Christmas

I must say it didn't feel like Christmas to me. Don't get me wrong, my day was wonderful, and relaxing. There's still something deeply unsettling, like the world's fraying a little at the edges. I just don't understand Christmas. I think I knew at one point, but I'm not sure anymore. I love to buy gifts for everyone and I got so see some special moments and had a good time with friends and family, but I don't know why we need a holiday to do it, and I don't know why we have to spend our life savings on stuff we really don't need.

That said, I'd be lying if I said presents and food and cookies and decorating trees and spending a whole day with family wasn't something I enjoyed.

I think this is why I have such a problem with it. Like so many other concepts, ideas and events, I can't decide what I believe overall. I might just be a little cynical and off from this term. It really did mess me up. I never want to go through that again. I have fears and thoughts I've never had before...which is tough to deal with. I have another possible huge blow coming my way and I know I won't survive that without some serious damage. My world is changing and with it, the way I see everything. Everything is a lot less real now, if that makes sense. I suppose that's why I've written so much in the past few weeks...and none of it related to WMRR.

Nearly 20,000 words in the span of about 14 days. It's taken me 5 years to write 60,000 words. It's so strange and yet, I think it's because I have no plans for this new project. True the writing is...lacking, but I'm exploring subjects I've never touched before. And I have tension!

If I've learned anything this past year...it's that nothing ever happens the way you want it to. I can't force my image of what I want the world to be on what it actually is. I still have a lot to figure out, but I think one of the keys is patience and compromise. I don't want to be angry anymore.

I have a lot of recording and writing to do. Maybe this year...WMRR will finally be complete (ha ha ha...right).

Sorry for the introspective journey. The ghost of Christmas fail visited me.

Aftermath

I've been lazy with a lot of aspects of my life right now. I haven't been keeping up with regular writing due to this, but I'm finally getting back into it. I didn't check when my last post was, but I know it was over a month ago. So let's see...

I was sick constantly for a month. After three different strains of the flu I considered myself a walking biohazard. I had to go to court as a witness, which really took a lot out of me. My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago...been trying to think of an appropriate project that will honour her memory.

Now I'm dealing with the Christmas rush. I'm really looking forward to the holiday this year. I especially look forward to sitting under the Christmas tree with a cup of hot chocolate or chai while listening to music. I have to work for the season, but I'm happy to for once since I really enjoy the people I work with and the jobs I have (for the most part). I think I may have complained about one aspect of it earlier, but I should be careful what I say. I'll just note that I'm not pleased with any of the recent policies that have been implemented. We have lost a lot of people because of it, customer and employee.

Finishing up my classes. I have the last one tomorrow. I will be sad to leave it because I've made my first real friends from history in there. It's been fun. We're all supposed to bring in finger foods that represent us. I still don't have a food item! As for my other friends and projects...I've really been neglecting them.

I've retreated into this shell that I'm breaking out of again. The result of this has been some...interesting writing on my part. I wrote 10000 words in the span of 3 days, which is impressive since that's 1/7 of the material I have for my current version of WMRR...and that has taken me a couple of years. It's darker material for sure, but I think it's good for me to try new styles, approaches and content. I like the concept behind it, but I don't know if I'll be able to flesh the whole work out. I've also been writing poetry (le gasp), but I'm not ready to share it. I currently have it on a DeviantArt account of mine, but the name, for now, shall remain a secret. It's not that good anyway.

And it involves a disgusting amount of angst.

As for video editing, I have a new computer, but I messed up the installation of my Windows OS. I wanted to be able to boot into either a Mac OS or a Windows OS, but I can only boot into the Windows at this time. Therefore I cannot install video editing and recording software until I have this sorted out. As such, I will be continuing with the Dungeon Siege LP and my Dungeon Keeper walkthrough. I plan on finishing both before the new year. That way, I can start fresh.

As for further writing...I have sent WMRR to a reader of mine...a trusted friend. She's going to give me a little feedback on the areas I need to improve on. I know it's breaking the rules, but I want a few opinions on the plot points. I'm going to be rewriting and taking stuff out eventually anyway. I will try and get chapter 13 and 14 done in December as well. Then again, I'll probably just end up writing more of the new project since it's in my mind at the moment.

For now, I focus on the last bits of school, my final and a short paper, and coming up with a delectable finger food.

Also...Skyrim. Let's just say...I may or may not have about 70 hours of gameplay thus far. Haven't even touched Assassin's Creed Revelations yet!

I have a problem.

Gotta Catch 'em All

Strains of flu. I've had three different ones on alternating weekends. I had the Norwalk this weekend and my glorious record of not puking in over 10 years has been shattered mercilessly. Aside from grossing all readers of this post out, I have been working on an outline for the rest of WMRR. I realized why I can't write chapter 13 yet (aside from overall lack of motivation and business). I actually have no idea what to do with it. It's a transition chapter. I need it to get some of the info out, but I have no idea which perspective to do it in and HOW I'm going to convey that information. All the other ones (save for maybe 1 or 2 that I'm uncertain of) have all been plotted out. I also decided what needed to be rewritten, revised or outright deleted. The trick is just starting the chapter. I know it will come to me once I start writing, but I'm just stuck on how to proceed. I suppose you can call it writer's block, but I think it's just hesitation.

Meanwhile in France:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWpLH3Jxxl8


ALSO: Apparently this is my 100th post so...yay?

Starting to Hate October

It wasn't too fun last year either.

Yeah so...lots of stuff going on. Family members aren't doing so well, school is crazy busy and I'm trying to fight the second bout of flu I've had this month. That said, not much writing work done on WMRR, but tons of planning. I finally worked out, 99% done, the details of the main plot that drives the story. I was stuck for a long time on this part, but I figured that if I threw enough against the wall, something was going to stick sooner or later. I have a difficult section to write because I don't even have a POV for the chapter itself (chapter 13) I know where I want to be by Chapter 15, but it's this part that's critical. I feel like I'm crawling to the top of the hill where I'll finally be able to roll down the other side and get some serious work done. It's slow, but at least I'm putting effort into it.

So...what's going on for the next month?
-Recording Age of Empires III campaign for RESEARCH (no joke)
-Recording chapter 3 and 4 of Dungeon Siege 1
-Finishing my Dungeon Keeper LP/Playthrough...because it's taken me too long
-Writing 3 large papers (apparently I need to learn how to write them better because I'm disorganized and can't communicate my ideas effectively...this may be a result of last minute all-nighters)
-coming up with topics for said papers
-Getting all three papers done before November 11
-Skyrim weekend marathon which will destroy all hopes of finishing papers
-Prepare for holidays

AND

FINALLY

-Work on WMRR!


We'll see how it goes.

In other news...I have a new mic:
http://www.bluemic.com/snowflake/

Sounds really crisp, I don't have to yell for the mic to pick up my voice properly and it's SHINY. Downside is it picks up EVERYTHING, so everyone can hear my laptop fan and hard drive.

Look What I Did!

I spent the last two days being terribly sick (and it was a pretty bad flu...I don't think I've ever been that confused and disoriented in a long time) and managed to get WAY behind in school work, and a little further ahead in writing. I wrote more of Chapter 12 and I think I have the Popular characters pretty much established the way I want to. I need to do a little editing on the back end to make sure that two of the characters are mentioned more...and I think make Jason look a little less like a raging psychopath.

That said I introduced a lot in Chapter 12 and brought a whole other plot thread to the table. I have the middle part to fill in and I need to fix a few points to make them flow better, but Chapter 12 is about 500 words short of being done (which is nothing). That said, I need to start thinking about what I want to do for the next five chapters or so. This is a huge turning point and A LOT of stuff is ganna go down. This next little bit is going to be fun, but it's venturing into waters that I haven't fully explored yet. From about Chapter 15 and on, it's going to be all NEW material. Nothing I've ever written for WMRR before.

In other news...

YouTube got mad at me over the summer for some music I posted...way back. Truth be told, I forgot that I had posted it, and now I have a black mark on my account. It may go away in six months, but it might not, so I can't post videos longer than 15 minutes now. I also can't make the videos "unlisted" or change the licensing on them...which is kind of weird. At any rate, I'll be posting some of my longer videos on another account now. I'm going to start being VERY careful about what I post on YouTube now, because they're pretty anal about what's kosher and what's not. I'm just upset that I didn't take it down before this all happened.

EversorFatalis' Channel

Let's Play Dungeon Siege videos are up at the above link if anyone is interested.

Is That You Murphy?

Events and circumstances have gone from bad to worse. Among them have been health issues, train failures, useless libraries, excessive readings, basement floodings, terrible sleeps, betrayals, personal set-backs, irritating work environments, little writing, too much work and a general amount of bad luck. I shouldn't complain, but I have no idea what's going on. I'm just waiting for something to go up in flames.

I've put recent thought into another project of mine, which I may start up. WMRR is on the back burner, though I've decided to rewrite a portion of Chapter 12 that I've done because it sucks. I have to admit...I'm really stuck. It's not so much writers block as it is lack of motivation. I want to continue and complete this, but it's just harder and harder to do so. I'm foreseeing a lot more time after November, but right now it's a whirlwind of disaster.

I'll be posting an update on progress and what I've decided to do in the next little while as long as I don't catch the bubonic plague or spontaniously combust in the next few days.

It's times like these where having an unopened bottle of whiskey on your desk is a bad idea. I should probably get rid of it.

One Month

And I've hardly done anything.

The last few weeks have been really tough to get through, and I haven't been motivated to do much. I didn't get into manuscript writing, my grandparents' health has taken a turn for the worse, and I've learned another extended family is probably only going to live until the new year. I've also had health problems so...whoopie.

I'm a believer in karma however, so I'm sure the situation will turn around. Eventually. My hope boat's a leaky dinghy, but I'm working on repairs. The next few weeks are crucial here...

Which brings me to the reason for this blog post. I'm not giving up on the writing, because despite all that's gone on, I still have a strong desire to write. School is going to be busy, I have two jobs, and there is the previous issues I have mentioned, so I probably won't be posting that often, or making the progress on WMRR that I want. I'm still stuck on the one chapter, mainly because I don't know how the conversation is going to run and I need to review the character and how I want him set up.


In the meantime...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Vu1iWvpIc

I made a dodgeball video...the second one for Superman That Throw. I don't think it's as good as the first one though.

Where Is the Edge?

So addicted to the new Within Temptation album. It's bad...I MEAN AWESOME. I think they are exponentially getting better, though I'm not sure if I like The Unforgiving more than The Heart of Everything. Largely debatable I think. I like all the songs on The Unforgiving, but some sound almost the same to me. All the songs on The Heart of Everything sounded distinctly different to me. I'm just excited that they have provided more music.

Also, they have a comic based on this album. I'm tempted to look, though, other comics for other artists and bands have been pretty sub-par.


Anyway. Who's been chain viewing my blog? I got a random spike of activity yesterday for no adequately explained reason. I'm sure it wasn't anyone I know. I'm also sure it wasn't me (my own views are turned off and I haven't been here in days)...so hi random viewer. Welcome to my insanity.

Now, the reason I actually made this post was to give an update on my portfolio. It's been submitted, and I'm terrified. I'm not convinced that the writing quality was good enough. I also looked at my final story from last year. It's terrible. Well...yeah it's terrible. A lot of it works on MY logic, not the logic of everyone else. I think a large challenge for me this year will be to check for illogical aspects of my stories and to move away from the styles I'm comfortable with. It'll be hard. I just need to get in first.

Cross my fingers.

Video

Fav song from the Unforgiving

Awesomeness (sorry if I've already posted this)

40% = 100%

At least in the Fire Emblem world. Playing on hard mode is like being slapped in the face. With a fish.

Over and over.



Quick update because I'm quite ill and extremely tired.

I was reading Dan's interlude again on the train the other day and came across a lot of HORRIBLE typos. It was terrible...extremely terrible. For instance, I used "you're" instead of "your" in one sentence. That nearly killed me to read. Yes, I feel the shame.

At any rate, I went back and read it one more time to fix the really terrible parts. It still needs work, but it's readable. I realized the free-running part and the end of the chapter are actually not bad. I'm pretty happy with them. The beginning needs to be completely re-written I think, but that's not too serious. So I have a prettier version of the chapter now, which makes me happy.

Also, the new Within Temptation album is awesome. That also makes me happy. Now I'm off to sleep.


Or write some of my portfolio material...




Nah I'll just sleep. I still have five days.

Zzzzzzzzz

I haven't made a post this month, and I'm going to be away for the rest of it so....POST!

Not much has happened in terms of writing for WMRR. I've mostly been freaking out about the portfolio for manuscript writing and if the idea is feasible for this term. I'm running out of time, so looks like I'm just going to have to stick with it. I like the idea, I just may need research I won't be able to conduct based on finances and the time available. I think the road trip idea will work, I just need to outline it, work out the specifics and find two models of writing to base my own writing on. Man when did writing get so hard?

In other news, the Writer's Guild of Alberta is offering a free membership to students, which I think I'll be taking advantage of. I've been quickly learning to take the opportunities handed to me, because I've missed out on a lot because I've been to lazy or lacking in confidence to do so. I'm still upset that I didn't go to see Robert Kroetsch in Canmore, because that would have been his last event. So there's some helpful advice for all you writers (and people in general) out there. Take the opportunities when you can get them. Those opportunities, and the contacts and connections you make all come back to help you out when you least expect it.

As for WMRR...chapter 12 kind of came to a screeching halt when I realized I'd have to do a little more military research and have a complete picture of what I want discussed, what I want to happen, and what the chapter is going to bring to the story. This is a critical chapter. I know I can come back to it when all is said and done, but what happens here is going to affect a lot of what happens later.

IT'S FREAKING ME OUT MAN.

Video

Video

Video

Well Butter My Biscuit

This is the third post in a short period of time, but I'm done chapter 11 and I figured it was worth ranting and raving about. I technically finished last night, but I was so tired that the end of the chapter turned out rushed and...well stupid. Despite what you may have heard, there is no "L" in "machine." Herp de derp tired brain is tired.

I also felt the need to gather my thoughts and figure out what's what. Then I did something stupid. I looked at old chapters, skimming them to pick out related parts and make sure everything is working out. It is...more or less, but I have a lot of clarification work to do.

SO I'M USING COLOURS \(^.^)/

The only problem is I started highlighting the pink parts as blue because I thought that the blue was pink, but really it was pink not blue and therefore, I had to go back and re-highlight some of the pink parts so that they actually weren't blue. I had no difficulty with the green.

I also discovered that up until about chapter...7ish, my writing is mostly trash. That, my friends, is why looking back is DANGEROUS. I clarified some points, but for the most part I think I'm going to be re-writing all those chapters again. Not now, because I'm not allowed to (slap my wrists please), but in the second draft.
Also, I'm going to do something crazy. I'm going to switch chapter 12 and Dan's Interlude. Okay, maybe that's not so crazy.



NOW BARE MY ARCTIC BLAST!=DDDDDDDDDDDD

2 + 2 = Fish

2010: 358 days +
2011: 59 days
=417 days

Words: 67977 -
Prologue, Chapt. 1, Chapt. 2: 9933
= 58044 words

58044 / 417
=139.19 words per day

Estimated final word count: 110000

110000 - 67977
=42023 words left

42023 / 139.19
=301.91 days until completion

D3PR3551NG



78 days until September.

42023 / 78
=538.76 words per day

200 days until the new year.

42023 / 200
=210.11 words per day

Therefore, if I write a proposal length essay every day this summer, I will be finished the first draft. If I write the equivalent of my average blog post, I will be done before the new year. That's not so hard right? Right?




Now I know why writers usually don't like math.

Dude, What's the Password?

Got too many of them now since I changed them all to random codes and such a few years back. Spent about 15 minutes trying to remember my one YouTube account pass because I was logged out for some reason or another. That'll teach me to use the same password for years, get my msn hacked, change my passwords to stupid code and then forget them all when I need it most.

So in the past 12 days I have...

...

...

Finished Infamous.

...

Fini---oh wait nope.

...

Learned about Assassin's Creed Revelations.

...

...

...

Edited like crazy. Can't forget the editing.

...

...

And that's about it. Okay....what did I actually DO these past few weeks?

...

Ugh.

...

Now that I've wasted tons of digital space, time to talk about writing! Maybe some websites too. More websites, because I've just been thinking about writing. Mostly agonizing about plot points and fixing all the terrible bits. Unfortunately this is going to be most of my work. Not sure if I'm being too hard on myself or not.

I have a concrete idea for my manuscript writing class. The only downside is I might have to do some travelling across Canada and I---wait, what's the problem here? Oh yeah. Money and time. Bleigh.

So, websites and videos:

Sam and Fuzzy - Webcomic
Genderless Baby - Article
Write Like a Man - Article....*shrug*
Something to Be Angry About - Article
Skyrim Gameplay - Video
Canadian Ned - Video
No Words Exist to Explain This - Video


Hmm...I'm beginning to see my problem here...

THIRTY DAYS

http://thirtydahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifysproject.com/?p=65

I could technically finish WMRR if I participated in this. The only problem is I can work exceptionally slow on personal work, even if I work on it all day. At least it would motivate me to try. I could also do short stories, but I don't know if I can come up with 30 original short stories...unless they were very, well, short. Well it's something to try for. Maybe I'll actually get some WMRR done.

Maybe I'll just watch the Supernatural seasons I got yesterday....

The world may never know.

Old vs. New

Been awhile since I made a post, so I thought I'd do something fun. I'm going to take snippets of WMRR from version 1 and the version I'm working on now and compare them. Looking at my old highschool material gave me a good laugh. It really is horrible. I don't know if I'm much better now than I was, but at least I see SOME improvement. All snippets are largely unedited, so sorry for any mistakes. I'm too antsy about looking over them now, especially the new, because then I'll start CHANGING EVERYTHING, and that won't be good for any progress I've managed to scrape out of this month (which isn't much).


Completion of CMD: 2006

Ash and the technicians worked non-stop for the rest of the evening and into the night. Dedrad and Grypt came by about three hours in, bearing coffee and painkillers. The coffee was for Ash, the painkillers were for the members working under his supervision. Ash downed the coffee and bullied Grypt into bringing him something stronger. The two stayed for until they got tired of the yelling. They had more than a lifetime’s worth of yelling from Ash, seeing as how he was their trainer. They decided to leave Ash alone to his work and went to join Dan, who was gaming, down the hall in computer room 113-A.

Four hours later the project was complete. Ash was incredibly tired after yelling non-stop, chucking clipboards at various people, and bringing about half the technicians in the room to tears. Supervising was hard work.

Jennifer presented the device they had worked so hard on, to Ash. He took it in his hands and studied it. It was small and compact, only being the size of his thumb. It did not look complicated or important, but it was the device that would give them a huge advantage in the war.

Completion of the CMD: 2011

Five hours and six empty coffee mugs later, the CMD reached its completion. Ash woke from a short nap to see Joey standing on the observation deck next to him. He held the same clipboard in his hands and looked down at Ash as if he were something nasty he had just stepped in. Without a word he handed him a memo and stepped off the deck onto the floor. Ash wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up. He scanned the sheet before using the com next to him to page Dedrad. He chugged the cold dregs of his leftover coffee and followed Joey to where a small group of researchers were gathered.

As he approached he saw the team passing around and inspecting a small device. They looked pleased with their work. Ash slipped into the circle and watched as the small, metallic rectangle made its way slowly towards him. Jennifer was the last to look it over when she handed it to Ash. She placed it in his open hand, face was almost reverent. He was shocked at how light it was. He turned the thumb-sized box in his hands, examining the display on the front and the chip with two tiny prongs at the back. He passed it back to Jennifer. She turned it over and activated it. The device made no noise as it glowed with life.

Intro Jason: 2007

A knocking was heard at the door, followed by the soft click of a laptop screen being folded down. Jason Manila spun around in his chair to face the door. He stared at it for a moment, then rolled his eyes and stood up.

“Come innnnnnn,” he sung to the closed door.

The door opened to reveal a gorgeous girl with long black hair and grey eyes. She was holding a large coffee mug. Jason guessed that it was his latte. He narrowed his eyes.

“Hello General. I have your drink here sir,” she greeted, adding a fake cheer to her voice.

“What happened to latte man Miss Aimee? Did he fall down some forsaken pit, or has he forgotten how to cross the street and buy a coffee?”

“I’m sorry sir, Cody was called away on an urgent matter. I’m merely filling in for him.”

“Now what was this urgent matter I wonder? Going to tell me, or just stand there stupidly sniffing my coffee?”

Aimee’s face flushed, but she answered his question. “President Colorine requested him for sector duties sir. I am not clear on all of the details.”

Jason raised his eyebrows, and turned towards his desk. He motioned for her to enter, and tapped the desk with his finger.

“Just leave the latte right here Miss. You have duties to carry out now don’t you?”

Intro Jason: 2011

His drink was lukewarm. Again. The espresso machine on the fourth floor needed tending to. The damn appliance was brand new and though it used an old system of capsules, it should have been capable of making a hot cup of coffee. Jason tossed the last half of the drink down the sink, drops flying onto the tile backsplash. He discarded the little cup into the basket next to the sink, ignoring the nasty clink it made when it landed. Tired and annoyed he slumped into one of the chairs surrounding the common tables. Five home guard and three maintenance workers kept hm company in silence, trying to disregard his foul mood.

Fifteen minutes until he had to return to his rounds. He slumped over the table, head propped on one arm, as he tried to take an interest with the television hanging on the back wall of the room. Weather reports about the droughts and fires, government speeches concerning relations with the East and an opinion piece suggesting the Freets could be burned out of hiding, using the dry conditions to their advantage. It was followed by an ad about hair replacement with an over-the-top spokesman obviously wearing a wig. Nothing new, nothing interesting. Jason wished he had caffeine.



*EDIT - I fixed some of the typos and bad wording in the 2011 version of Jason's Intro

Bad News

I've started what I like to call "scrolling". Commonly occurring in academic papers, scrolling is where a writer will scroll aimlessly through a document, scanning the words, but never really reading them. I did this for about ten minutes before I realized I hadn't written anything. I think I changed one word. I have two chapters started, but I can't think of how to progress. This is probably due to too much distraction. Just now I got into a conversation about Chuck Norris, the Simpsons and quotes about France and Italy. Also, I found two new webcomics to read:

http://syacartoonist.com/
http://www.phdcomics.com/

Both have been around for awhile, but do not cease to be amusing.

As for the writing....the battle rages.

Chapter 10

The chapter is done. Finished it up with some dialogue. I don't like the ending line, but it'll do for now. I need to double check that my logic...makes sense. Logic and I do not get along.

Current word count: 64,479

Would have posted this two days ago, but blogger felt it was a good time for maintenance. Working on chapter 11 now. Would have had more done last night, but I was focused on editing and making sure my video didn't explode. Took six hours to upload. That is ridiculous. I have been told that I need to make videos in a different way. Hopefully, this will reduce the size and upload time.

I need to learn how to write without so much dialogue.

Back

Figures. I come back from a holiday in worse shape than I left. Pulled muscles in my leg, cut my heel bad on a lava rock and my back is a wreck. Otherwise, I'm pretty rested. I'm ready to get back to editing and writing.

So I opened my WMRR document yesterday and realized I haven't touched it in about a month. That's no good. I have good starts to three chapters, which is both a plus and a negative. While I have a lot of it done, I lose the level of flow I might have had before. I'm planning on having these done in the next few weeks here so I can finally get to the official halfway mark (at least in my outline).

Had my end of the year interview for fiction writing. Came out of the course all right considering how busy I was this term and how difficult last term was being sick most of the time. I learned that I have great settings and scenarios, but need to work on tension, effect and impact. My prof called my work "timeless" in that it seems to exist out of any set time. It just runs in a loop. At any rate, I've got a lot to work on this summer. I also need to think of a novel I want to write for manuscript writing and start WRITING it. I could use WMRR, but I don't know if it would be accepted since it technically IS science fiction. The prof for the course does not want "genre fiction", though I'd like to think that WMRR is more about the characters rather than the genre.

Until I find a job, I'll be working on WMRR and editing pretty much full time. The editing will get me to the end of May/beginning of June. I also have to begin planning my Europe trip next year, finish my Dungeon Keeper video series and think about my next video series. I want to do Dead Space on hard (though I haven't finished it on normal yet), Dungeon Siege on Veteran (but I need to play through the game one more time for that), Fire Emblem (which I'm not sure will work well), Half Life on hard (already have some of this recorded, but I may start over) or Overlord (since I already started a walkthrough of that and never finished...). I also need to decide if I want to do text or voice commentary. People really seemed to like my test video of Dead Space with voice commentary. I think it'll depend on the game.

So though I don't have a job, I have tons to work on, which is nice because I can't handle sitting around and doing nothing. This is probably why I tried to do too much at the end of last term. Guess I better get cracking. Four months is not a long time.

Fiction II

The reading was tonight and it went a lot better than I thought it would. I am so proud of my Fiction II class (and the other classes that read). Everyone performed phenomenal and the excerpts chosen were fantastic. I loved to hear from all the wonderful writers who I'm sure will be big names in the future.

As for those chapbooks....they turned out beautiful. We made only nine to start. Oops. More are coming, but the binder could only coil nine in the short time we gave them. I commend their efforts, but I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for at least 25. I will be going back tomorrow to deal with the rest of the books. A lesson in time management this was...meaning do not leave chapbook printing to the DAY before the reading date. Though, truthfully, the printing is the least time-consuming of the process.

So, manuscript writing. I'm going to go for it. I need to come up with a brand new idea for a novel, that isn't genre-centred and that I could theoretically complete within an 8 month period. I think I can do it. Especially with only 3 courses per term next year. In the meantime, I'm going to Hawaii. Jobs, editing and other aspects of life can wait until I'm back (more or less). I'm too happy about this evening to be down about lost opportunities and further work for the summer. I'm just glad I got to spend the evening in good company. VACATION TIME.

Oh yeah...I still have some critiques and a few edits to finish up...

VACATION SOON.

My Brain on Academia

It's an ugly picture.

For the fifth night in a row I venture into the bitter hours of the night, screaming at my computer (or more accurately the internet) as I try and fail to find useful articles for my papers. I gave up in frustration a little while ago when all I could find was one dead link after another. And it's OBVIOUSLY the University library's fault because it's not helping me when I left my papers to the LAST POSSIBLE MINUTE. Good lord love a duck one day I'm going to dig a hole for myself so deep that I won't be able to claw my way back out again. I don't know how I do it, but I somehow manage to get all this done. One day, I'm going to fail miserably.

In other news, I have a good start on my final story. WMRR is postponed until my life isn't so crazy. I think this is the busiest my life has ever been. I don't think I could physically, mentally or emotionally take on any more tasks.

Oh look, I got a text message from one of my classmates. Apparently I've been appointed to print the chapbook.

...

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU

Productivi---wait...

I think I had something important to say, but I've long forgotten it.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/websites_stop

I probably fall under category five...though it's not quite accurate. I think you have to be somewhat popular (or under the impression that you're popular) for that to work. This blog isn't intended to inflate my ego though...it's suppose to keep me on track and record PROGRESS. I'd put stars and fireworks and magical rainbows and unicorns around "PROGRESS", but I ran out.

SO LET'S INFLATE MY EGO

April 27th, I will be participating in a reading with my classmates and other students from the creative writing department. I am advertising here because I'm delusional, but also in the hopes that I can fill another few seats. The event starts at 5pm in the John Dutton Theatre at the Public Library Downtown. So come and join us to listen to the work of people infinitely more talented than myself. That or you're welcome to come heckle me. I'll be the awkward one...probably wearing a brown fedora.

Also, this is where research for one of my papers has led me:

http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2007/03/top_15_unintent.html

Number 12 demonstrates why I hate the Fantastic Four comics/why I find them creepy. I also have Venture Bros to thank for this.

http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=888

These sites have nothing to do with my topic. I can't even remember what I was searching for.

I also have some research to do for the upcoming election. I'm irritated that we're voting AGAIN, so I'm going to figure out what all their platforms are, why I hate each party and other relevant information to deduce who I will vote for. I think I might even post this on my other blog as a rant...because that's all I do on my other blog.

Also, Art Spiegelman is in town this week. Yay.

BALLS

So it turns out that the new release date for Republic of Thieves is JANUARY 10, 2012. BALLS AND A HALF. It's enough to make you cry rivers of madness. Yeah, even I don't know what that means. I was hopeful that it would be this year, maybe even October or November...but no. No that hope was dashed today at that fateful Chapters book search station in Chinook. I thought I'd post an update on that here since that's one of the reasons people are actually finding this blog. So...you're welcome?

Man, this book had better be good. At least it hasn't been 12 years (Duke Nukem Forever anyone? Not that I ever played the originals...and the game looks pretty...not what I'd like.)

Also, speaking of stuff that never gets made, published or written...I finished Dan's interlude. Finally. It's long. I'll probably need to cut a few parts out, but I'm not sure which ones yet. That or I need to make Dedrad's part A LOT longer. I probably should anyway because his interlude isn't as interesting.

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but I think that the place I'm going to insert a lot of explanation on the mechanics of my world in Chapter 1. I need to rewrite it anyways because it's...not fitting with the tone of the rest of the story the way I want it to. So right now I have Chapter 1 and Dedrad's Interlude first on the docket for overhaul when I'm done this. If ever.

Lordy I still have a long way to go. There's an element I'm debating about the end. I am no where close to writing it, but need to decide what's going to happen to two of the characters. I'm hoping that the story will just reveal the answer as I write, but either way, I'm not sure if I'll be completely satisfied with either alternative.

I've made tons of progress in the last year. It's funny because I look back to March of last year and I had JUST finished Dedrad's interlude. Calculating the progress from there until now, this means that I will take another two years to finish this. I'm not liking those stats. I'm going to try and get this done before summer 2012 (NOT BECAUSE THE WORLD IS "ENDING"). I'm planning a 3 month trip to Europe that summer and I want the completion of this to be a reason for celebrating with that trip (aside from...you know graduating university...). I have a lot of work to do, and that's not taking into account school work, work work and any other incidents that may crop up in the meantime.

I am also horrible at setting goals and deadlines for myself. Heh, heh.

Audience

I get the strangest search words or phrases listed under my stats for my blogs. My favourites include "Gary Lutz" (who I think I mentioned ONCE on a list in a random post...forgot who he was and had to google him again), "the majority of religions", "??? 4?" and "big tits". I'm not sure where the "big tits" comes in, because I have never (aside from now) talked about tits of any sort, big or small. I also wonder why someone would click on this site if they were looking for "big tits". I mean maybe it's some acne-ridden teenager who lives under a rock either searching it for giggles or for...other reasons, but really, "Where Mighty Rivers Run" and "Critical Drivel Theory" don't really indicate that there would be "big tits" on these pages. I don't even use "big tits" in my tag lines. I've no doubt used "big" before, but "tits"?

Of course I'm just asking for more people to click on this thinking they'll see "big tits". They'll see the WORDS "big tits" tons of times now, but that's certainly not what they were expecting.

And I'm (not) sorry, but you will never see any of that on either one of these sites. I'm REALLY not that type of girl. Would kind of undermine everything I've worked for in the past few years, and would GUARANTEE to undermine me for the rest of my life. Honestly...what people post on the internet about themselves is absolutely shocking. No wonder employers look here (and yes, I am aware that future employers can look here to judge me as well...OHI FUTURE! PLEASE HIRE ME, I'M PROBABLY UNEMPLOYED AND VERY HUNGRY). I've got to stop writing these at 2 in the morning.

Anyway, I just thought that was...odd. I am still writing. Really. I'm probably not helping my rep any by talking about "big tits", but it's not like I had a rep to begin with. If, one day, I do have one, you can all search this and giggle at my stupidity and randomness and I will not think any worse of you for it. You have my permission.

I've been experimenting with a new idea, and I'm liking the outcome. It's a lot more violent and descriptive than I'm used to writing, which can be considered an improvement in my writing. WMRR has it's violent parts, but I'm going with a "no holds barred" attitude in this case. Might not go anywhere, but it's good to try new styles, forms and ideas.

WMRR has ground to a halt again. I have a ton of essays and a short story due in the next four weeks, and I need to focus a lot on that. The rough draft of my essay was reviewed this week. I need to be more original and organized (imagine that). It's tough getting your work torn to shreds. I'm getting better at it, especially when I KNOW I've put effort and thought into something (because the critiques aren't that harsh). One of the hard lessons to learn as an aspiring writer. People aren't going to like your work sometimes, and they will be brutal with their words. The moral of the story is just to suck it up, have a drink with a couple friends and move on.

In the meantime...current projects:
-Bulletstorm soundtrack continuous mix
-Research for essays
-Writing of essays
-Dungeon Keeper Episode 14
-Finish Dan's Interlude
-Finish Chapter 10
-Start Chapter 11, 12

I think those are the right chapters...I can't remember so late at night. Or early in the morning. You decide.

And no, I'm not tagging this post with "big tits".

Republic of Thieves

Is supposed to be released tomorrow. Then in Can Lit today (yes I do pay attention...this just required my immediate attention due to my hapless fangirl status) I found out that the release date might actually be in October/November. Why Mr. Lynch? Why do you torture me so? I mean, you're not as bad as R.R. Martin (which I haven't read yet...please don't shoot me it's on the list), but honestly. I can't handle the fake outs. I was looking forward to not being able to get my 20 page research essay done because I would be too invested in reading the third book of the Gentleman Bastard Sequence.

But the Chapters site still says March 9, 2011. I have hope. Seriously though, I almost cried when I saw October/November. Watery-eyed and everything. Though, that may be the dryness. I will cry for real if I don't have the book in my hands by the end of the week.

Though reading about criminal transportation in the Atlantic is most fascinating. I will keep telling myself that until the paper is done.

(I jest, I'm actually interested in the topic)

In other news, survived my latest critique. I have to admit, it was the best one I've had since the penny story. Tons of jokes. Thanks my fellow classmates. You're contributions were useful and hilarious.

Also have a new idea for a story, though, I don't think I can use it for my final submission. It'll be too long. I am excited for writing and thinking about it though. When I have a paper due.

DAMN IT.

The Second Interlude

Man, this really was the chapter than never ends. I started with a simple idea, and it kept going and going and going. I had my own personal energizer bunny by the end. This chapter taught me one main lesson: stories have a mind of their own. I'm sure I knew that before, but after this...I realized that I need to do a lot more work on poor Dedrad. He's my least developed character. He needs a little TLC, because he's an important foil for Ash. That and I need to rewrite chapter 1. This has been a long-term project, so naturally my style of writing has changed. Chapter 1 is a little too slap-stick for my liking. First half stays, second half needs help. I think this is the place where I'll explain the mechanics of my story's world. It's the perfect place for it.

I put a lot of work and research into Dan's chapter. First part, inspirational/fitting songs for the piece. Second part is reference material. My God those knives are beautiful. If I had $2000 dollars of expendable cash, I'd be all over that. Though, I'm pretty sure Canadian customs would have a few choice words about bringing tactical knives over the border.


Dead Inside - X-ray Dog
Enigmatic Soul - Two Steps From Hell
Morrocan Roll - X-ray Dog (and no I don't know why it isn't spelled "Moroccan" aside from the play on words...more rock 'n roll...har)
Lake of Fire - Nirvana

Jay Fisher World Class Knife Maker

I am now OFFICIALLY done one third of my novel. I expect the final product in rough to be around 300 pages by the end at this rate. Take that number and subtract 10-15%. Therefore, we should be sitting around 255-270 pages and 131500 words...which will probably be too much. Lots of editing to be done ladies and gents, though I took a few extra liberties with chapters than I should have. Maybe I'm over-explaining. Meh, it's only version 3 of WMRR (technically 2.5, but we'll say three for the sake of keeping the concept simple).

Hell Must Have Frozen Over

And not because it's -30 degrees outside.

What an eventful reading week. I've been meaning to post something for days now, but either skiing or censors have stopped me from doing so. The place I play badminton and go bowling does not like Blogger...or DeviantArt...or Freewebs. So I'm limited to other sites I'm sure they would block if they only knew about them. Let's just say I probably shouldn't be reading Scandinavia and the World comics when there are mothers with their four-year-olds sitting behind me.

EXHIBIT A: Ten pages worth of writing in the past two days

That...doesn't seem like much, but it's pretty good for me. My story on bowling has been going well, and has been fun to write. I have to be careful with the style and content though. Style because it's mimicking another author a little too close. Content because I want to avoid being too technical and I need to have some sort of "point" to it.

EXHIBIT B: WMRR exceeding 100 pages

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I have surpassed the 100 page mark. Well, technically I'm at 104 pages, but 3 of those pages are more or less blank. They have notes on them and that's about it. Dan's little bit has turned out to be longer than I anticipated, but I'm loving it. I might need to rewrite the freerunning bit. It's a little...lacking. Also Chapter 10 so far needs a lot of revision. I made the mistake of reading it again, and the writing is weak. Oops.

EXHIBIT C: An article everyone should read

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm

Given to my fiction writing class by our prof to read over our break. It makes a lot of good points and I agree with most of it. A good way to make your writing better. Also I will point out that there are a few mistakes in the piece, but I think that's caused by it's reproduction on the web. At least I hope so. I'd laugh hysterically otherwise.

EXHIBIT D: A video everyone should watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UouP8cRYZ8

Because I'm beginning to hate Facebook. A lot. Mostly because I realized that I would have no idea when, where and if people were planning events, social gatherings or sports teams otherwise. Essentially I'm counting on Facebook to have a social life. Permission to shoot me granted.

This is also a little loaded coming from me since I get half my viewers from links on my Facebook. Creepy.

EXHIBIT E: Editing success?

What is this "suck-cess" word and where did it come from. I have actually received requests from people to edit their work. AND GET PAID. Oh lordy. I may or may not be a little insane with my edits though, so I think I need to tone it down a bit. Just a bit. At any rate, I have a big job coming up. Yay.


------

ARGH MY ANKLES. I MEAN LEGS. I MEAN CALVES. I MEAN MID-CALVES. Seriously I've been having problems defining the injured body part after the French medic told me multiple times that the pulled muscles were NOT IN MY ANKLES. Then he insisted on checking my arms, neck and upper legs for injuries before asking me if I remember what happened and if I hit my head. I realize it could be standard procedure, but I don't understand why since it was only my legs that were messed up and he didn't bother asking what happened. Regardless, it hurts like hell. I still skied with injured legs for three hours after, but it hurts.


And apparently peanuts do not make bombs.

Down to Business

Editing business that is. So far so good is my report. I've only edited three papers (two people), but a lot of people seem to have taken the tags on my posters. And posted other stuff over them...but that happens at the uni. Which reminds me of a genius advertising scheme, but I'll get to that in a moment.

I'm convinced that I'm a terrifying editor. I get a little nuts about the edits at times. I was supposed to edit another paper of someone's, but after I gave them the first edit I never heard from them again. In my defence, I received the paper late Sunday night when it was due on Monday. I didn't have time to do the type of content edit I would have liked and ended up skimping a little on the comments. I was up all night preparing for presentations and document analyses, so I was a grouchy bitch all day. A lot of the time when I'm tired I look extremely sick. I might have frightened my poor customer off.

So back to the advertising. Some sort of poetry event is going down at the university (I'm not sure what that's about, but let me explain) and to promote it the people organizing it have torn down other people's posters, turned them and wrote the name of the event on them. The event is entitled: Deface. It's offensive and awkward, but at the same time enticing. That and it's a great way to get attention. It's either arrogance or brilliance...probably both.

All in all, not a bad week despite my exhaustion. I even got a small bonus on my last edits. Either he thought I did a good job or was grateful for doing the one so late, but it certainly made my day.

I've actually been working hard on WMRR over the past few weeks whenever I've had time. I have my fourth short story to complete, which has been fun to write so far. It's about bowling. Bowling can be surprisingly sexual. I was shocked. As for WMRR, my order of writing is a mess. I am essentially writing four chapters at once (chapter 10, 11, 12, Dan's Interlude). Let me just say that Dan's part has been going exceptionally well. I have the first portion and part of the middle done (middle is hand-written on paper in my notebook). I still need to add a lot of details concerning free-running. I'm still working out how to write 10 and 11 (half done 10...it's a short one, and I'm only done about five sentences in 11). I haven't started 12 yet, but it's going to be quite different, told from the perspective of a character I haven't introduced yet. It's going to be a fun one, especially when I introduce his status and how he fights. OHHHHH THIS IS FUN. Insert excessive amounts of smiling faces here.

Also, my spelling is getting better. I made it through this entire post without my spell-check underlining anything. Go me.

EDIT RAGE

I'm reading "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon for my Writer's and Comics class this term. Let me just say this right now. Mr. Chabon, you better hide your thesaurus. I will find it, and I will burn it.

I haven't been so torn about opinion on a book in a long time. Usually I can say, yes, this book is horrible in plot, but has magnificent writing. Or perhaps I can say that the concept and ideas are fantastic, but the writing is complete trash unworthy of the dirtiest landfill. This book? My God I can't make up my mind. I almost put the book down after the opening sentence. It was horrible. I haven't read a first sentence in a book as bad as this in ages. It made me want to cry. Then about halfway through the first paragraph I found "...he would learnedly expound." Why. Why did you have to say "learnedly expound"? It's awful. Then he shocked me with his descriptions. I haven't encountered anything like them. So strange, and yet...most of them work. I revelled in the beauty of the "flatulent poison-green ribbon"(6), and was in awe of "to bend and crimp the armature of a sturdy and elegant plan"(16) (though I had to use a dictionary to decide what the exact definitions of the words were to understand what the hell he was talking about...and I still don't really know). His way with words is amazing.

And frustrating. I have to keep a dictionary on hand while reading this work. It's not like I don't understand the words a lot of the time, it's just he uses precise definitions to glean meaning out of the words used. It's infuriating. I swear, he took a simple word, flipped to it in a thesaurus and stuck in something elegant in order to sound smart and profound. It makes me want to destroy the nearest object to me. Take for example, the most ridiculous line I have seen in a book for years: "But in his imaginings, Sammy found that, for the first time in years, he was able to avail himself of the help of a confederate." My God every time I read it I feel like I've killed a puppy, and I didn't even write it. Seriously, there are commas and stops in places that there shouldn't be, the sentence starts with "but", and it's long and broken. Oh, but we're just avoiding the elephant in the room here. Because, while all the points mentioned above are used effectively in writing, there's one detail that can't be forgiven.

"...avail himself of the help of a confederate."

What. The. Hell.

I am sorry, but there's a whole list of words that could have been used that would have made this sentence sound all right. Be passable. No, we don't do that here. It took me about five reads to understand what this meant. I was ripped out of the narrative to go to the dictionary, look up all the exact definitions of "avail" and "confederate", not because I don't know what they mean, but because I needed EXACT dictionary definitions to be able to decipher the meaning. For those of you at home, it essentially means that he could "see himself making use of an alliance." In context, Kavalier and Clay are in bed (it sounds worse than it actually is you pervs) discussing Kavalier's arrival in America and his ambitions. So Clay began to think of partnering with Kavalier to make comics. Why did we need to confuse everyone? This makes no sense.

Aside from my rage, the book is pretty captivating in story. When I'm not being dragged out by my pinkie toe into the cold by horrible sentences and stupid words, I actually enjoy the narrative. I recommend the book to anyone, but the editor in me is about one horrible sentence away from finding Mr. Chabon and using his thesaurus to beat some literary sense into him.

I don't care that he won the Pulitzer Prize.

Sorry if I sound like a pretentious dick, I just had to get this rant out. That sentence...God...

Also, for another interesting and annoying point concerning the term "Caterpillar Scheme" in the novel, visit:
http://paulmichaelmurphy.blogspot.com/2010/11/lesson-from-michael-chabon.html

Because I completely agree

Six Years

And I finally have a word count to match what I had in version 1 of WMRR. I am closing in on the halfway mark. Ten thousand words and I'm there. That's incredibly exciting.

Chapter 10

So I figured out how to write the chapter. As well as chapter 11, Dan's Interlude and a large part of the ending. I can guarantee that it will change, but at least I have bearings. I've started writing the chapter, but I'm stuck trying to come up with a cheesy one-liner. It involves over the top orange-red hair and creepy glasses. More importantly, I've figured out aspects of Dan's character which I was uncertain to before. I like this new Dan, and I hope when the time comes anyone else reading WMRR in the future will share the same sentiment.

I'm done with retail. This job I am finishing up this week has taught me a lot, and pissed me off a lot. I have had to fight tooth and nail to get days off and change my availability. I have had to combat incompetence and ridiculous politics that I haven't encountered anywhere else. I feel sorry for the coworkers I'm leaving behind. They are in for a lot of shit in the upcoming months. To be clear, I didn't cause this upheaval directly, but I have definitely affected the random policies set up in the past few months. One had to deal with my uncertain schedule. The other had to do with me being attacked while taking the garbage out. I still hope I don't have to go to court on that one, but the package I was sent was really ambiguous about it. Whatever. People are creeps. Nothing is going to change that. As long as I get to screw this guy over by making it difficult for him to get a job anywhere for the next few decades of his life. I'm not spiteful at all.

New horizons are now appearing before my eyes! Or something. I am in the business of writing and editing now. I am going to do everything in my power to become a professional editor in the next little while. This, along with the completion of WMRR, is my goal. I HAVE A GOAL.


The world truly is coming to an end.

Throw a Freaking Party

I have finally, officially, adverbally, finished chapter 9. It is done. It took me an eon, but it is finished. I have a complete segment of WMRR. The sad part is I am probably only a little over a third done. In the final final edit I will probably be cutting out 10% of what I wrote, but right now that doesn't matter. Why? Because I'm DONE CHAPTER 9 YEAHHHHH.

So Chapter 10. How the hell am I going to write this one?

Oh and....

Current rough draft completion: 47%
Overall completion: 35%
Word Count: 51, 094

Blugh?

I read differently.

I discovered I enjoy trashy novels, but only if they are passable. Only if they can be redeemed. I am currently reading "Age of Ra" by James Lovegrove. It is a horribly cheesy, cliched book full of death, horrible sentences, plot holes and hilarious usage of BIG WORDS, but it's entertaining. It's a fun book. Essentially the Egyptian gods have defeated all other religions and pantheons and have become the sole gods on earth. Two warring factions were created because of this: ones who worship Osiris and the others who worship Nephthferereiriewshfdhswhateverthenameis (seriously I can't pronounce ph and th together, so all the letters after them look EXACTLY like that to me while reading). The only place neutral is "Freegypt"...which is pretty much Egypt. This notion is fantastic. This irony is actually funny. So far, there's been soldiers dying, commanders spewing nonsense and over-the-top cliche lines, ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LASER BEAMS (I am not shitting you here...just like YTAS man), getting lost in deserts, sodomy (...), random love interests and a lot of random bullshit about the gods that sort of makes sense but needs cleaning up. This my friends, is the kind of exercise my brain needs. The writing and story is good enough that I can stay engaged and bad enough that I can edit as I go. I found a new hobby!

WMRR progress is slow as usual. I have finally, FINALLY typed "Chapter 10" on a page. This, my friends, is the double digits. This is where it gets real. OH YES. That said I still have a tiny portion of chapter 9 to write which includes a short discussion and a description of Joey and Jennifer Strongback. Yes I'm going to leave that ambiguous. Excuse me while I grin stupidly.

School starts on Monday. I have mixed feelings. I want to go back and take another stab at school. At the same time, I got the outline for my 500 level history course. Two individual presentations, a research paper and a participation mark worth 25%. The bright side? Well there's no final? Blugh.

Constantly making up new words.

YA POOPIN?








No, I will not explain.