Today was the last day of Lani's Making Magic class. We talked about Discovery and how important that is to your writing. Very inspiring stuff. (I'm still a little unclear about the difference between Magic and Discovery, especially since two of the homework assignments are the same, but if it gets the juices flowing I guess it doesn't matter.) I have lots of ideas bouncing around in my head, and I'm pretty sure those ideas are going to lead to other ideas which will eventually lead to a good story.
Yay, me!
Next weekend the Discovery class starts. The first lesson is Soundtracks. I might refine the one I've already put together in Magic. I've already done a little bit of fiddling with it. But mostly I want to poke around in tropes and with my collage (which is still 99% in my head and 0% assembled.)
Have I shared my soundtrack yet? Here it is:
Back to December- Taylor Swift
Fuck You- Cee Lo Green
Hit the Road Jack- Ray Charles
Human Heart- Carey Ott
If We Ever Meet Again- Katy Perry/Timbaland
Last Christmas- Glee Cast
Lush Life- Natalie Cole
Make You Feel My Love- Adele
Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
Turning Tables- Adele
Valerie- Amy Winehouse
What'll I Do- Rosemary Clooney
Breathe- Melissa Etheridge
Come On Up To the House- Sarah Jarosz
St. Patrick's Day- John Mayer
Big Bang Theory- Barenaked Ladies
St. Patrick's Day and Big Bang Theory are new additions. St. Patrick's Day sparked a thought about structure (believe it or not), and led to some interesting (IMO) changes and plans. I'm not 100% sure Big Bang Theory really belongs, although it sort of feels like it does. Don't know why yet. Mostly I just added it because I started watching the show this week (one of the local channels started airing two episodes a day during the "everyone else is running the evening news" time slot). I don't know how I missed this show before. It's very funny, and the theme song is fucking addictive. I figured, if I'm going to be humming the damn thing constantly anyway, might as well add it to the soundtrack. I'd been thinking that Ethan was perhaps a tad bit nerdy, and this just reinforces it. (Oh, please God, tell me I'm not going to have to learn how to play some table top, roll playing, 20 sided die game as research. I love me some nerd boy, but that is totally not my thing.)
I think Breathe is going to have to come off the soundtrack, though. The more I listen to all of it, the more I think that it's the other guy's song, not Ethan's. And while some of those songs speak to the relationship as a whole, this is mostly Ethan's soundtrack. The other guy will have his own soundtrack later.
Oh, oh, oh! Good news! The Other Guy has a name! He's Jack. It was right there, staring me in the face, and I finally got it. (Hit the Road Jack.)
I think that's about all the writing news I have at the moment. Eventually I'll get the collage done(ish), and I'll post a picture of that. Oh, and while we're supposed to be working on soundtracks, which I feel pretty solid about at the moment, I'll be working on Kelley Armstrong's Outlining 101. It's fabulous. This is the program I followed (in my own special, Becky-ish way) in 2007, which was by far my best, most productive NaNo year. (National Novel Writing Month for anyone unfamiliar.) I want to mesh some of Lani's Magic/Discovery work with Kelley's Outlining 101 to hopefully get me on the right track and revved up for November 1st. (I hadn't been planning to NaNo this year, but what the hell. And since I'm off in my own world, doing my own thing and making it up as I go along, I might just start before Nov 1! I know. I'm such a rebel!)
If you're interested in checking out Kelley's writing info, go to her website, kelleyarmstrong.com, and join her forum and the OWG (Online Writing Group). That's where you'll find her NaNo prep stuff, as well as lots of talented and welcoming fellow writers.
And now I think I really am done. Pretty jazzed about all the work ahead of me. But it's fun work. Fwerk!
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Getting Worried
My Social Security hearing is just less than a month away, and I'm really starting to stress out. Not because of the hearing itself, although that's scary enough. What's worrying me is the financial state of the union and how that might affect my chances.
As of this evening the Republicrats are still squabbling over the budget. If they haven't come to some sort of agreement by Aug 16 I'm afraid I'll be denied again, not out of merit, but because they can't approve anyone until the new budget is in place. In fact, since I doubt anyone considers Social Security adjudication to be a vital service, I wouldn't be surprised if my appointment was cancelled all together. And lord only knows when it would be rescheduled for.
So that's what's keeping me up at night this week. Stupid politicians who will never have to worry about where to find the money for food or medicine or anything else for the rest of their lives, fucking with mine.
Edit: And here's a little something directed to the politicians.
As of this evening the Republicrats are still squabbling over the budget. If they haven't come to some sort of agreement by Aug 16 I'm afraid I'll be denied again, not out of merit, but because they can't approve anyone until the new budget is in place. In fact, since I doubt anyone considers Social Security adjudication to be a vital service, I wouldn't be surprised if my appointment was cancelled all together. And lord only knows when it would be rescheduled for.
So that's what's keeping me up at night this week. Stupid politicians who will never have to worry about where to find the money for food or medicine or anything else for the rest of their lives, fucking with mine.
Edit: And here's a little something directed to the politicians.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Loss and Gain
After multiple "you really look like you've lost weight" comments from my mom this week, I dragged out the Wii and checked. (I haven't been feeling up to getting my Wii on lately, so it's been collecting dust for a while.) Lo and behold, I've lost another 6.6 lbs. That's a total of 22 lbs since the end of August. I'm not really sure where it's come from, since I don't see the difference at all. But 22 fewer lbs crushing down on my joints can only be a good thing.
And now on a completely different subject. If you look over to the right, under the About Me section, you'll see a little ad. In mid-January I signed up with a site called Swagbucks. Basically, you're letting them market to you and in exchange you earn points that can be used toward "swag". A lot of it is stuff I wouldn't be interested in, but they do have one piece of swag I can definitely use-- Amazon gift cards. Got to feed the Kindle somehow! So far I've earned $25 worth of Amazon gift cards, and I'm just over half way to earning another $5 card. There are other gift cards available too, like Barnes & Noble, Travelocity, Paypal, Target, iTunes, or Starbucks. If Swagbucks is something you think you'd be interested in, I'd appreciate it if you'd click on that banner or use this link to sign up: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/fibrobabe. I can earn a few points through referrals, and there's always another book I want to buy!
Lip Balm Flavor of the Day: Shamrock Shake
And now on a completely different subject. If you look over to the right, under the About Me section, you'll see a little ad. In mid-January I signed up with a site called Swagbucks. Basically, you're letting them market to you and in exchange you earn points that can be used toward "swag". A lot of it is stuff I wouldn't be interested in, but they do have one piece of swag I can definitely use-- Amazon gift cards. Got to feed the Kindle somehow! So far I've earned $25 worth of Amazon gift cards, and I'm just over half way to earning another $5 card. There are other gift cards available too, like Barnes & Noble, Travelocity, Paypal, Target, iTunes, or Starbucks. If Swagbucks is something you think you'd be interested in, I'd appreciate it if you'd click on that banner or use this link to sign up: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/fibrobabe. I can earn a few points through referrals, and there's always another book I want to buy!
Lip Balm Flavor of the Day: Shamrock Shake
Monday, February 7, 2011
Indiana is Pissing Me Off
Usually I avoid the news, because I don't have enough energy to waste any being annoyed. But I caught just enough of a news broadcast to skate past annoyed into pissed off. The Republicans are currently pushing an amendment to the Indiana Constitution to ban gay marriage. It's already state law, but they want to make really, really sure that no judge can overturn it. This piece of asshattery was particularly irritating:
Does he not see that his 98% (not that I believe that 98% is even in the ball park for those who support this amendment) don't have the right to define something so personal as marriage for that 2% either? Marriage, from the government's point of view, is a contract. That's it. As long as all parties are of legal age to enter a contract and freely consent, the government should be satisfied.
It's religion and the couples' beliefs about marriage that give it personal meaning. No one is saying you have to let two men or two women marry in your church, if your church does not accept gay marriage. (It's called separation of church and state. We'll keep our government out of your church policies, you keep your church out of our government policies, and everyone will get along just fine.) More than that, marriage is a union of hearts and lives. It's what each couple brings to the table that makes a marriage. You can't define that. You can't control it. And you have no right to impose your ideas on this most personal of relationships.
For anyone who wants to read a little bit more about the proposed amendment, here's an Indianapolis Star article that explains the situation in more detail.
I'd really like to end this with telling all of those GOP bastards where they can stick their stupid amendment. But I won't. I'd just as soon stay out of their bedrooms, and I wish they would extend the same courtesy to the rest of the world.
“Two percent of the population does not have the right to define marriage for the rest of the population,” said Micah Clark of the American Family Association, referring the minority of Americans who are gay and lesbian.
Does he not see that his 98% (not that I believe that 98% is even in the ball park for those who support this amendment) don't have the right to define something so personal as marriage for that 2% either? Marriage, from the government's point of view, is a contract. That's it. As long as all parties are of legal age to enter a contract and freely consent, the government should be satisfied.
It's religion and the couples' beliefs about marriage that give it personal meaning. No one is saying you have to let two men or two women marry in your church, if your church does not accept gay marriage. (It's called separation of church and state. We'll keep our government out of your church policies, you keep your church out of our government policies, and everyone will get along just fine.) More than that, marriage is a union of hearts and lives. It's what each couple brings to the table that makes a marriage. You can't define that. You can't control it. And you have no right to impose your ideas on this most personal of relationships.
For anyone who wants to read a little bit more about the proposed amendment, here's an Indianapolis Star article that explains the situation in more detail.
I'd really like to end this with telling all of those GOP bastards where they can stick their stupid amendment. But I won't. I'd just as soon stay out of their bedrooms, and I wish they would extend the same courtesy to the rest of the world.
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