New Rewrite?

I am heavily debating beginning the next version of WMRR, just because the beginning is so weak. The quality of writing definitely improves over time and the poor start just gets on my nerves. I will be able to integrate it better with the latter half of the story. I personally believe that it starts to get better around Chapter 5. Chapter 4 isn't bad, it's just shorter than I would like and it's the last time a Chapter is written from Grypt's POV until CHAPTER 15. It makes sense as he is more of a support character and his character is to inherently exist in the background, but still, the reader needs to know what's going on with him as he plays an important role in the end. The first 3 chapters and Dedrad's Interlude are just...brutal. I could barely read it without getting uncomfortable with how terrible it is. Regardless, I still really like chapters 5-7, even though they need heavy editing.

The downside of the rewrite though is I will be stuck at chapter 15, and I really want to try and get this finished. I have been working on this for too long to be stuck on loop for the next few months. As school isn't exactly keeping me busy, I can focus on WMRR. Speaking of school, I am glad that I am almost finished. My classes are just silly this semester. I have no idea what we are doing or learning in my Art and the Media class. The prof has mysteriously gone missing and his students have taken over. I'm not sure they are 100% sure what they are supposed to be teaching, but at least they're giving it a shot. My communications class is good for meeting interesting classmates...and bad for pretty much everything else. I haven't learned too much, but the teacher's pretentiousness is enough to keep the lulz a-coming. History is interesting, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. I'm just glad I'm actually learning something in that class.

New Year, New Post

I did hardly anything over the break. I've been reluctant to continue WMRR because I lost a bit of it when my laptop finally died. Thankfully I was diligent about backing up the document (mostly out of paranoia) and only lost about 400 words worth of writing. I rewrote it better anyways.

Speaking of word counts, I am now officially over 90,000 words with the re-completion of chapter 14. The small bits I have of chapter 15 aren't as bad as I thought, and I've had some new insights on how I can complete chapter 12. There are just a few tiny plot points that aren't so tiny to hash out. I have been thinking on this aspect for the past 6 years and I'm still not sure how it will be resolved. I'm hoping that the answer will just...come to me as I write. I am also thinking of re-writing two of the stories I completed in my fiction writing years and see if I can get them cleaned up enough to try submitting them to some magazines or contests. I will learn quickly of the shame of rejection, but I shall try regardless.

Meanwhile...in class...

I walk in on my first day about two minutes too late and notice my prof was playing a cow bell. I still have no idea why. Also, I feel old. I'm pretty sure it's just me. When asked who was NOT intimidated by science in my communications class, only about five of us raised our hands...out of about 40. Then half the class was busy texting and playing games on their phone right in front of the prof. Again, maybe I'm just old and bitter, but why do people seem to be getting more disrespectful?

Then Your Body's Like FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Finally have some time to breathe...and to write.

My what a crazy year this has been. I'm not even sure where I'd begin if I were to talk about it. Two major papers are out of the way at least. I went real theoretical on one of them for a portion of it. I hope that it does all right because I'm not sure I even understand what I wrote. Regardless, I have resumed work on WMRR after months of doing the bare minimum. I'm closing in on the 80,000 word mark. I have a lot of work to do in terms of revising, but I've been putting a lot of thought into the characterization, the plot and the tension. Those aspects really needed a lot of development, and I think I'm finally ready to write Jason's chapter properly. I wasn't too sure where to go with his character, because up until this point, he had been the hub of antagonism so far. I don't know if I like the fact that he takes 12 chapters/70,000 words to appear. I try to make most of my characters mean something, have a central effect...well at least the ones I name. If they can all play a key role, no matter how small, that would make me happy. Jason plays a huge role...and I suppose at this point he appears near the "half-way point," but that may not be enough.

I also came up with a new segment...which I've actually written, but it will need extensive revision and maybe even a re-write. I'm not sure whether I should use the first person for it or not. The story IS being told by a character, but it contrasts so much with the style and doesn't leave enough room for the details.

As for the summer, I'm glad I won't be finished school. A massive trip this year simply would not have worked, especially in light of recent events. This opens up an entirely new wing in the castle as I can try to apply for manuscript writing again. I've put a lot of thought into it, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the work stories idea. I'd like to write a series of stories about the jobs people do...perhaps in a place like Calgary, and link them together to construct a single narrative with reoccuring and intersecting characters. I think it could be fun and it's certainly a better idea than my last year's proposal.

I'm also planning on engaging in all sorts of entertaining activities this summer...though I'm pushing for a week-long vacation to Disney World. I really want to go to Disney World. Throw me on a few rollercoasters and I'm one happy camper. Just nothing spinny unless you want the upholstry ruined.

Short Term Memory?

I could have sworn that I posted here in the new year already, but maybe that was something else.

So, it's been quite a busy week for crazy events happening. I can't talk about half of them here, but for what I can say...things have been shaken up a bit. YES...THINGS.

I am not graduating this year. I talked to a degree advisor, and apparently I am five courses short of graduating...so I have some decisions to make. I need to determine when I take my courses and in what subjects. I also need to decide if I want to tack on a minor (which would be seven courses not five). I just need to remember that an extra two courses is an extra 1000 dollars...so yippee. One good aspect to this is that I have another chance to try for manuscript writing. It feels like unfinished business to me. I think I have a better idea for the project as well, so I'll make sure to update on that while I go.

In the meantime, I'm in the middle of trying to catch up with a lot of the activities I've been engaging in. On of them is my video editing (which is going a lot faster now that I have a computer capable of better quality encoding). I'm working on my Legends of Aranna LP, and trying to finish Dungeon Keeper 1. In the meantime, I may post some useless video to let people know I'm not giving up on the account.

As for WMRR, it hasn't gone anytwhere in awhile. I'll admit I've been distracted by games and books. Speaking of books, Republic of Thieves is finally out. I just remembered when I was writing this...only there are no books in stores, and it'll take up to a month to ship. I'm just happy that I'll get it. I've been waiting a LONG time.

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.

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.

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.

First String Cheese...

Now lava lamps. I swear after all these late-night adventures involving papers and other assignments at school, I have tons of observations of my lava lamp to write about. I have an old lava lamp sitting on the dresser next to my desk and I turn it on (along with two lamps and a string of these "flower lights") whenever I am in my room for prolonged periods of time. I hate having the main roof light on because they're old incandescent bulbs and they bathe everything in this nasty orange light. With the other lights I at least have a little bit of atmosphere and ambiance. I can't actually focus of write without proper lighting. I also can't function properly if there are people outside my door. If I can hear them, it bothers me and all work comes to a halt no matter how much I'm invested in it. I also only write to certain types of music. Classical, symphonic metal, alternative, movie soundtrack and other upbeat and exciting tunes are easiest to write to. I have two compilations, both over thirty minutes long that have saved me countless times in the past writing. Silence helps sometimes, but only what I have to focus every ounce of my energy and attention on something. Otherwise, music gives me a certain rhythm to my work that I don't get otherwise. I can't work to most songs with lyrics, death metal, power metal, rap, or catchy songs (mostly because I start singing along). Lastly I usually need something to drink (preferably a caffeinated tea) and a small snack (like chips of chocolate or microwave popcorn). I don't end up eating or drinking a lot, but it's good to have it there.

In terms of my distraction and overall lack of an ability to focus, I have determined the cycles of my lava lamp. The first stage involves the heating of a cold, boring wax. The heating mechanism at the bottom (which turns out to be just a coil of metal that heats up because of the light and thus heats the wax) makes the base of the wax glow ominously, giving off limited light. The wax heats on the bottom faster than on the top obviously, so at a certain point the hot, warm wax begins to rise, applying pressure to the cooler wax above. At the proper ratio of heat distribution, the cooler wax will shift and the warm wax will release into what I call "lava lamp puke". The lava lamp literally looks like it is spewing out its innards and strings of wax shoot upwards into intricate designs and structures. Eventually bits of wax will lower and fall down, but for the time being this structure remains. This gives the wax below time to begin heating. Once the bottom has begun to heat, the structure crumbles and collapses and begins to reheat with the rest of the wax at the bottom. At this point the lava lamp enters its most functional stage. The wax rises and falls at regular intervals in smaller balls, creating the image of what most people picture when they think of lava lamps. Over time the wax heats hotter and hotter and the wax begins to stick to the top where the surface of the liquid is. At this point the wax forms into larger balls. Most of the time, a large ball begins to float, rotating near the bottom as hot liquid rises on the one side. This is the planetary stage, due to it's resemblance to planetary rotation (with the bottom being a make-shift "sun"). This rotation is increased with the release of wax bubbles (which look similar to yellow snot). These bubbles have little wax content and occur when air becomes trapped in the lava lamp (which is much the case with mine for it is old and some of the water content has evaporated). Gradually the mass at the top consumes the smaller globs of wax until eventually it devours 95% of the wax. I have dubbed this final stage of lava lamp development the "Lavapocalypse". Occationally the mass will cool enough for the globular beast to fall back towards the heat source, but the heat of the wax will reunite it with the mass at the top. At this point the lava lamp has reached the point of not functioning. To return the lamp to its natural state requires cooling. The entire processes takes about five to six hours.

I fixed a giant plot hole in chapter 8 that I discovered much to my dismay on the train two days ago while listening to some music and gazing out the window trying to ignore how cold it was and the awkward smell radiating off of the person next to me. It wasn't a BO smell, it was more like some sort of spice mixed with apple juice and wet, mouldy fabric. At any rate, I have fixed it and improved upon the dialogue at one of the most pivotal points in the narrative. I also made the situation a lot more dire and tense for one of my characters. Poor Myra.

I began imagining more of the ending as well. I hope this will be as fun to write as it is to think up. I want to be able to put the care and devotion I have for WMRR and put it into other writing projects of mine, including a novella I have in the works for my Fiction Writing II class. I want to be able to get better marks and improve in areas I am lacking. I am super jealous of one of my classmates for getting A's on all aspects of his story and the recommendation to submit. I'm also super proud of him for doing so well. His story was the only one that has actually made me cry in this class. Considering what we write about (with so much sex, violence and emotion), that's quite the accomplishment. Good on you sir. Hat's off to you.

I suppose I should return to writing about Henry VIII, Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation in England now. I managed 1000 words in 15minutes in this post alone. Why the hell can't I do that with a paper? I'd literally be done in 45mins. FML.

Assassin's Creeeeeeeeed

I'm going to squeal like a fangirl for the duration of this entry. Unfortunately, you will not be able to hear it. Or maybe that's good in your case.

I have more than enough topics to rant angerly about, but no, I'm going to do something different. I'm going to talk about them in a happy way to lighten my mood! Like for instance how my professor can't seem to spell my name correctly even though she has a sheet right in front of her to look at! How hilarious is that? I mean I've gotten some fantastic misspellings of my name before, mostly from people who have just heard it and tried their best based on pronunciation. What a joker she is. She must have an awesome sense of humour to say my name wrong in class every time because she never bothered to ask me or correct herself. What a kidder. Even funnier, she misspelled another girl's name! Instead of "Otten", she typed "Otter" (okay that one's kind of funny). Not only that, she's such a wonderful person because she makes due dates on Sundays at noon electronically. I get to get up early on my one day of the week to sleep in and enjoy the lovely morning! I also get a work out as I frantically try to write and edit assignments to hand them in on time. Who needs those extra few nights? Oh and get this. With incredible foresight she decided that it was a good idea to have a 3000 word essay due four days before a huge group presentation. Improving our multitasking skills is obviously on her list. Who needs a social life or some time off or heck, time to work on other classes? I DON'T APPARENTLY AHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay that was ridiculous. I shouldn't get so angry, but god. I guess I'm just tired of school. I enjoy some of my classes, but I don't really want to commit anymore. I didn't even study for my last midterm. That said, I don't want to be done school. I don't know what to do after. What do you do with History and English degrees? I keep saying I'll figure it out, but it's not going to be easy. I want to edit and publish and write, but the business is so hard to get into. I need to start getting into programs and working on getting experience NOW, and I have no time. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

Anyway, the prospect of good video games, good books and ski trips keep me in semi-good spirits. I've started my next project for Fiction Writing. I'm doing a novella for after the break. My main points to work on are tone, description, better vocabulary and not using the verb "to be". It's not going to be easy, but it'll give me something to work for.

My Little Corner

Of a many-cornered internet. What would you call a million sided object? A milligon?

I finally feel like I'm in control of many aspects when really they're all over the place and firing molten "wtf" balls at my face. I don't even know what that means. I posted a parody of "Pain" by Three Days Grace that I found in my documents today. I just thought the song would be more interesting if it involved zombies...singing about brains. I was bored on a road trip last year. What can I say? At any rate if you want to see the horribleness:

Brains - A Parody of "Pain"

In other news, I am trying to avoid writing a project proposal. This is mostly because I have no idea what to do. I was going to try and write a short story and do a critical response on it (also because I can reuse the short story in my portfolio if it's good), but I might just do a research essay because I've done so many over these last four years that they're like eating really painful and tiring cake. Easy, but painful and tiring to eat. Maybe an analogy about making cake would have been better here...

WMRR progress goes slow, mostly because I have lacked motivation over the past few weeks. If anyone looks at my other blog you'll understand why. I want to finish my current chapter so much, but I need that extra little kick to get it going.

Though progress on this has been slow, I wrote more on "EGAWT". Yes I decided to put the "T" in. It makes sense because there is a lot of "T" in me. Mostly green, but sometimes Earl Gray or ginger. I added parts about POVs and intrusive narrators. For now all I have to finish is the part on Time. A friend of mine is supposed to send me notes on poetry writing as well. At any rate, I present the updated...

EGAWT

Can Lit

"Names have power. This is the fundamental principle of magic everywhere. Call out the name of a supernatural being, and you will have its instant and undivided attention..."
-"Monkey Beach" by Eden Robinson

I find my Canadian Literature class, surprisingly, to be one of the best classes I've taken so far. Every year the spring courses amaze me with how good they are. The university is so beautiful and peaceful in the spring. All the leaves on the trees and the flowers come out and the air isn't too hot or two cold. The rain doesn't bother me too much, but it always rains on me when I forget my umbrella at home. I never get rained on when I have it with me in my bag.

Our professor is extremely knowledgeable about this term's subject in Can Lit: Indigenous Spirits and Monsters. I am completely truthful when I say that I had no idea this was the topic of our class. I went into this class thinking I would be bored out of my mind, but this class is tied with Literary Theory in terms of awesome (which is mostly the prof's doing). I expected both Can Lit and Literary Theory to be dull, but they surprised me. I am even taking a higher level Literary Theory class next year. Yes, I am insane.

The first book we are reading is "Monkey Beach". It's about a Haisla girl named Lisa Hill, who lives in the middle of British Columbia on the coast (and it's Haisla NOT Haida...our prof made a point of clarifying that after she showed us a review where the two names were mixed up). The book mixes relationships with family, growing up, dealing with loss and elements of the "supernatural". I won't go into too much detail because I'm not trying to write a review, but essentially the story is about the search for Lisa's lost brother, Jimmy. At any rate it's the most fun I've had reading an assigned book in AGES. I'd definitely recommend "Monkey Beach" to anyone who wants a good read.

The class is also interesting because we discuss the issues of fantastical or supernatural beings being real and a part of our world. We discuss the idea of the supernatural as being simply natural and I find that idea interesting. I've always had an underlying belief in ghosts and spirits...so personally I think this is all super cool.

I am also finding a lot of neat ideas and modes of thinking to use in WMRR...especially later for when Teumessian comes into the story closer to the end. I can't wait to write that part. I would write some of the later parts now, but I find I need to write this more or less in order. I will occasionally skip on chapter because details in that chunk of plot is easy to fix. However, since the story changes so much as I write it, I cannot write something 10 chapters from now in case something preceding it changes. The whole piece will become a mess. For now, I am keeping good notes.

So...

I am finished all my exams (yay!). I know for sure that I have done well on two (double yay). I know for sure that I did horrible on one (boo). I think I will get a decent mark in fiction writing (but that's not the point). I know that I did horrible in Science Fiction class (mostly my fault). The good news is, all of it should balance out in the end. Bad news is I can't seem to get my GPA up to that 3.0. I am SO close. Another portion of good news is I will only have to take three courses per term to finish my degree (maybe 4 in one term). Bad news is if I want a concentration in creative writing, I need to space it out over two years. Point is though, I am done school, there are three weeks between now and my spring course and I have no job. This means that I am going to be bored out of my mind.

So, I am going to:
a)Work on WMRR like crazy
b)Play a bunch of old video games because I'm too poor to afford more
c)Try and make new videos
d)Clean my "lair" and finally get all my clothes back in my closet
e)Look for a decent job
f)Try to have a social life

I have Assassin's Creed 2 sitting in front of me (with a somewhat hilarious picture of Ezio and this old guy, who has a priceless expression of surprise on his face...I don't blame him though; Ezio is stabbing him in the back). I am waiting for people go to sleep so I can play in peace until I get tired. I worked on WMRR off and on today, but I couldn't get much time to just WORK on it. Interruptions...

Still working on Chapter 6. If all goes well, I will have it done by Friday. I'm trying to decide how to handle a rather epic battle scene involving a large group of guards, a giant minotaur robot and the search for a special coffee machine. I'm loving how random this is sounding. Makes more sense in context. Really!

Now because this seems the opportune place and time to do it, I'm going to type my list of books that I need to read in the near future. Many of these are "suggestions" from Fiction Writing. The "suggestions" are more or less mandatory.

In by bookshelf to be read:
"The Architects are Here" - Michael Winter
"Covenants" - Lorna Freeman (Need to get this back to Kristy...)
"Shadow's Edge" - Brent Weeks
"Beyond the Shadows" - Brent Weeks (have to get these back to Kristy too)
"Clan of the Dung Sniffers" - Lee Danielle Hubbard
"The Hidden Dragon" - Irene Radford
"The Court of the Air" - Stephen Hunt (no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get through this book. I've tried 3 times and lost interest. I MUST DO IT)
"Jemma 7729" - Phoebe Wray
"Foreigner" - C.J. Cherryh
"The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" - Mordecai Richler (love this guy's name...mostly because a Fire Emblem character is named Mordecai...)
"Georges" - Alexandre Dumas
"Ivanhoe" - Sir Walter Scott
"The Darkness that Comes Before" - R. Scott Bakker
"The Warrior Prophet" - R. Scott Bakker
"The Thousandfold Thought" - R. Scott Bakker
"The Experiment" - John Darnton
"Phantom in the Night" - Sherrilyn Kennyon
"Dragon Master" - Chris Bunch
"Knighthood of the Dragon" - Chris Bunch
"The Fate of the Fallen" - Ian Irvine
"The Devil's Armour" - John Marco
"The Eyes of God" - John Marco
"The Sword of Angels" - John Marco
"The Larion Senators" - Robert Scott and Jay Gordon (and the rest of the series again because I forget what happens)
"Thomas More's Magician" - Toby Green
Little House on the Prairie series - Laura Ingalls Wilder
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" - Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (need to get this back to my grandma)
"The War of the Worlds" - H.G. Wells
"Flowers for Algernon" - Daniel Keys
"Follow" - A. J. Matthews
"Shogun" - James Clavell (because I never actually read the last 300 pages)


Fiction Writing "Suggestions":
"Generation A" - Douglas Coupland
Anything by Robert Kroetsch
Anything by Joan Didion
"The Architects are Here" - Michael Winter
"In the Skin of a Lion" - Michael Ondaatje
"The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
"What the Crow Said" - Robert Kroetsch
Anything by Joyce Carol Oates
"Ulyssis" - James Joyce
"The Tin Drum" - Gunter Grass
"Not Wanted on the Voyage" - Timothy Findley
"Drowning in Darkness" - Peter Oliva
"100 Years of Solitude" - Gabriel García Márquez
"Perfume" - Susskind
"Sophie's Choice" - William Styron
"Coming Through Slaughter" - Michael Ondaatje
"The Murders" - Edgar Allen Poe
"Waiting for the Barbarians" - J.M. Coetzee
"The Historian" - Elizabeth Kostova
"Shadows of the Apt" - Adrian Tchaikovsky
"Collected Works of Billy the Kid" - Michael Ondaatje
Anything by Kafka
"The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz"

Books (and graphic novels) I recommend:
"The Lies of Locke Lamora" - Scott Lynch
"The Stormcaller" - Tom Lloyd
"The Way of the Shadows" - Brent Weeks
"Acheron" - Sherrilyn Kenyon (the second half anyway. If you like Twilight, this is how it SHOULD be done.)
"Neverwhere" - Neil Gaiman
"Sandman" - Neil Gaiman
"Black Cat" - Kentaro Yabuki
"The Hickory Staff" - Robert Scott and Jay Gordon
"The Count of Monte Cristo" - Alexandre Dumas
"Don Quixote" - Miguel de Cervantes

Minotaurs and Cake

I had a fairly productive day doing pretty much nothing. I would like to report that chapter 5 is FINALLY done. I said I would finish it on Monday, but I didn't write the last few paragraphs until a few minutes ago. Honestly, the stupid chapter wouldn't end. I'm convinced it's a boring POS, but my second read later on will reveal if it truly is or not. I need better language that's for sure. I have these amazing environments, but I don't use them to their full potential.

Other than the completion of the chapter, I finished Portal for the second time today, started my writing tips page on my website, failed my Fire Emblem level AGAIN and watched my brother play Call of Duty for about four hours. So yeah, totally productive. I should probably start studying soon for my test on Tuesday.


Current rough draft completion: 32.5%
Overall completion: 24%
Word Count: 28,426

(MAN it's been a long time since I posted one of those)

The following is a link to the "EGAW Tips" or the "Ever-Growing Amateur Writing Tips" that I started today. I just wrote it, I am not finished and there are probably a ton of typos. I will work on it more when I have the time. In the meantime, check it out and let me know if it's useful (please please I need feedback!)

http://drschwa.webs.com/theegawtips.htm

Aquatic Easter Egg

I've had way too much caffeine tonight...AND THE NIGHT'S NOT OVER YET. I have way too much energy than a normal person should be allowed and yet I'm ready to just fall over at any given moment. The chapbook is nearing completion and out of all possible items to be waiting for, IT'S MY PROF'S PORTION THAT IS LATE. I find that a little bit ironic considering the semi-strictness of due dates, although my critiques and one of my short stories have been late because of an overload of stuff to do and a lack of motivation to do it. This is the last time I take five courses in one term. THE VERY LAST TIME.

SO, to keep the blog on topic, I wrote most of chapter 5 this past week when I should have been writing the history paper that I should be writing now, but can't because I'm excessively hyper and need an outlet so I chose a blog no one looks at! Well not many people at any rate. I think it might just be me passing through the profile to get from one blog to the other that's contributing to the count...

CHAPTER 5. I decided to split chapter 5 into two parts, because otherwise it would have been too long and involved a perspective change and although it wouldn't have been overly confusing I'm doing it anyways because I willed it muaha. So now there is a chapter 6 before Dedrad's prologue and Chapter 6 is now chapter 7 which still needs the introduction fixed.

It's as square as a bee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L253VLwH3w&playnext_from=TL&videos=4I5mwn8wsZg

I should really find out wth is in this loose green tea from China.

My Face is on FIRE

I'm sick again, which is no surprise. It's spring and according to a friend of mine it's because us Canadians are so excited they don't dress warm enough. The winter term is also five times more stressful than the fall. That's partially my fault though. I was an idiot and took five courses instead of four. A person I know thought four courses was a slacker's work load, and while I'll admit that I am a huge slacker, four of my courses have a HUGE amount of research, writing and assignments. So excuse me for not taking six courses with labs, tutorials and 500 extracurricular activities. Now that's out of the way...writing.

I have almost finished writing my story for our Chapbook that will be published (by us) in April. I signed on to do the printing, but my mother is not pleased about me offering up our laser printer. I may have to work on alternative means of printing. In any case, I may post the story either here or on Deviant Art once it has been published. Another way to get my work out and about.

Also: I'm the only person I know or have heard of that paces in the shower. Then again, I don't usually ask people what they do when they clean themselves...that's a little awkward. Could make for an interesting story though ;)

Also Also: Every time I'm out with our fiction writing group we come up with crazy, strange and often disturbing tales, traits and characters, then we systematically say we should put it in a story. Some examples are cauliflower ears and "sitting up" during the cremation process. We are an odd group of people.

Also Also Also: For the record I did not come up with either one of those examples. And as an advisory I wouldn't recommend looking up the cremation one on the internet. Some person has a very...detailed account of what happens during cremation. Pictures and everything.

Serious Business Time

I honestly considered writing this post Arby and the Chief style. Only one person I know would probably appreciate that. So I'm done my traveling and my skiing (not without aches and pains, but it was hella worth it) and now I think it's time I get down to some serious business. I was supposed to be done up to chapter 15 by the end of this month. I was giggling to myself about that last night after I stopped freaking out about other issues. School is getting busier, and I have less time to write let alone maintain my sanity. I started to write some of WMRR last Wednesday, which actually went quite well. I got about 3 pages done, which is good considering how distracted I was. I now have a chapbook story(well it was technically due today...), a bunch of critiques and my third short story due within the next week. That and I want to finish chapter 5 and Dedrad's Prologue this week. I want to finish more of course, but I have other issues to contend with.

So I'm off to be anti-social and wonder how badly I failed my Science Fiction class quiz (I really did fail...I put Chuck Norris as one of the answers). It's what I get for not reading either one of the books, Wikipediaing it 10 mins before class. Oddly enough I don't really care. I'll do better on the next one.

By March 5 - Chapbook submission
March 6 - 25% completion for WMRR
March 9 - Short Story 3
March 31 - Chapter 18 (at least) of WMMR

Tiki Tiki

Disneyland has melted my mind. I have about three ride themes stuck in my head and they just play one after the other over and over and over. I realize for next week I am completely screwed. I have no time to do anything. This trip has been so horrible for productive work (wonderful otherwise in terms of fun). We get up early, spend all day walking, standing and jumping on rides and other transit, then get home late where I'm so tired I can't do much but sit like a blob on my computer for thirty minutes before collapsing in bed. I get back to Calgary on Tuesday and somehow in 2 days I need to finish the annotated bibliography and do a damned good job with it because I'll let my group down otherwise and I'm depending on this project to save my English 408 mark. I also have four critiques to write for my classmates (which I think I'll hand in on the following Tuesday so I can put more time and effort into them...I'm missing class anyway), I need to come up with a music themed story, which I seriously got nothing on, I have a test to study for on Thursday and I still haven't finished editing my friend's novel, which I said I'd have to him last week (I feel so bad about the delay, but there's nothing I can do unless I want to stop sleeping altogether). I'm leaving Thursday evening for a ski trip, so I won't have much time to spare those nights either. The only saving grace is I can still go to class on Wednesday, even though I have a group meeting to attend that day (usually if my group needs to meet I can't go to class because I have to walk my neighbor's dog). I officially declare February a failure in terms of writing. I only wrote a chapter and a half. FML I'm not going to survive this week.

PS - Did I mention I'm going crazy? The only time I've had to myself this week is when I've been in the shower. Sleeping doesn't really count since it's in the same room as three other people. Hotel rooms ftl. Probably why I haven't written anything while I've been away. I need solitude to work.

Frantic-tic-tic-tic

Almost a week has passed since I posted here. My writing has slowed to nearly a stop. The only progress I can claim to have made is a slight clean up of the endings of a few chapters. Other than that I have written the beginning of Dedrad's introduction in between chapter 5 and 6 in my coil notebook on the train. The trick is to avoid the random stares from the other passengers and to cover the writing with an arm as I write so no creepers read over my shoulder. Less awkward questions that way. I'm leaving today. And by today I mean after I sleep, hand in a paper early, pick up the other people traveling with me, be at the airport by 6pm and catch a plane at 9pm (thank you America for your ridiculous security measures which require me to arrive three hours early to take off my shoes and walk through the machines that look under your clothes). I will try and write as much as I can on my trip while trying to spend as much time with my family and boyfriend as possible, while reading and editing a friend's novel, 3 short stories and sources for an annotated bibliography. Yay holidays? I'll stop complaining now and get back to writing the last 500 words of my paper. YEAH ERASMUS AND THE HUMANISTS!

Scary Editor

Photobucket is undergoing maintenance, so I decided to post the picture here. I am a scary scary editor when I want to be. I attack with highlighters, so many highlighters.