I just love those weeks which seem interminably long. It's like crawling on hands and knees through a couple of inches of mud, uphill with nothing but your fingernails to secure a hold. Fine, that might be a little bit overly dramatic, but it is just one of those weeks for me. Probably every other week is one of those weeks for me.
I'm definitely getting restless. Trying to work, go to school, add overtime a little bit, cook homemade meals and do a bunch of other things is so crazy to try and juggle. Writing? Wait, what's that? Oh yeah, that's just the weird thing I'm trying to go to school for. Whatever, zzzzz. That's pretty much a synopsis of every day for me. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Most likely. Will I ever learn from those kinds of experiences? Probably not. Will I regret trying to go five million different directions at the same time? I don't think so, but perhaps you should ask me that again in a few years. I may just be buried under the half-finished pile of manuscripts which fizzled out and died before finding their way to completion.
Even if I am taking on a little too much, I like the challenge. I can see how much I can do, and it will either force me to rise to the occasion or I'll have to re-prioritize and only "juggle" the things which are most important in my life.
Sorry, really random, I know. Hope you all have a great rest of the week and a great weekend!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesdays are for Randomness
Hello all! (warning, randomness ahead)
You know something about Tuesday? It's a little bit "meh". It's just sandwiched in between horrendous Mondays and then the more awesome middle-of-the-week Wednesdays. Poor Tuesday. I feel like Tuesdays get a bad rep because they're so close to Mondays.
Anywho, I have been hiding out in my kitchen lately trying all sorts of new recipes. It's been so much fun and I actually think it has helped my creativity. Plus, I just feel so much better making homemade meals. The fewer the preservatives and pesticides that go into my system, the better. This is actually completely uncharted territory for me. I bake things like fish and chicken and can throw a few spices on, but that's not really something I consider "cooking". I'm very proud of myself because I've made homemade mac & cheese, and a host of other awesome things. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It has saved me from culinary boredom. I would not have thought though, that being creative in the kitchen would have done anything for my writing.
Strangely enough though, I feel as though it has enhanced my creativity this week and have been able to write more than I expected. It is a great feeling, so I'm chalking up my recent culinary inquisitiveness to a serendipitous diversion. I love hobbies. Cartooning is quickly becoming another hobby that I'm enjoying, though I'm not terribly good at it. It's one of those things I'll still do, just because I like it. So yes, a bit random, okay fine. A lot of randomness today. But it's cool, right? Anyhow, back to contemplating life as I know it.
Happy Tuesday!
You know something about Tuesday? It's a little bit "meh". It's just sandwiched in between horrendous Mondays and then the more awesome middle-of-the-week Wednesdays. Poor Tuesday. I feel like Tuesdays get a bad rep because they're so close to Mondays.
Anywho, I have been hiding out in my kitchen lately trying all sorts of new recipes. It's been so much fun and I actually think it has helped my creativity. Plus, I just feel so much better making homemade meals. The fewer the preservatives and pesticides that go into my system, the better. This is actually completely uncharted territory for me. I bake things like fish and chicken and can throw a few spices on, but that's not really something I consider "cooking". I'm very proud of myself because I've made homemade mac & cheese, and a host of other awesome things. Thank goodness for Pinterest. It has saved me from culinary boredom. I would not have thought though, that being creative in the kitchen would have done anything for my writing.
Strangely enough though, I feel as though it has enhanced my creativity this week and have been able to write more than I expected. It is a great feeling, so I'm chalking up my recent culinary inquisitiveness to a serendipitous diversion. I love hobbies. Cartooning is quickly becoming another hobby that I'm enjoying, though I'm not terribly good at it. It's one of those things I'll still do, just because I like it. So yes, a bit random, okay fine. A lot of randomness today. But it's cool, right? Anyhow, back to contemplating life as I know it.
Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
What If I....
Today I'm feeling the need for insipid posts about "What If I...".
What if I had a superpower? What would that be like? I could put away my random thought (generated by a dream, just so you know. I'm really not THAT weird. Well..I probably AM that weird. ), or I could pursue this. I'm convinced that every dream has an element in it that could make a great story or scene.
So at first I think of all the awesome things I could do if I had a super power. Then I realize that if I truly did have a super power, things would not be all "Superman". In fact, I would probably be pursued by numerous governments who might send officials to "diplomatically" sway me to work on their behalf. If I refused, I imagine that some countries would pursue a less legitimate way of acquiring my services. This could be a story of avoiding said governments and what might happen in the end. Realistically I would die, or the governments might find a way to control my mind, overriding my own will (through scientific means, or harming those I care about).
Another way the story could go, is that I find others like me and we band together and try to fight the entities, going public with the situation to generate awareness and prevent ourselves from falling quiet victims to the governments. This could fail or succeed depending on how the story goes. Then there could be a story where someone turns me over to the government and they run tests and begin trying to make replicas of my super power in other people.
Well, I think you get the point. Just by asking one seemingly ridiculous question, I have multiple story possibilities. All it took was a few people to ask that very question and we have a world of superheros and comics that span years and still win the hearts of many. It only takes one person to ask that "what if" question. Don't be afraid to be that person.
What if I had a superpower? What would that be like? I could put away my random thought (generated by a dream, just so you know. I'm really not THAT weird. Well..I probably AM that weird. ), or I could pursue this. I'm convinced that every dream has an element in it that could make a great story or scene.
So at first I think of all the awesome things I could do if I had a super power. Then I realize that if I truly did have a super power, things would not be all "Superman". In fact, I would probably be pursued by numerous governments who might send officials to "diplomatically" sway me to work on their behalf. If I refused, I imagine that some countries would pursue a less legitimate way of acquiring my services. This could be a story of avoiding said governments and what might happen in the end. Realistically I would die, or the governments might find a way to control my mind, overriding my own will (through scientific means, or harming those I care about).
Another way the story could go, is that I find others like me and we band together and try to fight the entities, going public with the situation to generate awareness and prevent ourselves from falling quiet victims to the governments. This could fail or succeed depending on how the story goes. Then there could be a story where someone turns me over to the government and they run tests and begin trying to make replicas of my super power in other people.
Well, I think you get the point. Just by asking one seemingly ridiculous question, I have multiple story possibilities. All it took was a few people to ask that very question and we have a world of superheros and comics that span years and still win the hearts of many. It only takes one person to ask that "what if" question. Don't be afraid to be that person.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Yay! My Review of Alison Goodmans novel, "Eon"
Finally! My long-awaited
review of the book Eon, by Alison
Goodman.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Multitasking in Writing
Not sure if multitasking is the greatest thing for a writer to do, it is like self-inflicted ADD.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
What Beginning Writers Can Learn From Stephanie Meyer
Ah, Stephanie Meyer and her world of sparkly vampires. Many people will be gagging as they read this title, some will be affronted by the mere mention of her name in relation to literature. Today, I am not discussing anything regarding the merits or mistakes in her books. For those of you who found sparkly vampires insipid and irritating, I recommend checking out her book The Host, instead. The Host is more evolved in terms of character development and psychology.
Today, the reason I am bothering to step into the maelstrom is to share her down-to-earth representation of how Twilight originated. She is amazingly humble and in this video interview a number of things stood out. As a "beginning" writer of sorts, I find it very inspiring to see the similarities between her published books and my own writing process. It is a short video, so I'm going to expound on what I derived from the video. It is really interesting to note that when she wrote the book, she had absolutely no intentions of ever sharing it with the world.
Here's a few things from the video that I found interesting and/or helpful:
1) Write down your dreams. Whenever I have vivid dreams, I always try to find time to write them down.
2) Be curious. Ask the next questions, "what if my character had an abusive childhood?", or "what makes this character unique?"
3) Take away the pressure of performance if you can, just engage your curiosity so you can complete a story
4) Be excited about finishing a story, it's an awesome feeling, even if you know you need to redo half of it
5) Don't be afraid to ePublish or submit your manuscript. You might get rejected, but it's better than never trying.
6) Don't worry about audience too much, your audience will make itself known
7) Try to find a support group, whether it is friends, family or solely online
8) Ignore the haters (not mentioned in the video but definitely applicable). If your goal is to sell copies of your book and you accomplish that goal, ignore harsh criticisms and let yourself enjoy your success
In addition to these things, I would say not to give up. If writing is something you really like to do, you will do it even if you are not a well-known writer. Hopefully, you will enjoy a measure of success if that is your goal, but a writer will write no matter what. It brings joy, and in my case I feel it helps me keep my sanity. Never underestimate something as simple as a dream or nightmare, you never know when a full-blown story may pop up. The timing on finding this interview is very interesting to me; this past week I was inundated by extremely vivid dreams which had absolutely nothing to do with anything I read or watched. It was very encouraging to hear that Stephanie Meyer's successful Twilight series was born under similar circumstances.
So, take heart writers! You do not have to be a literary guru, you just have to tell a story that other people want to read. Pick up that pencil and keep writing! :)
That is all for today!
-Ninjawriter
Today, the reason I am bothering to step into the maelstrom is to share her down-to-earth representation of how Twilight originated. She is amazingly humble and in this video interview a number of things stood out. As a "beginning" writer of sorts, I find it very inspiring to see the similarities between her published books and my own writing process. It is a short video, so I'm going to expound on what I derived from the video. It is really interesting to note that when she wrote the book, she had absolutely no intentions of ever sharing it with the world.
Here's a few things from the video that I found interesting and/or helpful:
1) Write down your dreams. Whenever I have vivid dreams, I always try to find time to write them down.
2) Be curious. Ask the next questions, "what if my character had an abusive childhood?", or "what makes this character unique?"
3) Take away the pressure of performance if you can, just engage your curiosity so you can complete a story
4) Be excited about finishing a story, it's an awesome feeling, even if you know you need to redo half of it
5) Don't be afraid to ePublish or submit your manuscript. You might get rejected, but it's better than never trying.
6) Don't worry about audience too much, your audience will make itself known
7) Try to find a support group, whether it is friends, family or solely online
8) Ignore the haters (not mentioned in the video but definitely applicable). If your goal is to sell copies of your book and you accomplish that goal, ignore harsh criticisms and let yourself enjoy your success
In addition to these things, I would say not to give up. If writing is something you really like to do, you will do it even if you are not a well-known writer. Hopefully, you will enjoy a measure of success if that is your goal, but a writer will write no matter what. It brings joy, and in my case I feel it helps me keep my sanity. Never underestimate something as simple as a dream or nightmare, you never know when a full-blown story may pop up. The timing on finding this interview is very interesting to me; this past week I was inundated by extremely vivid dreams which had absolutely nothing to do with anything I read or watched. It was very encouraging to hear that Stephanie Meyer's successful Twilight series was born under similar circumstances.
So, take heart writers! You do not have to be a literary guru, you just have to tell a story that other people want to read. Pick up that pencil and keep writing! :)
That is all for today!
-Ninjawriter
Thursday, August 9, 2012
On the Subject of Podcasts...Beware!
Today, is more of a rant. I should not rant because I have never done a podcast and now am a little more leery of doing one than I was before. I know that people may not want to sound scripted on a podcast, but you really really should have some type of script. If you don't have a script, maybe have some notecards or a bulleted sheet of the points you want to cover. I guess what I am saying is please, please have a direction. Do not stop to collect $200, just go. Here is my theory on podcasts, a blog entry can be like a cup of coffee. A person can read it at his or her leisure, taking time to reread sections if and when necessary, or stop when they want. One can read as quickly or as slowly as one prefers. Since a podcast cannot really be adjusted speedwise (fast forwarding does not count), it makes scripting that much more important.
I had to listen to some podcasts today and really the only description I can come up with at the moment is "excruciating", and that is after two cups of caffeinated coffee, one decaf cup, and now a cherry amp. I managed to be bored and simultaneously obtain a headache from listening to said podcasts. This is just a guess, but I do not think this is the effect the author was going for. I will just breakdown things that really annoyed me from a listener's perspective. Then if I ever make a podcast I can come back and reread this so I (hopefully) don't make the same mistakes.
1) Have a script, but make it flexible to follow the conversation (if conducting an interview)
2) Have backups when recording, there is nothing more frustrating than having a key part of the podcast simply "missing". It's like a bad movie trailer that cuts out at the part that tells you what the movie is about. I imagine this is also frustrating to the podcaster as well, so if you are recording on a computer, perhaps have a tape backup as well or another device also recording
3) Don't interrupt people you are interviewing, it is annoying to listen to and sometimes derails the original conversation
4) Podcasts are like espresso shots, they should be short and to-the-point (hence the need for a script)
5) Practice first, record yourself and play it back. If you sound like a ditzy person who has a hangover, keep practicing unless that is a persona you are playing in your podcast.
6) Editing...this is necessary, just like written word. Cut out unnecessary junk, pauses, etc. or re-record
7) Do not ramble. A podcast is not YouTube and therefore rambling and awkward pauses are not entertaining, just aggravating
8) It is okay to have a quirky jingle or tagline at the beginning of your podcast, it will be something that grabs the listeners attention and hopefully gets them excited to hear what you have to say
9) I am willing to listen to a lengthy podcast (one comes to mind with Nathan Fillion, on The Nerdist) as long as there are not tons of awkward pauses and the material is interesting
10) Please, no monotone unless it is a podcast to cure insomnia
11) Podcasts need to jump right in, there should be minimal into/warm-up time
So yeah. I know these are mostly negative but that is what I can come up with as I fight a podcast-induced headache right now. Just remember that a podcast should be like an espresso shot: short, memorable, to-the-point and packs a punch. I'm pretty sure if you remember that, along with the scripting and practicing...you'd be fine. I'll probably have to test the theory out in the future, but we shall see. Here's to headache-free podcasts!!
If you have podcasts you enjoy please feel free to share. I mentioned The Nerdist earlier, and I have enjoyed some of theirs although I don't always have enough time to listen to the entire podcasts. Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments! Have an awesome day!
I had to listen to some podcasts today and really the only description I can come up with at the moment is "excruciating", and that is after two cups of caffeinated coffee, one decaf cup, and now a cherry amp. I managed to be bored and simultaneously obtain a headache from listening to said podcasts. This is just a guess, but I do not think this is the effect the author was going for. I will just breakdown things that really annoyed me from a listener's perspective. Then if I ever make a podcast I can come back and reread this so I (hopefully) don't make the same mistakes.
1) Have a script, but make it flexible to follow the conversation (if conducting an interview)
2) Have backups when recording, there is nothing more frustrating than having a key part of the podcast simply "missing". It's like a bad movie trailer that cuts out at the part that tells you what the movie is about. I imagine this is also frustrating to the podcaster as well, so if you are recording on a computer, perhaps have a tape backup as well or another device also recording
3) Don't interrupt people you are interviewing, it is annoying to listen to and sometimes derails the original conversation
4) Podcasts are like espresso shots, they should be short and to-the-point (hence the need for a script)
5) Practice first, record yourself and play it back. If you sound like a ditzy person who has a hangover, keep practicing unless that is a persona you are playing in your podcast.
6) Editing...this is necessary, just like written word. Cut out unnecessary junk, pauses, etc. or re-record
7) Do not ramble. A podcast is not YouTube and therefore rambling and awkward pauses are not entertaining, just aggravating
8) It is okay to have a quirky jingle or tagline at the beginning of your podcast, it will be something that grabs the listeners attention and hopefully gets them excited to hear what you have to say
9) I am willing to listen to a lengthy podcast (one comes to mind with Nathan Fillion, on The Nerdist) as long as there are not tons of awkward pauses and the material is interesting
10) Please, no monotone unless it is a podcast to cure insomnia
11) Podcasts need to jump right in, there should be minimal into/warm-up time
So yeah. I know these are mostly negative but that is what I can come up with as I fight a podcast-induced headache right now. Just remember that a podcast should be like an espresso shot: short, memorable, to-the-point and packs a punch. I'm pretty sure if you remember that, along with the scripting and practicing...you'd be fine. I'll probably have to test the theory out in the future, but we shall see. Here's to headache-free podcasts!!
If you have podcasts you enjoy please feel free to share. I mentioned The Nerdist earlier, and I have enjoyed some of theirs although I don't always have enough time to listen to the entire podcasts. Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments! Have an awesome day!
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Writing Randomness, From the Heart
I should be doing something else right now, specifically
writing a paper, but I find myself needing to expound first. I know I will not be able to write anything
intelligible until I pontificate on something completely pointless or
random. Anyone else get those random
urges? Randomness is almost like a
disease or compulsion. Probably more of a
compulsion for me.
Anyhow, I am seriously having withdrawal from my
camera. I love love love my new camera
and I have been taking pictures with it, but I have not been able to get
outside and really exercise its capabilities except for one day when I found a
remarkable wasp specimen (sadly I believe it died in the extreme heat). I had to take a picture because its markings
were so clear and beautiful. It was not
exactly what I had in mind for picture-taking…I had been thinking more along
the lines of trees and meadows and such. Whatever works though, right? I really don’t
want to write my paper at the moment (I am sure you can tell), I would much prefer
to be writing more on The Chronicles of
Jane Windall, as well as another story that I am working on. I am not working on those stories right now
though, because I would feel too guilty to write well. I would be thinking about this paper that I
should be writing, but am not (or amn’t depending on where you are from).
When I feel stuck like this, I usually like to do something
completely contrary to what I should be doing and to what I need to do. Watching a movie, for example, usually helps
me a great deal. Sadly, I am unable to do that at the moment. I found myself thinking of what I will do
when I have my first successful book (hopefully sooner rather than later) and
decided that I would like to get a Tassimo coffee machine. It’s like having liquid creativity at your
fingertips! Coffee, tea, hot cocoa, cappuccino, latte…need I say more? In my ideal
world, when an author gets published, one of those machines would be a standard
accompaniment to the first paycheck. A
writer needs their caffeine stimulus, am I right? Perhaps I should opt for a
cruise instead, but I figure that the coffee machine will keep on giving back
for years to come. It’s like an
investment in my literary future. Hmm,
maybe I could declare that on my taxes.
I wonder if I were to put up a picture of the Tassimo coffee
maker, would it be an adequate motivator? Would I be more likely to complete my
writings? Perhaps I will try it. Well, now I really do need to attempt to write
this paper. Cheery-O!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Promoting Yourself with Facebook
Today I came across Cassandra Clare’s Facebook page and
decided to take a gander. She has an
appealing photo at the top of the page which immediately lets the reader know
that her page is going to be about her works (The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments,
The Dark Artifices which I assume is yet to come). The page features artwork from the covers of
her published books to give the reader a sense of familiarity.
I also noticed that with her books being made into movies,
she is taking the time to post official results of casting the characters. This is something that readers would
appreciate and allows them to envision the characters in the roles before they
see the movies. There is a section which
lists a few things that Cassandra Clare likes, which gives the reader a sense
of her personality. She also makes a few
personal posts and refers readers to some other sites to gain more information
as well.
She is also not ashamed to tout some of her own
successes. For example a post of hers
reads, “…#Clockwork Princess was the #1 trending topic on Twitter worldwide…wow!”
and appears right above the newly-released design for the book cover. Great promoting. What is even better though, is that while I
was reading the site, I noticed she helped drive her own traffic by running a
promotion to get enough Tweets to “reveal” the cover. Genius way to promote her book, while allowing
readers to feel they are a part of the process.
I would not consider the page to be as personal as I might
(as a reader) like to see, however, it works for the intended purpose. This is built for people who are already fans
of her books and is therefore meant mostly to inform readers of upcoming
events, books, movies, etc. She was
extremely easy to locate when searching by name. It appears that Clare posts approximately
once per week to create a consistent schedule and keep the content current for
the readers. The posts are successful,
including many “likes” and comments.
Overall, I would say that Clare utilizes her Facebook page in a way that
will draw in her readers and keep them interested in current and future works. In fact, I will probably be following her
now on Facebook to keep up with the new announcements. Kudos to Cassandra Clare and thank you for the great ideas! Hopefully this has some great examples that anyone can try to follow when trying to promote themselves via social media.
Happy Ninjawriting everyone!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Friday "Writer's Blah" gets Facepunched...or not.
Today, I feel as though I am slogging through a murky bog
with weights on my shoes. No, I don’t
have writers block (I don’t think I actually believe in writer’s block), but I
do have writer’s blah. It is like the
blues for writers. I’m not super excited
about writing, mainly because I have not had any solid time to sit down
uninterrupted and write. Not only is
this extremely frustrated for one who loves to write, but it also makes me
cranky. Then stupid things make me even
crankier and I cannot write when I am cranky.
Well, not unless I want all my characters to be deviants. Perhaps I
should write my villain today. Could be
perfect, or maybe overly dramatic. I may
give it a try.
I have a cherry amp for today, but I think I am in need of
some decaf coffee and perhaps some chocolate.
My bag of raspberry flavored chocolate is almost gone. I’m thinking of going to extremes, like maybe
I need a chocolate cake. Huh, I guess I’m thinking comfort food like mashed
potatoes and chocolate. I am blaming my
current crankiness for my epic kitchen fails last night. I tried to make macaroni and cheese from
scratch, but apparently I did not remember the recipe as well as I thought I
did and ended up with just a big globule of melted cheese instead of a cheese sauce. ~insert sarcasm here~ yay. Now I feel slightly derailed and kicked my
freewriting exercise from yesterday to the curb.
The only comfort I have at the moment until I can get to the
grocery store, is the knowledge that others are sharing similar sentiments this
week. Their posts are much more
entertaining that mine – seriously, I hardly got any sleep, what do you expect?
– so I would recommend checking them out.
You will at least get a little chuckle out of them. Hope your day is full of awesome instead of
Writer’s Blah!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Random Thoughts from The Ninjawriter
There has been a lot going on lately so I apologize for the lack of posts. I recently purchased a new camera and will be testing it out and looking for good shots to post on my blog. It is so interesting what can end up being inspirational. Hopefully, I will get some great shots. At the very least I'm hoping to update my profile a little bit.
No sage advice today, I am just keeping my eyes open for bits of inspiration that fire up my brain cells. It is one of those quiet, reflective days or maybe I just need to drink more of my cherry Amp. That is probably more the case. Sorry that this is so unexciting. I am really excited about my camera. It will be the first really nice camera I have had. Last night when I was trying it out, I discovered that it automatically takes pictures when it "sees" that the subject is smiling. That is pretty much full of awesome in my book! Okay, I'm going to go and read the camera manual.
Happy Ninjawriting Everyone!
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