Tag Archives: ideas

The Year Of Self-Love

Posted in 2012 Theme: Self-Love by

I settled on a word, and it is self-love.  I had some trouble coming up with a list of words, and then I remembered that I had bookmarked this link.  Granted, it’s a few years old, but it had a long list of words that I borrowed from.

It was hard to narrow it down to one, but the nice thing about self-love is that it does encompass a lot of the other words I liked.

The whole idea of self-love has really clicked over the last week or so, and it will definitely be a priority this year.  It’s sad that it wasn’t, and isn’t, but right now, the need to work on the self-love is very strong.  I really liked this one post from The Lettered Cottage that talks about the blogger’s word of the year.

So what does self-love mean to me?

For one thing, taking care of myself physically and emotionally.  Eating well and exercising.  Not being so hard on myself.

Accepting that I don’t need to be perfect, that it’s okay to have faults.  Accepting that it’s okay to mess up every once in a while, and that mistakes don’t mean I’m a failure at life.  That it’s okay to take care of myself.  Letting go of fear and indecision.

Okay, so, this post makes me want to cry.  It’s very hard for me to even think about this, and writing it down…makes it very real.  I think a resolution word will be a good thing, because I can make it as specific or as broad as I want.  Specific enough so that I’m not winging it, but broad enough to give me some wiggle-room.

I will be sharing my progress at least once every 1-2 weeks, so we’re going to be getting a lot more personal over the next year!

Today Is The Day!

Posted in NaNo, Progress by

No writing was done yesterday, however, that changes today because I am going to be writing again!  I do feel inspired and ready to start writing! 

Since I didn’t write yesterday, my word count is a little behind, but I’m sure I can catch up today.  If I don’t, I’ll do it…sometime this month. 

I feel a little relieved, like I’ve gotten everything down to a manageable level.  Don’t get me wrong, I love writing 2 novels in a month, but this year, it’s just not going to happen.  Just because I have 2 novels doesn’t mean I have to stick with it for the month. 

Today is going to be a good day, and it’ll be great to get some writing done!

Yesterday Was A Day

Posted in NaNo, Progress by

Yesterday, I took the day off from writing.  I decided I needed the break from it, especially since I’m switching gears, and need to work on my shiny new idea.  My end goal is 50,000 words (for everything), and I’ll have the beginnings of 3 different stories.  I don’t know if I’ll go back to any of them- maybe the mermaid one, but that’s not likely.  Maybe the roller derby one but I can’t say for sure since I haven’t even started it. 

My plan for today is to write in a really quick (and very random) ending- a metapohrical blowing up of those 2 worlds and to do a little more planning and then on Tuesday, I’ll start up with the new novel.  I’m hoping I can stay interested enough to write close to 25,000 words, but if not, then I guess I’ll switch to something else.  I suppose I should come up with a few more back-up plans too, just in case.

That’s all I can think of for now, so I’ll be back tomorrow, and hopefully with a real update.

Plot Number One, 2011 Style

Posted in NaNo by

This post officially kicks off my NaNo posting extravaganza!

For all the work I’ve done, I still feel a little behind with my planning.  My idea is as formed as it’ll ever be. 

What is plot 1, you ask? 

It’s about a girl, Poppy, who discovers she’s a mermaid, and it goes terribly wrong.  Originally, I was going to have her die, but now I’m not so sure.  My novel is based on the whole idea that she dies, and I don’t really feel like changing it.  But for now, she dies.   

I had a list of potential creatures, and mermaids were the one group that really jumped out at me.  Plus, I loved the stories!  My favorite one is from One Thousand And One Arabian Nights, where mermaids are anatomically identical to humans, and their children are able to breathe and live underwater.  I found that was the one I could work with the most, and while I don’t have my own mythology for mermaids, and Poppy’s own origin story, I have an idea of what I want to do.

I like the idea of her dad being stationed in the Middle East and meeting her mom.  I have no idea how he’ll end up with her, but he’ll end up with her somehow- her mysteriously showing up at his doorstep seems cliché but I’m working on an inkling.   

As for my own mermaid mythology, mermaids definitely have their own underwater world, with underwater cities all over the world.  I don’t have anything further than that, or how she knows she’s a mermaid.  Or how the child of a human and a mermaid would look.  I mean, what happens when she takes a bath, or otherwise goes into water?  Besides the fact that she’d be a good swimmer- which would be a cliché thing to include- it might be hilarious for her to be afraid of the ocean, and either can’t swim or is really bad at it. 

Actually, that could be a sign that something is wrong with her mermaid side. 

I think for now, her tail could be something that starts to appear when she reaches 16, and only appears when she goes into the ocean, or some other body of water, but not when she’s in a pool or taking a bath. 

One of the big questions is how being a mermaid could kill her.  There are a couple things I settled on.  One- being half-mermaid, she’s really connected to nature.  Pollution is really bad, but for someone so connected to nature, it’s even more toxic, and the more she breathes in polluted air and all that, the more of an effect it has on her.  Being in an underwater city would definitely help her, and while the merfolk in these cities feel some effects, it’s not as bad as it would be if they were living on land like Poppy is.  And with all the processed food, and food recalls, it would not be a good thing for a mermaid.  Two- Something about the human side doesn’t react well with the mermaid side of her, and when combined with pollution and processed foods and everything…it’s disastrous and potentially lethal. 

I did get an interesting idea from Fablehaven that I really want to include.  Oh, and an idea I got from someone in my writer’s group, since they go pretty well together.  First, the Fablehaven inspiration.  There are magical sanctuaries all over the world, where all kinds of magical creatures and being go when their natural environment disappears.  And the idea from my writing group is this: a magical council, who decides on things like a common language for all magical creatures and who can be let in on all the secrets.  I might include some sort of registration system.  I do like someone who knows her- a teacher or neighbor- being on the magical council and suspecting that she’s a mermaid, and keeps asking her questions.  On a related note to how being a mermaid could kill her- if she had known about this magical council, they might have been able to save her.     

Character-wise, I have Poppy and Jordan.  And Poppy’s mom and dad, but I don’t know anything about them yet.  I’ll probably through in a couple friends, a couple neighbors, and maybe a teacher and a few others.  At this point, it’s too late to do complete profiles on everyone, but I only need profiles for her parents, the 2 friends, and the person who suspects she’s a mermaid.  Everyone else, I just need names for. 

Tomorrow’s post will be the novel’s soundtrack plus some other things that I’ll be listening to while I’m writing.

I Like Everything!

Posted in TV by

Seriously, there’s some good tv on right now.  Pan Am is growing me, and so is Person of Interest and Revenge.  House is going to be interesting, America’s Next Top Model is full of drama and I’m not sure about Terra Nova, since it’s really starting to remind me of Lost. 

I love Lost, but as Terra Nova goes on, it’s really starting to remind me of Lost.  I think it’s a combination of the Sixers (hello, the Others!), the mysterious runes on the rocks near the waterfalls and the fact that there is some mysterious purpose to Terra Nova.  You know, something besides the fact that they’re trying to save humanity by going back in time.

I’m getting to used to watching tv online, and it’s really not as bad as I thought.  There are ads, of course, but either way there’s going to be commercials.  I don’t really mind commercials since they’re good for bathroom and snack breaks. 

Going back to Person of Interest for a moment, it did give me some ideas for NaNo this year, so even t.v. can be provide inspiration. 

There’s not much else to talk about t.v. wise, so I’m off, and have a great day!

Decisions, Decisions

Posted in Other Projects by

I have a really cool idea for one of my plot bunnies, the one where the two best friends make a pact.  I haven’t looked over my notes or anything, and it’s been a good 2 months or so since I’ve worked on it.  But I still want to go with the idea that she has some supernatural power or something and it ends up killing her.  The only problem is deciding which thing I want to go with.

I have 3 categories- magical beasts and creatures, superpowers, and other.  I want it to be somwhat realistic…or at the very least, the teensiest bit plausible.  Like fairie blood is toxic when mixed with human blood.  Or she can heal people but it shortens her life a little each time she does it.  I definitely want to go with something like that…something that’s she’s done her whole life, something she does not knowing it’s killing her each time she does it, or some kind of magical blood that is deadly when combined with another type of blood.  It’s definitely intriguing, and I’m not sure which one I like more.  Maybe I can find some way to combine both, because depending on whatever creature I go with, there are probably special abilities that go along with it.  I have lists, I just need to do a little more research on some of the creatures to see if anything seems super-interesting.

This is why I like to wing it, as much as possible, because I hate deciding on things!  I know I could change it later, but my stupid inner editor starts harping on me about making sure it’s the right decision, because you don’t want to make the wrong one.  And just when I think she’s gone…she randomly appears!

I think today, I’m going to try working on this plot bunny, and see if I can actually decide on something!

Halfway There!

Posted in Camp NaNo by

I’ve reached the halfway mark!  At least in terms of wordcount.  It was very exciting, and I definitely need to start wrapping things up.  I have a definite idea in mind now for it.  It’s strange how everything becomes more clear after the halfway point.  Currently, I’m at 25,069, so while I’m not caught up, I will be soon! 

As for my other writing, I did work on a couple characters, as well as doing my other projects for the week.  I definitely like splitting them up over 2 or 3 days, as opposed to one each day.  Once I start writing, I want to keep going with something, so that’s what I’m going to stick with.  It is working, and since I’m all about doing what works these days, I should definitely do that.  I’m definitely hoping to have a rough draft finished for Turning Point, the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, and my NCIS fanfic by November  Maybe even one or two of my HP fanfics, depending on how much I write for them.  It’s weird, but exciting at the same time.

That’s about it, so have a great day!

Mixed Emotions, Part 2

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I just got back from seeing Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything for you!

It was amazing, and I loved it!  I’m also really glad I went at midnight, because that was pretty cool too.  When I got to the theater, the line was already wrapped around half the building!  It moved pretty quickly, but for about an hour or so, I was stuck in the same spot.  But then it started moving again, and I got into the theater about 10 minutes or so before midnight.  I had just enough time to go to the bathroom, and get some snacks, and settled into my seat. 

I went as Hermione, because that was the only costume I could pull off easily, especially as a DIY, last minute costume.  I had a red cloak (it wasn’t black, but it worked), a black witches hat (which has sparkly cobwebs all over it), a black skirt, and a pink top.  Plus black flats.  It’s not a school uniform or anything, but it was something I could see Hermione wearing, so I went with it.  Plus, I carried a bookbag and wore a time turner I had. 

Me, In My Costume!

 So, looking at that picture, it’s slightly more Luna than Hermione.  But whatever, I dressed up and it was awesome!  When I got to the theater, I didn’t see anyone dressed up in costume!  I thought a lot more people would have been dressed up, but then I realized that my costumed bretheren probably got there a lot earlier than I did.  Later on, I did see a few kids dressed up in costume, plus a few scarves, so I felt better about dressing up.  Not that I cared in the first place, because I was in costume, and I enjoyed it!

I did love the movie, and it was so fitting.  There were a lot of great moments during the movie: I laughed, I cried, I cheered, and there were some very moving scenes.  It was really well done, and a great send-off for such an amazing series.  I can’t say how much I love the series, and it was very bittersweet.  It still hasn’t sunk in yet, not completely anyway.  I know there are always the books, and the movies too.  And we can’t forget about Pottermore! 

I am so glad that I got to travel to Hogwarts with Harry, and have so many adventures with him, Ron and Hermione. 

But most importantly…

To J.K. Rowling: I know you will never read this, but thank so much for writing about Harry and sharing his story with the world.

Word Can Be Very Evil!

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Microsoft Word is evil!  Evil, I tell you!  Yesterday morning, I managed to write 800 words so, saved it on my flash drive, and when I went back to work on it later…the document was corrupted!  It was really frustrating, but thankfully I backed up my novel to dropbox after I finished writing yesterday, so I only lost 800 words.  I think I managed to cover most of what I wrote in the morning, and I’m pretty sure I forgot to throw in a few things.   Besides, I got the important stuff back in there, so I think I’m good to go! 

Let this be a lesson: always back up your work, because you never know when you might need that back-up copy.  I’m definitely going to keep a text file saved, just in case.  I’m pretty good about backing up my work, because if I ever lost any copies of my novels, I’d be so sad!  And honestly, it worked out a lot better, because I got to expand on a couple of pretty important things.  The re-write pretty much doubled what had I written in the morning, so that was awesome!  Plus, I liked this version a lot better than the one I previously wrote.

I was on such a roll that I’m almost completely caught up!  I’m glad because I can worry a little about getting to where I need to be.  It is weird writing one novel, because it’s been a while since I’ve worked on one novel.  It is a lot more relaxing, but at the same time, I really like having more than one thing to work on, which I do…it’s definitely interesting though.

So, my word count is 6412, which means that I just need to write an extra 256 words.  So I should be able to catch up today, which makes me happy.

Camp Is Fun!

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Camp NaNo is going well…kind of. I still have no idea on theories, so I definitely need to do that. I have some general notes, on spoilers I found, so that’ll help.  I’m pretty sure that I can reason my way through who the mole might be.  It’ not hard…I just don’t want to do it.  Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.  It’s not likely, but I’ll try!

I’m definitely going to get back on track for camp nano, since I only wrote 456.  Gtting the fanfiction written was pretty easy, but I didn’t really want to work on my original stuff. I managed to, and once I got going, I was fine. It just took a while for me to actually sit down and write, so hopefully camp nano will help out with that, since I’ll be writing everyday.  It’s just taking me a while to get settled in.  I did some reading- and I finally decided to start re-reading Harry Potter.  Not sure if I’ll get through the whole series in the next couple weeks, but I should get through the 1st three, and I’ll probably read Deathly Hallows while watching the movies in preparation.

My excuse for not going to the gym last week was the fact that it was really hot outside, and working out was the last thing I wanted to do.  Yet I somehow managed to lose almost 2 pounds.  I swear I’m going to start up my food journal, and do some kind of exercise, whether it be at home or at the gym.

I think that’s about it for today, so have a great day!