Happy Holidays

I'm back, finally. It's been a frustrating few weeks, but I'm hopeful that things will be looking up now.

I was out of town for awhile, with limited Internet access, so I wasn't able to make any updates, or do any serious writing. It looks like I missed most of the December prompts that I had wanted to follow.

My next goal, to make up for my last few failures, is to write 31 short stories in 31 days. (Through the month of January) It might be more than I can handle, but I'm up for the challenge. I'm not going to make a set length, a few of the ideas I have will be fairly small stories overall. I'm not going to post all of them here, either. I might share a few, especially if I get some requests. (hint hint)

One of the ideas I'm looking forward to exploring is an empty birdcage. Why would somebody own a birdcage, with just a few feathers strewn around the bottom? I don't know yet, but it's an idea I want to try out. I might even go through a few different angles.
-Bird died, and cage is a memorial.
-The thought of a pet is just as powerful as the pet itself, so the owner bought an empty cage.
-Bird has flown the coop.
This idea came from a scene in Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. The cage was just a background image, but it stayed with me. It's such an open idea, I look forward to exploring it, along with a lot of other ideas I can finally get out during January. I might also try some strange challenges, if I'm feeling overly ambitious. Things like writing an entire story without using the letter "E", or starting each sentence with a different letter, alphabetically. If you have a reasonable challenge, post it here.

In my next post, I'll go over some books I've read recently (I'll do a better job this time. Formatting nightmare last time I posted my "recently read list") I might also go over some of the ideas I'll be working on during January.
There is also a chance that I'll do a post on my experiences with Linux so far. It's become such a large part of my daily (computer) life that I feel I should discuss it.

I'll leave you with a final Happy New Year!

Dec 5, 2010 (Reverb 2010) Let Go

Now, back on schedule with today's prompt:
December 5 – Let Go
What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

This is a difficult one. I can't think of anything specific that I've let go of during the past year. I think I would be justified in blaming my memory for part of this, and the fact that I don't think I've "let go" of anything valuable (based on the fact that I don't remember it)

I think that if I'm going to pick anything, it will be anime/manga. I still have my collection, and still work on adding to it, but I haven't read or watched any of it during the past year.
There are a few reasons for that. The first reason is that they are in storage, and difficult to get to. The other reason, would probably have to be that I just haven't been interested enough. There always seem to be other things to do with my time. I'm a bit upset about it, there are so many great inspirations I can get from anime. "Serial Experiments Lain" is one that always makes me think. I've been wanting to re-watch the 13 episodes for at least six months now, and still haven't.

This might not be the best example of something I've let go, it wasn't exactly a conscious choice. Reflecting back over the past year though, it feels like the one to write about.

Dec 4, 2010 (Reverb 2010) Wonder

I'm a bit behind on my blog. I know... Big surprise, right? At least it's only a few days behind this time. I've looked over the past few prompts for Reverb, and I'm starting to get a mental block when it comes to personal writing. I've decided to do the prompts for the last two days though.

December 4th's prompt:
December 4 – Wonder.
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

I have not done too much, personally. The first thing I did, was get a digital camera. I'm not a photographer, but it was time for a cheap point and shoot camera. Once I got it, and started looking at the online community for that brand, I saw the world differently. A tree was no longer a tree, but a huge and complex being. Each part of it looks different, based on perspective, and every leaf is worthy of it's own picture.
The other thing I did, was participate in NaNrWriMo. It gave me another perspective when looking at the world. It started while I was watching "Shawn of the Dead". Every scene, I was thinking about how to translate the movie into words. The descriptions, actions, and conversations. I've taken that outlook into the real world; walking down the street thinking about the scenery, the objects that would get noticed first, and what makes them stand out.

I'm sure that as a writer, these should not be new to me. They are not completely new, merely forgotten. I don't know if I can compare a new view of the world to a "Sense of Wonder", but that's what I'm going with. (And I'm sticking to it)

If you are wondering about December 3rd's prompt, here it is:
December 3 – Moment.
Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)

Usually I love descriptions, but my memory couldn't produce a significant moment to write about.

Dec 2, 2010 (Reverb 2010)

Today's prompt
December 2 Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

That's a loaded question/statement. There is a lot of things I do each day that don't directly relate to writing. Reading, I'll pass off as being "research", and a healthy form of entertainment.

The big one of course, would have to be games. From short online games on Kongregate to time wasters like Nethack. I'm hopelessly addicted to games in many forms.

It "should" be easy enough to resist the urge to waste time playing a game, but they are usually a good way to calm me down, and let my mind relax between tasks. I might be able to eliminate gaming entirely, if I could convince myself that it's what I want to do. The problem arises when I realize that I'm trying to lie to myself, and promptly ignore any further communication from that part of my mind. This is usually achieved by playing yet another game.

I also waste a large amount of time online. Since I still have not found out what I'm doing for the large spans of time that disappear every time I open an internet browser, I can't say if it's possible to eliminate that activity or not. There is email, which takes five minutes to check, and clear out the junk. It's rare that I get a message that's worth a response, so I can't say I spend much time with that. Facebook used to occupy a large portion of my time, but during NaNo I learned to ignore that particular time waster.

So... My final answer is going to be games, with a small possibility that I can trim the time wasted on them. It may not be possible to cut it out entirely, but a good trimming is always possible.

Dec 1, 2010 (Reverb 2010)

Today's prompt:

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

My word for the year would be pathetic. I haven't done anything of value this year. Most of my time has been spent doing pointless activities, that accomplish nothing. If I were to jump ahead a year, I would like the one word that summarizes my accomplishments to be:

Successful! It's not the money that I care about, it's the feeling of satisfaction that I get when (if) I complete a project. This is even more important if the only thing of value I have to show for the year is a single piece of writing (My NaNo 2010 novel). I can only hope that over the next 12 months, I manage to edit my novel, and get it sent off to a publisher or agent. I would love to have it in print, but having a polished novel is more important to me than a published piece of male horse manure...

Regardless of the actual steps it takes, I am already thinking about what I will need to do to make my word for 2011 come true. Successful, or accomplished, and I will feel that the year was not wasted.

Good luck to any writers reading this, in the year to come. If you're not a writer, I still wish you luck, but if you've some luck to spare, I'll take it off your hands!

As always;

Until my next post... Good luck, and have fun writing!

End of NaNo; Start of Reverb 2010

First, I'll do a quick update on my NaNoWriMo standings.

I started my next novel, but haven't got past the first few paragraphs. I'm eagerly awaiting the free time that will allow me to work on my novel. It's December already, but I'm unwilling to start editing yet... I've done some reading, trying to prepare my mind for the next novel. I would like to get somewhere between Douglas Adams and Tom Holt, and have spent a lot of time reading both. I'll post the exact books in a later blog post. So far, I'm still thinking of NaNoWriMo, and the people I've met so far. One of the local leaders (Municipal Liaison), suggested Reverb 2010. I'm going to try and do a blog post each day, based on the prompts given by Reverb 2010

I have also been reminded of my next short story idea... A horror story based on "Frosty the Snowman". Frosty clearly states that he will "Be back again someday..." The twist is that he returns as a killer, not a playful man of snow. I've studied the lyrics, and have thought of this particular story for a few years. It's on the morbid side, sure... But I think that every story should have another side to it. From the Wicked (book/musical), to "Little Red Riding Hood" meeting a Warewolf. The last part of Frosty has always had a sinister undertone to me, when he says that he will "Be back again... Someday!" If a magic hat can give him life, what could it do to him over a period of ten years? Or the next generation? What if the group that laughed and played with him had children? If Frosty was really alive, human emotions (might) turn him into a psychopath... It's a leap (of faith??) that makes a kind, playful snowman into a killer, but somewhere between the book "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and the "Black Christmas" movie, I should be able to fit a serial killer snowman wearing a magical silk hat.