I had to split this entry up, or risk a non sequitur so heinous that the harsh discontinuity between the adjacent units of prose would have been severe enough to throw a boot in the proverbial gears of the universe. The resulting thunderclap (smelling of pink) would subsequently have completely erased the existence of the letter 'e' from every alphabet, everywhere.
Ever.
Until I realized my mistake and corrected it, of course, but who knows how long that would have takn? Luckily it wasn't so! That would have bin horribl in-dead.
A Siris of Mini-Updaits:
1. I just got a huge box full of books! I rearranged my bookshelf to fit them and it is now epic! I have a lot of reading to do! Heaven!
2. The renovations are done, and my workspace is beautiful! And I am no longer living out of the living room!
2. I am thankful for there being two sessions of Camp NaNoWriMo. Hopefully August will be nicer to me than July. That whole experience (see Part 1), coupled with my luck for any wrimo/month challenge I attempted after NaNo10, has left me paranoid, and I dread something else happening to prevent me from winning this time.
Oh, please let this work!
8.01.2011
An Old Madness Hath Taken Hold Of Me, Part I
Oh, goodness. It's been a while. Homework ate my life. It's still got two more days to devour until summer class ends, but whatever. I am updating my blog right now.
The whole Camp Nano/JulNo thing was a bust. I did a 5k marathon of words on the first day, and then after that...nothing. I had homework out the stinky, dripping wazoo* and this had to take precedence over all else. It can be argued that where there's a way there's a will, and that the persistent mind can always find time to write.
But Guilt is a harsh mistress.
Not even the harshest self-critical rantings and self-esteem-leeching nitpickings and brain-whippings of the most tyrannical Inner Editor can reduce you to a pile of soggy, cringing, whining emotional pulp as quickly or as effectively as a single glance of Guilt can, and not even the wildest wiles, or the most exhilarating inspiration of the Muse can build you up again. That is not to say that the justice of Guilt is not tempered with mercy, for she acknowledges the need to wind down and take breaks once in a while. She fosters productivity, not panic attacks, and she certainly withdrew herself to allow me leisure to read books, and to watch TV, and to eat unhealthily sugary things. But the sheer amount of work I had left to do, and the importance of it, precluded the option of me putting it off to write. As Guilt so aptly pointed out, if I had the energy to write, then I had the energy to code.
Then she merely flicked her little finger, and slashed me with her whip (it's made of deadlines) until I bled in binary.***
I can't blame Guilt. She was just doing her job, as was I.
I blame this on July. I thought I knew you. I thought you were my friend, July. You have ever been true and faithful to me, and I knew not the betrayal lurking on the horizon. I was looking forward to our time alone together, in the heat and lazy haze of summer. It seems this was not to be, for you turned out to be a backstabbing blackhearted anthropomorphosized chronological entity, sapping the joy of the season with your fluorescent sponge of academia and mental anguish.
July, my cursed love, I lay thee to rest, and hope that the future may one day bring summer again for us.
*Shurmann's Dictionary of Infinite Verse defines this as a small fruit of uncertain origin, after it's been rotting in the fridge for a while**
**Shurmann's Dictionary exists in the nonexistential plane. It's just like Earth, except that written words smell strangely purple, and they tend to read you back.
***Not literally, but that would be pretty cool.
The whole Camp Nano/JulNo thing was a bust. I did a 5k marathon of words on the first day, and then after that...nothing. I had homework out the stinky, dripping wazoo* and this had to take precedence over all else. It can be argued that where there's a way there's a will, and that the persistent mind can always find time to write.
But Guilt is a harsh mistress.
Not even the harshest self-critical rantings and self-esteem-leeching nitpickings and brain-whippings of the most tyrannical Inner Editor can reduce you to a pile of soggy, cringing, whining emotional pulp as quickly or as effectively as a single glance of Guilt can, and not even the wildest wiles, or the most exhilarating inspiration of the Muse can build you up again. That is not to say that the justice of Guilt is not tempered with mercy, for she acknowledges the need to wind down and take breaks once in a while. She fosters productivity, not panic attacks, and she certainly withdrew herself to allow me leisure to read books, and to watch TV, and to eat unhealthily sugary things. But the sheer amount of work I had left to do, and the importance of it, precluded the option of me putting it off to write. As Guilt so aptly pointed out, if I had the energy to write, then I had the energy to code.
Then she merely flicked her little finger, and slashed me with her whip (it's made of deadlines) until I bled in binary.***
I can't blame Guilt. She was just doing her job, as was I.
I blame this on July. I thought I knew you. I thought you were my friend, July. You have ever been true and faithful to me, and I knew not the betrayal lurking on the horizon. I was looking forward to our time alone together, in the heat and lazy haze of summer. It seems this was not to be, for you turned out to be a backstabbing blackhearted anthropomorphosized chronological entity, sapping the joy of the season with your fluorescent sponge of academia and mental anguish.
July, my cursed love, I lay thee to rest, and hope that the future may one day bring summer again for us.
*Shurmann's Dictionary of Infinite Verse defines this as a small fruit of uncertain origin, after it's been rotting in the fridge for a while**
**Shurmann's Dictionary exists in the nonexistential plane. It's just like Earth, except that written words smell strangely purple, and they tend to read you back.
***Not literally, but that would be pretty cool.
7.01.2011
I'm a nut. And loving it!
At the very last moment, I decided to do Camp Nano as well! It's July 1st, and I still have no idea what I'm going to work on. I won't do anything new, since I have too many ideas on hiatus.
Possibilities:
- Harry Potter fanfiction
- The Amber of Time (previously The Amber Node) This one has several storylines, any of which I could choose for Camp NaNo.
- Fireline (working title) - The old idea I was working on in high school. :-)
- Scroungers: Earth (working title) - The one about the girl who lives on a post-apocalyptic Earth who is forcibly deported off-planet among other survivors, and who struggles to adjust to a new society. I've been sitting on this one since sixth grade. :-)
I think I must be stark raving mad.
Speaking of which, it's July 1st, and my word count is still at a big fat zero! Must get writing!
6.28.2011
I can't get enough of these things. I must be insane.
In two days, JulNoWriMo begins. Currently, I have a school project going on (and on...and on...), much carpet ripping, painting, caulking, etc. to do, and a ten-day limited-computer-use NUISANCE (in the middle of July!) in the works. I haven't won a single writing challenge since NaNoWriMo'10. I might be biting off more than I can chew...again.
One thing that's keeping me going is the fact that I roped my sister and cousin into doing it with me. They've agreed. Now I just have to remind them. It's all too likely they've forgotten. :-)
I found some more old pictures on my hard drive, which I plan on putting up here. However, my computer is currently unplugged and camping out on the floor of my sister's room, while my own room is undergoing metamorphosis. So no pictures for a while until it's back on my desk (which, I should say, is clogging up half the living room).
Right. Off to brainstorm for JulNo. That was a lie. I'm really procrastinating.
One thing that's keeping me going is the fact that I roped my sister and cousin into doing it with me. They've agreed. Now I just have to remind them. It's all too likely they've forgotten. :-)
I found some more old pictures on my hard drive, which I plan on putting up here. However, my computer is currently unplugged and camping out on the floor of my sister's room, while my own room is undergoing metamorphosis. So no pictures for a while until it's back on my desk (which, I should say, is clogging up half the living room).
Right. Off to brainstorm for JulNo. That was a lie. I'm really procrastinating.
6.21.2011
Change is Turmoil: This is my emo moment.
An empty bookshelf is like a skull. Everything that gave it life has been stripped away. The shelves gape like empty eye sockets. It is the saddest thing in the world.
On the writing front:
As soon as I said I'd hold auctions for the MCs for my JulNo, I suddenly realized I knew already. Go figure! The winners: Jason and Destiny! As for the others, no one loses. Mary Sue and Barin will have secondary roles, Gavrel (now Gareth) and Slythin have moved to another idea, and everyone else will be...recycled. Not as scary as it sounds.
I had meant to put up sketches of my MCs with this post, but this is proving to be a very complicated matter, largely based on the fact that I'm not a very good artist. I have no sense of proportion, I can't shade, FORGET coloring, I suck at arms and hands, I'm terrible with faces, and I just can't draw men period. (Sorry Jason. I will give you a nice face as soon as I can, I promise.) Usually I just avoid these problems by sticking to women, drawing them with their hands behind their back, and going for a more cartoony approach.
So given all this, why do I even bother? I don't know...I guess I just live for that one accidental moment when I get it right.
I had a small triumph of sorts today when I tried drawing Destiny's face and halfway through I realized it was a completely different character (call her R). I went ahead and finished drawing R's head, and the resemblance is close enough for me to be happy about it. :-D
A dilemma denied:
Any of the following three things will make me write.
On a last note:
I've been going through my old files, and finding a lot of stuff I drew a long time ago. To atone for my lack of illustrations, I will now leave you with this comic I found! Considering what time it is and what's been going on lately, it sums up my mental state very well.
On the writing front:
As soon as I said I'd hold auctions for the MCs for my JulNo, I suddenly realized I knew already. Go figure! The winners: Jason and Destiny! As for the others, no one loses. Mary Sue and Barin will have secondary roles, Gavrel (now Gareth) and Slythin have moved to another idea, and everyone else will be...recycled. Not as scary as it sounds.
I had meant to put up sketches of my MCs with this post, but this is proving to be a very complicated matter, largely based on the fact that I'm not a very good artist. I have no sense of proportion, I can't shade, FORGET coloring, I suck at arms and hands, I'm terrible with faces, and I just can't draw men period. (Sorry Jason. I will give you a nice face as soon as I can, I promise.) Usually I just avoid these problems by sticking to women, drawing them with their hands behind their back, and going for a more cartoony approach.
So given all this, why do I even bother? I don't know...I guess I just live for that one accidental moment when I get it right.
I had a small triumph of sorts today when I tried drawing Destiny's face and halfway through I realized it was a completely different character (call her R). I went ahead and finished drawing R's head, and the resemblance is close enough for me to be happy about it. :-D
A dilemma denied:
Any of the following three things will make me write.
- General Feedback
- Someone anticipating reading more
- Competition.
On a last note:
I've been going through my old files, and finding a lot of stuff I drew a long time ago. To atone for my lack of illustrations, I will now leave you with this comic I found! Considering what time it is and what's been going on lately, it sums up my mental state very well.
6.08.2011
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
I shall gather my resources and try again. This time I will win.
The madness begins again on July 1st. For real, this time. Summer. No finals. No work. No interference.
So I won't really re-hash my JulNo idea much here, since (unusually) I've told everybody but the kitchen sink, and that's because it hasn't got ears. (Got quite a mouth on it though! It won't shut up about its mother in law! And it tends to go nom nom nom in the middle of the night while it eats our forks. Comfort food to stave off the depression, apparently.)
The gist (for those who live in a box):
Storyland is a magical place where stories are built, and it is ruled by the great and wise Narrator, who ensures that all characters have their place, that all plot holes are closed, and that all stories end appropriately. Then the evil Ineffable Wizard, who wants all the stories for himself, kidnaps the Narrator and imprisons him. Chaos reigns. The Ineffable Wizard destroys existing stories, enslaving all the characters for his own personal epic. It is up to the MCs to go on a quest to find the Magical Maguffin, an object that will help them to free the Narrator, and restore order to Storyland.
Which brings me to my next point. Usually I start with a character and build a plot for them. This time I have no idea who my main characters are. Awkward. So I will be holding auditions for the role!
Epic quest! Fun! Danger! Adventure! Magic! Deadly enemies! Small hope of success! Huge likelihood of painful tortuous death! A chance to get the girl!
Contenders:
So that's that for now. I will post a cover or banner as soon as I finish making it.
The madness begins again on July 1st. For real, this time. Summer. No finals. No work. No interference.
So I won't really re-hash my JulNo idea much here, since (unusually) I've told everybody but the kitchen sink, and that's because it hasn't got ears. (Got quite a mouth on it though! It won't shut up about its mother in law! And it tends to go nom nom nom in the middle of the night while it eats our forks. Comfort food to stave off the depression, apparently.)
The gist (for those who live in a box):
Storyland is a magical place where stories are built, and it is ruled by the great and wise Narrator, who ensures that all characters have their place, that all plot holes are closed, and that all stories end appropriately. Then the evil Ineffable Wizard, who wants all the stories for himself, kidnaps the Narrator and imprisons him. Chaos reigns. The Ineffable Wizard destroys existing stories, enslaving all the characters for his own personal epic. It is up to the MCs to go on a quest to find the Magical Maguffin, an object that will help them to free the Narrator, and restore order to Storyland.
Which brings me to my next point. Usually I start with a character and build a plot for them. This time I have no idea who my main characters are. Awkward. So I will be holding auditions for the role!
Epic quest! Fun! Danger! Adventure! Magic! Deadly enemies! Small hope of success! Huge likelihood of painful tortuous death! A chance to get the girl!
Contenders:
- Jason - A magic flying boy who is allergic to gravity.
- Destiny - A damsel in distress in training whose destiny it is to face her destiny.
- Barin - A shy young secretary who's lived in the shadow of his heroic brother Garin all his life.
- Slythin Brenyssen - The most clever con man ever. He's such a good con man that even he doesn't know he's a con man. *wink* *grin with flashing teeth*
- Metonema Necrostophyte - a deadly assassin who can kill with a paintbrush. Possibly telepathic.
- Gavrel Urthhart - A young farm boy who has no clue what's about to hit him.
- Mary Sue - A hopelessly perfect multi-talented incarnation of the author who has a disturbing tendency to have a personality.
- Horus Whyten - An artist who has the gift of making everything in his art come true.
So that's that for now. I will post a cover or banner as soon as I finish making it.
5.07.2011
BORGoooooooosh! Or, A Change of Pace
So, Screnzy is over. The final score? 16 pages / 100 goal.
=/
Whatever.
In any case, my play, which was supposed to be an emotional tense drama, has snowballed into a cheeseball time-traveling comedic farce. I hit my all-time low whenI banged out the last four pages at two in the morning; I named one of the characters Shaneeequa and my bad guy has a creepy teddy bear whose face keeps changing in every scene.
Other than that, summer has started and I am chilling. My break is still ON! No worries or woes or guilt.
So I have decided that as an exercise in writing, I am going to try for conciseness, because my blog posts are rambling picture-less behemoths.
Um, yes. So I guess I've failed at that in this one. :-P
Except for the picture-less bit. Here's a quick sketch I did of Luke, the main character of my Screnzy. I have no idea what Luke looks like, but I know this looks nothing like him.
Er...yes. I know it's the back of his head. It was supposed to go on a banner, where he's gazing off into the distance in a pool of darkness, but I didn't finish it before Screnzy ended.
KTHXBAAII lulz!
=/
Whatever.
In any case, my play, which was supposed to be an emotional tense drama, has snowballed into a cheeseball time-traveling comedic farce. I hit my all-time low whenI banged out the last four pages at two in the morning; I named one of the characters Shaneeequa and my bad guy has a creepy teddy bear whose face keeps changing in every scene.
Other than that, summer has started and I am chilling. My break is still ON! No worries or woes or guilt.
So I have decided that as an exercise in writing, I am going to try for conciseness, because my blog posts are rambling picture-less behemoths.
Um, yes. So I guess I've failed at that in this one. :-P
Except for the picture-less bit. Here's a quick sketch I did of Luke, the main character of my Screnzy. I have no idea what Luke looks like, but I know this looks nothing like him.
Er...yes. I know it's the back of his head. It was supposed to go on a banner, where he's gazing off into the distance in a pool of darkness, but I didn't finish it before Screnzy ended.
KTHXBAAII lulz!
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