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Trains

Hullo all! I missed a couple weeks as I was on vacation - more to the point, I was on a train! Orson Scott Card once said, “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any." I believe this is especially true on a train. Everyone on board has a different story: from the young couple backpacking across the country; to the young family taking a day's excursion; to the attendant who has been working the rails for twenty years; to the businessman typing furiously on his laptop the entire trip. What are their stories? Who are they? Where are they from, and where are they going? What made them decide to take the train instead of some other form of transportation?  So many stories just sitting right there in front of you, and that's just the people on the train with you. What about the big cities whose twinkling lights shine in through your window late at night? The sleepy towns
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The 50 Book Pledge

I see you over there, perking up at the sound of the word "book". Don't think I don't see you. But it's okay. This is definitely something to be curious about.  What is it, you ask? Well, it's pretty much what it sounds like - a pledge to read fifty books in a year. Easy? for you, sure! Were you going to read at least that many this year anyway? of course you were.  So why not team up with  the Savvy Reader  and yours truly and pledge to do just that?  50 book pledge  has a community all set up to support you (not that you really need it, you reading champ you), and it's fun to follow along and see how everyone is doing. There's also a list of featured reads in case you're at a loss for what to read next. You know, other than that stack of books beside your bed you've been trying to get through since high school. It ain't gettin' any shorter, is it? So far, I've read four books, so I think I'm doing okay. But I'm findin
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New Year, New Projects

Welcome to 2017, all! I recently saw a meme (that of course I can't find) about expectations for the new year. It went something like this: Anxious friend: What do you think 2017 will bring?   Optimistic friend: Flowers. I think it will bring flowers.  Anxious friend: How do you know? How can you be so sure? Optimistic friend: Because I'm planting flowers.  Just a little thought to remind us, that if you want things to get better, sometimes you have to put in a little bit of work and make it better ourselves. Me, I'd like a little less stress in 2017, which generally comes down to how well I've organized my life. To help with this, I've started a bullet journal, which seems to be working pretty well so far. It might just be an excuse to get to use pretty pens, but we'll see how it goes through the year. My latest writing project is centering around a book I got last year: 90 Days till Your Novel. Thus far, I've managed to get up every day before
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The End of 2016 - Lessons Learned

Well, folks, this will be my last post of the year. I've certainly not been as consistent as I would have liked, but it has been a year full of ups and downs so I think I did okay overall. I know this has been a tough year for a lot of people, and the world is still reeling from the many deaths of famous people whose talents we have enjoyed. I experienced this on a more personal level as well with the loss of my grandmother early on in the year. More than that though, I'd like to think I've learned a lot about myself this year. I've learned to be a better friend. (I hope.) I had a falling out with a friend early in the year. In my younger days, I would have responded in anger, and let that anger destroy our friendship completely. Instead, we still talk, albeit not as frequently as before, and I still care deeply for her and try my best to help her when I can. I still mourn the fact that a case of miscommunication led to the disagreement at all, but I'd like to th
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The War to End All Wars - Why We Remember

Lest We Forget What do we forget when we remember What are the stories left untold What do we think each November As we march down that glory road As we march down that gory road One hundred million Don’t come home from war Another eight hundred million Who lived to bear its scar Who lived to bear its scar Lest we forget What they were dying for Lest we forget What they were killing for Lest we forget What the hell it was for   What do we forget when we remember… Owen Griffiths The War to End All Wars. The Great War. The War of the Nations. World War One. It's been known by many names over the years, but mostly by the last one. World War One. Signifying that it wasn't the "war to end all wars" after all. Another came after it. And mor
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NaNoWriMo Progress

Good morning all! NaNoWriMo started on Tuesday and I've been doing pretty well so far. I wrote double my word count goal on the first day to get myself a running start, as it were, and I've managed to make word goal everyday so far. And I'm rather impressed with the way I've worked in some Firefly references, and I even have a character named "Simon". That being said, I'm not really feeling the story. It almost seems like there's a discontent to my writing at the moment. Maybe it's just because I haven't written in so long and once I get going, it will settle into a better rhythm. Things just seem choppy and unnatural at the moment. However, I won't let it discourage me. After all, this is merely a rough draft to get the story down and we can work on more poetical writing in the revision months.  Here's a short excerpt from what I've written so far: What happened next about the little transport ship is probably best left to
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Writing Schedules

Let's talk about scheduling. I know, I know, it sounds terrifying. But remember that massive goal of 50,000 words you set yourself? You're going to need help. If you don't have a job or school, then awesome, maybe you will have time to sit and write all day, but a lot of us don't. And are you being efficient, sitting there all day? How much time are you wasting on social media and "research"? Let's face it - having a schedule is going to help. Trust me. Set yourself a specific time to do nothing but write. No chores, no phone calls, no Facebook, no research. Just write. Every time you think of something else that needs doing, make a note of it and do those after. Make lovely big notes to yourself in your writing about things you want to edit or research later. But keep writing. Your time is precious, make it count. Why? Because we all know how easy it is to put things off. "Oh, I just need to do one more load of laundry before I write." &qu
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