that are similar to what I'm writing or planning on writing. They help with research and inspiration. I can't really think of a book that would work for Human Decency that I haven't already read so who knows.
My friend just gave me just about every book that JRR Tolkien ever wrote but I'm not sure if I really want to tackle one, some or all of those yet so I guess we'll see.
I need to seriously work on some more writing before I get distracted by another book.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Getting back on track
It seems things are getting back to normal computer wise, well as normal as they can get. And now that I don't have to spend all my time working on computer problems I'm hoping to get back to my writing schedule.
When I used to work nights and weekends I had a writing schedule and for a while it worked really well. Then my job changed and it was hard for me to get back into the swing of things. After six months I feel like I’m finally getting back in a groove and a schedule is forming.
So now I’m trying to set the schedule and stick to it. I feel like I have a few projects going on and I need to keep them balanced. I didn’t mean to start editing my NaNo novel until after I finished Human Decency but I’ve got some stuff going on in my life that brings me back to my NaNo novel. I feel like now's a good time to work on it. And I’m having a little trouble pushing through with Human Decency at this time. I’ve got a great idea and terrific characters (so I think, anyway) but I need to come up with some idea of where it’s going. I need a little direction.
Now my tentative schedule for the week is to edit my NaNo novel during the day while I’m at work. After reading through it I made a list of things I want to change or need to think about. I’ve decided to change it to first person point-of –view. I do want to add in the final short story. I liked Jenni’s idea of having her live it then start writing it. I thought it would be cool to just have the story and let the reader decide if it’s real or if it’s another one of the writer’s stories but I can’t think of a way to do it that’s not completely confusing. I’ve yet to decide whether to get rid of the first story. If I keep it I definitely need to add more about how it relates to the writer’s life. And I need to make the story less chunky. There are chunks of the writer’s life and how that affects what she’s writing and then chunks of what she’s writing. I think I need to make the parts smaller and intertwine them more.
I know most of this probably only makes sense to me but I thought I’d share so it seems like I’m actually working on something.
At night I work on Human Decency. Well I try to push through anyway. I’ve been working on introducing the characters and bringing them together but I’m worried it’s not happening fast enough and that this book is going to end up huge. That’s if I think of something past the characters coming together. I also don’t want to cheat it.
On Saturday I work on writing short stories and editing them for submissions. Sundays I work mostly on submissions. I throw in a blog post wherever I can fit it. Occasionally, I go off schedule and work on a few other things like an action/adventure short story series, a Christmas story that I would like to get finished and submitted before the end of the month (*in time for a few literary magazine deadline’s for holiday stories) and anytime I’m around my family I get inspired to write a funny story for a humorous anthology that I really should do.
Well I obviously have a lot to do so I guess it's back to work.
When I used to work nights and weekends I had a writing schedule and for a while it worked really well. Then my job changed and it was hard for me to get back into the swing of things. After six months I feel like I’m finally getting back in a groove and a schedule is forming.
So now I’m trying to set the schedule and stick to it. I feel like I have a few projects going on and I need to keep them balanced. I didn’t mean to start editing my NaNo novel until after I finished Human Decency but I’ve got some stuff going on in my life that brings me back to my NaNo novel. I feel like now's a good time to work on it. And I’m having a little trouble pushing through with Human Decency at this time. I’ve got a great idea and terrific characters (so I think, anyway) but I need to come up with some idea of where it’s going. I need a little direction.
Now my tentative schedule for the week is to edit my NaNo novel during the day while I’m at work. After reading through it I made a list of things I want to change or need to think about. I’ve decided to change it to first person point-of –view. I do want to add in the final short story. I liked Jenni’s idea of having her live it then start writing it. I thought it would be cool to just have the story and let the reader decide if it’s real or if it’s another one of the writer’s stories but I can’t think of a way to do it that’s not completely confusing. I’ve yet to decide whether to get rid of the first story. If I keep it I definitely need to add more about how it relates to the writer’s life. And I need to make the story less chunky. There are chunks of the writer’s life and how that affects what she’s writing and then chunks of what she’s writing. I think I need to make the parts smaller and intertwine them more.
I know most of this probably only makes sense to me but I thought I’d share so it seems like I’m actually working on something.
At night I work on Human Decency. Well I try to push through anyway. I’ve been working on introducing the characters and bringing them together but I’m worried it’s not happening fast enough and that this book is going to end up huge. That’s if I think of something past the characters coming together. I also don’t want to cheat it.
On Saturday I work on writing short stories and editing them for submissions. Sundays I work mostly on submissions. I throw in a blog post wherever I can fit it. Occasionally, I go off schedule and work on a few other things like an action/adventure short story series, a Christmas story that I would like to get finished and submitted before the end of the month (*in time for a few literary magazine deadline’s for holiday stories) and anytime I’m around my family I get inspired to write a funny story for a humorous anthology that I really should do.
Well I obviously have a lot to do so I guess it's back to work.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Yet another computer update
Someone gave me an old laptop that is in much better condition than mine so that's super exciting. I'm trying to get all my files and software on it right now. Hopefully, I'll be getting back to IMing, blogging, e-mailing and all that other fun stuff on a normal basis.
I forgot to mention another fun part of my chaotic week where an employee left the store unlocked and I had four phone calls from the police to let me know that someone had walked in and set off the store alarm. Now we have to do inventory on the entire store to make sure nothing was stolen. So the few hours that I've managed to be there this week I haven't had anytime to work on my writing.
I did manage to write a post during a quick break at work but I can't open it because it doesn't seem that Word is on my computer despite having put on Windows XP so I'll have to figure that out.
So I thought I'd write a quick update and maybe things will be up and running soon.
I forgot to mention another fun part of my chaotic week where an employee left the store unlocked and I had four phone calls from the police to let me know that someone had walked in and set off the store alarm. Now we have to do inventory on the entire store to make sure nothing was stolen. So the few hours that I've managed to be there this week I haven't had anytime to work on my writing.
I did manage to write a post during a quick break at work but I can't open it because it doesn't seem that Word is on my computer despite having put on Windows XP so I'll have to figure that out.
So I thought I'd write a quick update and maybe things will be up and running soon.
Monday, August 20, 2007
A quick update on the chaos that has consumed my week
Okay well this week has been insane. The short version goes that my parents won't talk to me because of a biscuit, I yelled at my boss calling him some pretty not nice things, I missed my best friends wedding reception and I've got about two minutes of sleep since I've been in the hospital with a family member. And did I mention when I finally got home and got a second to write about all this, I'm going to guess that I didn't catch the computer virus on time because my computer got incredibly hot, smelled like it was burning and stopped working. I am now functioning on the old laptop with the missing keys that has been mentioned in previous post that I don't dare look up at this time.
Anyway, amongst all this madness, mostly the hospital part, I have found the occasional few minutes to write. I didn't really have all my novel gear so I haven't been working on any of those. For some reason I felt inspired to write a Christmas story. Maybe I'll have it done in time to submit for the holiday issues of a few literary magazines.
One good thing it's been high in the 70's and raining all week. I'm sorry for those who don't care for it but I'm totally loving it.
And since I'm not sure when my next substantial post will come around, I suggest everyone stop by and read this blog .I really like the current post and the rest of the blog is great as well.
Anyway, amongst all this madness, mostly the hospital part, I have found the occasional few minutes to write. I didn't really have all my novel gear so I haven't been working on any of those. For some reason I felt inspired to write a Christmas story. Maybe I'll have it done in time to submit for the holiday issues of a few literary magazines.
One good thing it's been high in the 70's and raining all week. I'm sorry for those who don't care for it but I'm totally loving it.
And since I'm not sure when my next substantial post will come around, I suggest everyone stop by and read this blog .I really like the current post and the rest of the blog is great as well.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
The troubles of a writing group, if you can even call it that.
The other day I met with the writing group I thought would be no more. We probably wouldn’t have met but my ad that had gone unanswered all summer got one more reply. And one of the teachers was able to make it back for at least this week so we decided to give it a try.
I felt bad for the new guy because, the teacher will call her E, (I don’t want to use her real name since I didn’t ask if I could. Not that I think she would mind but that’s not for me to decide. And yes I use Jenni’s name without permission but her name is all over our Behind the Naugahyde website so what difference does it make? Sorry Jenni please don’t hate and/or sue me.), had been so busy traveling to Maryland for an interview last week that she didn’t have any writing for the group to read and I couldn’t get to any of my writing because it was all floating around in the chaos of back-up file land. So we were going to be focusing completely on new guy's work.
Of course, E and I got there kind of late and we hadn’t bothered to tell the new guy, D, what we looked like so when we got there he was actually sitting with another writing group that had another member named E (well E’s real name). What a coincidence? We told him he was welcome to stay with the cool writing group that had a sufficient supply of members who would be around for a while, would actually bring work and be on time but for some reason he chose to go with us.
I hadn’t been able to get his story that he had sent for me to read in advance because it was in my e-mail and we all know I was having some serious computer problems. So I felt bad that the pressure was on me to read on the spot, come up with comments and do all of this in a timely fashion while I fought off the paranoia that D and E were staring at me.
Once I started reading D’s story I was grateful and annoyed. He’s an amazing writer. He had a fantastic literary story that read like poetry. It was so descriptive and filled with brilliant metaphors. He had an excellent vocabulary. The story definitely needed a lot of thinking which I had little time to do. I of course could think of nothing to say other than “wow!” so I marked a few typos to make it look like I was being helpful.
Thankfully he had questions and that gave me a little footing for some input but still I was annoyed with myself for not having more time to really think it through and grateful that I hadn’t brought the third half of my cheesy, clichéd and poorly written vampire story.
We ended the meeting and he said if we had another meeting he would come back. I feel like E and our other writer/teacher, B, are skilled enough in writing to work with D but I think my presence will drag the group down if we manage to survive.
I almost thought that maybe I was just being over dramatic and maybe D’s work was great but not that great, until we were in the parking lot and E said she thought that his work was quite impressive as well.
So we managed to squeeze out one more meeting. I have no idea if there will be another. Fortunately for her but unfortunate for our writing group, E got a teaching job out of state and is moving away. B will be busy at least for the start of the school year plus he lost all of his work due to computer problems so it may be a while before he recovers from that. And D might find a group that’s more in his league.
Just saw: Underdog
Listening to: Nickelback-All the Right Reasons
I felt bad for the new guy because, the teacher will call her E, (I don’t want to use her real name since I didn’t ask if I could. Not that I think she would mind but that’s not for me to decide. And yes I use Jenni’s name without permission but her name is all over our Behind the Naugahyde website so what difference does it make? Sorry Jenni please don’t hate and/or sue me.), had been so busy traveling to Maryland for an interview last week that she didn’t have any writing for the group to read and I couldn’t get to any of my writing because it was all floating around in the chaos of back-up file land. So we were going to be focusing completely on new guy's work.
Of course, E and I got there kind of late and we hadn’t bothered to tell the new guy, D, what we looked like so when we got there he was actually sitting with another writing group that had another member named E (well E’s real name). What a coincidence? We told him he was welcome to stay with the cool writing group that had a sufficient supply of members who would be around for a while, would actually bring work and be on time but for some reason he chose to go with us.
I hadn’t been able to get his story that he had sent for me to read in advance because it was in my e-mail and we all know I was having some serious computer problems. So I felt bad that the pressure was on me to read on the spot, come up with comments and do all of this in a timely fashion while I fought off the paranoia that D and E were staring at me.
Once I started reading D’s story I was grateful and annoyed. He’s an amazing writer. He had a fantastic literary story that read like poetry. It was so descriptive and filled with brilliant metaphors. He had an excellent vocabulary. The story definitely needed a lot of thinking which I had little time to do. I of course could think of nothing to say other than “wow!” so I marked a few typos to make it look like I was being helpful.
Thankfully he had questions and that gave me a little footing for some input but still I was annoyed with myself for not having more time to really think it through and grateful that I hadn’t brought the third half of my cheesy, clichéd and poorly written vampire story.
We ended the meeting and he said if we had another meeting he would come back. I feel like E and our other writer/teacher, B, are skilled enough in writing to work with D but I think my presence will drag the group down if we manage to survive.
I almost thought that maybe I was just being over dramatic and maybe D’s work was great but not that great, until we were in the parking lot and E said she thought that his work was quite impressive as well.
So we managed to squeeze out one more meeting. I have no idea if there will be another. Fortunately for her but unfortunate for our writing group, E got a teaching job out of state and is moving away. B will be busy at least for the start of the school year plus he lost all of his work due to computer problems so it may be a while before he recovers from that. And D might find a group that’s more in his league.
Just saw: Underdog
Listening to: Nickelback-All the Right Reasons
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
My bleepin' computer problems!
I’m back and no I wasn’t gone because I didn’t pay my electricity and/or Internet bill. The pop-up virus on my computer got so bad that I couldn’t even function. So I managed to find someone to fix it for a decent rate, which was still more than I should have spent.
Anyway, they had to erase a lot of my stuff so I’m trying to adjust. I had most of it backed up so I’m not too worried about that. All my word documents are backed up but they need to be put back on my computer. And I had most of my pictures backed up or in e-mails but I did lose a few. It’s my own fault for not making more time to back things up before having someone fix my computer.
A few weeks ago one of the writers I had met with had some computer problems and didn’t back stuff up. He lost three years worth of work on his novel. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. Fortunately, for me I have extreme paranoia. I often hand write my work so I usually have a paper back up. And I usually print things out to edit. Sure I have to type things in again but better that than losing it completely. I also save stuff in my e-mail in case of a fire. It was either that or try to fit everything in the freezer.
My DSL software was also deleted and it took me forever to get it back on since my CD drive is 1% functional. But if this is posted I obviously got it working. (I’m writing this at work. It’s around 2pm Tuesday, Aug. 14).
The computer fixer came to my house instead of me having to take it some place and never knowing when I would get it back so that was cool. And I was worried that in the chaos of all the pop-ups I might have accidentally ended up with some crazy stuff on my computer. Especially, since I kept getting these messages saying my adult material that I had downloaded was being tracked and I could end up losing my job and ruining my marriage if I didn’t by the software to delete it. But if there was any embarrassing material found on my computer he didn’t mention it.
So hopefully this works. Then I can get my computer set up, get back online and everything will be back to normal.
Anyway, they had to erase a lot of my stuff so I’m trying to adjust. I had most of it backed up so I’m not too worried about that. All my word documents are backed up but they need to be put back on my computer. And I had most of my pictures backed up or in e-mails but I did lose a few. It’s my own fault for not making more time to back things up before having someone fix my computer.
A few weeks ago one of the writers I had met with had some computer problems and didn’t back stuff up. He lost three years worth of work on his novel. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. Fortunately, for me I have extreme paranoia. I often hand write my work so I usually have a paper back up. And I usually print things out to edit. Sure I have to type things in again but better that than losing it completely. I also save stuff in my e-mail in case of a fire. It was either that or try to fit everything in the freezer.
My DSL software was also deleted and it took me forever to get it back on since my CD drive is 1% functional. But if this is posted I obviously got it working. (I’m writing this at work. It’s around 2pm Tuesday, Aug. 14).
The computer fixer came to my house instead of me having to take it some place and never knowing when I would get it back so that was cool. And I was worried that in the chaos of all the pop-ups I might have accidentally ended up with some crazy stuff on my computer. Especially, since I kept getting these messages saying my adult material that I had downloaded was being tracked and I could end up losing my job and ruining my marriage if I didn’t by the software to delete it. But if there was any embarrassing material found on my computer he didn’t mention it.
So hopefully this works. Then I can get my computer set up, get back online and everything will be back to normal.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
What's going on
Thanks to the heat and a bad case of the pop-ups my computer is running very slowly. So I haven’t been online much. Although, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Right now, I get online and check my e-mail, read a few blogs and that’s about it. Before I would waste hours away looking up stupid stuff while I was procrastinating on all my other work. Not that the whole computer situation isn’t annoying but I’m trying to find the positive.
So that means I’ve been getting lots of work done right? Well I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t spent too many hours trying to clean my computer. While I’m waiting ten minutes for it to do one small task I’ve been reading. I think this may affect my feelings on certain books since they are being read in frustration. Aside from all of that I have been getting some writing done.
The other day I decided to open up my NaNoWriMo novel from last November. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with it but after reading it I think it’s not too bad and that I might try getting it published. Of course, it’s a total mess. I’ve been debating back and forth about whether to tell it in first person or in third person. It’s in third person right now. It’s a story about a writer’s life and how everyday events affect what she writes. So now I’m thinking that maybe her telling the story might work a bit better. And that will mean a lot of work but I’m thinking first person is better.
Also I need to come up with a name for it. If I can get my computer to function for ten minutes I plan on putting up a blogger poll. I have a name with a few variations that I’m debating about but right now I’m worrying about edits.
Bits and pieces of the stories that the writer is working on are scattered through the novel. Each story has significance to the writer’s life. I’m just not sure if the first story is on the same level as the other stories or if it’s really necessary. Then there’s another short story that I had an idea for that I think would be a good addition but I’m also thinking it might work as something that actually happens to the writer.
The stories climb in importance to the writer. The first one is nothing like her life, the next one is nothing like her life but does have a few elements, then the next one is kind of like her life but not really, and so on. So the short story I’m debating about adding can be a story just like her life or it can be part of her life. That probably sounds entirely complicated but I assure you it makes sense in my head. But me saying that is probably not reassuring either.
And if I did chose to add or delete a story I have to change the story around the story so that will be more work. Even though it's a mess I think it's got potentail so I'm not giving up on it despite all the work.
So that means I’ve been getting lots of work done right? Well I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t spent too many hours trying to clean my computer. While I’m waiting ten minutes for it to do one small task I’ve been reading. I think this may affect my feelings on certain books since they are being read in frustration. Aside from all of that I have been getting some writing done.
The other day I decided to open up my NaNoWriMo novel from last November. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with it but after reading it I think it’s not too bad and that I might try getting it published. Of course, it’s a total mess. I’ve been debating back and forth about whether to tell it in first person or in third person. It’s in third person right now. It’s a story about a writer’s life and how everyday events affect what she writes. So now I’m thinking that maybe her telling the story might work a bit better. And that will mean a lot of work but I’m thinking first person is better.
Also I need to come up with a name for it. If I can get my computer to function for ten minutes I plan on putting up a blogger poll. I have a name with a few variations that I’m debating about but right now I’m worrying about edits.
Bits and pieces of the stories that the writer is working on are scattered through the novel. Each story has significance to the writer’s life. I’m just not sure if the first story is on the same level as the other stories or if it’s really necessary. Then there’s another short story that I had an idea for that I think would be a good addition but I’m also thinking it might work as something that actually happens to the writer.
The stories climb in importance to the writer. The first one is nothing like her life, the next one is nothing like her life but does have a few elements, then the next one is kind of like her life but not really, and so on. So the short story I’m debating about adding can be a story just like her life or it can be part of her life. That probably sounds entirely complicated but I assure you it makes sense in my head. But me saying that is probably not reassuring either.
And if I did chose to add or delete a story I have to change the story around the story so that will be more work. Even though it's a mess I think it's got potentail so I'm not giving up on it despite all the work.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Just a bunch of stuff that didn't fit anywhere else.
I'm sure that my last post makes it pretty obvious that absolutely nothing exciting is going on in my life. So here's some random thoughts that I've been meaning to throw into posts but haven't.
Yesterday I went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village with my grandma and sister. I can't actually afford a real vacation so that's where I ended up. I'd like to write a huge long post about how awesome it was but minutes after paying $30 a person we stepped into the hot sun and 98 degree heat. Then my sister, who was horribly sunburned the day before, threw up and passed out. She came to fairly quickly and did not want to go to the hospital so we turned right back around for our hour and a half drive home. We were sad that we did not get to see the cars of rock n' roll exhibit, the bus Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on, the presidential cars exhibit or the Oscar Meyer Wiener mobile, but we felt better knowing the tickets were good for a year. Well, we felt better until we realized that in my attempt to not let my sister crash to the ground of a vomit covered bathroom, I dropped the tickets and never picked them up.
Another thing about the day that bummed me out was that on the way there I came up with the best song lyrics ever. I couldn't wait to write them down when I wasn't driving so I kept saying them over and over in my head. Then all the madness happened and they were lost. I was sad for the first time I had actually thought of great lyrics that flowed and would have made a fantastic song. I hate it when something slips out of my mind before I get the chance to write it down. Sometimes I wonder if it comes back later but I don't recognize it as an idea I already had.
On a completely different subject, it seems the rejection notices I've been getting lately are rather rude. Before I was just getting generic notices or some pleasant 'thanks but no thanks' comments. Yet in the last two weeks I've gotten two rude comments that come out something along the lines of "I am so tired of seeing stories about this." And that's fine. Maybe my story isn't as original as I thought. I'm okay with that but what is the necessity of the rude, snarky remarks. A simple 'no thanks' would suffice and I do appreciate knowing why it's a no but you could say it nicely. Sorry, that's just me griping. I'm sure they get annoyed by the tons of people that send in "crap" everyday so it's probably hard to stay pleasant.
Another random thing I wanted to mention is that I know I keep talking about searches on my site meter and I just wanted to assure everyone that I don't check it constantly. And I rarely look at anything other than how many people stopped by and the searches. I don't want people to feel like they can't stop by my blog because I'm spying on them.
Also, thanks to the hot weather, that makes me want to do absolutely nothing, (Yes I am a big cry baby!), I have seen way too many movies this week. I went to see 'Hairspray'. I've never seen the theater version so I can't compare but I loved it. That could of course be because I have a sick addiction to musicals.
I also watched 'Reno 911:Miami' and I was a little disappointed that it didn't seem as funny as the tv show, which I think is hilarious. Although, I haven't seen it in a while so maybe Reno 911 has just lost its touch.
'Ed Wood' was another movie I watched. I know his movies are suppose to be the worst ever but now I want to find them and see how ridiculous they really are.
And I finally watched 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. I always thought it was a glamorous, romantic film. After hearing about 'In Cold Blood', I wonder how Truman Capote could have wrote something so serious and something so fluffy. Then I watched 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and figured out it was a bit more complex than I thought it would be. I never realized that Holly Golightly (the book character) was a little off her rocker. She certainly had some issues to deal with. A surprise I wasn't expecting. Not that it was anything as grave as 'In Cold Blood' but definitely not what I had originally thought. I hear the book is even more complicated since the movie was edited to be more cinematically appealing.
Currently, I'm reading 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf. I've been meaning to read it since I finished 'The Hours', which was inspired by it. Not that I was confused by 'The Hours', but now that I'm reading 'Mrs. Dalloway' I understand parts of it better. So I guess I should have read it first.
When I get done with that I think I'm going to read 'Watership Down' by Richard Adams. I've never heard of it before but I took a 'what book are you quiz' and apparently I'm that book. So I figured I should give it a shot.
And one final note, I'm starting a new blog in addition to this one. A Positive Blog In Lansing is a local blog about HIV/AIDS. I hope to list local, state, national and world events, medical information and research, political and funding concerns, as well as stories and experience of people with HIV and those who support family, friends and patients who are positive. It will have a local focus but will not be limited to so please stop by and check it out if you have a minute. Right now it's in a rough development stage. I hope to change it and add to it more in the next few days.
Yesterday I went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village with my grandma and sister. I can't actually afford a real vacation so that's where I ended up. I'd like to write a huge long post about how awesome it was but minutes after paying $30 a person we stepped into the hot sun and 98 degree heat. Then my sister, who was horribly sunburned the day before, threw up and passed out. She came to fairly quickly and did not want to go to the hospital so we turned right back around for our hour and a half drive home. We were sad that we did not get to see the cars of rock n' roll exhibit, the bus Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on, the presidential cars exhibit or the Oscar Meyer Wiener mobile, but we felt better knowing the tickets were good for a year. Well, we felt better until we realized that in my attempt to not let my sister crash to the ground of a vomit covered bathroom, I dropped the tickets and never picked them up.
Another thing about the day that bummed me out was that on the way there I came up with the best song lyrics ever. I couldn't wait to write them down when I wasn't driving so I kept saying them over and over in my head. Then all the madness happened and they were lost. I was sad for the first time I had actually thought of great lyrics that flowed and would have made a fantastic song. I hate it when something slips out of my mind before I get the chance to write it down. Sometimes I wonder if it comes back later but I don't recognize it as an idea I already had.
On a completely different subject, it seems the rejection notices I've been getting lately are rather rude. Before I was just getting generic notices or some pleasant 'thanks but no thanks' comments. Yet in the last two weeks I've gotten two rude comments that come out something along the lines of "I am so tired of seeing stories about this." And that's fine. Maybe my story isn't as original as I thought. I'm okay with that but what is the necessity of the rude, snarky remarks. A simple 'no thanks' would suffice and I do appreciate knowing why it's a no but you could say it nicely. Sorry, that's just me griping. I'm sure they get annoyed by the tons of people that send in "crap" everyday so it's probably hard to stay pleasant.
Another random thing I wanted to mention is that I know I keep talking about searches on my site meter and I just wanted to assure everyone that I don't check it constantly. And I rarely look at anything other than how many people stopped by and the searches. I don't want people to feel like they can't stop by my blog because I'm spying on them.
Also, thanks to the hot weather, that makes me want to do absolutely nothing, (Yes I am a big cry baby!), I have seen way too many movies this week. I went to see 'Hairspray'. I've never seen the theater version so I can't compare but I loved it. That could of course be because I have a sick addiction to musicals.
I also watched 'Reno 911:Miami' and I was a little disappointed that it didn't seem as funny as the tv show, which I think is hilarious. Although, I haven't seen it in a while so maybe Reno 911 has just lost its touch.
'Ed Wood' was another movie I watched. I know his movies are suppose to be the worst ever but now I want to find them and see how ridiculous they really are.
And I finally watched 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. I always thought it was a glamorous, romantic film. After hearing about 'In Cold Blood', I wonder how Truman Capote could have wrote something so serious and something so fluffy. Then I watched 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and figured out it was a bit more complex than I thought it would be. I never realized that Holly Golightly (the book character) was a little off her rocker. She certainly had some issues to deal with. A surprise I wasn't expecting. Not that it was anything as grave as 'In Cold Blood' but definitely not what I had originally thought. I hear the book is even more complicated since the movie was edited to be more cinematically appealing.
Currently, I'm reading 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf. I've been meaning to read it since I finished 'The Hours', which was inspired by it. Not that I was confused by 'The Hours', but now that I'm reading 'Mrs. Dalloway' I understand parts of it better. So I guess I should have read it first.
When I get done with that I think I'm going to read 'Watership Down' by Richard Adams. I've never heard of it before but I took a 'what book are you quiz' and apparently I'm that book. So I figured I should give it a shot.
And one final note, I'm starting a new blog in addition to this one. A Positive Blog In Lansing is a local blog about HIV/AIDS. I hope to list local, state, national and world events, medical information and research, political and funding concerns, as well as stories and experience of people with HIV and those who support family, friends and patients who are positive. It will have a local focus but will not be limited to so please stop by and check it out if you have a minute. Right now it's in a rough development stage. I hope to change it and add to it more in the next few days.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Even though it's tempting, I can not quit my job and become a poor, struggling writer no matter how glamorous it seems
I’m at work right now and intend to post this on my blog later. I would just write it then but my computer is a little cranky in the summer and I feel inspired now.
Like everyday, I’ve spent the morning dealing with an ignorant boss and rude customers. (It’s funny how I get one or two customers a day and they are always the rude ones.) And once again dealing with these things has filled my head with the thoughts that this job is completely pointless and that I should be looking for more meaningful or enjoyable work. And yes I know that I wouldn’t make as much money but really, oh well. I just don’t care.
When these thoughts pop into my head I have to reason with myself that maybe this job may not be so bad and that it’s helping me toward my goal of being a published writer.
First off, it’s incredibly slow as far as sales and customers go. If I added up all the time a customer was in the store during the day it would be about an hour. That usually gives me about 6-7 hours to read, write and edit. Plus, I’m getting paid for it.
And no matter how much my boss and the customers annoy me I feel like they are training me for dealing with editors, publishers and critics. Sometimes editors are going to veto my opinion even if I think they are completely wrong. Just like I truly believe most ideas my boss comes up with are stupid but he’s the boss.
Also, every time a customer calls me stupid I have to let it go and continue to politely smiling. So when critics say that my work is awful I’ll have plenty of training of polite smiling and hopefully, by then I’ll have learned to not take it personally. Although, insulting my writing is a bit more personal than calling me an idiot over something I am certain is not my fault nor do I care.
So the demands of customers and practicing the art of multitasking will probably come in handy when I’m dealing with deadlines and multiple projects.
Another good thing about this job is the air conditioning. I don’t have it at home and the summer heat makes my computer crash every ten minutes. So it’s fabulous to have another computer chilling in the air conditioning at work, ready for me to use.
I am really not a big fan of hot weather. Once it gets over 85 degrees I’m in a bad mood. I know, all those people that live in the south are telling me to quit complaining but if they let me complain about this I won’t make any comments in the winter when they think 30 degrees is cold. Anyway, I’m not a fan of the heat and maybe I would get used to it if it was around longer. But when it is hot here I don’t feel like doing anything except sitting in front of a fan. So it’s nice to come to work where there’s air conditioning and I can comfortably type away.
When he said this to me I had to really think about the good things listed above and I for surely need them when I'm forced to go back after seeing how great four days of not being there is.
Like everyday, I’ve spent the morning dealing with an ignorant boss and rude customers. (It’s funny how I get one or two customers a day and they are always the rude ones.) And once again dealing with these things has filled my head with the thoughts that this job is completely pointless and that I should be looking for more meaningful or enjoyable work. And yes I know that I wouldn’t make as much money but really, oh well. I just don’t care.
When these thoughts pop into my head I have to reason with myself that maybe this job may not be so bad and that it’s helping me toward my goal of being a published writer.
First off, it’s incredibly slow as far as sales and customers go. If I added up all the time a customer was in the store during the day it would be about an hour. That usually gives me about 6-7 hours to read, write and edit. Plus, I’m getting paid for it.
And no matter how much my boss and the customers annoy me I feel like they are training me for dealing with editors, publishers and critics. Sometimes editors are going to veto my opinion even if I think they are completely wrong. Just like I truly believe most ideas my boss comes up with are stupid but he’s the boss.
Also, every time a customer calls me stupid I have to let it go and continue to politely smiling. So when critics say that my work is awful I’ll have plenty of training of polite smiling and hopefully, by then I’ll have learned to not take it personally. Although, insulting my writing is a bit more personal than calling me an idiot over something I am certain is not my fault nor do I care.
So the demands of customers and practicing the art of multitasking will probably come in handy when I’m dealing with deadlines and multiple projects.
Another good thing about this job is the air conditioning. I don’t have it at home and the summer heat makes my computer crash every ten minutes. So it’s fabulous to have another computer chilling in the air conditioning at work, ready for me to use.
I am really not a big fan of hot weather. Once it gets over 85 degrees I’m in a bad mood. I know, all those people that live in the south are telling me to quit complaining but if they let me complain about this I won’t make any comments in the winter when they think 30 degrees is cold. Anyway, I’m not a fan of the heat and maybe I would get used to it if it was around longer. But when it is hot here I don’t feel like doing anything except sitting in front of a fan. So it’s nice to come to work where there’s air conditioning and I can comfortably type away.
I think one of the best things about this job could actually be the shoes. Not because I love to buy shoes but because I feel like shoes have their own personality. You can come up with great characters by trying to figure out what kind of person would buy certain shoes. And some times real customers help the idea along. Of course the company names and style names often help inspire character names.
We used to play this game at the store where you had to pick a shoe that had the same characteristics as a fellow employee or yourself. It’s really interesting what you can get from shoes. Remember Jenni’s project for her students about walking in someone else’s shoes? It doesn’t just give a writer character ideas, it helps us understand people and who they are, which makes us better people and better writers.
Of course what shoes they bought or wore, weren’t the only things that gave me character ideas. There were some people that became characters because they were just entertaining. Sure a customer demanding that we either drop her shoes off or open early for her may seem like a pain but without customers like her Behind the Naugahyde would be empty.
Out of all the things that have been good about this job, the best would for sure have to be the awesome people that I’ve met. I’m not talking about the annoying customers, jerk bosses and the lazy employees that make great characters; I’m talking about Jenni, Angie and Sharon.
Without Jenni there would be no Behind the Naugahyde. I also can’t figure out who would have done all my proofreading and given me so many ideas to make my stories better for the last few years.
Sharon reads anything I write and is always asking for more, which is just fantastic.
Angie has given me a few good story ideas too and her artistic personality can be inspiring. Yet, I still have to harass her to stop by and read my blog or sign the guest book at Behind the Naugahyde.
And of course they’re amazingly supportive and encouraging. I can’t describe how nice it is to have people to talk about writing to that don’t roll their eyes at me.
There’s also no way I could forget to mention that they are remarkable people who are the best friends a person could ask for.
Needless to say there are a lot of good things that have come from selling shoes, aside from having unique job titles such as Bench Wench and Ass. Man. It’s also pretty obvious that I was grasping to find some purpose in a few of these things. But this is the list of stuff I have to go over in my head ever time a customer comes in and tells me that people have no idea what they go through and complains about how hard life is for them because they have a narrow heel.What are they suppose to do? The agony. At this point going over the benefits, keeps me from shouting out “well at least you can afford shoes. I'm pretty sure that people who can't even afford to eat would love any shoes no matter how they fit you whiny, selfish *beep*”.
I thought I’d write them down so I can reflect on it and so everyone can remind me that things aren’t bad when I’m screaming that I’m going to slap my boss and I don’t care if I get fired.
When he said this to me I had to really think about the good things listed above and I for surely need them when I'm forced to go back after seeing how great four days of not being there is.
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