You can go down the list of cursed blame and find Lady Luck, Fate, Karma and a random God all together. All "religions" seem to be joint when it comes to pin-pointing reasons for failure, problems or whatever.
When everything is going fantastically, we all tend to feel similarly, as in "it's about time." If we even notice. Society as a whole has gotten to a point where it feels it's seen it all, done it all, bought the book and watched the movie. For some reason, this jaded mentality has corroded our ability to congratulate someone earnestly when they've accomplished something. We revel in the negative statements and bitchy epithets allowed by the enormous "eLife" offered by the Internet. In bringing these large groups of people together from all over the World we're in a place that really allows us to learn and grow from each other. Instead of grabbing that opportunity, we're wasting our precious lives groaning and moaning about things we probably could care less about. Social Media has allowed the inner gremlins to come out and shake angry fists at anthills, ignoring the beautiful luscious forests filling the mountain tops in the distance. I honestly am upset when someone is having a hard time or needs the comfort of friends. Reaching out is never something to be taken lightly. It's hard enough for a person to admit they even need help in the first place.
My question to you isn't whether you really are stuck or in a bad frame of mind. It's about what you're going to do to fix it. For myself, I've found just having an outlet is sufficient to get something to stop bugging me. A few good friends don't mind the litany, and provide just enough of their own experiences so I don't feel alone. Once we're done figuring out my shit and their shit, we move on. From those points, we talk about everything from delicious Chocolate Chip Pancakes at iHop, or how to make the lowest carb cheesecake, and my personal favorite: what books we're reading. (OK the cheesecake is also a favorite. Mmmm...I still think there should be a Cheesecake Frappucino, Freda, and I'm NOT pregnant :P)
Yesterday I blogged about Introspection. Looking inward, finding things out about yourself that you probably don't want to know and will most likely never remember (unless you have a nifty blog). While I don't recommend living your life constantly watching yourself like that, it's a valuable tool for those times when nothing else seems to be working for you. Your cat won't use the litter box and all the advice they gave you at PetSmart just doesn't work on your cat. You have a weird cat. For all you know, your cat is a Drogo. Looking inwardly, finding it within yourself to admit that perhaps you should stop leaving your poprocks in her litterbox, you'll discover you had the answer all along.
Life is never that simple, of course. We're complex creatures with enormous capacity for everything we set our minds to. Blaming things we claim are out of our control allows us to get away with being half of what we want to be. Maybe it's laziness; I'm sure lazy! I'd rather eat cheesecake than figure out why I keep plucking my eyebrows when the stupid eyebrows just keep growing back. Hell, I'd rather eat cheesecake than pluck my eyebrows. Mmmm....cheesecake....
So since we're such complex creatures, we've all got our coping mechanisms, internal stream of conscious, SUBconscious, etc. I've got a very personal relationship with Karma. Karma and I go way way back. I think we met when I got put on timeout after biting someone back in Preschool, although it could've been when I kept throwing that toy to make Mom pick it up for me again and she finally just stuck me in my crib for naptime (I HATE NAPTIME! WAAH WAAAH SN...nnn..oooooore). Whenever it was she seems to remember my transgressions better than I do. I'll be walking along, innocent as can be, and WHACK! I hit my knee on a f)*(&)(*)ng arm chair. ARM CHAIR. That was to make up for accidentally elbowing that guy on my way back from lunch, but oooow!! That hurt!
Some people believe you will receive 3x the harm back to you that you've done to others. Honestly, that seems a bit harsh, especially if you aren't intentionally hurting someone. Going out of your way to do someone harm would definitely warrant that sort of reciprocation, but for accidental elbow-jabbing? I think tit-for-tat is fair in that case. Strangely enough, Karma agrees. Wait WHAT?? Karma AGREES? Preposterous!
In fact, it isn't preposterous at all. It's something I fully believe, and as a result, my internal deity agrees. When you believe something completely, you subconsciously set yourself up for what you believe you deserve. Because of this, we tend to have something in the back of our minds that we've named that will mete out those small justices. Mine is Karma, of course. Some people have Lady Luck or Fate, some people feel they should blame God. Perhaps blame is too strong a word, though. What I mean is they are responsible for ensuring the behavior we've been raised with. As someone raised in a very strict Christian environment, I've always believed we get what we deserve, so we should do unto others as we have had done..oh wait no, that's the other one. We should do unto others as we would have them do to us. It's a very simple statement that covers a lot of territory. If you send out positive signals to the universe (think happy thoughts), happy things will come to you. In essence, if you walk around smiling, people won't treat you like dirt. What is your reaction to someone you see who is smiling, whistling, singing, or exhibiting signs of happiness? Mine's usually a giggle or grin. When I'm really down and out it might get a sad smile, but it'd still improve my mood! Because we're all linked through language, body or verbal, we as individuals can change the world with a simple smile. When you're not feeling so happy though, try not to smile -- it looks more like a grimace. The best advice for those who're not-so-happy is to go "Introspective" on yourself and have a chat with your internal deity. You'll find the rest of your day is a little different. I was a lot more self-aware, but also much more aware of things going on around me. It was extremely daunting to understand more about the reasons behind things (sort-of like how I imagine a person who's just gotten out of Psych 101 for the day might feel). I had trouble assimilating, so to speak. I did find myself being far more understanding and reacting with a more positive bent though, which did a ton to rack up the good Karma points. Since the experience was such an "eye opener" for me, I wanted to share it with all of you.
Don't worry! I'm not always such a pretendullectual drag ;) On a less-intense note, my son absolutely loves tomatoes. His favorite form is actual real live tomatoes. He'll eat a hamburger, no ketchup, tomatoes only. We aren't sure if he's a changeling or not though, since he isn't all that fond of cheese. In my family, dislike of cheese gets you kicked out. Thankfully my son does like "Pizza Cheese," so as long as it has been shipped on Pizza before, he'll eat it.
Wonder what tomorrow's blog should be about? Maybe this fun new game I've been playing...
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Introspection
My fantastic new 26-days-of-blogging goal seems to have gotten off to a rather rocky start. Tuesday afternoon I got hit with a wonderful new invention, the epithet-epithet Migraine. If you haven't tried one yet, you're really missing out. This particular one lasted through the middle of Wednesday, when I started to feel marginally ogre-like. By this morning I'd finally magically transformed back into a human (yes! I'm a human!).
For some reason migraines always seem like battles to me, which probably doesn't help them disappear quickly. By the time they're finally over there's this euphoric, exhaustive relief that surrounds my psyche and leaves me introspective. As someone who is normally gregarious like nerve endings near a deep gushing wound, going inward like that is extremely weird. Weird?!? I'm sorry, I can't think of any other word that explains it so well. I feel weird.
One of the aspects of my SELF that I've always kept private is my belief in things outside what is seen, heard, tasted, etc. How can you not believe in something outside your scope of senses? There are all manner of things going on "under the hood" for everyone. I've always been able to play-back a tune in my head as thought it were playing live right in front of me. I've got life "snapshots" from various points in my life imprinted on my mind that are interpreted differently depending on how old I am. Who is to say that guy over there can't hear me thinking about how my hair never stays flat? What makes you think your Uncle Damien isn't actually standing next to you telling you he loves you too?
As a writer, I know it is imperative that I understand what is real and what isn't or I'll get roped into the universes of my imagination. Being a reader has similar pitfalls, however the writer of those worlds is often so different from you, you'll never be able to "agree" enough on things to get confused. While I don't believe every aspect of my "worlds," I do still feel there's more in the world I DO live in than I'll ever understand or be able to wrap my mind around. If you think about it INTROSPECTIVELY you'll see the typical human reaction to something not quite understood is more complex than their outward expressions. If a dog walked up to you and transformed into a human (hopefully not naked!), what would you do? I myself would freak out, run away, and have myself locked up. I'm not that loony. Someone else may decide "oh, it was a trick of the light" or "That human sure looks like a doggy" or may even completely deny someone was there at all. Because of our own hangups, beliefs, expectations and patterns we'll usually react in similar manners to similar situations. If I'm always freaking out when doggies turn into men, I'll probably always freak out when I see ghosts or zombies. If you decide you're just on the set of a movie, that may be how you always react to the strange things in life.
If enough people say something, it magically becomes true. Magic is everywhere and nowhere, but we don't believe because it's that annoying flare of light reflecting in the chrome license plate frame of the car ahead of you. It's there, but if you turn your head it ISN'T there, so just keep your head turned and it'll never be there.
Science was once considered Magic. Thanks to the Periodic Table of Elements, we were able to categorize and explore within boundaries things that before had caused people to be drowned, slaughtered or burned alive. If you combine this element with that, the other thing happens. Killing someone who discovered or repeated this did not make that combination go away. Not doing it made it not happen, so if you don't do that then it doesn't exist and you can ignore it.
Thanks to the advances in science, we have found a technological fountain of youth. What before was myth has now become scientific. We have medicine to cure almost anything from headaches to those unknown maladies that often left loved ones (and hated ones) dead. Hell, we're so in love with taking a pill for everything, we take them to keep showing our spouses we love them, take them to keep from having babies we hadn't planned for, and to keep our nutrients up even though we don't eat veggies. How many other things exist in our world that could be considered magic in another time or place? We already have moving pictures and singing boxes. We talk to people using hand extensions we press to our faces. We wiggle our fingers over plastic letters and make things appear in the light. We transport our food in magic containers that keep it cold, store food in bigger containers that never get warm, and put food in dinging machines that make it warm very quickly. Don't get me started on those moving boxes with wheels: those are very obviously caused by evil witches who should be locked away forever.
I'm not saying we'll be hanging out with ghosts anytime soon, but there has got to be more in this world than we've discovered so far. Those magical scientists are finding new types of life every day, from the Chilean Jungle to the frozen slopes of Antarctica. How can we be so jaded a culture when we're surrounded by the most advanced magic the world has ever seen? How can we believe we've seen it all when we can see even more now, better than we have ever seen before? Life is exploration, learning, growing and discovering. We'll never be done with any of it because there will always be more we don't know. Let us all be like children and learn as though we had never learned anything before.
For some reason migraines always seem like battles to me, which probably doesn't help them disappear quickly. By the time they're finally over there's this euphoric, exhaustive relief that surrounds my psyche and leaves me introspective. As someone who is normally gregarious like nerve endings near a deep gushing wound, going inward like that is extremely weird. Weird?!? I'm sorry, I can't think of any other word that explains it so well. I feel weird.
One of the aspects of my SELF that I've always kept private is my belief in things outside what is seen, heard, tasted, etc. How can you not believe in something outside your scope of senses? There are all manner of things going on "under the hood" for everyone. I've always been able to play-back a tune in my head as thought it were playing live right in front of me. I've got life "snapshots" from various points in my life imprinted on my mind that are interpreted differently depending on how old I am. Who is to say that guy over there can't hear me thinking about how my hair never stays flat? What makes you think your Uncle Damien isn't actually standing next to you telling you he loves you too?
As a writer, I know it is imperative that I understand what is real and what isn't or I'll get roped into the universes of my imagination. Being a reader has similar pitfalls, however the writer of those worlds is often so different from you, you'll never be able to "agree" enough on things to get confused. While I don't believe every aspect of my "worlds," I do still feel there's more in the world I DO live in than I'll ever understand or be able to wrap my mind around. If you think about it INTROSPECTIVELY you'll see the typical human reaction to something not quite understood is more complex than their outward expressions. If a dog walked up to you and transformed into a human (hopefully not naked!), what would you do? I myself would freak out, run away, and have myself locked up. I'm not that loony. Someone else may decide "oh, it was a trick of the light" or "That human sure looks like a doggy" or may even completely deny someone was there at all. Because of our own hangups, beliefs, expectations and patterns we'll usually react in similar manners to similar situations. If I'm always freaking out when doggies turn into men, I'll probably always freak out when I see ghosts or zombies. If you decide you're just on the set of a movie, that may be how you always react to the strange things in life.
If enough people say something, it magically becomes true. Magic is everywhere and nowhere, but we don't believe because it's that annoying flare of light reflecting in the chrome license plate frame of the car ahead of you. It's there, but if you turn your head it ISN'T there, so just keep your head turned and it'll never be there.
Science was once considered Magic. Thanks to the Periodic Table of Elements, we were able to categorize and explore within boundaries things that before had caused people to be drowned, slaughtered or burned alive. If you combine this element with that, the other thing happens. Killing someone who discovered or repeated this did not make that combination go away. Not doing it made it not happen, so if you don't do that then it doesn't exist and you can ignore it.
Thanks to the advances in science, we have found a technological fountain of youth. What before was myth has now become scientific. We have medicine to cure almost anything from headaches to those unknown maladies that often left loved ones (and hated ones) dead. Hell, we're so in love with taking a pill for everything, we take them to keep showing our spouses we love them, take them to keep from having babies we hadn't planned for, and to keep our nutrients up even though we don't eat veggies. How many other things exist in our world that could be considered magic in another time or place? We already have moving pictures and singing boxes. We talk to people using hand extensions we press to our faces. We wiggle our fingers over plastic letters and make things appear in the light. We transport our food in magic containers that keep it cold, store food in bigger containers that never get warm, and put food in dinging machines that make it warm very quickly. Don't get me started on those moving boxes with wheels: those are very obviously caused by evil witches who should be locked away forever.
I'm not saying we'll be hanging out with ghosts anytime soon, but there has got to be more in this world than we've discovered so far. Those magical scientists are finding new types of life every day, from the Chilean Jungle to the frozen slopes of Antarctica. How can we be so jaded a culture when we're surrounded by the most advanced magic the world has ever seen? How can we believe we've seen it all when we can see even more now, better than we have ever seen before? Life is exploration, learning, growing and discovering. We'll never be done with any of it because there will always be more we don't know. Let us all be like children and learn as though we had never learned anything before.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Consistent Blogging
I've never been able to do things consistently for any length of time. I'll get bored, find excuses, or some awesome new game will come out. I remember the first time I discovered other people brushed their teeth multiple times a day. The tenacity! People could do the same thing multiple times a day? I was almost in High School, and discovered inadvertently that people who DIDN'T brush their teeth had atrocious breath. It's almost rude, if you think about it, to talk to someone for who-knows-how-long without even considering how rank you smell every time you open your mouth. I've always been a talker, so it was imperative that I correct any potential oversight on my part. For years I carried gum and mints around, and if any talking started, I'd whip out some gum (and share) or pop a mint. A larger change was brushing my teeth more often. As was mentioned before, repetition gets monotonous! I had recently learned of a "new" technique for memorization: repeat something a minimum of 26 times, and you were sure to remember. Now I didn't think brushing my teeth 26 times in a day would be particularly healthy. Bleeding gums just don't strike me as particularly beneficial. I did, however, set myself a goal of 26 DAYS. Surprisingly it didn't take more than a week to get my tooth-brushing all those times a day habitual. To this day, I don't feel particularly clean if I don't brush my teeth before leaving the house. I still carry around a tin of mints, but gum chewing seems too horse-chewing-ish, so I stay away from it if I can.
A fellow writer set a goal of one blog a week (minimum) and wound up with a few extra blogs on top of that for the past year. I'm shocked if I write two in one month. It isn't really that I rationalize and procrastinate my week away, but more along the lines of really not having anything to blog about. At one point I considered writing short stories instead of regaling people with boring personal tales. My brother-in-law managed to convince me against that, particularly in light of future publishing capability. That is actually one of the reasons I've opted for the more claw-your-way-up Indie Author route. I don't have to answer to a contract from a publishing house, so I can write wherever I want. I think blogs are the acceptable way for writers to get words out without having a contract breathing down their neck. You get this sense of freedom for the length of the blog entry. It doesn't even matter if someone ever reads it, because the writer can go back and re-read something and say "Hey! That's not a bad idea. I can turn that into a chapter!"
I actually forget a lot of what happens day-to-day if I don't note it somewhere. I rely quite heavily on the written word, verifying and double-checking my memories when things don't quite match up. I'm one of those (seriously annoying) people who is lucky to remember what they've just said. It's much easier to hold a conversation with me via text, E-Mail or IM than verbally, mainly because of that memory thing. It's like my brain has to fart out these thoughts, after which it can let them disappear into the ether without bothering to store them. Don't ask me "What?" because I'll say "huh?" and we'll wind up in a never-ending state of confusion. Just pretend I said something deeply profound and necessary, and feel the resonation deep in your soul.
So, setting a 26 day goal of blogging every day isn't a bad idea. I rely heavily on Google Calendar (I LOVE GOOGLE! I don't like the blogger platform though, don't take it personally) so I'm as-I-type-this simultaneously adding it to my calendar (I can't remember much but I do awesome at multi-tasking, go figure). At lunch-time sharp every day for the next 26 days, I will write a blog! I'll set a minimum wordcount of...hey, that's a good idea for a blog! "What is an acceptable minimum wordcount for a blog entry?" Right, I'll go research that and get back to you tomorrow. Sweet!
A fellow writer set a goal of one blog a week (minimum) and wound up with a few extra blogs on top of that for the past year. I'm shocked if I write two in one month. It isn't really that I rationalize and procrastinate my week away, but more along the lines of really not having anything to blog about. At one point I considered writing short stories instead of regaling people with boring personal tales. My brother-in-law managed to convince me against that, particularly in light of future publishing capability. That is actually one of the reasons I've opted for the more claw-your-way-up Indie Author route. I don't have to answer to a contract from a publishing house, so I can write wherever I want. I think blogs are the acceptable way for writers to get words out without having a contract breathing down their neck. You get this sense of freedom for the length of the blog entry. It doesn't even matter if someone ever reads it, because the writer can go back and re-read something and say "Hey! That's not a bad idea. I can turn that into a chapter!"
I actually forget a lot of what happens day-to-day if I don't note it somewhere. I rely quite heavily on the written word, verifying and double-checking my memories when things don't quite match up. I'm one of those (seriously annoying) people who is lucky to remember what they've just said. It's much easier to hold a conversation with me via text, E-Mail or IM than verbally, mainly because of that memory thing. It's like my brain has to fart out these thoughts, after which it can let them disappear into the ether without bothering to store them. Don't ask me "What?" because I'll say "huh?" and we'll wind up in a never-ending state of confusion. Just pretend I said something deeply profound and necessary, and feel the resonation deep in your soul.
So, setting a 26 day goal of blogging every day isn't a bad idea. I rely heavily on Google Calendar (I LOVE GOOGLE! I don't like the blogger platform though, don't take it personally) so I'm as-I-type-this simultaneously adding it to my calendar (I can't remember much but I do awesome at multi-tasking, go figure). At lunch-time sharp every day for the next 26 days, I will write a blog! I'll set a minimum wordcount of...hey, that's a good idea for a blog! "What is an acceptable minimum wordcount for a blog entry?" Right, I'll go research that and get back to you tomorrow. Sweet!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Smashwords and Birthdays
My two Kindle books are now also on Smashwords! The first two books I've uploaded are Free: "A Joyful Journey" and "The Fantastical Tales of Ben Phelan: Story One." You can view my Smashwords page here. They're micro stories, which is why I intentionally made them free. They are also slightly different from the Kindle versions (updated story, different "book extras" like "Upcoming Books," etc), which will be corrected in time. The stories themselves are intrinsically the same but some suggestions from my readers were implemented.
The Smashwords "Meatgrinder," one of the most beloved and hated aspects of Smashwords, was successfully satisfied with my .doc! Woot! Thank you work for that $10 copy of MS Office xD Oh, and MS for the HUP. In any case, I followed the "Style Guide" to the T and the Meatgrinder said "om nom nom you should make more properly formatted word documents for me to consume!" I'll definitely do that, you gorgeous software machine, count on it! Since the Meatgrinder digested them so easily, they're already approved for Premium services and will be dispatched to all the normal places as a free eBook within the next few weeks. Exciting!
Meryl's story is progressing nicely and I hope to have her story finished by the end of September. That original hump appears to be part of a past era, with all of the characters (except the two main ones) ready and willing to share their love lives and personal failures. By October, I'll need some people to market the book with and provide their input on how many times characters smile and sigh, or whatever mine do the most. Mine seem to talk a lot. Sounds like someone else I know *Cough* Jaiden *Cough*.
In other news (like life), my baby brother just turned 13! I know what you're thinking!! You're thinking "Wow, so young! How can you already have two children?" Well just FYI, our older sister has two children too. Our baby brother is almost two decades younger than us :P Perhaps something like that should make it into a novel...hmm! He's already an uncle four times over with the youngest my almost-one-year-old daughter Deia. The oldest is that Jaiden kid who just started first grade (and whose teacher informed my husband "Jaiden talks a LOT, I mean a LOT." Yep, that's our kid! His baby sister Deia talks just as much, especially to her food. Perhaps in time we'll find out what she's telling those M&Ms and that bacon, but we like to surmise it's things like "I'm going to EAT you and then DIGEST you and then fill up my diaper with you!!"
Happy Back To School, folks! Try not to school too hard. The last few months of the year are always relegated to enjoying life as much as possible before you have to spend the beginning of next year following your New Year's resolutions! Cheesecake, anyone? Mmmmmm.
The Smashwords "Meatgrinder," one of the most beloved and hated aspects of Smashwords, was successfully satisfied with my .doc! Woot! Thank you work for that $10 copy of MS Office xD Oh, and MS for the HUP. In any case, I followed the "Style Guide" to the T and the Meatgrinder said "om nom nom you should make more properly formatted word documents for me to consume!" I'll definitely do that, you gorgeous software machine, count on it! Since the Meatgrinder digested them so easily, they're already approved for Premium services and will be dispatched to all the normal places as a free eBook within the next few weeks. Exciting!
Meryl's story is progressing nicely and I hope to have her story finished by the end of September. That original hump appears to be part of a past era, with all of the characters (except the two main ones) ready and willing to share their love lives and personal failures. By October, I'll need some people to market the book with and provide their input on how many times characters smile and sigh, or whatever mine do the most. Mine seem to talk a lot. Sounds like someone else I know *Cough* Jaiden *Cough*.
In other news (like life), my baby brother just turned 13! I know what you're thinking!! You're thinking "Wow, so young! How can you already have two children?" Well just FYI, our older sister has two children too. Our baby brother is almost two decades younger than us :P Perhaps something like that should make it into a novel...hmm! He's already an uncle four times over with the youngest my almost-one-year-old daughter Deia. The oldest is that Jaiden kid who just started first grade (and whose teacher informed my husband "Jaiden talks a LOT, I mean a LOT." Yep, that's our kid! His baby sister Deia talks just as much, especially to her food. Perhaps in time we'll find out what she's telling those M&Ms and that bacon, but we like to surmise it's things like "I'm going to EAT you and then DIGEST you and then fill up my diaper with you!!"
Happy Back To School, folks! Try not to school too hard. The last few months of the year are always relegated to enjoying life as much as possible before you have to spend the beginning of next year following your New Year's resolutions! Cheesecake, anyone? Mmmmmm.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
NaNoWriMo, Life, Nephew's Book
First things first! My nephew wrote a book a few years ago and it's finally all published! It was actually published a while ago, but I haven't updated since it went on sale, so I'm mentioning it now. You can get it on createspace here: Daddy is Tired - Createspace, or on Amazon here: Daddy is Tired - Amazon. The story was written by my Brother-in-Law's son, it's published by Plasma Spyglass Press, and the art is done by http://artkitty.net (me!). All proceeds go to a very smart almost-7-year-old (his birthday is in a few weeks) for his education. We keep requesting sequels, so maybe there'll be another one soon! :)
Now, as you should all know, November is NaNoWriMo month. The goal of the project is to write an entire book in a month. Not necessarily an OMG PERFECT BOOK, just a draft, but a COMPLETED draft. It's ~50,000 words written over the course of the entire month (no cheating by writing it in October!), ultimately turning into a polished edited version (in the proceeding months). For many folks it's their first finished work, done in a supportive group setting, and gets them to think in a more authorly manner. Just FYI - authors make up words like "authorly" all the time. I'm actually half serious in that statement: how do you think the dictionary got so big?
Now, RE: Life; my daughter is almost a year old! Time sure has flown from those late months of pregnancy to a year-old grouchy baby girl (she's pouting at me as I type because she really wants to help me type). She's almost 11 months old and already taking a few tentative steps between the table and Daddy's knee.
My elbow has been absolutely fantastic since the surgery. It required a few months of patience and stretches to get it to the same flexibility it was at four years ago. My left arm still bends further back (that arm actually bends back further than the "normal" straight), but my right arm's as straight as arms normally get. I still have some trouble when I bend it, but it loosens up pretty quickly.
I've been using http://yarny.me to write while preparing for NaNoWriMo to begin. So far I'm enjoying the site very much. It's got the same features as yWriter, but all web-based, so if you don't have Internet you can't write. They are working on an Android version, which I'll probably get a Premium account to use so I can write on my phone.
As far as Meryl's story, I'm at 18k words. Still around 8k words on Sara's story. In the meantime I'm pondering storylines that will fit a 50k word limit (hah, like 10k words is easy...yea right!).
Is anybody else going to participate in NaNoWriMo? What genres are you considering?
Now, as you should all know, November is NaNoWriMo month. The goal of the project is to write an entire book in a month. Not necessarily an OMG PERFECT BOOK, just a draft, but a COMPLETED draft. It's ~50,000 words written over the course of the entire month (no cheating by writing it in October!), ultimately turning into a polished edited version (in the proceeding months). For many folks it's their first finished work, done in a supportive group setting, and gets them to think in a more authorly manner. Just FYI - authors make up words like "authorly" all the time. I'm actually half serious in that statement: how do you think the dictionary got so big?
Now, RE: Life; my daughter is almost a year old! Time sure has flown from those late months of pregnancy to a year-old grouchy baby girl (she's pouting at me as I type because she really wants to help me type). She's almost 11 months old and already taking a few tentative steps between the table and Daddy's knee.
My elbow has been absolutely fantastic since the surgery. It required a few months of patience and stretches to get it to the same flexibility it was at four years ago. My left arm still bends further back (that arm actually bends back further than the "normal" straight), but my right arm's as straight as arms normally get. I still have some trouble when I bend it, but it loosens up pretty quickly.
I've been using http://yarny.me to write while preparing for NaNoWriMo to begin. So far I'm enjoying the site very much. It's got the same features as yWriter, but all web-based, so if you don't have Internet you can't write. They are working on an Android version, which I'll probably get a Premium account to use so I can write on my phone.
As far as Meryl's story, I'm at 18k words. Still around 8k words on Sara's story. In the meantime I'm pondering storylines that will fit a 50k word limit (hah, like 10k words is easy...yea right!).
Is anybody else going to participate in NaNoWriMo? What genres are you considering?
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