I read King's "UR" again. I think I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time, that is a really good story. My favourite part is till the middle of the story when they get together to order books and newspaper articles from the parallel worlds. Mostly because the thought of doing it myself is so interesting and amazing. Though unlike them, I wouldn't be getting scared about it.

I'm sure I've said it before, but I think King does his best work when he writes short stories. I would take any of his short story collections over any of his novels any day of the week.

There is an all day long Survivorman marathon today, which I can't help but find funny because I just bought the second and third seasons two weeks ago. It's cool though because the whole point was so that I would have them right when I needed them for research.

I should begin writing again monday or tuesday and I'm really looking forward to that. I've decided to start doign author's notes for my short stories so that in the event they get published, people who are interested can glance over them and learn a little bit about what prompted the stories and why I wrote them as well as how they connect to the series.

I have no plans for the weekend, mostly just hanging around and killing time. Oh, finally bought a caulking gun so i can do the last repairs in the bathroom. I will probably tackle that tomorrow.

I finished the final season of House. That was a great season and I think they ended it well, like everything was as it should be.

Though for a moment there, I was rather irritated and thought they had decided to go the easy (read: CHEAP)route in terms of story telling with regards to the character of House. But they made it okay before the episode finished out.

I particularly love what they did with Chase. It was unexpected yet felt totally right.

I saw the movie John Carter. It apparently bombed in theaters, but it wasn't a bad movie. It just suffered from poor pacing and character development that left it rather forgetable once it was over. Which is a pity cause it had a ton of potential.

I'm just about done with all shows for this past season. Bones wont finish out till a little later this year, so I'm jsut waiting on that. I think all I really have left is. . . Castle.


In other news, I'm hoping to get back to writing on monday/tuesday. My plot outline is pretty good to go so far, I need a few more specifics but as a whole it's written out enough that I can start on it and know exactly where I'm going with it.

I have a few other ones after that. I'm still trying to figure out the spy story, but I might end up doing the alchemist one. . . maybe. I'm still iffy on which angle to use for that one. At least in terms of point of view character, there are three and I'm just not sure which is best because using one means thigns from the others will be missed. I'm leaning towards going with the alchemist because soemthing I saw while watching House opened my eyes to what I could do with that character. . . well more like what I was already going to do, I just need to hit that note a little harder.

So yeah, the next few weeks will be all about writing again. I am looking forward to it, I've started to feel a bit like a slacker these past couple weeks.

Oh this years past TV shows.

I finished Fringe the other day. It was a good season, I loved seeing both universes working together for a change. The direction the show was heading in was a great one, until ep 19.

In every Fringe season, ep 19 is the one where they do somethign sorta out there that always seems be awesome and work really well. It gives the show a little extra charm. This year was different. They changed everything, and not for the better. . .

The Observers taking over the world?

Are you fucking kidding me!?!

They took the most intriguing side characters of the series and turned them into despots who ruined the future, then returned to the past in order to take control of it and become dickheads. Cause, you know, THAT's not totally out of character with regards to what we've seen of them so far.

Based on the season finale, they are going to bring that into the main plot for next season.

I LOVED Fringe, every season was better than the last. This season wasn't on its way to being better than the last, however it wasn't worse than the previous season. Not until ep 19 and then the following episode when they closed the bridge uniting the universes.

It seems next season will be it's last. . . and I'm okay with that. I will watch it, but with the whole Fringe team vs. Observers. . . I'm excited to see it.


I have decided to let go of NCIS. I watched every season and half of this one. But the show has started to feel really stagnant as of late. With the exception of Gibbs and Zeva (my fav characters) no other characters seem to be growing, changing. They've all remained relatively the same. I've just gotten tired of it, not the least of which is due to Agent Dinozo who has become increasingly annoying and childish over the past three seasons. It's like every time the character gets close to becoming more interesting and more like an actual human being, he goes right back to actign like a little kid. Such a waste. . .


I finished up this season of Vampire Diaries. . . it was really drawn out and a lot of the changes in the plot and characters. . . I just didn't like. People are way too forgiving on this show. Kill someone's sister, their girlfriend, their parent, don't worry about it they'll still be your friend. Torture your daughter? she'll totally forgive you, and so will your ex wife. Cause it's no big deal.

And, you know, I could overlook lazy storytelling like that if it was the exception and not the rule. If it was rare. . . well, you only have so much time to tell the story and soemtimes they will cut corners. But stuff like that isn't rare. It's like anyone can do anythign to anyone else and it's the worse thing ever, until the writers decide that it's inconvenient to the plot and the just like that characters get over it. Oh, they'll say they're still upset, but that doesn't keep them from working together or hanging out or sleeping with eachother or whatever.

Don't even get me started on Elana, who's "humanity" only ever seems screw things up at exactly the wrong moment. . . and on a pretty consistent basis, so much so that even the characters point it out. Which is actually the writers way of saying to the audience "Yeah, we kinda do this a lot but just go with it." It's called "hanging a lantern". But the problem is her so called humanity is, at those moments, simply selfishness. She wants things a certain way, can't have that way, and her humanity ruins everything for everyone because it sabotoges whatever plan WOULD HAVE worked to rid everyone of the current villain. OR she gets kidnapped and threatened, causeing our heros to have to help the villain in order t save her. . . . again.

. . . and she gets a pass from all the other characters, every time. I would love it if someone, just some friend said to her "You know what? Fuck you!" and then was never her friend for the rest of the series. Is that really too much to ask? Cause you know what? Everyone drops everything for her on a consistent basis. . .

If not for Damon, I would have given up on that show at the end of this season. Honestly, his morality is the only one that actually lines up with mine (most of the time). So at least SOMEONE on the show gets to say what I'm thinking to the very characters I want to say it to.


I'm going to start watching this seasons Supernatural, but if the last few episodes of the previous season were any indication. . . I might be dropping Supernatural at the end of this season. To me, the show was at it's best when they were traveling over the country and battling cratures of legends, fairytales, and myth. Not dealing with all this angel vs. demon stuff. After season 5 they should have just gone in a completely new direction and left all the heaven/hell shit behind.

I want them to get back to dealing with a different monster each week. . . but I doubt that's going to happen again. But lets just see how things turn out.


Which brings me to Grimm, a show that is doing pretty much what I had enjoyed most about Supernatural. So far my only real complaint is FX-wise in that a lot of characters, when their face changes, don't look that different. Some do, but too many look way too much a like. But other than that, I'm enjoying it so far. I'm currently 10 episodes in.


Bones has been good, though I'm so annoyed that their hook-up happend off camera between seasons. It was kinda jarring to start this season with Bones and Booth already together and gerring ready to have a baby. But hey, they're together and that's all I've been wanting so I wont complain.

Last on my list of shows to watch this season, is House. I'm looking forward to it, to seeing how it all ends and what choice House ultimately makes for his future.

So I have been watching Once Upon A Time. When I first heard of it, I thought it might be a decent show. I loved the premis, that fairytale characters were stuck in the real world without any memory of their other life. It was kinda cool, so I figured I would watch it eventually.

I finally saw it and. . . it is so great! I think I'm going ot be getting each season on DVD from now on, I love it that much. Just to point out how big of a deal that is, I'll give you an example.

I love superheroes. I think Superman is awesome. I followed the show Smallville religiously for evey one of the ten years it came on, there is not a single episode I haven't seen. It was a wonderful show! But I have not bought a single season on DVD and I probably never will.

So that should tell you a bit about how much I am into Once Upon A Time.

It's still only the first season, I haven't even finished it yet. I am loving every moment, for many very good reasons.

But first, there is something I have GOT to get off my chest. It has been on my mind since I started watching the show:


^ see this?
I LOVE THOSE BOOTS. I kidd you not, I have been dying to tell someone that. Those are sweet boots. Whoever did costuming for this. . . yeah, you are BRILLIANT.

As for the show, it is great to see Jennifer Morrison (of House and Stir Of Echos fame) in a role completely unlike anything else I have seen her in. Whats more, she does a fantastic job.

Emma Swan gave up her son for adoption, and is now trying to reconnect with him after he found her. I am so behind that, what a great character, made better by the fact that while she isn't perfect. . . she is isn't neurotically crappy at it like so many fiction characters from other movies and shows. She's very human, and that's the best part. I totally buy her her every motivation and action. I am completely sold on her character.

Plus she's tough and who doesn't like and admire tough, strong women?

Oh, and Ms. Morrison if you are reading this due to some random net search for reviews about the show, I just want to say thank you for signing that House script a few years back. I really appreciate it :D

Back to the show. . . While I love Morrison's character of Emma Swan, I think Ferb said it best "A hero's a hero, but everyone loves a good villain."

That is always true. The villains of Once Upon A Time really make the show worth watching. I LOVE the villains. Which is rare for me becuase I usually find villains so. . . blah, or so irritating that I want them to hurry up an die already. Not so here.

Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold (aka Rumplestiltskin), is fucking brilliant. He's so very machiavellian, this character that makes deals upon deals, offering desperate people what they need fo prices only a desperate person would agree to pay. Assuming their desperation allows them to even ask the terms before agreeing. So much seems to come back directly to him, he seems to have a hand in everything.



More than that. . . you never really know what his angle is. We all know, instinctively, what side he's on. He's on his own side. But what he ultimatley wants and is trying to achieve, if anything, is so uncertain. Even better, once it's revealed, his own history makes him so human, understandable, sympathetic. . . even relatable, that it's impossible for me not to like him.

That is exactly how to make a great villain.

On top of it, I'm constantly wondering. . . did he forget like the other fairytale characters, or did he keep his memory all along? I don't think he forgot.

Next there is my favourite villain, the favourite villain of us all, the woman responcible for the fairytale characters being trapped in the real world:

Mayor Regina Mills (aka The Evil Queen). Played pitch perfect by Lana Parrilla.



She is so wickedly, cleverly, evil that every time she is on screen I think "More please!". I know that's probably not for the best as over exposure can kill a great villain faster than Excedrin can remove my migranes. . . but I want more. That's sort of the point I suppose, a great villain makes you want more.



She is so good at being evil that I can't help but adore her, yet at the same time feel pity that love and friendship is so absent from her life. Essentially the price she paid to bring the curse to life. But she gets these wonderful, stunningly brief moments of raw humanity that make me desperately want her character to somehow be saved from herself. Such as when Kathryn says to Mayor Mills that she is her friend now. You see on her face the deep effect that has on her, the surprise followed by a subtle warming to the idea. Later, she even acts (in the heavy-handed manner that evil does) to protect her friend.

There is also the matter of Henry, the adopted son who she named after her own father (who she killed, needign to sacrifice something she truely loved, to bring about the curse). She says she loves him. . . but we all know she doesn't. HOWEVER, there are so many moments that lead me to think that she wants to love him, to be capable of it. . . but can't.

HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE A VILLAIN LIKE THAT!?!

Also. . . it kinda doesn't hurt that Lana Parrilla is super hot. I, of course, mean that in the most respectful manner ;)



Like. . . whoah. . . Seriously HOT.

AmIrite?


Then there is Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, the son Emma gave up for adoption who was then adopted by. . . . The evil Mayor Mills. The only non evil character who seems to know about the curse.

Normally when it comes to kid characters, less is more. For me, even less than that is better. Kid characters are so often written and performed on a level so annoying that I often cringe, or worse, change the channel. Watch an afternoon or evening of the Disney channel and tell me you don't agree.

But Jared S. Gilmore plays Henry so well that. . . well, lets just say if I had a son, I would want him to be just like that. Crazy right? He is written really well, so well that early on in the show when it's kinda up in the air whether or not there really is a curse. . . I wanted it to be true, I wanted him to be right because I worried about him getting hurt if it turned out that it wasn't true.

As for the less is more bit. . . there was an episode a while back where he didn't appear at all and I found I totally missed him. His character is wonderful and is quite frankly one of the best kid characters I have ever seen in any show or movie, and performed as well as the best of them. Jared S. Gilmore has some serious talent.

Then there is his shrink, Archibald "Archie" Hopper (aka Jiminy Cricket) played by Raphael Sbarge. Yeah THE Raphael Sbarge.

I have spent hours and hours with Raphael Sbarge in one form or another. For those of you who don't know, Mr. Sbarge played Carth Onassi in the Knights Of The Old Republic RPG. Then went on to play Kaidan Alenko in the Mass Effect series (Keep sacrificing you on Virmire, dude. Sorry about that, but that totally wont happen anymore I promise!). So. . . yeah, I've more or less spent a couple hundred hours listening to his voice. So pretty much any time I see him in a show and here his voice, I automaticaly like him. . . save for that one episode of Burn Notice. That guy was such a tool. . .

Anyway, I really enjoy what they did with the character of Jiminy Cricket and his origin. I wont spoil it, but I thought it was a wonderful and made me realyl appreciate the character. It's made even better by having that origin being dished out in snippets alogn with the present day where Jiminy Cricket's real world counterpart Archie Hopper is strugglign with his own concience, tryign to figure out the kind of man he wants to be. That was a great episode and towards the end, there was a moment when I had near panic as it made me recall the original story of Pinocchio. . . where he kills the cricket (never called Jiminy).

I want more of Archie in the later episodes, he hasn't really done much since then.

I want to say more, but so far I've only seen 11 episodes, which is surprising because it feels like I've see way more than that. . . the show is just that good. So. . . yeah, I love this show and I hope it continues to stay as good as it has been. Part of the fun is in trying to figure out who's who before the reveal :D

Anyway, I should get back to it. I've still got a lot more to go!

. . . seriously, if you actually read this whole long geek-out, you are awesome XD

Actually more than one.

I had three dreams last night. . .

In the first, I was with rubygloomrox., searching for the body of a gunslinger that looked a lot like Brad Pitt. He had been shot to death while pretending to be someone else and seeking refuge in someone’s house. I remember finding him, the body was being kept in some kinda hole in the wall. . . the body was being repaired I think. It’s hard to remember. There was so much more that happened before when he was alive, that I just can't remember. . .

In the next dream I woke up to a battle field, in the dream itself I woke up to it. I had no idea where I was or who was attacking, I didn’t even have weapons. There was just fighting all around me. I knew there were two distinct sides, but had no idea which I was on or supposed to be on. It was insane. At some point, I found out that the people who were fighting, would die only to end up back on the battle field.

At some point I died, I don’t know how, and ended up underground where the dead go to be worked on by some unknown force that would send them back up to fight all over again. It was a cave, white and blue. The cutouts in the walls held the bodies of the fallen. . . I found two rifles down there and took them both. Another man had woken and wanted me to give him one so he could defend himself when he was sent back up. I refused because I didn’t know if he would use it on me. . . or which side he was fighting on. I knew I was dooming him to die again, but I just didn’t want him to have it. He eventually went back up through, what I think might have been some kind of elevator or something.

In the next dream I was with Jecoa. I had gone to live with him. He was living in some small town in a house. I was trying to convince him to come back to. . . music, a better life, to return to the path he should be on. He was having problems with Sammie. . . and I think she wouldn’t let him leave the town. I eventually got him to consider leaving, but there was some problem, something in the way that I can’t remember. There was a man. . . and we killed him, we had to in order to get Jecoa to leave. It was the only way. The man had died on the porch and his head was being covered by the welcome mat.

The neighbor from across the street was suspicious and she was against us for some reason. While Jecoa was disposing of the body, she sent some guy over and I just knew what the plan was. I saw the man on the porch, he was carrying a baseball bat with two long nails sticking out of it. He had place the bat down and was looking around. I opened the door and confronted him. I told him that the women across the street, who looked a lot like Charisma Carpenter, had sent him over to sneak in an murder us. He denied it, but I could see in his face that he was scared I had figured it out.

I picked up the back and walked towards him, he backed away only to find his retreat block by the house. The bat was heavy, overly long and made of dense wood. I swung it and buried it’s nails in the side of his head. He died before falling to the ground, the nails holding it firmly in place.

I barely got any sleep, maybe an hour or two. . . the smell is so bad, it is in EVERYTHING. The pillow cases and blankets, the clothes I was trying to sleep in, none of which came into contact with my dog. Skunk spray is just that powerful. . . and evil :/

The dog seems to be blissfully unaware of the odor and I fear she hasn't learned her lesson. I don't ever want to have to deal with this again.

The day has barely started and it's already a miserable one.

The dog got sprayed by a skunk.

What a miserable experiance.

. . . I'm sure it was bad for her too, but what matters is how it's effecting me. :/

I want this smell to go away!

Got more notes just now. I'm really zeroing in on this story and exactly what I want it to be, which is great because when I first thought of it back in November, I wasn't sure if it would work. The original idea was a little different than what I have now, but the basic idea is exactly the same and the finer points are much clearer. Plus I elimanted a problem that had kept me from persuing it back then. Not everything needs to be run through in detail it seems. I think it works better this way, leaving up much of thsoe details to the readers imagination once we catch up with this character many years after the events of this story.

This one, is by far my favourite character that I have written to date. That may change once I start the first novel of the series, but it's true right now and since this is the character I need to focus on right now, well that's all that matters.

I can't wait till I have enough that I can really start in on this story, I'm seeing a lot of it clearly and I'm fairly sure that I will have plenty of material to write about in order to fill the 20k word count that I want to reach with this story. That was a problem I had with my last short story, I loved the story but I didn't have as much detail and focus as I really needed. I think it worked out alright for that one, but not as a whole that story wasn't as great as it could have been. I might be wrong, readers could very well love it more than I do (and make no mistake I do love that story, but that doesn't keep me from seeing its shortcomings) and enjoy it very much.

But this story, this story needs to be better that just good. It needs to live up to not jsut my expectations, but to its full potential. I don't intend to let it down.

In other news, there is a survivorman marathon on the science channel right now. I know I've said it before, but I really do love that show. I'm getting it on DVD this friday. It's going to be a great help in all my fantasy stories. It already has been.

Also, I really really want to see The Avengers. . . . I need my Iron Man and Captain America fix. Two of my favourite childhood heroes :D

Finally, and unrelated to anything else (save my userpic choice), I really need some sex right about now. . . .

Got more notes done today. Not general plot stuff, but the smaller scene specific stuff. I actually like getting scene details more than general notes. To me it's the difference between holding a menu and knowing exactly what you want to order. I often get a lot more out of knowing scene details. I'm going to need some refference pics though, I'm not sure I have any that will fit some of what I'm planning.

Off to google!

I'm starting to get anxious about writing this story. I'm not going to quite yet, I still need more details, but I have a good feeling about it and that is wonderful. Some times it seems like things are moving slowly on the writing front, but other times it feels like I really am getting a lot done. I knocking out stories one after the other, good stories at that. Lets hope I can keep up the pace. I needn't be quick, but being steady in production is exactly what's called for.

In other news, last month I saw some t-shirts disappear from my wishlist. I thought they had gotten lsot in the mail, but the finally showed up on monday (shipped from the UK apparently). OMG they are so awesome! Two Star Wars shirts that I freaking LOVE. I'll put up pics when I get the chance. I think they were a gift from my stepmother, as apparently she was the one who sent me stuff last month. I also got a wallscroll of Kakashi, a Green Lantern hoodie, and a tie. So last month was pretty sweet :D

Amazon wishlist is one of the greatest inventions of all time! :D

Got a good idea today for a new short (maybe novella) story, I'm not sure if it will be my next one or not, but it's there and I wrote down the notes for the basic plot. To be honest, it's not reall a knew idea but more of the clarification of an old one that I was struggling with. It needs more fleshing out but I'm very happy with what I've got so far.

I'd like to get on it right away though, but I think it's in the stories best interest that I let my brain rest a bit more. I imagine this one is going to be rather ehaustive, yet fun, to write and I want to enter it at my best.

This story will be the first of my next story collection. Funny to say taht when I still haven't finished the first, but this doesn't fit with that collection. This first colleciton is all about tragedy, whiel I beleive the theme for the second will be be about transition, or finding new purpous. . . something along those lines, where I revist a few old characters from the first collection and those of the books.

My current novel is still standing by. It's weird, as the book is not dead by any means, but I am beign filled with ideas for this other world and I want to continue acting on them while the momentum is there. I don't want to let the grass grow under these stories and this world, I want to create a well-worn path that will make it easy for me to find my way again once I return to and finish the book. If that means doing all these short stories as well as starting the first fantasy book of the series, then so be it. I have learned that I can indeed take a logn break from a story only to return to it later and complete it just fine.

After all, that's exactly what I did with my favourite story.

It's cold here now. Dark and cloudy, it rained most of the day in fact. Really, it's the absolute perfect weather for me, especially this early in spring. I am. . . most myself in weather like this, the world feels quieter and my thoughts are most clear.

I will continue to watch movies tomorrow, once I got over the lack of ME3 MP yesterday, I have settled in quite nicely. I wont have coffee tomorrow, which sucks, as there is no more creamer but that's alright. I expect normal coffee routine to resume in a couple weeks, which is hopefully when I will begin my new story. Be it this one or a different one.

In other news, I saw Iron Man 2 yesterday for the 3rd or 4th time. The scene at the race track is still my favourite, it's the highlight of the whole film for me. Damn, I really want that suitcase armor suit. That thing was so awesome. While shape changign is my favourite super power, if I had to pick a second, it would be to have the Iron Man armor post Extremis.

I have no idea what to do with myself today. . . . I had planned to watch some movies, but it requires me to set my PS3 in oder to watch bluray, once i do that I wont be able to really enjoy the movies because somone keeps fucking with their loud lawn mower. So I can't even watch my non bluray movies.


No new story ideas yet either, which is fine as I don't really want to force them.

I've also sworn off ME3 MP till friday in order to focus on actual productive things. . . like watch movies XD

So, no movies, no games, no ideas. . . what now? I'm sorta just sitting around waiting to find something. Also because of the lawnmower noise, enjoying a book in silence is out of the question as well.

If only I had something to write :/

Fuck it. I'll just take a shower. Maybe when I'm done with that, I'll have some sort of idea of what to do wih the rest of the day. . .

EDIT: Hell with it, I'm going to finally watch the extended cut of Green Lantern. . .

Jennifer Hale is voicing Ms. Marvel in the cartoon "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes". I love her voice, if I got to pick who would read for my audiobooks, she would be my first pick. I have a whole short-list of people who I want to record for my audiobooks.

They are almost all voie actors from Bioware games XD


In othere news, next week is going to consist of me finally watching the extended cut of Green Lantern, as well as watching The Island. Probably do both tomorrow. Then tuesday Manyuu Hiken-chou. . . . don't ask :P

Ultimately I just don't think I will be doing that second runthrough of Sakura Wars :(

I also plan to keep jotting down notes. I plotted out the main premis for the spin-off book and some of its most basic beginning plot elements. Which is just awesome for me, it's like building a brick at a time. At the end of it all, I should have a wonderful house.

My plans for next week are still all up in the air. Enjoy a book (Stephen King's "Cell")? Do my second runthrough of Sakura Wars? Catch up on shows?

I really want to focus on just one thing, but. . . I'm having a hard time just staying with one thing.

If nothing else, I'm going to schedule some time next week to get some solid notes down for future stories. I might even get some done this weekend. My brain may be on vacation, but if it's still got ideas I'm not going to let them go to waste.


. . . so far though, this morning is moving very slowly. :/

I went one day without cigarettes and it was good, though weird to have my coffee without them. . .

So I caved and bought two packs to tide me over till I can order more tobacco to continue making my own. I am weak :/

I just grew too used to having them again. But I will alternate between the real one and the electronic ones. Ecigarettes on weekends (unless I'm writing) and regular ones during the week, but I'm going to be cutting back on the real ones even further. I'll try to keep it between 5-8 a day, down from my usual 10. It's the best I can do at the moment, and I'm okay with that.

I'm trying to think of what to do with myself for next week, I'm contemplating doing another run-through of Sakura Wars. I really want to as I loved that game, but I'm not sure. . . For now, I think I'll hold onto the idea and if i still feel the same come monday, then I'll start it up and give it a second play. Even after this I'll still have to do 2 more playthroughs in order to go through the other two story paths with Ratchet and . . . err, I forgot the name of the other one.

Such a great game :D

Yet, I still have other games I bought but still haven't played, like Persona 4, Arkham Asylum, Final Fantasy 13, Splatterhouse. . . . it never feels like i have enough time to play them because other things get in the way. Though when writing is one of those thing, I don't mind at all ;)

Story number 4 is complete.

As it turns out, it really didn't need a few paragraphs. Just a few lines was enough to bring to a proper conclusion. Now to let it sit before doing a proper edit.

Brain vacation time! Which means lots of vegging out while watching movies.

Saw the new Sherlock Holmes film, it was good. Though I think the first was much better, the mystery more interesting. I just saw it a second time a few minutes ago.

I also saw the new Mission Impossible movie, it was good but the villain was about as one dimensional as it gets.

Not a whole lot else going on at the moment, but I'm working on a new short story idea for more of the supporting characters of the next book. . . nothing conrete just yet, I only had got the idea a few hours ago. I'm going to have to sit on it till I really get something solid in mind.

I had the strongest desire to work on my first book featuring my lead character from "The Murder", this morning. .I've been thinking about it a lot lately, but unfortunately I can't because it needs to be done chronologically and it's three books (and perhaps one short story) down the road. It's unfortunate, but that's just the way it is. I think I will be jotting down notes for it at least.

After tomorrow, I will once again be back on electronic cigarettes. I would have been this past saturday, but I ran out of tobacco in the middle of the story and once I have a routine for a story (this time, coffee and cigarettes while writing) I have to stick with it until I'm finished, otherwise I get thrown off. So I had to buy two packs.

But after tomorrow, no cigarettes and after two weeks once my lungs heal up, I will be back to working out. I look forward to that!

I didn't get any writing done today. In part because I wasn't feeling well at all, but to be honest it's mostly because these last paragraphs have me stumped.

They have to be right and the words just aren't coming to me. :/

I'll give it another shot tonight after a lot of sleep. I usually get the best ideas right before or right after I sleep.

Did well over 2k last night, which is amazing since I really didn't think I would get that much done. My mornign routine was thrown off and that always makes a huge difference, if not for that I might have finished. Sadly I didn't have creamer for my coffee, so. . . no coffee while I wrote.

That's not always the case, but if I set up a specific routien for writing, I really have to stick to or else I feel totally off when I sit in front of the computer.

It's alright though, as such I only have a few paragraphs to write and I'll be done. Once complete, the story will be well under 10k. Which. . . I'm not happy about, but okay with. I had hoped it would end up being a solid 10k. No big deal though.

The it's vacation time for my brain! Which is good cause I was really straining it for this story, I feel some of the writing is weak compaired to what it could have been. But hey, that's what editing is for!

Anyway, I will be watching Captain America: First Avenger (again, yay! I really need to buy that on blu-ray) either tonight or tomorrow night. But I will be watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie, I'm pretty excited about that. That's about all I have planned, well that and more ME3 MP.

At least till I get a new idea for the next story. If not, then it's back to the book!

Got 2,686 words tonight. The story is going very well and just as great as that, I think I can actually keep it under 10k. I honestly thought I would have way too much to say in it, but it is totally working out, which means it will fit with the other stories in the collection which take place prior to the book. It's perfect!

I'm halfway through right now, I should begin tying it up tomorrow and will be glad for it. This will make one more story down and let me continue on with the new ones. I want to get back to my book, but I think it's probably best that I ride this out as long as I can. Though there is going to be a point I reach where I wont be able to continue without completing the first book of that series. I think I look forward to that most of all.

2,665 words. That's how much I got done tonight. This story is just flowing out and onto the word file.

I love my new character, he's awesome :D

Also, I might be able to keep it around 10k, which is fantastic. I wont stay married to the idea, but so far it seems like I just might pull it off. Though if I don't I wont stress about it too much. This story needs to be a long as it needs to be.

I changed the title from "End Of The Dream" To "Begin With One". The first title still works, but I think the second is more focused. I can not wait till tomorrow and I can get back to writing it. Story turning point is coming soon. I am excited :D

I forgot to tell you. I did indeed get a meatball sub from subway. It was great.

Today I got a meatball sub from Quizno's. . . it was good, but not as good as subways.

From now on, I'm going to stick to meatball subs from subway.

Just thought I'd let you know :)

Courtesy of Nicola Griffith at asknicola



What a cool idea:Lamda literary's "My Story Book Club" for quiltbag YA readers now has a donation programme.

My Story aims to provide readers 14 years-old and up the opportunity to read and discover LGBT works in the safe and protective atmosphere of Goodreads. As part of the donation program, My Story has partnered with independent bookseller, Skylight Books. Supporters of the LGBT community can show their commitment to diversity and acceptance by donating a My Story Book Club monthly selection.

If you make a $20 donation, Skylight Books will send a copy of the My Story Book Club monthly selection to a community centre, high school, or other venue that's building its own quiltbag library.

Because of funding cuts, these organizations cannot afford to supply books for their libraries even though there is a demand from teens to read and discuss them. Unfortunately, these economic challanges effect the smaller cities and towns where these books are most needed. Often there are little resources for LGBT youth and one book that reflects their own experience can make a positive difference during a vulnerable time in their lives. Once the donation is made, My Story's official partner, Skylight Books, will send it to a community center, high school, or non-profit organization in need.

So get in touch with Monica Carter (mcarter@lambdaliterary.org), the coordinator for LLF's LGBT Writers in Schools programme, and she'll tell you how to send your $20--or, even better, a multiple of that. Or you could just go right to the Donation page (scroll down). This is a great opportunity to help young adults in all the ways you wished someone had helped you.

Books save lives. Queer books save queer lives.

I'm cutting editing short today, I'm too damned tired. I'm almost done with the story though, I think only 20 pages to go.

Gonna pick it back up tomorrow, but not before some serious sleep!

. . . well more like afternoon, but still.

I got about 5 hours of sleep, maybe a little less. It's just so hard to get a decent bit of sleep around here, can't even take a midday nap. Sucks.

Did a fair amount of editing, now I'm about halfway through. I've trimmed a good 2k + words off this thing, all for the better. I also had to add some details that should have been in from the start, then clarify others, while removing all the excess. I'll be happy when this is done I have a mmuch more solid, better second draft.

Then some time later, make is a third draft.

For most on my mind, I'm just tired. Barely out of bed and I already want to head back to sleep. . . maybe I'll try and nap :/

I got some editing done last night, already shaved off over 1k words and I'm about a 1/4 of the way through. So yeah, this story is a little bloated. I over explain and over describe a lot. I'm also learning I use the word "that" more often than I need to, way more often. But it's getting sharper as I run through it.

But I doubt I will be finished with it before friday. That's okay though, I don't really have a hard deadline to finish.

I don't have much else going on today aside from editing. Once I'm done with that it will be back to writing. I got a new story idea last night whil rewriting a section of my novella. I found I had my character talking about something I had always liked sicne I thought of it, but had no concrete idea of what to do with it. I may have something now, which is good because it fits two characters I came up with long ago who I also had no concrete idea of what to do with.

So, lets see how that turns out.

Was up relatively late last night, mostly becuase I was reformatting my novella to edit. all 92 pages. One paragraph at a time. Sometimes Word really pisses me off.

It will probably take me a good 2 full days to edit, maybe a little more. Following the 2nd draft = 1st draft - 10% formula, I am going to need to reduce it down by about 5k words. I'm not sure how tough that will be, but already I see a lot in it that really doesn't need to be there. Since it was the first bit of writing I did intended for publication, it's rougher around the edges than my last attempts. I let myself get overly discriptive and wordy when I didn't need to because at the time I was worried about my ability to hit the 35-40k word count that I had intended.

Which is why I ended up going over by 5k.

Much of the mistakes are indeed in the first half. The story finds more of it's focus after that, but even the second half needs trimming and sharpening. So, it's a fairly big job. Though it makes me cringe a little bit at the thought of editign my book which will be more than twice the length.

However, for my book, it's not just one file of text. I saved each chapter to it's own file, which means that it is broken up into smaller, more managable parts. So it shouldn't be quite as tough. I only wish that I had come up with the idea while writing the novella.

After that, I will edit my story from last week, which should take only half a day since it is only 11k.

I ended up staying awake really late last night, till about 3-4 in the morning. I woke up around 11 in the morning and am still a bit tired. It sucks being all sluggish. Honestly, I just want to go right back to sleep. . .

I intended to put off writing the horror story till tonight. Which left my day pretty open, only to be quickly eaten up by rereading my story from november "The Murder" and finding that it needed a little moe editing. So I'm thinking that tonight I am goign to finish editing that, then edit my novella (FINALLY, I KNOW!), and then tomorrow edit my completed story from last week.

Seems I'm going to be in this particular world for a while. Which is just fine by me :D

Sometimes I wish I had the ability to stop time so I could complete a large amount of work in a what would seem to everyone else, as a sinlge day. Imagine that, finish writing an entire book in a day. A short story in a minute.

It's pure fantasy, but it would be pretty awesome.

Horror story to be done some time this week. At least that's the plan, I'm having trouble with character names and the all important opening line.

I feel like I might be forgetting something though. . . Oh well, if I am then I'm sure it will come to me later.

. . . much like the headache that keeps trying to sneak up on me.


EDIT: Oh right, yeah King's "Mile 81" was a very good story, I enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me of his early horror work, but with a much more polished feel.

Another Edit: I am craving a meatball sub from subway something fierce. I know I probably didn't really need to edit this entry in order to mention it, but I really REALLY want one had have no way to get one for the next few days. So I just needed to mention it in order to get it out of my system.

I'll let you know when I get one.

Sitting back and muddlign through the day. Might do some ME3, but it depends on how I'm feeling really. I'll be checking out King's "Mile 81" tonight in an effort t oget back into the writing mind set. My horror story is there but I'm missing some key ideas for it. I might just tackle it tomorrow even without a solid plan and just see what happens. I have a rough plot outline, but I will need more if I am to really do it right.

I'm starting to find that I can tolerate less and less tobacco as of late. It's taking a lot less to get me to the point when my body is going "Enough.". Generally I'll have only 10 a day, sometimes a little over, but not by much. Which is good cause it stretches out my supply to such a degree that I will have enough to carry over until my new order of ecigarette items arrive, then I will be glad to say goodbye to this stuff all over again. But in the mean time, I'll just burn through what I have until that moment.

If thigns for my horror story don't progress as much as I would like, then I will just switch back to my book. Though at the moment my sleepign scheduel is shifting, leavign me less time to write. Not a good thing, but such is usually the case when my scheduel shifts.

I don't have a lot else going on at the moment. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, which sucked but maybe tonight I'll be more rested.

I spent much of this morning watching TED Talks on the science channel. I'm liking that a fair bit, they have some good speakers and I was able to take away a little bit of something from most of their speeches. Someone even described and had working prototypes of machinery I had described in my book which I thought was kinda cool. Not that I invented the idea, far from it, but I did a fair amount of research in theoretical tech so that I could accurately describe it's active use. I'm just more convinced now that it will pay off in bringing realism to the story, that is always a plus.

Damn, I need my own writing space. . . I'm going to end up building a table for use as an entertainment center so that i can go back to using my drafting table to make art like I used to. In part so that I can finish the designs for my next 3 tattoos, but also for my writing. That way I wont have to scour the internet and movies for images to inspire my creative ideas. I think the more active I am in designing everything, the more creative and original my stories and characters will ultimately be.

Plus I just plain miss doing art.

Next month I was going to order the next two Pirates of the Caribbean movies (don't worry I'm still saving up for that P1), but have opted instead to purchase two Surivorman DVD seasons because they are ideal refferences for writing about the wilderness. Not to mention the fact that I just love the show, I watch marathons of it whenever they are on. I almost always pick up something I missed last time or simply forgot because I don't regularly find myself out surviving in the wilds.

In fact I refferenced some of the tips (mostly in my notes) given in the show when I wrote my fantasy stories. It's simply invaluable information. Mostly because of the less obvious stuff that you don't quite think about. But when I get to my next book, I will be watching the show even more often, jotting down various tips.

Another resource that has been helpful has been S.A. Bolich's "Horses In Ficiton". It was these very entries that got me over the trouble I had getting started and finally finishing my story from back in November. It has so much need-to-know info about horses, history of horses, and how to write about them accurately and realisticly. It's also parcelled out into useful bits that keep it from being overwhelming. Original link was found courtesy of Sterling Editing. Yeah I refference Sterling Editing a lot, but hey they have a lot to share and I've found all of it useful in helping my own writign and publishing goals.

Holy crap that was a lot of food! But damned satisfying I must say. Burger, fries, and a beer. Good stuff :D

But sicne I ordered out from fuddruckers instead of makign it myself, I feel it is worth saying. . . people PLEASE, a little salt goes a loooooooooooooooong way. I don't understand the need to pour salt on foods in this country. The only time you actually need a lot of salt is when you are curing food to preverse it. So please, a little less next time okay?

Anyway, my day is still up for grabs. If I can I would like to make a call to an old friend, but that will depend on how I'm feeling in the next couple of hours. . . cause, I'm VERY Stuffed and eatign that much makes me all kinds of lethargic. The same goes for playing some ME3 multiplayer, it's the weekend so you better be on Andrew!

Other than that, I should proabbly pack up the heaters to keep them from collecting any more dust. But that's about it.

In other news, as I said before I am looking forward to be out of tobacco. I'm almost there, but I'm not sure how many more weeks I've got left of the stuff. I know much of it is due to my allergies, but I sure as hell don't miss beign so out of breath first thing in the morning.

Course Iwill nto be giving up smoking entirely. I will get more when I reach the point at which I have to write those 3 spin off books as well as my Black Tie books. Because both those lead characters smoke, and I will do just about anything to feel connected to my characters while writing them. But those are, at least I think, years away for the time being.

For now, I will be happy to return once again to my non cancerous ecigaretts that don't leave my ability to breathe impaired.

Well, I had some plans for today. Mostly watching a movie and playing ME3, but then I remembered that I needed to get on that bathroom faucet repair. . . . I'm not looking forward to it, mostly because I don't think it iwll be able to be fixed. But I'll take it apart anyway and see what's what.

Just not quite yet. I'm still enjoyg my coffee, plus I need to rearrange some stuff first.

Otherwsie I don't really have a whole lot going on today.


Edit: Okay, I take it back. The faucet was fixable. I was able to get out all the dirt and grit that had got stuck in it. . . . though that first jet of brown water which splashed all over the counter, and me, was unfortunate. But it runs just fine now. Some day I should probably invest in some actual craftsman tools.

The downside being that I feel like I need to shower yet again -,-

I just finished, it feels like being back in 10th grade and the final bell rings to let us out of class.

It came in at 11,435 words, so thankfully not that far out form what I wanted it to be. Though I was saved by realizing that I didn't actually need to keep going with the main story, it had more impact if I cut it where I did. I could have gone on, but this way it makes for a stronger story and keeping the epilogue short prevents that previous scene from being diluted and allows it to carry on through to the final line. Best of all it dawned on me that the box, which was the focus of their job, could play a central part in the critical moment of the story. More than that I realized it HAD to. I mentioned offhandely something about it earlier in the story in order to funnel the characters into making the choice I wanted them to, as well as give a little bit of misdirection for the reader. But I found that it gave an ideal opportunity for the progression of the end.

Plus it would have been bad writing if I had just left it alone as the reader would have been stuck wondering if there really was any significance to what I had said about it. Not that you have any idea what I'm talking about. But it works better this way, just trust me XD

I think I will be able to cut it down without too much trouble. I was write though, the prologue does on on a bit too long.

I may start my next story tomorrow (which once again features the mysterious box) or I may wait till monday, we'll just have to wait and see how long it takes me to recharge and shift gears. But for the time being, I am going to let this finished story sit for a good while before going back to edit it into a second draft.

Now to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my day. . .

Emotional State: 30 Seconds To Mars - The Kill

I didn't finish.

I decided to stop for today so that I would be left in a good spot to pick it up tomorrow and just run with it till the end. I'm just a few lines from the critical moment and the epilogue. Though I only have myself to blame for takign an hour or so to google search nipple piercings.

I think their hot, so sue me.

I'm also running long. It wont be finished before hittign 11k, maybe even 12, which means that in editing I will have to shave down 2k if not nearly that.

Well tomorrow is another day. I ended up taking a shower before writing after all. But I also have my food for tomorrow morning already made and I'll make sure that my coffee cup is all cleaned out before I go to bed. That way I can eat, have my coffee, and get right to writing much earlier than I did. Besides, I have so little left to write that I should finish before noon.

Anyway, no update tomorrow until AFTER I finish the story.

Emotional State: Bat For Lashes - Siren Song