W O R D + S T U F F

On rough seas - where the heck's Wilson?!

2012-03-02T23:12:00.001+08:00

Yep, I love Wilson from CAST AWAY. Who's with me? I promise one day I will stop talking about Wilson.

I definitely will for now, because I have something else to talk about: the amazing advice I got recently about my "closest to being ready" novel, SUNDOWN. Turns out, it's not quite so ready! The advice was worded in a very nice way, i.e. a way that didn't even make me want to cry and give up my writing dream forever more. But it amounted to this: 1) My main character is so annoying readers may well be hoping she'll die at the end, and 2) I need to rewrite my novel.

I've never done a complete rewrite before. Not of a novel, or of a short story. Or even a poem. So, you can imagine that this is quite the daunting prospect!

So what's the problem with my novel, other than the fact that my MC may well get murdered if I don't do her a favour and rewrite her? Well, let's start with this: I've long had a problem with identifying my MC's main goal, her burning desire, in life. Way back when I was first attempting to create a query for this story (ha, how utterly premature that idea seems now!), people would ask me, "What does she really want?" and though I was sure I was really thinking hard about it and coming up with good answers...I guess I wasn't.

That's what I've done now. I've given my MC a purpose, a great burning passion, and with that, the means to stop being passive and melodramatic (yep, this too was a revelation! My MC's a drama queen! Oh. The. Horror.). With this new purpose, I have high hopes that the main weak spot in my story will be eradicated. The story will emerge strong and shiny and awesome. As will my MC.

I'm excited. I really am. Even if it means scrapping what I have (it's up to Draft #5, people!!) and starting fresh. I'm not the rewriting type. I'm the edit what you've got till you drop type. But in this case, there would just be no point in editing.

I know lots of you have been in this position before. Maybe all of you! Right?!?!!? (I'm going off to find Wilson now, I need a volleyball hug. hehe)

Travel Series: U.S.A. part 1

2012-02-29T19:13:00.006+08:00

The first time I visited America was during my world trip with Dad in 1998. We had already driven across Australia and seen much of New Zealand's north island, but next up was my very first trip into the U.S.A., about which I was extremely excited! I've got family in the U.S., but it's also the country that spawned/reared some of my all-time favourite musicians. To my teenaged self, it would be amazing just to set foot on American soil (still is to my adult self, actually!).

Dad taking a photo on the way to Chicago

- and that's our Chrysler!

We flew from Auckland to L.A., where a lot of my mum's family lives. In Mar Vista with family, I got the longest night of sleep I've ever had in my life (18.5 hours or so). Once we'd recovered from our jetlag, we set about arranging the next leg of our journey, which was where Auto Driveaway came in. We didn't know where we'd be going, but that was half the fun of relying on driveaway cars. After turning down the first car we were offered (it just wasn't fancy enough for our liking - yep, even soon-to-be homeless hobos can be auto-snobs sometimes), we wound up with a beautiful Chrysler Cirrus. This car, which went fast and smelled new (and had a CD player, man!), was bound for Chicago.

If you look closely, you can see Dad lying in the road,

taking yet another photo!

We had three days to reach Chicago. By Dad's calculations, this gave us a bit of leeway to take our time and enjoy the trip. During that trip we passed through the Death and Monument Valleys, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon National Park (stopping at the Canyon itself, on a day when it was snowing). We drove through countless towns, small and large. We paused at a lot of truck stops and slept in the car each night. Sometimes we slept parked by fields of snow, other times amidst semi-trailers. All in all, it was an amazing drive.

Crand Canyon, 1998
- you can't tell but it was snowy

I was still most excited to reach Chicago, though, since I'm a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. Part of my seventeen-year-old self did daydream of bumping into Billy or D'Arcy or James or Jimmy while in Chicago, even though I knew we'd only be there a few hours before moving on (it was general policy that we wouldn't linger overlong in any one place). But I still took in the tiny part of Chicago I did see with a sense of wonder. I glimpsed Lake Michigan (which Dad pronounced "Lake Mitch-i-gan") and daydreamed of rock stars.

One of the roads Dad practised rally driving on.

On the advice of a local woman, we headed for Chicago's Green Mill bar where apparently Al Capone used to hang out. A band was playing jazz, and I think we got some Mexican food from a place next door. Outside the Green Mill, I met a homeless guy who was collecting money. I gave him a dollar and asked his name. "Lester!" he said, and I responded, "Really? My dad's name's Lester!" When Dad appeared, I introduced the two Lesters, and took a photo of them with Dad's camera. Sadly it turned out really dark and you can't see much (or anything, really).

Finally, our time in Chicago ended. We had a new driveaway car and a new destination - Philadelphia. But true to our style, we weren't exactly going to drive straight there. I'll write about the drive from Chicago to Philly next time. :)

A review of DORIAN GRAY, plus Sunday Sessions #8

2012-02-26T16:17:00.000+08:00

For my book review this month, I've opted to talk about a classic I've only read for the first time this year - THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde.

Last year, I wrote a short story for Chrysalis about a really creepy painting. I didn't realise at the time that DORIAN GRAY was also about a creepy painting. Somebody commented that part of my story reminded them of this classic novel. Having now read Wilde's classic work for myself, I can definitely see the parallels. And I can attest to the sheer creepiness of the original!

While this book no doubt has some deep meaning about gluttony and greed and how we should age gracefully, all I can really focus on is that totally messed up painting. I wasn't sure what to expect as the end of the story drew nearer. Would the painted image step off the canvas and start killing everybody? Would fleshly Dorian run off and kill his dear friend Harry? He seemed to be pretty into that sort of thing by then. So as not to spoil the ending, I will simply say that the ending wasn't a letdown!

To summarise, I'd call this a dark and seedy story of one man's slow but steady demise - his twisting from something almost angelic into something truly monstrous. I haven't quite decided whose fault his downfall was - his friend Harry for being such a bad influence, or himself for being so dangerously vain at his core? Thinking about it now, the story reminds me a little of Kirino's GROTESQUE, which I read last year. Only GROTESQUE was utterly littered with characters who went from good to oh so bad.

Sunday Session #8

It's Sunday, and time for me to share with you the music I've listened to most in the last week. It's been a continuation of the 'classic rock' slant this time around, with another tune from the Cult, but also a tune from Neil Young. I've been fortunate enough to see both these acts live in concert, all within the last few years. Long live rock!

The Daily Dodo - nearly at 300 followers

2012-02-24T08:50:00.000+08:00

My friend Laura is not a fuman, but she sure is a Laura! She blogs at Daily Dodo, and is coming up on 300 followers. Her aim is to reach that number by March 6th, which is the date of her first blogoversary! I can recommend her blog not only because she's a great blogger friend to have, but because her posts are really fun to read. Apart from regular updates on her writing projects and other events in her life, she features highly entertaining romantic flash fiction each Friday, by herself or guest blogger Anna Holt depending on the week!

Go and check out Laura's blog, and follow if you like what you see! There may well be a prize involved when she hits her 1-year blogoversary. :)

Tagged by Leigh Covington...after a little rant

2012-02-23T09:37:00.000+08:00

Well, I'd have to be a robot to be able to read this!

I've seen a lot of bloggers ranting about word verification lately. The reason can be seen above! What the hell does that first word say? Believe it or not, I entered letters after squinting at the screen for a while and actually seemed to get it right. I'm not convinced, but maybe I was really that lucky. I certainly couldn't read the damn word, so it had to be pure luck.

Anyway, moving on!

A while back I got tagged by Leigh Covington, and she charged me and my fellow tagees (for the purposes of this post that is a word) with answering some questions. On that note, I used to write that 'qvestions', just for fun. Anyway, here I go with the question answering!

1. What is your dream vacation?
I've travelled a lot, but one thing I would love to do before I die (other than see the Great Pyramids, at least) is check out the Arctic Circle and see the northern lights.

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
I guess it depends on the situation. With travelling I tend to have a solid plan at least of where I'm going (I don't do open-ended tickets). But with writing and creativity in general, I tend to be more of a pantser. At work I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but I still don't necessarily have my whole work day planned out. I may jump around between numerous projects in one work day, if possible.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do, but don't dare to do. (Unless of course, you dare to do everything!)
Go and live in another country for a while. I know so many people who have done that, but I've only ever travelled with the certainty that I will return home (I kind of like that certainty, to be honest, but I think living overseas would be a nice challenge).

4. What's your biggest phobia?
Cockroaches! The big, brown, flying kind. Other than that, speaking (or performing) in public makes me feel just a little queasy. I think I'd rather deal with a flying cockroach than speak in public. Unfortunately sometimes I have to do it for my job, even though it's technically not part of my role. I hate that. (It's no coincidence that I have to do some public speaking today at work)

5. If you were stranded on a desert island - what 3 things would you want with you? (not including laptop, or family.)
The Smashing Pumpkins' forthcoming reissue/remaster of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness; the complete Harry Potter series of books; Wilson the volleyball to be my friend! (Yes I just re-watched CAST AWAY for the first time in years. I love Wilson).

6. Name three blessings in your life.
My family, my friends and the privilege of living in a relatively free country.

7. What was your nickname in High School?
Well, one of my friends called me Fish Face for a while, until I told her she better stop if she wanted to live. I also had a self-imposed nickname of Carrie (not related to Stephen King's book at all, which I have yet to read!). I think I might've also been called Danielle Johns at one point (ya know, Daniel Johns...Silverchair).

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
I'd say, "You're a darn sight better to listen to than your predecessor, man!"

9. If you could be any literary character for a day, who would you be?
Hermione Granger! I think her life is pretty cool, even if she's gone through a lot of crap.

10. What is your favorite quote?
I don't know that I have one single favourite, but...umm, I'm always partial to Billy Corgan's variation on a popular saying: "If practice makes perfect and nobody's perfect, why practice?" Not that I particularly live by that, of course!

11. In the colour code personality test, what colour are you? (If you don't know, go HERE!)
I was a White:
"Whites are motivated by Peace. They seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. To them, feeling good is more important than being good. They are typically quiet by nature, process things very deeply and objectively with great clarity. Of all the colours, Whites are the best listeners. They respect people who are direct but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle."

Kreativ and Versatile Blogger awards

2012-02-21T09:42:00.001+08:00

Versatile Blogger (new badge!) and Kreativ Blogger awards, from Lara Schiffbauer

A while back, I was awarded these two badge thingies above by Lara Schiffbauer (who is totally cool if you haven't found out yet! Go visit her blog!). I've won the Versatile Blogger award before, but this one is a new style of badge, so I had to show it off! Still, I'm going to focus on the Kreative Blogger award, since that's a newey!

What it's about: I'm thinking it means being creative, but with different spelling. Right?

What I have to do: Tell you 6 things about myself...

In general, I'm pretty uncreative with spelling - I like to spell things the traditional (Australian English) way! I'm very stubborn in that regard
I don't particularly consider myself a patriot, and I get rather irritated with hot-headed patriotic idiots who insist on believing they're better than anyone else on earth just because they were born on a certain chunk of land
One of the songs I hate most in the entire universe is "Love Shack" by the B-52s. I'm sorry, but I just can't love it!!
I hate it when I see CD's or DVD's (or similar collections of letters) written that way, with the apostrophe. It's not like you're saying "Yes, I'm going to CD's place, you know my friend CD?" and if you're doing it 'cause you think that there are letters missing (which, of course, there are), well why not write it as C'D's then?
I really hate summer, and yet I seem to live in the summer capital of the bloody world, and I don't want to move anywhere (despite the fact that living here under the hole in the ozone layer has probably contributed greatly to the skin cancer problem I'm having at present - thankfully it's all benign, but it's still a pain...in the forehead!)
For the first time in forever, right now I'm feeling like I do not want to travel for many years to come (I have been travelling on and off for the past 5 years and I'm a bit over being broke because of it, quite frankly).

Who I'm passing it onto:

Sunday Sessions #7 (and a brief goals/reading update)

2012-02-19T16:57:00.000+08:00

Another Sunday is here, and so I'm going to share with you the music I've been listening to most in the past week. We have another tie, a three-way tie matter of fact, this week. The songs are:

The Cult, "Love Removal Machine" - maaaaan I love this band. I've always got different favourites at any given time, but this is definitely a track that's always up there!
Blue Öyster Cult, "Astronomy" - I was listening to this song one day while heading off to see a man about a skin cancer, and though I'd heard it before it was only this time that it struck me that I loved it. Particularly the ouuuutro.
Aphex Twin, "Xtal" - this band is one that I've not yet managed to grow to completely love, probably due to their sometimes horribly creepy video clips (but if you want to write horror they're probably a good place to look. haha)...but this song is beautiful.

So that's it for another Sunday Session. Happy listening!

Before I go, I want to share a quick update about my weekly goals. I've achieved them, but only just! And it's already time for another week to begin! In other news, I finished reading a book about a library cat in Iowa (titled Dewey, you may have heard of it), and now I'm reading a Dave Grohl biography. What's with me and the non-fiction, you ask? Well, the cat book was thrust upon me by a work colleague, so I felt obligated (but I did love the book, don't worry), and the other (Davey boy) was a Christmas gift from my brother and his wife, sent all the way from North America, so again I felt obligated (luckily I totally love Dave Grohl).

How are you?

(Not so) tiny little interlude

2012-02-17T09:06:00.002+08:00

It's been a full-on week or two with blogfests (or hops) happening left, right and centre (ahhh, gotta love a good cliché). In February so far I've participated in:

the Critique my Blog blogfest
the I'm Hearing Voices blogfest, parts 1, 2 and 3
the I'll Tumble for YA 80s crush blogfest
the Origins blogfest
the Is It Getting Hot In Here? blog hop

All of these had considerable levels of participation, and I'm still working to visit all the blogs of participants! I think I did get around to all the Critique people, but for all the other blogfests I have yet to visit every blog! I'm still working on it though, as you may be noticing.

There's more to come in February, though, with the Evil Genius Blogfest hosted by the Golden Eagle on February 27th. I also have some other things to get done during February, including a book review and another travel entry for my Globetrotter series. But for now, I'm going to anticipate the coming weekend in which I will...catch up on all the weekly goals I have yet to achieve! (there are a few)

What have you been up to this February?

Is It Getting Hot In Here? blog hop - Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T19:00:00.000+08:00

It's Valentine's Day, and time to steam it up a bit for the Is It Getting Hot In Here? blog hop, hosted by Hope Roberson and Cassie Mae at Reading, Writing and Lovin' It. I'm sharing an excerpt with you of what I think is one of my steamier kissing scenes. In actual fact, this scene ends in romantic disaster for my characters, but I'm leaving that stuff off so as not to spoil the fun! I hope you enjoy the excerpt!

          His voice had turned soft, and as if his words had their own magic, everything was suddenly different. His smile faded, and his eyes shone with a new intensity. My breath caught with a familiar panic--the panic of knowing I might soon be washed away. I inhaled raggedly, preparing to change the subject, to turn away. Instead I stepped toward him, reaching out.
          What are you doing?! Are you insane? an inner voice yelled. And maybe I was, because I kept reaching...
          He was easy to reach, half seated as he was on the table. He was still taller, but I didn’t have to crane my neck quite so far to meet his eyes. God, those eyes... They made my head swim. I felt both hot and cold at once; my skin prickled. That warning voice kept screaming in my head, but everything else drowned it out.
          I felt his heat right before my fingertips touched down, touched his jaw, brushed upwards and back. Fire on fire. I shivered.
          Then, flash. I froze, a wave of icy coldness washing over me. I couldn’t move--not even to let him go. There was new gleam in his eyes—panic. You bloody idiot. Get away from him! I stayed frozen.
          Was that his heart I could hear beating staccato, or my own?
          In my mind the scene played out: me springing on him, smashing my mouth against his. But I couldn’t move. I stood there, hands on him, under a spell.
          Then the spell broke. “Oh shit,” I whispered, withdrawing my hands. No heat now, only cold. I withdrew my hands but then he gripped them, and a single word rushed out of him:
          “Don’t.”
          I wanted to ask him, Don’t what? but instead I shifted, drawing my face to his. I knew he was close because I could feel the sparks. Was I breathing? Was he? I couldn’t tell. My head moved a fraction, and I was sure that our mouths must now be touching. But only as my head tilted forward further did I know for sure. My lips brushed his, dragging me into the electrical storm between us.

Origins blogfest - how'd you get started writing?

2012-02-13T21:24:00.003+08:00

Today's the day when we're sharing our "how I got started with writing" stories as part of the Origins blogfest. For more details on what's involved, see the blogs of any of our ~~gracious~~ kick-arse hosts: DL Hammons, Katie Mills, Matthew MacNish and Alex J. Cavanaugh. But now it's my turn to tell you how I started out writing, and...well, I want to take you on a little illustrated journey.

So far in my life, I've written...

Heathen short stories

Heathen rhyming poetry

Dramatic tales full of ellipses...

Fictional stories (no really, they weren't true) about my cats

(and yes, I meant "dork", but wrote "daulk")

Tragically overbloated epic fantasy (not finished)

Illustrated biography

Horribly 'emo' high school poetry

Raunchily illustrated poetry intended to be lyrics

(is still not lyrics)

Actual real lyrics (with music to match)!

Fan fiction

Instruction manuals

Travel memoir

Travel fiction

(I lied in this primary school assignment, I'd never been to Tasmania - still haven't)

A nonsensical language that every linguist would roll their eyes at

(for the aforementioned epic fantasy mess)

Fantasy? Magic realism? The tree talked

Compelling literature

Makeshift picture books

And novels that actually got finished

I've received a fair bit of critique, starting back here:

I was also quite open with my self-critique:

I've written by hand, by typewriter, by awful dot matrix printer, and by fancier (20th century. Gasp!) laser printers...

I've written by candle light and even by starlight.

I've written on planes and in coffee shops around the world. Mostly, I've written in my living room while trying out for the Couch Potato Olympics.

I've written songs the day after heartbreak (very cathartic!). I've written songs in tribute to friends' loves and losses.

I've written crappy poetry, and poetry I think is actually half decent.

I've written umm, I think 7 novels, and I have a few more not far off being finished.

I haven't had anything published except a poem in a University "street publication", but nor have I got around to trying yet.

I've written for myself, and for others. For friends and yes, for strangers, in the hopes that there'll be something entertaining, invigorating, inspiring in what I write.

I write to make people happy.

But mostly, I write to make myself happy.

I guess writing (and spelling, and English) has always been my thing:

Really, I'm just glad I didn't have to rely on my Maths grades for sustenance:

I can probably thank my parents - both their creative genes and the fact that they read to me as a baby/toddler/what have you - for how I turned out. They are, after all, my origins. My dad would argue that I was my own person from the get go - that he had nothing to do with how I turned out. But I just don't buy that. And I'm happy to give my parents credit where it's due. 'Cause I'm happy to be a writer, and a part of this great community with all of you!

Sunday Session #6 ... and SATC

2012-02-12T16:55:00.003+08:00

It's Sunday, and time for me to share the songs I've listened to most in the last week. This week the number one position was taken by a song that was featured previously in session #4 - Catherine Wheel's "Salt". Definitely one of my all-time faves, but as it's already been featured I will skip to the runners-up this week instead (and yes, it's another tie):

Catherine Wheel, "Texture" - from the same album as "Salt", and I'd have to say my favourite CW album of all of them!
Weezer, "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" - Weezer are sort of cute and dorky while at the same time being rather rockin'. I think this song sums that up nicely. Very fun lyrics, even though the song appears to be about being dumped.
Cold, "Anatomy of a Tidal Wave" - I think I have heard about 3 songs by Cold, and I don't really know anything about the band. But I do know that I love this song!

Anyway, that's it for another Sunday Session! Now I want to mention that I just finished re-watching SEX AND THE CITY, the series, and it was one of those situations where you're compelled to keep watching just so you can get it over with and get back to "real life". I was compelled, of course, because I love the show, but I'm kind of glad my re-watch is done! Now I need to watch the movie again. And incidentally, I'm not a huge fan of the second movie, but I guess it had its moments.

Happy weekend everyone, and if you've left comments in the last few days for various blogfests and I haven't left any for you, don't worry, I'll get to your blog!

I'm Hearing Voices blogfest - part 3 (+ I'll Tumble 4 Ya blogfest)

2012-02-10T20:25:00.011+08:00

Yep, I've doubled up and have two blogfests to answer to today! Skip to the bottom of this post if you want to see my entry for the I'll Tumble 4 Ya blogfest - and if you're interested in finding out who my 80s crushes were! hehehehe
But first, here is my piece of flash fiction (249 words in Scrivener), for the third and final I'm Hearing Voices installment. I'll say now that it's been a great blogfest, and I have read some awesome entries for the first 2 parts. Next I shall be reading your entries for the 3rd part, of course, but for now...here's mine (again from the point of view of my character Mason, whose first name is actually Anthony, but moving on...):

          One thing I’ve learned since the world turned to crap is that laughter is the best medicine.
          Back in the days of TLC (when I truly believed love is all you need), I worked for the wrongest team in the history of wrong teams. I spouted all sorts of bullcrap and pissed people off (I rocked at it).
          Then, the Apocalypse, and I was suddenly eating all those words I used to spout. Sort of like how mobsters eat bullets, ya know? (Not necessarily by choice). Tender Loving Crap turned to wit-shattering terror. I even pissed my pants. But slowly the numbness descended, and I took to the streets, searching for sharp edges: Understanding. Acceptance. Direction.
          I just found anger
          And a new family (not in that order).
          These people started stalking me, out in the open—(My initial assessment? Morons). But they wanted me to see them.
          To…lead them.
          Cue righteous indignation (or entitled prickdom). ‘Cause Like I need MORE problems, right? But they stared at me with their big, scared eyes, and I caved.
          That was when anger washed out and laughter washed in. Yep, I started laughing. ‘Cause sometimes it’s all you can do. No time to fall down crying. So just laugh.
          It is good medicine. I’ll stand by that one till the day I die.
          But listen, that’s all I’ve got time for. We’re going grocery shopping. ‘Cause Misovic needs more batteries (and a sense of humour).
          Aw come on. That’s funny.

And now, for the big reveal of my 80s crush(es):

(source)

This is no joke. While I did love the cartoon, my crush on the heroes in a half shell only got going for realz when the first feature film came out (incidentally, I still adore the soundtrack for that movie - I even own it on CD!). It was really cool when I was in year 5 and 6 to draw the TMNT characters. But I was never any good at it (I'm still inclined to believe because I can't draw guys for crap - not even turtle guys).

I'll also admit to a tiny little crush on Australian musical icon John Farnham in the Whispering Jack era (hey, sue me, I was 6 when it was released! hehehe):

(source)

A quick public service announcement

2012-02-10T10:19:00.000+08:00

If your blog has word verification, I can't leave you comments today. I get the same word for every single post I try to leave, and though I enter the letters in correct sequence, I keep getting told that I've done it wrong. Problem is, it never refreshes to a new word for me to try. So, if you've got word verification enabled, people, you're missing out on comments from me!

To my way of thinking, this is just another good reason to remove word verification from your blogs (the other reason being that it's incredibly annoying!).

I'll be back later today with a piece of flash fiction for the I'm Hearing Voices blogfest - a piece I have yet to write.

I'm Hearing Voices blogfest - part 2 (dialogue)

2012-02-08T18:35:00.001+08:00

Here we are, continuing with the I'm Hearing Voices blogfest (which has been soooo very fun already!). Today's task is as follows:

February 8th - Wednesday - Dialogue Introduction: Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

My interview takes place between Mason and an unnamed "banshee" woman he meets fairly early on in the story.

Mason: Yo, girly, you got a minute?

Banshee: Hmph.

Mason: Okay then. Look, uh, you see all these people staring at us? You’re meant to introduce me, and then I can introduce you. It’s just a thing...know what I’m sayin’?

Banshee: Meh.

Mason: Right. Well ...hey everyone. My name’s...no wait, that’s her job. MY job is to introduce her. And I don’t know her name, but I can tell you she’s a banshee. And I always thought those freaks were all deadly and, like, hated my guts. But lately I’m getting the sneaking suspicion there’s more to them than meets the eye. I’m starting to think that we’ve all been deceived and they’re some seriously convenient scapegoats. Basically, my world’s being tipped upside down and I’m finding...hey wait, I’m meant to talk about her, not me. And so... this here is a banshee. She looks kind of evil, right? Dirty, messed up, with tangled hair and stuff. Well, she’s not so much evil as...hard done by.

Okay! I think we’re done here, right? Your turn, darlin’—tell these folks a little bit about me.

Banshee: Pfft...........

Mason: And on that note...I don’t really know where we can go from here, so...

Banshee: AHHHHHEM! Is Mason...is smart...is mean... Is listening. Mason good. There. Okay?

Mason: Hey, at this stage I’ll take anything. So yeah, I think we’re okay. Cheers darlin’.

I'm Hearing Voices blogfest - part 1

2012-02-06T19:55:00.003+08:00

It's time for the "I'm Hearing Voices" blogfest to begin, and Day 1's task is as follows:

February 6th - Monday: Characters on the couch: Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers).

I'm interviewing my character Mason, from my unfinished work JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE (which began as a Chrysalis Experiment short story).

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?
My biggest vulnerability is that I'm not Superman, or whatever superhero it was that had the power of invincibility. Every time I go outside there's a chance I won't come back (or that I'll get bitten by a banshee and bring that back). I'm happy to keep this a secret. Why panic people more than necessary?

2. What do people believe about you that is false?
They believe I've always got an answer for every question. I'm good at thinking of ideas on the spot. Even if they're crap ideas. But most of us are still alive, so they can't be entirely crap I guess. Still, it's stressful always being looked to for answers when you know you're nothing but a lucky juggler.

3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?
She'd probably say my sheer arrogance and recklessness is my biggest flaw. She's always begging me to be careful. She doesn't realise, of course, that my being more careful could get us all killed.

4. What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?
I'm guessing she'd go with the happy accident that is my unwavering good fortune, since I'm still alive and all (and how sad is it that I can legitimately call it good fortune? It's a twisted world, my friend).

5. What do you want most? What will you do to get it?
I want to live in a world where banshees are the figment of some author's imagination and I'm just some lowly bartender or something. As for how I'll get it...well, I guess I could beg you to rewrite this damn story?

Sunday Session #5, plus miscellany

2012-02-05T16:27:00.002+08:00

Here we are again for a Sunday Session, in which I share what music I've listened to most this last week. And I will say that this week I've listened to a fair bit of new music, and yet the #1 I've been spinning (on iTunes and my iPod) is not new to me.

The song is "Eyesore", by a band called Women. I can't really remember how I found the song or the band, but I have a feeling it was by looking at "Similar Artists" on Last.fm (similar to who? I can't remember that either!). Last.fm for me is a great source of new music. There is just something about this song that I find magical. You have to listen to the whole song (yes, it's kind of long) to hear what I'm talking about. And it may well be just me, but I just love the outro to the song. It's gorgeous! Anyway, that's the song I listened to most this week, with a close runner up being from Tool.

Now, for the miscellany promised in this post's title:

Although I haven't changed any of my blog settings, I suddenly cannot edit posts (etc.) directly from my blog's "front" face. I have to actually go into the Dashboard or the Design area and edit from there. It irritates me.
My travels this year have been delayed by a week, cutting into my A-Z blogging challenge time even further than they were before. I'm going to have to pre-write and schedule my posts (and hope that Blogger doesn't mess with me). True to my pantser form, I prefer to write blog posts with very little (or no) prior planning. So this feels unnatural to me.
I'm on track with my weekly goals, and yet every time I feel that I have the chance to get ahead, I slack off and squander the opportunity! At least I can say my procrastination skills are as finely honed as ever!
My head cutty cutty-ness #2 is over and done with, my sutures are out and I feel mostly human again. But only mostly! hehe
I reached 400 followers! Thank you so much everyone who follows my blog. I will say on this note that, in the early days of this blog, I wasn't aware that it was etiquette to follow everyone back that followed you (where it was possible to find their blog, at least)...so a lot of people who follow me may not have been followed in turn. If that's you, let me know and I shall endeavour to hunt you down (did that sound creepy?).
For those who participated in the Critique my Blog blogfest, I haven't got around to all your blogs yet, but I will be doing so in the next little while. And thank you to all who gave me critique. I have implemented some changes as a result already, and intend to think about doing more as well.
I like chocolate.

Okay, that's about it for now, so I'm going to sign off...at least after wishing all of you a very happy remainder of your weekends!

Critique my Blog - a blogfest!

2012-02-01T21:23:00.002+08:00

I'm thankful to Margo Kelly, whose blog post on this very subject reminded me that I have about 6 minutes before bedtime, and therefore 6 minutes left of February 1 in which to get my post up for this blogfest! I am a one, aren't I?

Seeeriously, this blogfest is happening today, it is hosted by Teralyn Rose Pilgrim, and I am participating! The whole idea of this blogfest (and a brilliant idea it was, too!) is to give us the opportunity to have our blogs critiqued, and to return the favour for other participants. Because we all know it's important for our blogs to, err, not be crap! Yeah. So, without further ado, here is how it works, in the words of Teralyn herself (but in a different font):

To Get Critiqued:

1. Include your name in the linky list below.
2. On February 1, post your request for critiques. The critiques can come from anyone, even people not involved in the blogfest.
3. If you want, specify what kind of critique you’re looking for.
4. Specify where you want to receive the critiques: in the comments where everyone can see them, or in your email where it’s more private.
5. You can delete comments after you’ve read them, or keep them up.

To Critique Others:

1. Click on a blog from the linky list and read what the writer wants you to critique.
2. You can make comments on:
a. Appearance: Does it appeal to you? Is it too busy, or too plain?
b. Layout: Is it difficult to navigate? Is it cluttered, or sparse?
c. Frequency: Does the blogger post too often? Not often enough?
d. Content: Are the posts interesting? Unique? Are they focused, or all over the place?
e. Quality: Are the individual posts too long, too short, too sloppy, or too generic?
3. Be sure to check if the blogger wants you to post the critique in the comments or send an email.

Right. Now that that's out of the way, let me have it people!! Tell me what's right and what's wrong. Don't hold back. I want to know what works and what doesn't! And indeed I shall return the favour if you are a participant!

Travel Series: NEW ZEALAND

2012-01-31T08:17:00.002+08:00

It's been a heck of a long time since I posted my last (and only) travel story entry (part of my Globetrotter blogging series begun in 2011). But this year I've vowed to post at least once a month, so here's my first attempt at picking up that old and dusty thread! In my first post in this series, I talked about my trip across Australia with my father and uncle back in 1998. This trip was actually the start of a months-long world trip my Dad and I went on. The second leg of the journey took us to New Zealand, and that's what this blog post will be about.

I've been to New Zealand a fair few times prior to and since 1998 (both my parents are from there). In 1998, we flew from Sydney (where we'd spent a bit of time with my dad's sister and her family) to Wellington. My Grandad collected us at the airport, having borrowed his girlfriend's car for the purpose, and drove us back to Paraparaumu ----------->

We spent a few weeks in Paraparaumu and surrounding areas, hanging with family. My Kiwi family is pretty darn interesting, and I could write about them for daaaays on end. Don't worry, I won't! After a lovely relaxing visit with the family, it was time to move on. We headed off (with Grandad in tow!) to explore the North Island on the way up to Auckland.

Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, I don't know which one we're looking at here (possibly both?).

One of the first places we stopped was the Tongariro National Park, part of which is pictured above. Dad and Grandad climbed one of the mountains, leaving seventeen-year-old me to fend for myself on solid ground. I was thrilled to have time to myself, and drove around listening to my alt. rock/grunge mix tapes. I also had really bad food for dinner (chippies and cookies) and it was awesome.

Seventeen-year-old me, at or near them mountains.
This is my Dad's photo! (he is very very very clever!)

The next morning Dad and Grandad came back down the mountain, and I snapped this shot of them just before they collapsed to the ground in exhaustion:

Next, we ventured to other places, such as Lake Taupo, where we swam in a river with natural hot springs (there is a cool pic of us in the river that Dad took, but I haven't scanned that slide yet). We also went to Rotorua, which smelled strongly of sulphur (understandable, what with the mud pools there):

Finally we reached Auckland, and I'm sure I have photos from there somewhere but I haven't scanned all my pics yet. To close this post, here is a picture of me, Grandad and Dad at McDonald's (and I believe this was the place where Grandad had met up with some of his friends from his motorcycle group whose motto was: "Grow old disgracefully."

Another of Dad's photos.

And for today, that's all there is! Tune in next month for another travel story.

Sunday Session #4

2012-01-29T16:25:00.008+08:00

It's Sunday, which means it's time for me to share with you guys the songs I've been listening to most over the last week. This week it's a tie again, but only between two songs. Well, really there are three, but one of them was featured in last week's session ("Shooting Shark"), so I'll just feature the remaining two:

These songs are from two of my favourite bands, Catherine Wheel and Alice in Chains. I discovered Catherine Wheel by accident one day when I was looking for a song by the Chicago band Catherine. Instead I downloaded Catherine Wheel's "Black Metallic", which remains one of my favourite songs today. From there, I acquired more of CW's stuff and they have currently reached #7 on my list of overall favourite bands (according to Last.fm).

As for Alice in Chains, well I discovered them after the Australian band Silverchair hosted the music show Rage one night, and played a selection of video clips from their favourite artists (Alice in Chains being one). The song "It Ain't Like That" is one I overlooked for years (since it's on an AIC album I also overlooked for years, Facelift), but in recent years has become one of my favourites. Alice in Chains are listed as #9 on my overall favourites list.

And that's it for another Sunday Session! I hope everyone's having a great weekend! Mine is almost over, and I have to brave the public tomorrow with my black eye and mildly swollen forehead region. Thankfully the sutures come out on Friday!

Permission to slack...and eBooks I have to read this year...!

2012-01-27T09:25:00.000+08:00

Some people may recall that last year I had an operation to remove a (benign) skin cancer from my forehead. I wrote about it here. Anyway, I have to have another one removed...today! As a result, I'm going to have big black sutures and a swollen forehead for the next week. It gets more manageable later on in the week, but the first twenty four hours tend to require me to stay indoors with some gauze within easy reach to mop up spilled blood. I may feel a tickling on my forehead that happens to be a drop of blood dribbling downward. Also, last time I had to get my mum over to wash dried globules of blood out of my hair. This time, the incision shouldn't be quite so large, and I may be able to handle washing my own hair. But the whole point of all of this is...for the coming week, I'm giving myself permission to skip some of my "weekly tasks". Basically I'm skipping the physical ones, like walking on the beach and then swimming (boo), and also my yoga class (double boo). But really, I don't want to be resting my sutured forehead on a yoga mat! And I'm not allowed to get the sutures wet.

Another thing I wanted to mention was that one of my goals this year is to read a bunch of eBooks I've been collecting over the last year or so. I have to admit I'm not a huge eBook fan, but when you win a free one, or when you had to buy it in eBook format because it's not available in any other format, you're going to read the thing! The books I have on my TBR "eShelf" right now are:

The Arm of the Stone - Victoria Strauss
Love's Long Shadow - Ciara Knight (I am reading this now!)
Learning to Fly - Gina Penn
Backlash - Carmen Rane Hudson
Amnar: The Inheritor - I.J. Black
Transshifter - Cindy Borgne
Neanderthal Swan Song - Rick Novy
Web Monarch - Michelle Davidson Argyle
Dark of Heart - Lynn Viehl

That's a lotta eBook readin' for one like me. haha. But because I've made it a goal this year, it will happen.

Do you prefer eBooks or the real deal? (sorry, that's just how I think of print books...as "real")

Awards, round #1

2012-01-26T10:33:00.001+08:00

This is what happens when you are a slacker like me. You get an award, and months pass. You get another award, and maybe another month passes. Then there's a sudden rash of awards going around (probably not the nicest way to put it! My excuse is it's gross and hot today and the weather is affecting my brain!) and you get more awards. And then you have to do this single post because it's just getting a little bit silly collecting awards.

Except I'm not going to do them in a single post anymore, because there is one award I want to wait to post about - simply because it would be much easier for me if my top commenters widget was working!! (I've tried three different ones today, and none of them work...what's up with that?) So I'm going to talk about the some of the awards today, and the rest at a later date (hopefully not months and months from now!).

In recent times, I got these awards:

The Thumbs Up from Skunk award, from Brooke R. Busse

What it's about: It's named 'The thumbs up from Skunk award' since "we all feel like stinky, stinky skunks some days" and there are people who "make us feel (and smell) a lot better".

What I have to do: Name one thing that you love about yourself, then pass on the award to as many bloggers as you want to! One thing I love about myself is that I'm creative in so many different areas!

Who I'm passing it onto:

Laura @ Daily Dodo
Jenni Merritt
Ruthie @ Live, Love, Laugh, Write
Lara Schiffbauer
Danette Baltzer

The Versatile Blogger & Irresistibly Sweet awards from Tanya Reimer

What they're about: Well, obviously they're about gorging yourself on pavlova and sitting on grass so green I know for sure it can't be Australian grass...right?

What I have to do: I have to share 7 things about myself...and while I've done this before, I figured it's been so long I may as well do it again:

I detest the hottest of summer days, but love going to the beach when the sun's nearly down
For some reason, people are surprised by the fact that I loooove metal
I was born on July 25th in the U.K. at somewhere around 6:00pm, which kind of means I was born on July 26th in Australia (but my birthday is still July 25th - do NOT want to share a birthday with Australia's ex-PM John Howard. YECH!!)
I always vote for the Green party, and I don't care who knows it! I believe that in this country nowadays, it's the only way I can sleep at night!
I love music festivals but am now thinking I should give them up because they're almost always on disgustingly hot days, and I've got a skin cancer problem (benign, but still, a problem)
The first food I ever ate as a baby was avocado!
I don't like eating any animals that still look like animals. If we had to kill our own food, I'd be vegetarian in a flash. For now, I get to be a hypocrite and eat meat other people killed for me.

Who I'm passing them onto:

Laura @ Daily Dodo
Akoss Ket
Jordan McCollum
Kari Marie White
Elizabeth Mueller

Aaaand I'm done (for now). But before I end this section, I want to thank everyone who has given me awards - I really really love that you thought of me! So thank you! :)

In other news, it's Australia Day today! I want to wish my fellow Aussie bloggers a very happy Australia Day!! Here in Perth, we're having hellishly hot weather ("very hot" and "sunny" is a disgusting combination, in my book), and I'm huddling in my air-conditioned living room until the moment when I have to venture out into the inferno for an Aussie Day bbq. I hope the rest of the country isn't frying quite so thoroughly! And that you have a safe and happy Australia Day in which nobody gets punched in the face.

PRISON NATION...a review!

2012-01-24T08:42:00.002+08:00

Last week I finished reading Jenni Merritt's debut novel, PRISON NATION, and I have to say it has the makings of a great "beginning" - the way it ended, while kind of low-key, was also vaguely epic, or rather it spoke of much epicness to come. I suppose PRISON NATION could be seen almost as a drawn out prequel to what might come next. I definitely think there should be a sequel (and Jenni assures me she plans to write one eventually. Yay!!). To briefly recap the story, main character Millie 942B is a "Jail Baby", born into a huge prison where her parents were sentenced for life. Millie's about to turn 18, and upon her birthday will be set free into the Nation beyond the prison walls to start a life of work as a proud, hard-working citizen. Only there's a lot she doesn't know about the Nation she's been taught (a.k.a. a wee bit brainwashed) to love without question. After her release, she starts to learn truths that have heretofore only been hinted at: truths about her own parents' histories, and about some of the so-called criminals she shared her living space with for her first 18 years.

One criticism I had of the story was that, sometimes, it seemed that Millie's release from prison took too long to arrive. I mentioned in my GoodReads (spoilery) review that there were certainly moments prior to her release that we needed to read about, because they painted a picture of Millie's life in prison and also prepared us for future parts of her story to unfold. Also, there was definite tension in the air which never really left even after Millie was released. Still, sometimes I felt like the "daily mundane" details of prison routine could possibly have been condensed a little, and sometimes seemed to draw away some of that tension.

After Millie left the prison, her life seemed to be going in a positive direction, but there was always an underlying threat that not everything was as it seemed, or that big bad ugly truths were still waiting to be uncovered. I definitely found that the last 100 pages really picked up the action. But the story ended on an "OMG, what next?" note, which is why I'm now waiting for a sequel! All in all, this story has the makings of being completely epic, and I will definitely read a sequel when it arrives. But I'd hope to see events unfold in a more fast-paced and tense way with any future installment. Of course, sometimes you need "down time" here and there, to give your poor heart a rest, but fast-paced and gripping is generally what compells me to devour an entire book in less than a day.

In summation, Jenni's debut shows a lot of promise and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Sunday Session #3

2012-01-22T18:47:00.007+08:00

Time for another Sunday Session, in which I share with you guys the music I've listened to most in the last week! Every week so far there's been some kind of tie for 'top spot'. This week is no exception, and there are eight songs to feature!

Commentary is at the bottom, but first, this week's songs are:

Blue Öyster Cult, "Shooting Shark" - this is a lot more 80s than most of their stuff that I've heard, but I absolutely loooove it (new discovery) (and yes, I do love 80s stuff in general. hehe).
Janet Jackson, "Velvet Rope" - a relatively recent (i.e. last year or two) discovery as well. Beautiful song, and the album is great too!
Seam, "Sweet Pea" - a very rockin' alt. rock song, one of my all-time faves by this band, who I discovered by accident because my dad gave me a Seam CD he'd bought second hand and didn't want anymore.
VAST, "Lost" - it took me so long to finally buy this VAST album (Visual Audio Sensory Theatre) but I am very glad I did, and this song is one of the reasons.
Mylo, "In My Arms" - I do like the odd bit of dance music, and I can thank a dance-mad friend for introducing me to this guy & a few of his songs that I really like!
Stabbing Westward, "When I’m Dead" - lovely depressing gothic-ness, I suppose. haha.
Bullet For My Valentine, "Forever And Always" - this track seems to get a bit of flack from BFMV fans, but I like it! So there!
Alice In Chains, "Private Hell" - this is from the "new" Alice in Chains, sans Layne Staley. I was a little bit doubtful, personally, about AIC continuing after Layne's tragic demise, but this song is an e.g. of how they're doing it right (in my opinion).

And that wraps up another Sunday Session as well as another week! I hope everyone's had a great weekend, and I'll see you next week!

Revision hemming and hawing

2012-01-19T14:33:00.003+08:00

As part of my 2012 goals, I'm revising my novel FIRE, and as I mentioned in a recent post here, it's quite possibly going to end up going the way of its fellow SUNDOWN. With the latter, I cut approximately 7k off the start during a particularly gory revision session (which was, incidentally, prompted by some very harsh critique that gave me insomnia). In that session, I got rid of a whole bunch of backstory (7k worth, matter of fact). I can totally do that with FIRE, too. The action doesn't really start until...well, probably 20k in. hahaha. Oh, I killeth me.

Seriously, I like the whole novel as it stands...but no agent or editor or publisher would. After all, it is a similar word count to what SUNDOWN used to be in the olden days (basically, I started out with about 148k to work with). So it needs serious slash 'n burn work. Still, I had decided to just get on with this edit, and leave the slash 'n burn till next round.

Now I'm thinking, What's the point in that? Why not just get straight to it now?

The A-Z challenge, 2012

2012-01-17T09:19:00.003+08:00

About time I got around to posting about this, eh? Last year I participated in the A-Z blogging challenge, which takes place in the month of April. For me it was a full-on month of blogging by the seat of my pants (yep, pantser at heart over here!), and by the end of it I was sort of scrambling around for anything to write about (my problem was I found too much, so ended up making lists!). You can read the summary of my experience last year in this post, my A-Z wrap up from 2011. You can also see all the posts I made for the A-Z by looking at this label, or by checking out my April 2011 posts.

But we're in 2012 now, and with some excellent news: This year, the A-Z challenge is happening again! It's a great way to meet heaps of other bloggers and it's also a nice way to challenge yourself with creating one blog post a day (except for most Sundays) for an entire month. Sign-ups are from January 30th 2012, so be sure to hop on over to the Official A-Z blog on that day to sign up! It's going to be raaaadical!

Guess what, though? I just realised I'm going to be away from home for the first 5 days of April! For two of those I will be on a plane! Perhaps I'll have to take a chance on post scheduling and hope nothing goes horribly awry! But that's my problem to think on another day. ;)

Sunday Session #2

2012-01-15T15:56:00.006+08:00

Yessss, I'm back (I didn't forget!) for another Sunday Session. It is indeed Sunday, and it's 3:56 pm. That's about half an hour before I posted last week's session. But I'm going to get this post up and then head off to the beach for a good walk and then a refreshing swim (it's really hot here right now!!). Last week it was a tie between two Smashing Pumpkins songs. Well, this week it's a five-way tie!! Instead of posting all the videos at normal size, I'll put tiny little thumbnail links in for most of them, and a big one for the song I most wanted to highlight...

This week's songs are:

I had to add the Effigy video myself, since there are hardly any traces of that band around the interwebs and I really wanted to show off the song here on my blog. Effigy are a band from my hometown who never really got that far, despite releasing two albums and having a few successful singles. Their second album Century Collapsing (© 1995), which features "Rose Thorns", is for me a mixture of sheer brilliance and numerous "meh" moments. "Rose Thorns" is the absolute highlight for me, and reason enough to buy the album! They were well known for their lead singer's rather girly singing voice, and got a lot of flack for it. Personally that doesn't bother me, as the songs themselves are what I care about.

As for the other songs in this post, well I don't think they need much explanation (except "I Am One" I guess - it's the original version this time, from SP's debut album Gish). All these songs are the ones I've listened to most in the last 7 days!

2012 goals so far

2012-01-13T09:02:00.007+08:00

I've got a huge playing card collection...this is one of my packs!

(I collect them while travelling, you see)

This year, I've got my usual Goals page, but I also did up this chart (inspired by Ruthie at Live, Love, Laugh, Write! and her spreadsheet) that helps me keep track of my weekly goals. They're not all writing goals, but here's a rundown on them anyway:

WIP chapter review - I'm working on FIRE, and I've edited two chapters which have merged into one. I've cut out a few words, but I'm already thinking of the next round of revisions where I may chop off many thousands of words from the start (as happened with SUNDOWN revisions). FIRE sure as heck needs some slash 'n burn. This round though, I'm taking it easy, to refamiliarise myself with the story.
Chrysalis story review - I've revised two so far. One of them I'm shelving, but I'll keep working on the other in the hopes of someday submitting it somewhere. The latter started out at about 3.7k, and is now over 5k.
Read Catrina story - Catrina is a character of Michael's creation (Michael was a participant in Chrysalis last year). He wrote many instalments of the Catrina (formerly Caitlin) saga, and somewhere along the way, I fell behind and stopped reading them. So far this year I've read two!
Yoga classes - I skipped the first one solely due to not having any cash at all and being totally broke. Too much sharing? *Blush* But I went to yoga this week and got stretched to within an inch of my life. haha. Pigeon Pose was quite an eye-opener...
Beach walks - I do these on the weekends. They're 4km walks followed by a glorious swim in the beautiful ocean. Got to love my home town for its beaches!
Write song - So far I've written one, but haven't got to this week's yet. However, I have the entire weekend to work on it so I'm not worried. My goal this time is to write a rockin' song instead of yet another melancholy one (I've written a lot of melancholy stuff in the last few years).
WIP 1000 words - Generally I've written about 1.5k per week. I'm working on DANNA, one of last year's NaNo novels). I'm mostly happy with my progress so far, but I also know that part of the story is weak, so I'll have to look at improving that later.
Sort 100 photos - I'm well on top of this, having sorted way more than 100 photos. But the hard part of this really hasn't begun yet, scared to say!
Monthly goals (Travel post, Book review) - I have not done either of these yet. Better get cracking!

In other news, I got some awards - THANKS people! - and will address those at some point soon. But also, check out my Blogfests, Etc. page for some cool upcoming activities!

How's 2012 going for you guys so far?

Query letters are hard to write because...

2012-01-11T08:16:00.008+08:00

<< Hope Roberson recently wrote a "Best of the Best" post which focused on the art of writing pitches and loglines. In that post she talked about how whenever somebody asks her what her story's about, she gets all incoherent and "um, blah" (I paraphrased). Her point was that, surely since she wrote the story, she should be the one who knows it best, and should be able to easily summarise what it's about. But she has troubles with doing so.

I think many of us can relate to that! For me, reading her post reminded me that I've always struggled with writing queries. Maybe her post wasn't really about queries, but still, for me it's a similar deal. I wrote a successful logline once, and it garnered some serious agent interest. But queries are a different matter altogether. Sometimes it's like you've got too much space in which to ramble on, and so you end up doing just that - rambling.

But one thing I realised back when I was attempting to write queries was that...I don't actually understand my own story as well as I thought I did. The example was DAPHNE, which is the first novel I ever started other than my epic fantasy of doom that shall not be named (except it's called RAGEWATER). As I was attempting to write queries for DAPHNE, and getting seriously in-depth critique at Absolute Write, I realised I don't even know the core of what my story's about! I'd really thought I did, but the more I tried to summarise the story, the more obvious it became that I didn't.

Suffice it to say, I've stopped attempting to write queries for the time being. My novels need to actually become what they're meant to be before I can try to write a summary of what they are.

Have you mastered the art of the pitch/logline/query?

Sunday Session #1

2012-01-08T16:39:00.008+08:00

I saw another blog ages ago (sadly I think I've lost track of it) that did a Sunday Session every...well, Sunday! (makes sense right?) and I thought it was kind of a cool idea. Instead of doing a proper post on writing or whatever, I thought doing this would be a cool way of letting you guys know what kind of music I'm into. I'm a rather fanatical member of Last.fm, where you can see what music I'm listening to every day. I've decided to base the Sunday Session selection on whatever song I've listened to most in the past week.

This week I've actually got a tie, and the songs are both by my favourite band of all time, the Smashing Pumpkins. The first track is called "In My Body", and the second is an early recording of "I Am One" from their debut album. I'll tell you a bit more about each song below.

"In My Body" was released as part of the album Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music. The Pumpkins, back in the year 2000, had released what was to be their last proper album for 7 years, Machina, but they also had more than another album's worth of material recorded which apparently their record label refused to let them release. So they decided to release it for free online instead!

This version of "I Am One" was recorded in the Reel Time Sessions, and was released on vinyl apparently. Also it was released on this mix CD I managed to grab a copy of from Amazon a few years back. That version was a really quiet mix, but this year (errr, I mean last year - 2011) when the Pumpkins released their remastered versions of Gish and Siamese Dream in some sublimely beautiful packages (yes, I own both, and still have not stopped drooling!), the Gish re-release contained a wonderfully remastered version. And that 2011 version is what you hear in the video above.
Okay, I think that's all I have to say about these songs. Check back next Sunday to see if I've forgotten all about the Sunday Sessions! hehe

Too many rough drafts, not enough revision

2012-01-06T10:49:00.007+08:00

The other day (probably yesterday...it's kind of all blurring together for me right now!) I was reading a blog post by Angeline Trevena - her monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group check-in. She talked about her (almost total) lack of inspiration for rewriting/revising/etc. She likes to work on fresh, new material - that's where her passion really lies. And I quote Angeline directly:

"The trouble is, I just know that if I write something new, I'll end up with yet another 1st draft that never gets edited. My life is full of 1st drafts, but I still keep chasing the excitement of that new story." - Angeline Trevena

This totally struck a chord with me! If you look at my WORDS + music page, which is a page listing the projects I'm working on, you'll see that I have a fair few completed drafts. I also have a fair few non-completed drafts that I'm still working on (WIPs). Aaaaand, only one of my novels is anywhere near being properly polished (it's on draft #5 or something, currently). The rest of them are in dire need of some TLC. And while I actually quite enjoy revising, editing, etc., that part of the whole process is definitely way more work than the initial spewing forth of rough material.

Angeline prefers writing new material. I don't necessarily prefer it, in fact I really get invigorated and inspired by revision. But the fact remains that I have given far more attention in my life so far to writing new stuff, instead of polishing what I already have.

What's your ratio of rough drafts to polished "ready" works?

Chore vs. passion

2012-01-04T08:28:00.006+08:00

That's what I'm reading. Oh, and I'm still reading the Grimm fairytales, but I got it into my head that I should "mini-review" each story as I read it, and...so far I've reviewed the first one (because I had to go back and retro-review). And I've stopped reading more, 'cause I have so many to catch up on (and review). But anyway, see above for a book I'm not doing mini-reviews for 'cause I'm just reading the whole thing flat out. I have a huge TBR list and no time to waste, people!! This is business!

I'm kidding. It's not business. But sometimes I think that it really is. The things I do for fun (writing, reading, drawing, singing, playing guitar) become slightly more like my "real" job (as opposed to the one I spend most of my waking life at each week). They don't feel like chores, though. Not yet. Not most of the time. If they start to, I'll know I'm doing something wrong.

Do you still have the passion?

I feel the need to get organised

2012-01-02T14:26:00.007+08:00

Yes, I said organised. Maybe I achieved a lot last year, but this year I want to achieve some of the things I pretty much neglected last year. They weren't necessarily writing goals (I did just fine with those), but other goals that will help me get my life in order! For instance, editing and culling (and etc.) the thousands of photos I have on my laptop, or digitising all my "personal papers" so I can get rid of the paper itself.

I could do these things randomly, whenever the mood takes me. But what if the mood never takes me? That would leave me with these things still not done. So I'm thinking of putting my life on a schedule. Not really my blog, 'cause I can't stand to be all regimented like that, at least not for too long at a time (one month's worth of it in April for the A-Z challenge is fine by me, but after things like that I totally need a break from routine!):

So here's a rough outline for how I could potentially organise my life, around my writing goals and everything else:

Monday nights: Revise a Chrysalis Experiment story
Tuesday nights: Yoga class, then edit/transfer into iPhoto at least 100 photos
Wednesday nights: Edit a chapter of any given novel that's being worked on
Thursday nights: Write at least 1000 words on one of the unfinished novels you're trying to finish
Friday nights: Write a song!
Saturdays: Work on any of the above that isn't yet done, or repeat any of the above, or be a couch potato watching DVDs all day...until arvo/evening when you go for a 4km walk on the beach followed by a swim (sans shark attack)
Sundays: (repeat of Saturday's activities) and write a blog post (if one hasn't already been written)

This leaves the latter part of Fridays and Saturdays for whatever partying activities I may be required to get up to, and also allows for my full time job and my need to procrastinate and waste at least some of my time on fruitless activities like vegetating on the couch.

It doesn't, however, account for the monthly activities I will be aiming to get up to, such as posting at least one Globetrotter post here per month. I think another was attempting to write at least one book review per month. Yes, only one per month. Like I said, being too regimented has never worked well for me.

Do you guys have plans for how to spend your free (a.k.a. writing-related) time?

New Year's Eve and writing goals!

2011-12-31T10:34:00.004+08:00

I shall be drinking both those glasses of champagne this evening (or at least, glasses of champagne that look similar)! It's New Year's Eve and that's reason enough to celebrate! (not that I need much excuse for champagne...and yes, I did go through a phase when I hated the stuff, but I've done a 180 since then!) But I have another reason to celebrate.

I achieved all my writing/revising/etc. goals for 2011!!

I have put up a page for 2012's goals, so we'll see how I go with those. I will have a period of about four weeks in March/April when I'll be overseas, so I will be taking that into account. But for now I am basking in my achievements for this year. Instead of rehashing them, I will just point you to the 2011 goals page.

Have an awesome New Year's Eve, and I'll see you in 2012!!!

An update

2011-12-29T12:06:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone! I'm just popping in to post briefly (or that's the plan...sometimes my plans go awry and I post non-briefly!) so that I can still say I've written one blog post per week for 2011. Yep, one of my writing-related goals this year was to post at least once a week in this blog. I have other goals, but I'm not yet ready to do an assessment of all of them, because I haven't yet achieved all of them.

The Chrysalis Experiment, for example. We have our final prompt (#52) up, and I have yet to write that story. Won't take me long, but I have other stuff I'm concentrating on first and foremost. Namely the fact that I have to revise 4.5 chapters of NAUSICAA, then all 5 appendices (yes, the novel has appendices), in 2.5 days. I've been a real slacker on this so far, but I'm getting there in these last few days of the month. I will achieve my goals, but it will be another case of staggering over the finish line, as I did with this year's NaNoWriMo.

So yes, it will be a busy few days to end off the month for me. And then I'll be in 2012, and will have a bunch of new goals to start working on! I think I will have to do my "2011 wrap-up" on December 31st, or possibly in the new year. Meanwhile, I hope you all had a great Christmas, and that your New Year's Eves are lots of fun! I'm going to be hanging out on a friend's couch in the beautiful Perth hills instead of braving the evil drunken hoards out on the town. I'm way too old for that crap!

Unless I post sooner, see you in 2012!!!

I think I am on holidays

2011-12-22T11:55:00.005+08:00

I can't guarantee I won't post before Christmas (yes, I call it Christmas, even though I'm not in the least bit religious), because knowing me the compulsion will take me on the very day itself. But I will say that I am nearly on holidays (half a day at work to go), and I am going to be doing a lot of resting in various forms (actual sleep, lazing around at the beach, staring at walls...). One form may or may not be taking a slight rest from blogging.

But next time I take a sip of champagne out of a glass like the one in that picture above (see what I meant when I said I take weird pictures?), I will be toasting to all of you and wishing you a very Merry Everything indeed! Kidding, I wish you merrier things than that.

Retro reads

2011-12-20T08:13:00.008+08:00

As we near the end of year, I'm indulging in some retro reading. Not just any old stuff but the stuff I used to read when I was, say, 10. Maybe a bit older too. Maybe in my teens...in my twenties...now in my *gasp* thirties! Yes, I still love reading these books. I guess they're my form of trash. They are YA of course, and I do love a good YA read. But YA isn't really my main passion. That would be Adult fiction, I guess. Still, I go back to these fluffy pre-teen reads at least every few years.

My little brother actually started reading them before I did. Oh the shame! I think the first one he read was THE ACCIDENT by Diane Hoh. That lady went on to write the NIGHTMARE HALL books, which I also enjoyed (and still have a fair few of in my collection). Out front of my place I've got a book shelf for more "literary" reads, you know, to impress all the visitors. But my beloved Point book collection is tucked away in my office, where only my cats can see.

Not that I'm ashamed, of course. I'm really not. But sometimes I do get a little confused. Why do I still love these reads? It's not just nostalgia, though that does play a significant part in it all. It IS also the stories themselves. The writing isn't always particularly authentic for YA, but while I'm reading, that doesn't matter. What matters is the story and the mystery and the...cute boys.

What's on your "guilty secret" shelf? (assuming you're not too cool to have one)

Keeping up with the bloggers I lurve

2011-12-16T18:02:00.007+08:00

So, lately (say, in the last few months? Possibly longer?) I've given up on Reader. That is, Google Reader, which for a while there I used to keep track of all the blogs I'd followed (hundreds of blogs, let me tell you). I kept having to mark everyone as read 'cause I'd get in there and there'd be 500 unread posts, or 700, or the dread 1000+ (I don't WANT to know how many there really are). So I've given up. And now I'm relying on my blog roll to keep me in touch with the blogs I like to read. As well as reciprocating for comments I get on my blog.

But I keep stumbling across writers I've lost track of, and haven't yet got around to adding to my blogroll. If I used to comment on your blog a fair bit, then dropped off the face of the earth, only to recently resurface, now you know why. If I still haven't resurfaced, it's 'cause I haven't added your blog to my roll yet. That sounds funny..."your blog to my roll." Anyway, if I've forgotten you, please let me know. Oh, and a note to anyone who's followed my blog but doesn't have a link to theirs in their Blogger profile...maybe add a link so I can find you? AND I still hate the word 'blog'. For such a hater, I've used it a lot in this post!

Now, since I'm here, I might as well do a really quick rundown on my writing/revising status: 1) NAUSICAA revision started, but progressing slowly; 2) this week's Chrysalis story not yet started; 3) I can't remember the third thing I'm meant to be doing. Oh wait, I think I'm doing it right now - writing in this blog.

How do you keep up with the blogs you love to read?

Merry Everything - the "Wrap it Up" blogfest

2011-12-14T10:27:00.009+08:00

In the words of David Powers King, this is what's involved with the "Wrap it Up" blogfest:

Write a piece of flash fiction, poem, or song (300 words or less) for someone you know (real or imaginary). It may be in any genre, but it must have a holiday theme (real or fictional). Post it on your blog anytime between now and when the linky closes. You will then give it to that someone, sometime before the new year.

Give it in the form of an email, on fancy stationary, or laser-etched onto a solid gold plate. Your choice.

Telling us who you're giving it to is optional.

My entry is as follows:

P.S. Forgot to paste the linky code, but here it is:

2012 - the year of revision

2011-12-13T08:36:00.008+08:00

I'm thinking that next year I will be mostly focused on revision. One of my goals will be (I think) to look at one Chrysalis 2011 story per week and either finish revising it, or at least think about how I want to revise it. Some of them still need to be completed. Some may even become novels. But the aim will be not necessarily to finish revision, but to just think about how I want to revise them. I have a huge list of novels I could choose to work on, but I think I know which I will be starting with.

I will be writing new stuff in 2012, of course. There's NaNoWriMo and BuNoWriMo and another year of Chrysalis. I may use BuNo to work on finishing existing novels. I'm not even thinking about NaNo right now, but for Chrysalis my tentative plan is to try to write and record one new song per week. I've also got NaNo novels to finish (BuNo?). But there will also be NaNoEdMo, which will involve more editing.

So I'm thinking that 2012 will be more focused on revision for me than 2011 was. I've also got to work around 3.5 weeks overseas in March/April, but that's a story for another day.

What are your writing plans for 2012?

49 short stories

2011-12-11T19:14:00.011+08:00

I caught up on those Chrysalis stories! Now I'm just three short stories away from having written 52 short stories in a year (one per week), and from truly earning that sparkly button! Last time I did a Chrysalis stats update, I had written 40 stories. Now I've written 49. Some are finished, some are not. Some are utter crap, and some are not. They're certainly all rough drafts, to go with all the other 'rough draft' material I've written this year. And you know what that means, right? Editing in my future. But not yet. Ohhhh no, not yet.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to Chrysalis being over. I know my fellow participants will understand wholeheartedly. My co-hosts Jenn, Winter and I haven't actually finalised any plans for next year yet, but I do have something planned myself, regardless of what others will be doing. I do hope to have some fellow participants, but I know firsthand what a huge commitment it is, so I won't blame my fellows if they're desperate for a rest.

Here I am, talking like we're finished. We aren't. But we're not far off. Only three weeks, three prompts, and three stories to go. Craaaazy! Just for the record, Scrivener tells me I've written 106,360 words so far. But I'll leave the in-depth reflection on stats and so on for once we're actually done.

My to-do list

2011-12-09T11:31:00.005+08:00

Technically, this is my to-do list right now (without counting this year's goals which are still being worked on):

Rough Drafts

Complete rough draft of DANNA
Complete rough draft of VICTORIOUS
Complete rough draft of CARNIVAL
Complete rough draft of TURKEY BOURKE
Complete rough draft of JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE OFFICE
Complete rough draft of RAGEWATER book 1
Complete rough draft of SOMANA

Second Drafts

Complete Draft #2 of FIRE
Complete Draft #2 of DAPHNE, weaving in more of Carly's story
Complete Draft #2 of SQUEAKY
Complete Draft #2 of EXCISION (oh my. This one is a huuuuge undertaking. Will basically need a rewrite)

Other

Finish any unfinished stories from The Chrysalis Experiment 2011 (which would be the majority of them)
Get all caught up on reading the Catrina Chronicles
Read all the eBooks by my blogging friends that I have waiting for me (and the print books by them too).
Read any Chrysalis stories by my fellow organisers that I have not yet read!

I think that's all?! Except for all the other stories/novels I'm not mentioning in the list above, and "all that other stuff", like NaNo 2012, BuNoWriMo, writing in the blog, reading books in general and writing music (which will more than likely relate to Chrysalis 2012 for me next year). And whatever else I'm forgetting.

In the immortal words of Bill and Ted, "The clock's tickin', dude."

Jenni Merritt's debut novel...PRISON NATION!

2011-12-08T08:37:00.005+08:00

My blogger friend Jenni Merritt has just released her debut novel, PRISON NATION. You can read all about it here. I haven't bought my copy yet, 'cause I'm waiting for information on autographed copies. heh heh. I've been following Jenni's blog for a while now, and I'm so excited for her about this release! And just look at that cover...which is a DIY cover, by the way! Special, huh? Anyway, congratulations Jenni and I can't wait to get my hands on a print copy! Yes, I like my books physical, what can I say? ;)

I will finish this post by mentioning that I did actually do some...revision... gasp! Not last night, but the night before. And now we have all our prompts up to date for Chrysalis, so I have no excuse for further procrastination there! I better get a move on with December's goals!

What are those words for?

2011-12-07T09:17:00.004+08:00

"My tale is done. See the mouse run. Catch it, whoever can, and then you can make a great big cap out of its fur."

Is it just me, or is that a totally random way to end "Hansel and Gretel"? I mean, there was no mention of a mouse in the rest of the story. Unless there was and I've forgotten.

I love the Grimm fairytales how they always get straight to the point. If there's ever any poetic description, i.e. "The moon was shining very brightly, and the white pebbles glittered in front of the house like pure silver coins", it's because the pebbles are going to play an important role in the story very shortly. In my story if I've described a beautiful sunset, it's not because the sunset is going to be of any use to the characters. It's just to put an image in the reader's mind.

With the fairytales, there is nothing said that doesn't need to be said.

At least, that was what I believed until I read about that mouse fur cap!

Soooooo unmotivated (and belated blogoversary)

2011-12-05T18:31:00.007+08:00

I think for December I shall skip trying to find a photo or artwork or whatever to put in my blog entries. Perhaps I will go back on that decision after this horrible crappy day is over and I start a new and way less crappy day. Or perhaps not. I guess the best advice is to be prepared for boring bare-bones entries from me, entries that are just words. But we like words, right? So it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Anyway, since this blog is meant to be about writing and so on, I may as well give a writing update. I haven't done anything since writing that last Chrysalis story. I haven't even opened the file for NAUSICAA, and at this particular moment I'm not too bothered. I did start reading the Grimm fairytales, and I keep laughing out loud in amazement at the gruesome things that happen. I find it hard to believe a wolf, even a lazy one full of food, wouldn't notice his belly being cut open and then sewn back up. Stayed asleep the whole time! Anyway, so far most of the tales have had happy endings (of sorts), but one or two perhaps have ended not so prettily for the main characters. All in all, I'm enjoying myself so far.

I hope everyone is enjoying their December!

P.S. I missed my blogoversary. It was on December 1 (my first post was here). Boo. Oh well, I've been here a year, folks! Yay for me! (and of course for you who get to listen to me ramble the hell on)

December goals

2011-12-02T09:43:00.006+08:00

I've really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to write anything for NaNo yesterday. Nor do I have to write anything today...or this month. Well, for NaNo at least. I also don't have to write in this blog every day, or every other day. I do, however, still have some goals to achieve by the end of the year.

8. Write 52 short stories, one per week, for the Chrysalis Experiment
9. Write at least once a week in writing blog
12. Complete a preliminary read-through/edit of NAUSICAA (NaNo '10 novel) - as of March 6, opening chapter has been worked on/critiqued

Of those, writing in this blog is definitely the easiest. As for the others...I have fallen slightly behind in Chrysalis, partly because we are missing prompt #46, and partly because I haven't written this week's story. But I'm not too concerned about achieving this one. Writing 1k a week seems like absolute peanuts after what I just went through with NaNo. Even writing 1k a day would be comparative peanuts.

As for the read-through of NAUSICAA...I think I can do it. I don't need to actually do any serious editing. It's just a read-through and some note-taking on what will need editing later. That's how I'm choosing to interpret my own words up there, anyway. I have to say, though, that while 2011 is not yet over, I've been thinking about my to-do list for 2012 for a long while now. The Goals page is under construction. I shall unveil it probably on Dec 31st, or January 1, or somewhere around then.

But let's forget next year... What are your goals for December?

Hobblin' across the NaNo finito line

2011-11-30T20:32:00.005+08:00

OH. my. GOSH. It's over. I am about to start crying with gratitude. Almost, but not quite. Instead I'll just heave another sigh of relief (or twenty...) and report that my final word count for both novels is 100,827. That is a Scrivener (for Mac, if it matters) word count. I just validated my novel on the NaNo site and the word count there is...100,018. WOW. That's uncomfortably close to less than 100k. Maybe I should tack on a few more words, just to create some kind of buffer? haha. No, I'm not that desperate.

But anyway, to break it down a bit more, here are the word counts as they stand (keeping in mind that neither is finished):

DANNA: 50,606

VICTORIOUS: 50,221

Now I'm going to go and stare at a wall. A very big wall. For a very long time. Or, well, the next hour or so before it's bedtime. If it wasn't a school night, I'd be having another glass of wine. Then again, maybe I will anyway.

On iTunes, a Dream Theater song is playing. "The Count of Tuscany". It runs to 19:16 minutes. I do believe this is my first listen.

NaNo - home stretch

2011-11-29T08:55:00.009+08:00

I'm anticipating some serenity in December (see above photo), once NaNo is over. That's not the right November spirit, right? But my spirit is tired and needs a nap! Thankfully, we are on the home stretch! Before I give today's word count update, I want to clarify things for Deniz (and anyone else who's confused):

This month I've been writing two novels, both of which were started from scratch as part of NaNo 2011. The first novel, DANNA, is a YA paranormal and will probably be finished a lot more easily than the second, VICTORIOUS, which is sci-fantasy. Not sure on the acceptable word counts for sci-fantasy novels, but considering the 'fantasy' aspect I figure they're expected to at least be longer than 50k? hehe

Now...a word count update: last night's session got me to 94,666 across both novels. 5,334 words to go until I hit 100k. It doesn't feel like a huge deal, because I've done it before, and easily. But this year has felt especially like a hard slog, for reasons I don't quite get. Perhaps the challenge was actually planning on 100k, instead of just 'accidentally' ending up with it? (Remember, I'm a notorious pantser!)

It's Day 28!

2011-11-28T08:30:00.005+08:00

Last night I reached 90,873 words, after writing 7712 (I thought it was over 8k, but the word count API tells me differently) to catch up on all the days I had missed writing the full required amount. I have notes throughout my manuscript for VICTORIOUS that say "needs filling", so I can easily find the parts I have yet to write out. So far with this novel, there are bits I love and many more bits I don't love. But that's to be expected! I haven't touched DANNA since Day 16 began, except for at the end of Day 16 when I had already written my quota for VICTORIOUS and added a few more words to DANNA.

It's pretty well confirmed that neither novel will be finished by December. And right now I am listening to Magic Dirt, a beautiful song called "Smoulder".

Day 25 and beyond

2011-11-25T08:43:00.006+08:00

We've got it all 'round these parts. At least when it comes to sizeable bodies of water. That up there is part of the Swan River, which is a pretty big chunk o' water. We've also got some serious ocean action happening. So if you like water, Perth is the place for you. If on the other hand you abhor it to its very essence, it's probably best to stay far away!

Now that I've talked about something entirely unrelated to NaNoWriMo, I will move on...to things related to NaNoWriMo. Namely, my NaNo word count - 78,765. Seems like a lot, but I'm behind, and I won't get much writing done tonight either. Saturday night is a bust as well. In fact, most of Saturday is a bust. Half of Sunday will be a bust. So...I'm mildly concerned. But I'm determined that I will find little pockets of writing time here and there to keep me above...water.

Wow, maybe that first paragraph was vaguely NaNo-relevant after all!

Hi, Day #23...how are you?

2011-11-23T11:43:00.007+08:00

First off...I take photos of weird things. It's something I'm kind of well known for. The above picture isn't particularly weird, but it shows something about me - I don't like flash. I guess flash can be used artfully, in ways I have never imagined, but since I don't know how to use it that way, I tend to stick to a distinct lack of flash in my photography. You have to have steady hands of course, but sometimes a nice blur doesn't go astray. My dad is a photographer, but as often as he's tried to teach me the ways of a true photographer, I don't seem to absorb his lessons too well. I just continue to do my own thing, with my own battered, crappy point-and-shoot.

Second - a quick NaNo report: 74,611 words. And last night I finally found these notes for VICTORIOUS that I wrote down ages ago (not in email or in Scrivener, but on paper...oh the novelty!), and though they didn't tell me much I didn't already know, they reminded me of a few small things, and suddenly I was (at least a bit more) inspired and motivated. If I wasn't going out tonight I would probably have a great run on words!

P.S. Happy birthday mum, you rock my world on a daily basis!!!!

Day 22 dawns

2011-11-22T08:57:00.005+08:00

I am exhausted today. I think I probably got 5 hours sleep last night, and that is never enough for the likes of me. My NaNo word count is 70,912. Last night I got to about 2 words past my nightly goal and was very tempted to just leave it at that. I did end up adding a few more words before calling it a night. I'm up to a scene that interests me, which makes me wonder about the scenes I just wrote and whether they're total crap or not. I have definitely been padding with unnecessary words, just to get myself to the next point in the story...while making my word count goals.

Anyway, hope everyone else is going well with their goals! Bring on December I say!!

NaNo day #20

2011-11-20T12:08:00.003+08:00

It's Sunday, and I have done my word count quota for the day. I currently sit at 67,332 across both novels. I really love the VICTORIOUS story, but it has been slightly like sitting around waiting for grass to grow, getting these words out. At least I'm getting them out. What I'll have to work with at the end of this are some novels in dire need of editing. But that's what I expected all along.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!!

P.S. I'm listening to The 69 Eyes. They're good fun.

If I were to release a "best of"

2011-11-18T13:21:00.008+08:00

Truth is, my albums tend to contain bits and pieces that I'm not entirely thrilled with, but some contain more bits that make me happy than others. If I were to compile a 'best of', it'd probably look something like this (let's fantasise for a moment that it's a double disc affair!):

Disc 1

Shelter
Yes, New Loving
Xerxes (it's not really about the Persian dude, but you know...)
U.F.O.
Northern Storm (worse than demo quality, recorded using Windows Sound Recorder and el cheapo headset microphone, but I've never managed to record a version I'm happier with)
Revelled
By the Wayside (Lush Version) (it's a bit too quiet, but if you turn it up you can hear it! hehe)
Restrung (at present I'm rather fond of this one, and I listen to it a lot...yes, I listen to my own music. Sue me)
Glossary Head (2011 version) (yes, there is an original version which I also quite like, but I think this one's a bit more "special")
Build A Bridge
Pay
Beyond Pale and Ageless (Alt. Version)
Leaves
Chaos Theory ('cause it's weird and experimental and I like it)
James Dale (Edit) (it's short, sad and about a character I killed off in a novel)
What Do I Have To Do? (haunting, weird, experimental, reminds me of snow)
A Lizard (like a fair few other songs of mine, these lyrics were written during high school...and set to music only in recent years)
Interlude 3 (the third of the interludes, and yes, my favourite)
Back Flip

Disc 2

Judgement Line
I Need Sleep
Run Like A Man (edit) (it was only an edit 'cause I messed up the ending...still kicking myself for that, 'cause this was the best recording I ever did of this song, apart from that ending mess!)
Red (this one reminds me of my character Louise from SUNDOWN)
Burn This Need
Debutantes (this song came to me in a dream, and Billy Corgan was singing it. It was a lot more rocking in my sleep)
Weights On (remix)
Snail Break (this is a song I co-wrote with a friend in primary school...I think he did most of the writing. Our early recording of it sounded nothing like this one)
Judgement Line (Electric) - more haunty than the original
Rude
On the Clock (Snook Sessions) (I have no good recordings of this yet, but I think it has potential)
Backhand (short and not so sweet?)
Death's Business
Experience (dedicated to at least one bastard out there!)
Domino Head (I do believe the tempo's a bit messed up, but I still like it)
Storyteller
Fall on Death
Token (possibly the first song I ever wrote? Definitely the first I ever shared with anyone)
Ten Times Ten (Billy and WAG) (my first ever collaboration, so very exciting! This Billy guy seriously made my song sound amazing!)

And okay, maybe some bonus tracks (some of my favourite covers):

Real Love (Smashing Pumpkins cover)
Darkangel (Gabriel) (VNV Nation cover)
Scientific (the Government cover) - these guys are my friends and I used to go see their band live all the time. There aren't any recordings of their version of the song, as far as I know, and I really wanted to preserve it on 'tape')

P.S. NaNo word count = 57,331.

Cover art

2011-11-17T08:51:00.007+08:00

I was telling another blogger the other day that, until I started this blog and got around to exploring the writer blogger corners of the blogosphere, I really had no idea that cover art was such a big deal. I guess I just took it for granted that I was attracted to pretty shiny book covers. Well, sometimes I prefer them not shiny, to be honest. Point is, it's nothing I ever thought about. I still don't think about it much, which is odd. I have, however, made my own cover art. Mostly for my music.

Above is one example. An album full of my earliest songs, so very dodgy to listen to now in hindsight. The album was titled SOUR because I threw all the songs I wasn't that fond of (or that I never did "proper" recordings of) on it. They had to have somewhere to go, after all! They, along with my other music, can be found here for free download. But anyway...I just wanted to talk about cover art and how I've done some, but mostly not for my books.

P.S. NaNo word count is 54,302. I'm off to a somewhat shaky start with VICTORIOUS.

Hello Day 16!

2011-11-16T08:07:00.007+08:00

There I am at the beach, with my broken iPod touch and my pink Toyota hat (it came with my Yaris, wheee!). Also, my pink headphones (they're the kind you can change the covers on, so I have a black and a white pair of coverings too). And you can see my wondrously ordinary camera in the reflection too.

Anyway... Today is the day I begin writing VICTORIOUS (yesterday I reached 50k in DANNA, and yes that is a working title...they both are). I have a page of notes for VICTORIOUS and that's about it. Part of me feels really tired, and yet I'm also excited! This is gonna be a good one. And my first real attempt at a sci-fi/fantasy crossover. Wheee!

I'm feeling good today. Happy! And I like it!

Day 14 ends, and my keyboard gives me crap

2011-11-14T21:29:00.005+08:00

My laptop's keyboard is being MIGHTILY ANNOYING tonight. It's making most things rather difficult to type. It's doing this thing where it highlights text and deletes it and the arrow keys are on the fritz and it's all just annoying! Suffice it to say that writing my last few thousand words was a big pain in the butt. But I got there and I'm now sitting on 48,626 words.

I'm calling it a day (or rather, a night) and will get the last 1,374 words written tomorrow during lunch hour.

And if I don't get them entirely written then, I will finish them off after work, before heading off to dinner out. After that it will be Day 16, and time to start on novel number two, tentatively titled VICTORIOUS.

I must say, this is the first year in a while that I'm rather eager for NaNo to be over, in fact I'm almost dying for it to be over. I want my afternoons and evenings entirely free from commitment so I can do as I please, as my whimsy takes me, as I most heartily desire. But until November ends, that ain't gonna happen. Pity I keep finding new ways to occupy my time that don't involve writing. Not ideal at a time when you're trying to write 2 novels in 30 days. But oh well, it happens I guess.

Hope everyone else is going well with their goals, NaNo-inspired or otherwise! Thank you for all the blog visits lately. I have been working on reciprocating but if I haven't got to you yet, never fear - I will!

[Day 13] 43,822

2011-11-13T20:39:00.003+08:00

I wouldn't say no to eating this right now:

(source)

But alas, there is none!

Instead I'll report on my NaNo progress for the day. I was so sure I wasn't going to make it to my goal. I had many moments of staring at the screen feeling utterly devoid of inspiration - for anything, much less writing 3,333k in words. But I got there, and now my word count stands at 43,822.

I have a lot of commenting favours to return, and I will do that I swear. For now, I am exhausted from all the cocktails I drank this weekend, and must succumb to my intense desire to just stare at a wall drooling. Good night world!

And a 40,106 for Day 12

2011-11-12T11:34:00.006+08:00

That's the book I'm reading right now. It's one of those I bought from a book sale at the university where I work. I must've got it on sale for $5 or something. For the record, it's a tiny book, as in small format and compact and cute. Which is why it makes me SO MAD that it's officially for sale from its publisher's site at $27.95!!! Books are so ridiculously expensive in this country that it makes me utterly boiling mad.

But let's talk about NaNo. I feel the need to take this NaNo thing one day at a time! When I think about the fact that I'm not even halfway through, that I have an entire new story to start (one that I am going to love, though, so I'm not complaining) I feel a little bewildered. I also haven't done this week's Chrysalis story yet. But to be honest, I'm trying to ignore that!

33,700 or something

2011-11-11T08:10:00.009+08:00

Oh my! I forgot to post yesterday. I have failed NoJoMo! But at least it wasn't an official goal. ;) My word count in Scrivener is something like 33,700. Over the count I had to get to, anyway. In Word it's 33,533. I think that is still over the required count. Right now, my writing sessions feel like pretty hard slogs. This weekend is kind of full too, so I'm going to have a hard time getting any momentum. But I'll do what I can, even if it's the bare minimum, and be happy with that.

I didn't mention this yet, but I decided to add Mack's point of view to the story. So there are sections from his point of view, as well as from Danna's. It's kind of cool. His sections tend to be much shorter than hers, which in my experience can be quite typical of boys vs. girls. I think it fits.

Anyway...hope everyone's going well with NaNo and other assorted projects! I have yet to write this week's Chrysalis story. Yikes. Oh, and P.S. That picture above is another from the Fremantle Monument. I shared some pics from there a while back in this post, on another stormy day.

30,727 for Day 9

2011-11-09T19:57:00.004+08:00

Yep, 30,727 is the current word count. I'm 727 words ahead of my goal as of 7:58pm. I may or may not write more this evening. If I get another burst of energy, I will. But considering how exhausted I've been this and last week, I might just take it easy and eat some more Snakes and watch some more NCIS.

Maybe I won't eat more Snakes. Maybe I'll have ice cream. These are the big decisions. So much pressure. ARGH!! Got any advice?

What would you choose? a) Snakes Alive, or b) vanilla ice cream with Ice Magic and slivered almonds?

Day 8

2011-11-08T21:55:00.006+08:00

I shall not fail in the posting every day-ing-ness! That's why I'm here with my eyeballs about to fall out of my head with tiredness! Just for fun, I thought I would share a relatively short extract from my NaNo work so far. It's unpolished, it's a rough draft...it's NaNo. I know I don't need to explain to any of you! But with all the above in mind, here it is:

My mouth has fallen open.

“Careful, don’t wanna catch flies,” Mack tells me as he settles in the seat diagonally opposite me.

“You.”

“Me.”

“Melinda’s meat.”

He’s still wearing his sunglasses, so I can’t see the look in his eyes. I can imagine it, though. Especially with the sudden furrow I see appear on his brow. It smoothes quickly and I see his eyebrows quirk upward. I get the distinct impression he just rolled his eyes.

“That her name?” he asks idly.

We stare at each other, or at least I stare at him. I can’t tell what he’s staring at. “You do know the sun’s gone down, right?”

“Cheers for the tip.”

That’s all he says before turning to stare out the window on his side. I watch him a moment more, dying to comment on the baseball cap. Then I resume my own survey of the urban countryside.

My word count is 28,276. Tonight I didn't get much done, probably 1500 words? I suck at maths, but basically if you took last night's word count away from this night's, you'd get the difference. And on that note, I need to go and sleep or something terrible may happen (I might fall asleep while typing, for e.g.).

Hope you are all great!! And thanks for all the blog visits!!

P.S. New Chrysalis prompt today...new story must be written. Oh gawd!

Crap, but I'm okay with that

2011-11-07T20:52:00.006+08:00

Doesn't quite rhyme, but I'll go with it.

Tonight's writing session got me to 26,696. I've written tomorrow night's quota, which is good since I may not get any writing time at all tomorrow. I might actually take my laptop to work with me so I can get some writing done at lunchtime. Or...I might not. Depends on the mood. But to explain this blog entry's title, I'll say that quite often this stuff I'm writing is crap. There are odd moments of un-crapness, but for the most part I'm writing for the words, not the genius. But I'm not worried. After all, what is revision for if not de-crapifying our writing?

In other news, I finished reading that Jackie Collins book. You can read my review here. You may be shocked by how unscathing the review is, all things considered! I know I was. Anyway, now I am reading this:

100,000 - 23,482 = 76,518...right?

2011-11-06T21:09:00.004+08:00

Day 6 of NaNo is over, and I've written 23,482 words. I'm pretty sure I've written tomorrow's quota already (unless I am making a horrible mistake and my computer's in-built calculator is lying to my FACE!). It's good to have a buffer, but by no means do I feel comfortable just yet. After all, I have another 76,518 words to write in November!

Above is a picture of one of our beaches here in Perth (actually, South Beach in Fremantle), which I took a couple of days ago. Pretty, huh?

NaNo-Chrysalis crossover

2011-11-05T22:57:00.003+08:00

So, Day 5 of NaNoWriMo draws to a close and I've got a word count of 18,038. The number I needed to reach today was 16,666.6 recurring until it gets to 7. As in, 16,666.6666666666667. I think. Or maybe I put one too many 6s in there. Either way, it was something like that, at least according to my Mac's in-built calculator. I've decided to go with that!

I also wrote about 1200 words for the Chrysalis Experiment today, hence the inclusion of the icon above. I wrote it using my novel's characters, and I may be able to use it towards my NaNo word count eventually. For now, it's set aside as a little 'vignette'.

In other news, I enjoyed a post-Halloween Halloween party this evening with some great friends. Haven't had that much fun on Halloween in a long time!

Anyway...may all your Day 5s end on positive notes as mine did, and may each of you glimpse a fluffy bunny or two ('cause man they're cute!).

Day 4 at an end...thank gosh for that!

2011-11-04T22:22:00.001+08:00

I don't need to say more than that, do I? But I will. Just a little, don't fret!

It's bedtime and I am in dire need of a good sleep. I was tempted to give up a little bit ago but I decided to stick with it until 10:30 to try and make my goal word count. It's currently 10:21 so I'd consider that a goal well met.

Now...sleeeeeep. (Man, whatever happened to the old rock 'n roller I used to be? Being out till 5am was never a big deal back then!)

Day #3 is done!

2011-11-03T22:09:00.008+08:00

Tiny picture for a tiny blog post! And may I just say that when technology fails me, I get MAD. But moving on from that nice blog entry I had already written and then lost...! Day 3 of NaNo is over and I've written 9,453 words. Once again I've fallen behind with my required word count. Last year I averaged 5k a day until the first weekend hit. I should have had 10k exactly by the end of tonight. But I'm not too worried. I'll catch up.

As for the story itself...? My female MC has run away with me, insisting on becoming more sarcastic and 'witty' than I had planned. Not sure she will get her way in the long run, 'cause she's meant to be more dreamy and spaced out than that. But I guess we'll see. Male MC is coming along nicely. Rude and obnoxious, but showing his courteous side now and then (though in such a rude and obnoxious way that nobody recognises it as courtesy). I have to play up his 'lady's man' angle a bit. But now I'm wondering if I do, after all. Sigh. Best laid plans and all that...

OMG. This blog post is NOT tiny anymore. But I can make it at least no more gargantuan by finishing here and bidding you all good night! Sweet dreams of NaNo victory to all of you who are participating! And sweet dreams of other things to the rest of you!

NaNo Day Dos

2011-11-02T21:41:00.004+08:00

Just a quick note to say...argh, it's past bedtime, but Day 2 of NaNo is over and I'm pleased to say I got a little more on track this evening (while still allowing for at least a dash of that procrastination which any sane writer person has to indulge in to survive November. Hey, wait...did I say sane?!).

So my current word count is 6,349. To complete 50k in 15 days I need to write 3,333.3 recurring each day. So as of tonight I am ahead of schedule! Entirely satisfied with that, I can say!

I hope everyone is having a great November so far! Catch you at the end of Day 3, people!

National Novel Writing Month...day 1

2011-11-01T21:12:00.006+08:00

Day 1 of NaNoWriMo is done for me and I've written 2,148 words. Not what I was aiming for, but not too bad either. My actual aim is to write double the usual required amount, since, you know, I'm writing 2 novels this time. Last year I was averaging 5k a day for the first 6 days or something. I can do it...I think I'm just taking more care this time than I did last time.

I have been guilty already of deleting sentences, paragraphs, etc., so I can rewrite them. My usual style is to just write, consequences be damned (consequences being "oh my gosh that sentence SUUUCCCKKKED!"). But I've suffered a fair bit of trouble in revisions lately because of that WTF-ever attitude, and so maybe I'm trying to reduce what pain I must suffer with these novels in future revisions. I can't let it hamper my chances of achieving my NaNo goal, though! That is the bottom line.

NoJoMo also starts today: November Journalling Month. And while this isn't a journal, per se, I've opted to do NoJoMo here anyway. Just for the heck of it. Why not make things even more crazy 'round here?! And speaking of crazy, I have another Chrysalis story to write. Prompt forty-four, folks!! We're so near the end I can taste it! But what a busy month this will be.

P.S. This month we will see 11/11/11, and at 11:11am (and pm for that matter) we will see 11:11 on 11/11/11. What can I say, I get a kick out of this stuff!

Presenting...

2011-10-31T10:41:00.008+08:00

My completed paper edit transfer to Scrivener thingy!

FYI, I tend to use the words 'thingy' and 'thingies' a lot. In my universe, they are words. Anyway, the edits are done and I'm ready to send the novel off to my beta-reader. Wheee, I have a beta-reader! I also have one more goal to cross off my list!

Now I can turn my attention to NaNoWriMo and the two novels I'll be writing during November!

There was a discussion on the NaNo forums about last-minute projects people are trying to get done before November 1st. This was mine. I do have a Chrysalis story to finish, which technically was due yesterday...or maybe even on Friday. I can't remember if it was my turn to post the Friday feature or not. Either way, I'll get that one done tonight, and then tomorrow NaNo begins!

What about you? Do you have any last-minute projects to finish before November? What about end-of-year tasks?

Still alive!

2011-10-30T13:40:00.004+08:00

Yes, I totally failed NaBloWriMo. And I'm fine with that. I had a rather disappointing weekend, but I'm not going to get into details. Suffice it to say I feel better now, but this is the kind of disappointment that will take a fair while to recover from. I'm a bit annoyed at the timing, what with NaNo coming up and everything! But oh well, NOTHING will keep me from my NaNoWriMo.

I still haven't finished my paper edit transfer stuff. I really should have finished it a few days ago. The personal matter that took over my life kind of got in the way of that. But I'm determined to finish the edits today. I've only got about 9 pages to go, so it shouldn't take me long. But as I mentioned a while back, I have had to do a bit of rewriting so it's taken more effort than it otherwise would have.

Last night I stayed over at a friend's for a girls' night and we watched LEGALLY BLONDE. This morning, though, we watched DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, a film straight outta my youth. I was 5 when it came out. Maybe 4. Depends on when in 1985 it was released. Madonna was just so damn cool in this movie! What a trendsetter. She still is that, I guess, but I admit I'm not a huge fan of her more recent work. Old school Madonna is where it's at.

This post doesn't have one central theme, as you can see. And that's another thing I'm perfectly at ease with. I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Ways to help your author friends

2011-10-27T09:02:00.006+08:00

Nope, this is not my post...but I want to mention Jolene Perry's post on this very topic. Because it made me realise I needed to tell some people that I haven't forgotten their books!

I have a bunch of books from blogger writer friends that I have yet to read (including Ciara Knight, and my friend Carmen Rane Hudson). I just want all of you to know that I will be reading them! I will be leaving reviews on GoodReads (and anywhere else you want me to leave them!) once I'm done. It's really hard for me to prioritise my reading, because I have so much of it to do. My TBRRN shelf (to-be-read-right-now) is rather packed. Then I have an entire other bookcase full of TBR books. None of that includes the eBooks I've got stashed, ready to have at.

But I will get there! So just remember you are not forgotten!

Craaaaaaazy

2011-10-26T08:24:00.007+08:00

I would blame my recent lobotomy for the fact that I locked myself out of my home...again. But the last time I locked myself out, I hadn't had the lobotomy yet. So I guess there's really no good excuse for this one!! But instead of focusing on how annoyed I am right now (because my keys are still in my house...I may need to borrow a ladder), I'm going to concentrate on some good stuff.

For instance, I have (I think) two more chapters to go before I'm done with the revision thingy. Then I will send my manuscript thingy off to my beta-reader Laura! Wheeee! Then it will be time for NaNoWriMo. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

"My Weakness" by Moby

2011-10-25T11:09:00.007+08:00

At present, I'm up to page 165 of my paper edit transfer. At this stage I feel like I am probably not doing the best I could do with implementing the edits. I mean, I should probably read over the whole thing instead of just focusing on the parts I had noted during the paper edit. But I feel good about the rearrangements I've been doing along the way, and how many words I've cut out. The wordcount is currently under 95k, which means I have already met my wordcount goal. However, there's potential for adding some words in these last few chapters, so I'll see how it all turns out I guess.

My face is swollen today. My aunty was telling me that when she had a similar procedure done on her face (but on her nose, not forehead), it took a couple of days after the surgery for the swelling to really start. I was confused when my face began to puff up, because I thought I had got away with hardly any swelling! Now I know I was wrong about that. But I'm not in any pain, so that part is fine.

Right now I am listening to "My Weakness" by Moby. Now when I hear this song, I think of that X-FILES episode. But I loved the song even before hearing it on that show. It's a gorgeous song, and if you haven't heard it, you should!

What I'm reading

2011-10-24T08:51:00.005+08:00

This is what I'm reading at the moment, thanks to a colleague who lent it to me at least a year ago (probably more like two...). I've put it off time and time again, but finally I'm getting stuck in. Because, as that colleague of mine told me, "You've got to read at least one Jackie Collins novel in your life."

This, my friends, is the one.

What are you reading?

NaBloWriMo day...23

2011-10-23T10:07:00.005+08:00

I could share more graphic pictures of my battle scar, but I wouldn't want to scare anyone! Oh, and for the record, that isn't a scar - it's a wound which will scar, at least a little. But I'm not worried about a white Harry Potter scar on my forehead. Or Zorro, as the man put it. I just want the sutures out so I can start healing properly!

Meanwhile, my wordcount during revisions is really shrinking. Right now I'm at 95,736. If you recall, my goal wordcount was 95k!! So I'm nearly there. I can well imagine going under it, which means I may have some breathing space for improving on descriptions in various places. I'm up to page 134 out of 188, so I'm making good progress. But enough about that.

I want to mention an experience I had a few days back, after locking myself out of a particularly important building (the one I live in). I had to call on my secret ninja powers of breaking and entering (luckily I didn't have to break anything in order to enter)... I even had to walk myself backwards up a wall while hanging off a window sill! Work colleagues suggested I might look into a job with ASIO, or one as a stunt double in action movies. Nah, I think I'll just stick with superhero librarianship and writing on the side, thanks. Still, it was fun to think about for a moment.

Zombie Trisha

2011-10-22T09:48:00.005+08:00

Can you see it? I know, it's tiny! But I was searching Google for an appropriate zombie picture and I couldn't find any.

Now I guess you're wondering why I needed a zombie pic. Basically I was looking for something that would do my current appearance justice. I finally had my skin cancer removed and now I have a rather misshapen forehead. It really looked like I had little aliens growing in there. Not that the lumps were moving - no, they were perfectly dormant - but still, the description fit.

I'm not in much pain, just a little discomfort, and my lovely man stocked me up with white whine and chocolate (and leftover Thai food...mmmmm!), so I am all set. My mum is coming over at some point to wash the blood out of my hair. And then on Monday it's back to work, unless I decide I'm too ugly to be seen in public.

Meanwhile, today I am working on revisions. Currently I'm up to page 115 of 188. And I just realised I haven't paid any attention whatsoever to the Chrysalis prompt for this week. So I guess I better get a story written somewhere in the next few days.

What are you up to this weekend?

My NaNoWriMo past...and future

2011-10-21T10:03:00.007+08:00

I thought I'd rehash my NaNo past, as well as briefly mention the future! A little research has shown me that I've done the following:

2002: ANJIE DAYS

2003: SOMANA

2007: SQUEAKY MCLEAN

2008: TURKEY BOURKE

2009: SUNDOWN

2010: NAUSICAA

In 2011, I'm writing two novels, so to the above list I will be adding:

2011: DANNA/VICTORIOUS

Because I am determined that I will win this year as well! Maybe I won't actually finish both novels. Maybe I'll finish one and not the other! Maybe both will be 'complete' (I'm doubtful of this). Either way, I will write 50k on each novel. At the very least, I will write 50k altogether. The major challenge will not be writing a total of 100k. Rather it will be attempting to finish both novels.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo during other years, but either unofficially, or unsuccessfully. So I'm not listing those here. One of the unsuccessful years was me attempting to continue with the previous year's story. I wrote a bit on it, but not 50k. One year I didn't participate at all, and another I participated unofficially.

So there you go. It's on record now, for all to see! But now it's your turn!

What's your NaNo history?

Twitter-tag the first

2011-10-20T11:30:00.004+08:00

Long, long ago, I got Twitter-tagged by my blogger friend Charlotte Jane Ivory. And here is my reaction to that event:

If you could go back in time and relive one moment, what would it be?
I've had heaps of great moments, but probably the one I'd love to relive is the first time I ever saw the Smashing Pumpkins live in concert. Or MAYBE it'd be the second time I saw them, which was a 3-hour performance in San Diego. MAGIC.
If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
I'd probably go back in time and try to orchestrate a distinct lack of Joseph Stalin in the world.
What movie/TV character do you most resemble in personality?
Nobody, because I'm unique and nobody is like me? This is my lazy answer because I honestly can't think of any character off the top of my head. Or even off the bottom of it.
If you could push one person off a cliff and get away with it, who would it be?
If I could push one person off a cliff, it'd probably be Juturna from my novel NAUSICAA. Maaaaan that lady's a nasty piece of work. But it's okay, she gets her come-uppance.
Name one habit you want to change in yourself.
I want to be utterly confident in the idea that the world is my oyster, damn it. Basically I want to stop looking to other people for the kind of validation I am more than capable of giving myself.
Describe yourself in one word.
Interesting.
Describe the person who named you in this meme in one word.
Glamorous!
Why do you blog? Answer in one sentence.
Because somebody said I should...so I gave it a shot, and thought it pretty well rocked!
Name at least 3 people to send this meme to, and then inform them.
Ohhh, okay. I'll choose these people, after which I shall inform them:

Meet Laura, my first EVARRR beta-reader!

2011-10-19T10:56:00.006+08:00

Recently I mentioned that I found myself a beta-reader at last. That was actually one of my goals for 2011, so YAY! Anyway, my lovely beta's name is Laura and she has agreed to answer a few questions (read: be interrogated by the crazy librarian cat lady) so you (and I!) can get to know her better! Without further ado, I present...Laura!

1. What do you write, and what do you read? Do they tend to be the same?
I'll answer the second bit first. I read chick lit. Lots of chick lit. Probably far too much for one little person to handle - with the occasional snippet of sci-fi, thriller, and historical non-fiction. When it came to writing, I decided to write chick lit (naturally), and it also fits in well with the non-fiction fashion writing I do. I finished the first draft of my fist novel Welly-Booty-Goodness and shrugged. I was meant to be super-excited but it wasn't there, maybe because I've read so much of the stuff before. So now I'm considering embarking on a thriller for NaNoWriMo.

2. Do you love NaNoWriMo as much as I do? (for assistance with answering this one, I will inform you that I love NaNoWriMo THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS much)
I have a confession. I'm a NaNoWriMo virgin, *blushes*. I did BuNoWriMo in June run by Burrowers, Books and Balderdash. It's exactly the same premise but on a smaller scale, and I really enjoyed that. But I'm so excited about NaNoWriMo - I'm sooo going to a kick off event!

3. Do you have any beta readers of your own, and if so want to tell us about ‘em? If not, why not?
I don't have any dedicated Beta readers as yet, because I haven't really got anything to a stage where I want to get it checked out by anyone. A couple of fab, bloggy pals have been good enough to take a brief look over a chapter here and there for me though.

4. What kind of music do you write to? Or do you need complete silence? Or the steady beating of a bongo drum as background noise? Or something else entirely? (if the latter, what?)
So, for Welly-Booty-Goodness, I wrote the entire thing to the same playlist - Elvis, Beejees, Fink and Al Green. I'm thinking if I go the thriller route, I'm going to need some new suggestions!

5. What the HECK were you thinking, agreeing to be MY beta reader? Just kidding! The real question is...what's your favourite writing snack/drink combo?
Peanut M&Ms, a huge bowl of greasy, ready-salted crisps and a bucket of coffee.

Mmmmmm, peanut M&Ms...! No, really, that's where the interview ends. Pretty abrupt, huh? Well, I ran out of ideas for questions. So now I will just say THANKS to Laura for submitting to my interrogation, and for agreeing to be my first ever beta! Wheee!

Check out Laura's blog to enter her 200 Followers Giveaway!

Winter is my friend

2011-10-18T12:30:00.005+08:00

That there is the kind of weather I love. We don't get it here, maybe that's why I love it so much. Pine for it, even. We don't get snow at all where I live. Apparently there is the occasional dusting of snow somewhere in my state - in the closest thing we have to mountains here - but for the most part, snow is practically a myth to people here.

Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a nice (cool) spring day. I can appreciate a nice gusty autumn day. I can even appreciate a hot summer's day, at least when I'm at the beach, in the water. But one of my favourite things is to travel overseas when it's winter there, and miss out on the grossness that is summer over here.

EPIC FAIL (link to a review)

2011-10-17T08:48:00.008+08:00

D'arcy Wretzky, portrait by me.
It's day 17 of NaBloWriMo, and I'm not planning on saying anything other than...I'm up to page 89 (Chapter 18) in my paper edit --> Scrivener thingy.I finished reading EPIC FAIL, and put up a review on GoodReads.Now I'm reading FIVE FLAVOURS OF DUMB by Antony John.And now I'm going to click that orange Publish Post button.

Some scribbles for day...16 of NaBloWriMo

2011-10-16T14:36:00.011+08:00

Chrysalis wordcount for the year to date: 93,917

Number of stories written: 41

That is all I'll say for now, as I will be doing a proper statistical analysis when the year is over.

Paper edit progress: up to page 84 (start of chapter 17) in the transfer!

Current Scrivener word count: 98,535 (goal is 95k)

And I'm completely serious when I say: that's all, folks!

Except I am a liar, because I must compulsively add a P.S. to mention that I'm currently reading EPIC FAIL by Claire LaZebnik, and enjoying the heck out of it!

Oh, and P.P.S. (didn't you love doing heaps of P.S.s as a teen? i.e. right up into the P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S.s? Or was it just me?) Go NaBloWriMo!

Satur'dee

2011-10-15T12:38:00.012+08:00

It is day something-or-rather of NaBloWriMo (I know I could find out what day it is by deducing the date, but I'm feeling too lazy to lift my hand to the top right-hand corner of my computer screen where the date and time lives! I can tell you it's Saturday, just by glancing at that corner, though. Gosh I'm good).

Now for the meat of the entry:

The image above is a manipulation (and, naturally, serious cropping) of an original piece of art done in really dark pencil (yes, that is the technical and Trisha-rifically correct term for the kind of pencil I'm talking about...because I say so!). It doubles as "song art". See, when I first started writing songs, I did a little picture - sometimes more than one - for each song. I've slacked off on that in recent years, mostly due to no longer having easy acesss to Photoshop, but maybe someday I'll get back into it!
I finished reading ALEX CROSS'S TRIAL today. It was such an awful story, mostly because it was based on events of history. I have no idea how people can be so horrible, or ever could, even when it was 'the norm'. But at least not everyone in this story was horrible. I really enjoyed the fast-paced writing, short chapters, and Ben Corbett's voice. In short, it was an easily devoured, if shocking in parts, read. It doesn't have the realism of some nasty pieces of work I've read this year, which is probably a blessing - who wants to really truly be there in the awful moment with a story like this?
As of this very second, I am up to page 63 in my paper-to-Scrivener editing, and my current word count is 99,441. Yay!! Under 100k again. But I have another 4.5k to cut before I'll be satisfied.
I am thrilled to report that I have found my first beta reader! But I will report on that in more depth later! For now, I post this, in the hopes that everyone is having a great weekend even as I speak (or, rather, type).

In conclusion, thanks everyone for the input on the face transplant topic. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who'd prefer to walk around with a fake face (or no face at all) than to sport somebody else's dead one.

NaBlo and NaNo...and face transplants

2011-10-14T08:43:00.004+08:00

That picture is actually a photograph of a photocopy of a pen/ink drawing. By pen/ink, I mean it was an inky pen that I drew with and then wet with some water to make it more 'inky smudgy' like. I recall that the original paper is kind of crinkly because of the water I dabbed onto it. It's one of many pictures I copied from a photograph originally, so I can't claim all the credit. Still, I like it! And I am using it for this year's NaNoWriMo profile picture.

Yep, I'm all ready for NaNo this year!! I can't wait! I'm writing two novels, or at least I'm spending 15 days on one, and 15 days on the other. It's going to be tough, because sometimes with NaNo I finish my 50k and then get to slack off. This year, I won't be able to slack off for the entire month! Unless I make 50k on each novel really quickly. But no, even then I won't be able to slack off till I reach 50k on my second novel.

Today is head cutty cutty day, so wish me luck! Naturally by that I don't mean I'm getting my head cut off - wouldn't be much point in asking you to wish me luck with that, would there? Speaking of that, I have always maintained that if the time should ever come that I should need a face transplant, I'd ask to be put out of my misery instead. Naturally I can't really say what I'd do until I'm in that situation (which hopefully I never will be!), but at this stage I just think I would too gross having someone's dead face on my head. Same with any exterior limb, I think. Weird that having an organ transplant isn't nearly as gross to me.

What about you? Would you get a face transplant if you lost your own face?

Awards & NaBloWriMo day...what's it?

2011-10-13T16:27:00.003+08:00

I'm totally slack when it comes to Awards and acknowledging them/passing them on. But I figure since I'm having trouble deciding what to post for today's NaBloWriMo entry, I'd take the opportunity to get all caught up!

In recent times, I've received the following awards:

Versatile Blogger award from Jenni Merritt (September 14th) and Dangerous Dan (September 18th)
Irresistibly Sweet award from Jenni Merritt (September 14th)
7x7 Link Award from Jen Burke (October 11th)

First off, thank you to Jenni, Dan and Jen for these awards! I really appreciate that you guys thought of me! But since I have previously won the Versatile and Irresistibly Sweet awards, I thought I'd cheat and just respond fully to the third award in that list, the 7x7 Link Award, which is entirely new to me! From Jen's example, I get the idea that I'm supposed to nominate blog posts of mine that fit the following categories:

Most Beautiful: Oh, I don't know! I quite liked this one.
Most Helpful: I don't tend to do 'help' posts, I tend to ramble on about whatever crap enters my mind at any given time. But I think at least a few people got something out of my CreateSpace proof copies...answering some questions blog post.
Most Popular: Based on number of comments alone, as Jen did with hers, I'd say my First Campaigner Challenge entry wins this one. But if you look at which post has been visited the most, you'd find it was one I wrote during the A-Z blogging challenge in April, about Voltron.
Most Controversial: I don't really do controversy on this blog. Don't get me wrong, I've made my fair share of bold political statements in various places online before, but this is my writing blog and I tend not to get too in people's faces here. However, I guess the obvious one to choose is one I wrote recently for the Peace Blogfest.
Most Successful: What makes a blog post successful? I guess this question feels slightly like a repeat of the "Popular" one, and I could give the same answer here as I did there. But instead I'll go with my award-winning Power of Tension Blogfest entry.
Most Underrated: After a very, very quick browse, I'd say my entry in the Inanimation Blogfest...
Most Prideworthy: Probably this one, in which I reviewed my Goals met to that point in 2011. I have since met more, but it was cool to lay them out the way I did in this post.

Then I need to pass the award on, to 7 blogger friends:

I will tell you all that you've won, but maybe not before you stumble across the truth on your own (because I have to post this now, then run off from work!). P.S. If there are typos, I will have to fix them later! ARGH running late!

Bloody Mary(s)

2011-10-12T14:34:00.003+08:00

(NaBloWriMo) I don't have much experience with Bloody Mary drinks, but I do have one particular fond memory:

I also clearly recall the SUPERNATURAL episode titled "Bloody Mary" - scary stuff! Naturally, though, the SUPERNATURAL dudes weren't the inventors of this myth.

According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia: "Bloody Mary is a ghost or witch featured in English folklore. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is called three times or sometimes more while in a dark room, depending upon the version of the story, often as part of a game or dare."

She's also a crazy mean old Queen from English history - Mary Tudor was her name.

What do you think of when you hear the words Bloody Mary?

Another day missed

2011-10-11T08:26:00.006+08:00

I was going to try and throw something together for my daily NaBloWriMo post last night, just before bedtime, but in the end I said..."Naaaaaaah." So there you have it. Anyway...because I seem to have a policy now that requires me to put an image in every blog post I do, I'm going to share this one:

This is a photo I took when in Melbourne (at the airport) in errr, 2008 I think. I had gone there for a professional conference (library stuff), but of course professional stuff doesn't preclude enjoying an icy cold beer at the airport. Which is precisely what I did!

I think this picture really sums up travelling for me.

In other news, I'm up to page 33 of my edit transfers. Slow going, but at least it's going at all!

I need need NEED to answer today's (or yesterday's...or the day before's, really) NaBloWriMo prompt, because it says this:

Given that Autumn is busting out all over, which is your favourite season and why? Alternately, which is your LEAST favourite season and, of course, why?

First off, we don't have autumn here right now. We have spring, going into summer. And to answer the second part, I abhor summer to the fibre of its very being, especially given how humid our summers are getting down here. I recently heard it summarised something like this: "Perth is becoming Melbourne, and Melbourne is becoming Hobart...and Hobart's becoming the Antarctic."

And to answer the first part, my favourite season is winter, autumn and spring, in that order.

I wrote some stories for the Chrysalis Experiment

2011-10-09T21:35:00.007+08:00

And by "some" I mean 40, to date. By the end of the year it will be 52!

Anyway... NaBloWriMo, Day 9! I'd like to kick off the entry proper by saying: To all who have left me a comment lately but haven't received a visit in return...I apologise! But that's one of my 'things' to work on tomorrow, so look out for me invading your blog.

Now, on some other notes:

Good news: I finished this week's Chrysalis story (#40) with mere hours to spare. Bad news? It's not really finished, and it's not really a short story. Sigh. Another one to add to a very long list.
I haven't forgotten my Globetrotter Series, in fact I was just thinking about getting my next post up very soon. Just not sure when... Stay tuned!
On the paper edit transfers, I'm up to page 23. Of 188 pages. The revised word count (in Scrivener) is 100,962. Better than the 101-something I had before. But I haven't got to the really good bits yet (i.e. good bits for ripping out unnecessary words). Soon, my pretties. Sooooon.
I'm currently reading ALEX CROSS'S TRIAL by James Patterson. I haven't read much of it, not at all, but I like it so far! Prior to that, I read THE PACT by Jodi Picoult. I can't even remember if I've reviewed that at GoodReads...

Aaaaaand that's me done for Day 9!

Day 8

2011-10-08T15:57:00.007+08:00

Day 8 of NaBloWriMo, and no prompt to go on since yesterday's. I've done a tiny bit of work on my paper edit transfer to digital, but not much. I'm up to page 15 of 188 pages. And gee, it's not long till October's over!! Time is running out. In short, I've got to get my act together! I also have yet to write this week's Chrysalis story, but oh well, there's always tomorrow (Sunday) night.

At present I'm watching DEEP IMPACT, an ARMAGEDDON-style end-of-the-world story that is, quite frankly, way better than ARMAGEDDON. This is one of the movies I looked at while writing up my honours thesis in 2002. If you're into that kind of movie and haven't seen DEEP IMPACT, I recommend it for sure!

This is going to be one of those "short" blog entries where I end it...now. But really I just wanted to say hi! I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Day 5...slash 7

2011-10-07T08:27:00.008+08:00

It's day 7 of NaBloWriMo for me, but so far I only see up to prompt 5 on the official blog, so... Here goes!

What is your favourite way to spend time with your family?

I love going over to my mum's house and sitting out on her backyard deck with a beer. Or a gin and tonic. Or a glass of wine. Or some other kind of...alcoholic drink. Yes, fun times with the family tend to involve at least some kind of alcohol. No doubt that's a bad, unhealthy thing, but it's not like we get trashed. We just enjoy a nice drink to unwind.

Speaking of alcohol, I was reading an article in the newspaper this morning about how some doctor guy in Perth has recommended that Australia follow Norway's lead in locking up alcoholic pregnant women until they've given birth, to stop them drinking. I think this is a viable idea, but it also smacks of deprivation of liberty or something, right? And yet it isn't mostly about the mothers, it's about the unborn children who are being damaged because the mothers can't control their drinking. But maybe they should lock the drinking fathers up too?

I'll leave you with a picture taken in a place called Hamlin Bay, which until I went down south recently I'd never heard of. This, my friends, is a winter's day in Western Australia:

Way way way ahead now

2011-10-06T08:03:00.005+08:00

Well, yesterday's prompt for NaBloWriMo isn't even up yet, so I can't respond to that. So I guess I'll just tell you about my editing 'transfer' progress instead. Sadly, there's not much to tell. I've found my evenings taken up with romantic barbecues by the river, rebuilding my Macbook and sitting on the couch staring dumbly into space. Oh, and discovering that my bass guitar has a battery that goes flat even if you don't have the guitar plugged in, and that the bass won't work without said battery. D'oh.

But in other writerly news... My Chrysalis friends and I have started to think about what we might do next year. There's the possibility of doing the same thing we did this year, but it doesn't look like most of us favour that notion. I had thought of trying to write a new song each week in 2012. Jenn has suggested some kind of novella-per-month deal, and that sounds intriguing to me. I wondered if I could adapt my song-writing task to be one concept album per month (never done a concept album...sounds fun!) or even try to write soundtracks for my novels. Needless to say, we're undecided and it's all up in the air. But the planning is almost as fun as the execution! Stay tuned to find out more, I guess!

In closing, the art above is 'fan art' for the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. It's certainly not perfect, like her weirdly proportioned body and the 'filler' background (I suck at backgrounds). But I like the colours!

Fifteen-year-old me

2011-10-05T08:42:00.006+08:00

Yesterday's prompt for NaBloWriMo is: What advice would you give your fifteen-year-old self? I'm a day ahead, but I'm going to just go with that. Anyway, in that picture up there, I'm younger than 15, but you know, all those years seem to merge into each other for me now that I'm all old and, like...31. But anyway, what advice would I give my 15-year-old self? I'd say, "Trisha, you are not fat!"

I'd also tell myself, "And yeah, in some ways you're a dag but you are going to grow up and blossom and find your party pants and you are going to learn guitar and learn how to make songs (I know you don't believe me, but you are going to do it...and nobody's going to teach you, you're going to teach yourself)...and you are going to get serious about your writing, and you're going to write heaps of novels. I am not even kidding you here! You're going to travel the world - twice - and make heaps of friends around the globe. Oh, and believe it or not, you're going to find a wonderful guy. Basically, your life is going to turn out great."

I already failed NaBloWriMo?!!?

2011-10-04T08:10:00.006+08:00

Yep. Forgot to post anything yesterday. My excuse is that I had an appointment with a plastic surgeon. No, seriously. I've got this (benign) skin cancer thing I have to have cut out of my forehead and this guy's going to make sure I don't end up with a big hole in my head. Unfortunately it seems I will have scarring, and permanent numbness on a part of my scalp. This thing is in a really unfortunate position on my forehead where a prominent nerve happens to sit. Luckily though, the plastic surgeon informed me he doesn't plan on pulling my skin together vertically, meaning I won't have one eyebrow permanently 2 inches higher than the other (okay, that's me paraphrasing, but you get the gist). Good to know, doc. Good to know!

Damn you, hole in the ozone layer!!

But back to my NaBlo plans... To be honest, I didn't even realise there were prompts for this thing. I've missed every prompt so far. Do I not rock, people?! Anyway, I thought I'd respond to the first 3 prompts to date, as briefly as I can. 1) Why do you blog? Because it was suggested all aspiring authors should blog; because blogging writers are super cool; and 'cause I like to write! 2) If you could live the life of any heroine or hero from one of your favorite books, which one would it be? I saw someone else mention Elizabeth Bennett, and I thought that was a really good call! 3) Many people have lucky socks or shirts or stones or pens. Is there an object you own that you consider lucky? If so, why? I know this is a really boring answer, but...no.

With that, I'm outta here!

Hale Hoe-down on Monument Hill

2011-10-02T20:37:00.015+08:00

NaBloWriMo

I, uh...did nothing today. That's not true, I did things. But none of them were related to my writing. For shame!! But I guess that little thing called life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, I do have something to talk about today, and it will involve me posting a photograph or...seven.

I rarely get sick, but if I do I like to nip it in the bud by staying at home and drinking red wine, orange juice and scotch. But moving on...! This Tuesday just gone, I was off from work with a cold. Unfortunately it was cleaner day, so I had to be out of the house for a few hours. Don't you just hate timing like that? I really wanted to just lie on the couch. No such luck, but I did make the most of those displaced hours.

After I'd done boring crap nobody wants to have to do, particularly while on sick leave, I wound up at Monument Hill Memorial in Fremantle, on the very day that we'd had hale warnings and so on. I sat there doing my paper edit - ha! I did mention my writing after all! - and watching the pretty groovy weather from the dry warmth of my car. I'm not going to say much more, except to explain that one minute I could see the ocean, the next everything was all white-grey, and finally the skies cleared enough for me to glimpse patches of blue sky. All this in the space of...well, less than an hour at least. In short, slightly cressy weather!

Once An Imago

2011-10-01T15:21:00.012+08:00

Once An Imago

The clock strikes twelve and Annie trips on the third step, embarking on the tumble to her near-death. Tommy's Grandmother hands him a carefully-wrapped present; her hands are shaking and the box slips through Tommy's fingers; everyone watches its descent. Lauren pauses in the act of reaching for her hand mirror as the doorbell rings. Rowan shakes his head, which is full of thoughts about how gorgeous Sandra looks tonight, and how he can't believe he ever thought Denise Rowland was hotter.

The cripple emerges from the condemned building, beginning his morning shuffle downtown. He wafts in a miasma of decay, an excellent example of what not to become. He's a survivor who foolishly refused to let the war kill him when he had the chance. The promise of what might have been haunts him every moment of every day, a giant lacuna lurking in his shadow. He passes people on the street and imagines the way his tale would make them oscitate. Their faces would turn bright red as they realised their bodies had betrayed how little they cared. He reflects on where he came from, and where he's ended up.

He thinks, Synchronicity.

I was tempted to let this post stand on its own, without any 'non-fiction' addition. That way it would truly be a 200-word post. But I just have to explain that this post is counting not only as my 2nd Campaigner Challenge entry but also as my first post for NaBloWriMo, which I am insane enough to have signed up for at sort of the last minute.

I also have to say that during October, and therefore NaBloWriMo, I am going to be reporting on how my transferral of paper edit notes to my Scrivener file for SUNDOWN goes - because yes, today I finally finished the paper edit!!! So now it's time to get that all into digital format. In time for November to start. Yes, friends, I've got a month to get this off my to-do list so I can relax for the rest of the year (and by 'relax' I of course mean write 2 novels in November, then spend the rest of the year scrambling to get my other 2011 goals finished). For the record, my word count before beginning to transfer edits is 101,459. I want it to be more like 95k by the time I'm done.

My Chrysalis friend...and an update!

2011-09-29T11:58:00.007+08:00

I just wanted to give Jenn's blog, Hunting Sea Glass with Wolves, a little plug, since she's started using it a bit more lately. Jenn is one of the two gals I run the Chrysalis Experiment with. I met her on the NaNo forums in 2010, after she put out the call for critique partners. She wanted to form an 'elitist' group where we could start swapping chapters for critique. A bunch of people responded (I think it was about 8 in the end), but now over a year later there are a core group who are still active and in touch. Basically four of us. I think that's pretty good as an end

result. I'm pretty stoked with the friendships I've made through this group (we call it ElitistCritiques, and I think that's cool), and I'm excited to see Jenn posting on her blog more!

Jenn is the sort of CP who constantly inspires those around her. She has the most amazing imagination, and regularly makes astonishing suggestions for where your story could go. I've been privileged to read her (often weird and wacky) stories during this year's Chrysalis Experiment. You can read some too, here. I guess I'm posting this now because I would love for other people to benefit from Jenn's creative brilliance. So go, check her blog out!

I also want to update on my editing progress, since I haven't in a while. I'm up to page 170 of my paper edit (that's out of 188 pages), and about that I'm pretty excited. The end is in sight! Then it'll be time to transfer my paper scribbles into my electronic document. That's a rather daunting prospect, but an invigorating one as well. When I'm done with that, I'll be getting serious with seeking out beta readers. If you're interested in reading a rock star romance, let me know!

Thick Skin - my story

2011-09-22T13:15:00.006+08:00

The following blog post was inspired by Ruth Schiffmann's "Thick Skin" blog post. Thanks Ruth!

Recently I read a blog post in which a fellow writer asked the question: Do you have a thin skin/thick skin story to share? I'm going to expand on the answer I gave her here. I've gone through life being told my writing's great, albeit mostly by biased friends and family members. I've had some criticism from strangers that I'd call 'flaming'. They helped me develop what I thought was a pretty thick skin. But then I got serious about my writing, and joined Absolute Write.

For those unfamiliar with it, AW is a great place to go for honest feedback on your writing. I submitted a chapter for critique - a prologue. Feedback started rolling in, and for the most part it was pleasant but honest. Pleasant. Honest. Helpful. Encouraging, and constructive. Then it happened - I got some more critique, and it was harsh. Seriously HARSH. Like a huge bitter angry rant, intimating the reader's utter boredom with my writing. My writing was so boring she couldn't get to the end of the chapter. I was wasting her time, and that made her angry.

Fighting back tears, I turned off the laptop and went to bed. Couldn't sleep. I lay there stewing, feeling by turns devastated and angry and...confused. Didn't this girl have anything nice to say about my writing? Everyone else had! Not this one, though. And for all the 'niceness' of the other feedback, this brutal stuff was what stuck with me, whirled around in my head, plagued me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. And slowly it dawned on me that while the mean girl was seriously mean, she actually...had a point.

A really good one.

I got up again (it was a "school night", already way past bedtime), turned my laptop back on. I started rewriting. Mad scramble to fix what the mean girl had (rightfully) bitched about. It started slowly, but I wound up cutting about 7k of unnecessary words. Like, the whole prologue plus other chapters. Seven thousand words from a seriously bloated manuscript that needed trimming. Trimming is a funny word to use. Doesn't quite do the task justice. Point is, this horrible mean feedback that had so upset me resulted in huge improvements to my manuscript. It also taught me that I can take harsh critique. I can take it or leave it, but if my gut tells me to take it, I can do so and it won't kill me. It'll help me.

I'll say it hurt. Oh yeah, it hurt a LOT. But it taught me a valuable lesson. So I thank that mean girl, because she gave me a wake-up call and helped me develop this thick skin of mine.

Peace Blogfest (Sept 19-21)

2011-09-21T08:21:00.006+08:00

I'm late, I'm late! This started on the 19th, and right now in Australia it's the 21st. But I'm going to cheat and post the first two days' components along with today's. For those who are currently confused, let me clarify: Aimée Beatrice Jodoin is hosting the Peace Blogfest, and here's how it works:

Monday 19 September 2011 - Peace Through Art
Post something you have created that represents what peace means to you (video, drawing, writing, music, etc.)
I decided to share some video footage of us driving in the snow in Canada, set to one of my songs which I would describe as slightly 'ethereal' and spacey. I guess this video sums things up nicely for me - I love music, both making it and listening to it (and seeing it live in concert). It brings me peace, amongst other things. I also love winter (read: the snow we never get here in Perth), and I love to travel. I guess I also love my family, right? This video footage features some of them.
Tuesday 20 September 2011 - Peace Through Tolerance and Non-Violence
How can we overcome discrimination and stop violence? Share your experiences!
I get into a fair bit of trouble over my political and religious beliefs. I'm basically a devout atheist (with a dash of agnostic on the side), but I'm also devoutly committed to a life of non-violence and political/religious/social/etc. tolerance. I can't stand war, and I loathe governments who use violence (murder, torture, you name it) to further their own interests. I am definitely not of the "eye for an eye" mentality (or the oft-favoured "my eye, your entire body" approach), and it upsets me greatly to hear how murderous people can become in times of grief and hardship. On the other hand, there are people who go through such awful experiences and manage to emerge with their humanity still in tact - like the grief-stricken father who lost his daughter to a suicide bomber, and said he didn't want to see anyone else die - not even other suicide bombers. That, my friends, is a man I can respect.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and most opinions are bound not to align with mine. I'll let you have your opinion if you let me have mine. But sometimes it's best not to get me started on these matters, because neither of us will end up very happy.

Wednesday 21 September 2011 (Peace Day) - Peace Through Connection
Bringing people together in celebration should be the goal for this day! What can YOU DO to be peaceful and to continue spread the word about peace?
I really do try to keep an open mind, though I have very strong opinions that I feel passionate about. I love to hear others' opinions, and I work hard to respect them. But at the same time I get frustrated if I feel I'm not being heard or respected. As for what I can do to be peaceful and spread the word about it? I guess I can only continue to try and remind everyone that we are all humans, and yes some of us are twisted and have gone down the wrong path (or what I perceive as the wrong path), but we all started out as babies and I really can't wrap my head around the idea that anyone starts out "evil". People are victims of circumstance, and yeah they have to take responsibility for their actions...but I think it's essential that we stop and try to think what it would be like to walk in their shoes before we leap to conclusions and judge them.

Check out my favourite blog posts

2011-09-18T21:17:00.001+08:00

I have a page on this blog called "Me Likey" (hey, I was trying to fit the title into my tabs so they didn't take up two rows...) on which I have listed some of my favourite blog posts written by other bloggers. However, until a few days ago, I had totally forgotten the page existed. I read a blog post today on C.A. Marshall's blog, and though it belonged on the page (so added it). Then I figured some of the other posts on there might be useful to you guys too! However, this is also a call for more ideas. Are there any awesome blog posts you've read lately that you think I'd like?

In other news, I'm getting excited about NaNoWriMo this year! I have a bunch of friends who are already talking about it, including some folks who will be new to the experience this year (YEAH!!), and it made me realise that it's not too far away. Exciting!! Are you participating in NaNoWriMo 2011?

In closing, I thought I'd share a couple of photos I took recently of where I work (okay, so the library isn't RIGHT HERE, but this is a few hundred meters' walk from where I do work, in Fremantle, WA):

The Chrysalis Experiment - 85,000 words

2011-09-12T09:02:00.011+08:00

This year, some friends and I started the Chrysalis Experiment, which I referred to as a year-long foray into the art and science of short story writing. We've posted 36 prompts so far this year, and so far I've written 36 short stories to go along with those prompts. We've had a steady core of participants who have continued to produce stories. Some have fallen behind but have not yet given up. We've got 16 prompts to go (16 weeks), and then we'll earn that sparkly shiny badge up there. But for now, a reflection on how the year has gone for me so far.

I did a word count yesterday, and I had about 86,000 words worth of Chrysalis stories. Yes, some of them blew out beyond 'short story' territory - one story is currently 22k, and not finished - but still, all of them started as a 1k-10k Chrysalis story. My latest story, titled "Case o' the Crazies", is posted on the Chrysalis blog for the world to read.

One of the things I've noticed so far this year is that I tend to write a lot of short stories that feel more like 'beginnings' of larger works. My co-hosts have said the same thing quite often. We've even got a few drafts of novels out of this whole thing. One participant has told us she thinks she's doomed to write flash fiction because she often doesn't make it to the 1k mark. I've discovered a tendency in myself to write post-apocalyptic scenes. I've written a few stories that could potentially belong in the same world.

At the end of this year when I've got 52 stories written, I'm going to take a closer look at all the things I've written about and report on the stats. Genre, word count, number of stories finished as opposed to those begging for more to be added. That kind of thing. I look forward to comparing notes with my fellow Experimenters at that time.

All in all, it's been fascinating, challenging and rather exhilarating.