talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (talks to wolves)

The time has come for all good women and men to become wicked creatures of sensual scent and the mythic dark. Persephone is sashaying back to her crown and her love, scattering dried petals and dying leaves behind her with every deliberate step. Hades has opened up his door, and soon it’ll close behind her.

Nothing to fear awaits you in these dark passages, so long as you’re a friend to Furies.

bpal-geekdame

If any of that resonated with you – and you like perfume oils – you’re a BPAL fan. You just might not know it yet. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab are great people with a great company, and they’ve been helping us smell amazing for more than a decade. They revel in the beautifully macabre, and also partner up to feed our geeky hearts with perfume oils inspired by Neil Gaiman‘s words and worlds, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, Lovecraftian lore, fairy tales, and so much more.

This year, they decided to start a series of contests inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins. “Seduce us in 7!” they cried, and threw open their email box and social media accounts to receive stories of seven words inspired by the designated sin. Their very first sin was LUST, and I had the honor of being the very first winner – that’s my micro story above, beautifully rendered by the BPAL folks. As I put it when I found out:

bpal-suis

It’s been over 6 months, but still? I’M SO EXCITED.

You should also all read the honorable mentions and check out the hashtag on Twitter (though you’d have to scroll back a fair bit for the Lust edition entries). There is some truly beautiful and evocative work there.

And now? I want to tell you about the perfume oil they created.

bpal-sws-lust3As a winner, I received a bottle of the final scent. In the bottle, the pomegranate is strong and lush – to my nose, it almost trips over into cherry. The end of the inhale pulls the smoke into play. On my skin, wet: the smoke emerges first, tickling my nose until the pomegranate rose up behind it. And, at last, on my skin, dry: the two distinct notes I picked out at first fully merge into a complicated and heady interplay that draws the nose closer. A perfect match for my sentence! BPAL’s artistry is stunning, and I’m delighted all over again that my story inspired them.

Since the Lust edition of the contest, they’ve also hosted one for Sloth and then Wrath. There are four more sins to go – make sure you’re following BPAL on Twitter (or Facebook!) so you can participate in the next ones. Even if you’re just reading, you’re in for a real treat.

And don’t forget to enjoy the Autumnal equinox – the Seven Word Story: Lust perfume oil would be a perfect complement to your dying year festivities.

Mirrored from geekdame.com. Please comment there.

First Lines

Jul. 3rd, 2009 03:20 pm
talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (Default)
This meme has been making the rounds on my reading page, lately seen on [personal profile] matociquala, [personal profile] catvalente, and [personal profile] seanan_mcguire. I thought this was a good excuse to tour my documents of works that can technically be deemed "in progress." The results are mildly embarrassing!


Long fiction.

"The brutality of our predecessors - soon to be our ancestors as the wheel turns - always came with a great price." - The Book of Aqualis.

"Imagine a house." - Elsebeing.

"The blood would never wash away." - Godkiller.

"My name is Hanayoru." - Passion.

"I finally rose from the valley of Death, because I was called." - Reascension.

Short fiction.

"Once upon a time, there was a weaver girl." - "A Bridge of Wings."

"The birdmaker lived in a glass aerie near the sea, and she lived all alone." - "Birdmaker."

"She was the gatekeeper to sanctuary. No one had yet passed her alive; well, some had." - "Burier."

"Marion opened the heavy door onto a cold November night." - "Child of Midnight."

"There was once a man who couldn’t walk about in any skin but the one he had." - "Coyote Skins."

"Mother of... Carin could think of no suitable epithet as she stared upon the heart of Eronleigh, the city of Close-Blooming Flowers." - "Heartwood."

"Do you know what it is to crave violence against yourself?" - "Stillness of the Soul."

"He said we would be superheroes." - "Superheroes."

"The Ladies Tea and Illuminated Mapmaking Society did not actually succeed in taking tea each time they assembled, nor indeed did they ever sell any significant number of the maps their members were presumably so respected for rendering and illuminating." -Untitled Ladies Tea and Illuminated Mapmaking Society story.

"With her throat cut, she found it difficult to speak; she managed." - Untitled urban minotaur story.

"She dragged herself from the receding sea, pearlescent nails scrabbling for purchase against the scree of the shore." - "Wages."

"The dancer dances, and she dances all alone." - "When Death Dances."


What this says to me is that I need to finish some stories. Egad.

P.S. Can anyone else tell how deeply Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn is worked into my consciousness from a couple of these?
talkstowolves: Dayan, a cat born from an egg, takes his coffee with cream and dares you to say something. Punk.  (dayan takes his coffee with cream)
It never fails: George R. R. Martin makes a commenting-enabled post about his life over at [personal profile] grrm and the creeps come out. By creeps, I mean those individuals who think that George's only viable commitment is that he finish A Dance with Dragons, the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series NOW. In fact, preferably yesterday. Or, more accurately, TWO YEARS AGO.

It doesn't matter if George is posting about other writing (which he's perfectly entitled to do, being a writer). It doesn't matter if he posts about football (which is also fine, because he is a living being with multiple interests). It doesn't matter if he posts about taking a vacation or attending conventions to promote his writing. It honestly doesn't even matter if he posts about writing A Dance with Dragons. If he's not done, he's done these people wrong.

This line of thinking actually offends me. It's a huge breach in the fundamental respect one should afford another human being, not to mention being remarkably self-centered and crawling with entitlement-crazy.

Luckily for us, one of these creeps e-mailed Neil Gaiman to demand his opinion on George R. R. Martin's "slackness" in "letting [fans] down" by not delivering on his commitment to the fans to finish A Song of Ice and Fire (no, really). Neil Gaiman took the case and he did us proud:

I love Neil. And I really love George's A Song of Ice and Fire, but I never have and never will think of him as my bitch. Nor will I reprimand him like one. I'm interested in A Dance with Dragons being the best it can be; not churned out in a paroxysm of guilty workaholism the creeps would inflict on the man if they could.
talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (Default)
Tales from the Wishing Well


Introduction
A couple of weeks ago, I invited all of you to give me writing prompts: one prompt per letter in the alphabet, in keeping with the Alphabet Meme going around Livejournal at the time. Originally, I planned to mix my responses to the meme, either writing a journal entry or a short essay or doing something more creative, however the mood struck me. My more creative responses could encompass flash fiction (up to 750 words), poetry, photography, or jewelry-crafting.

After pondering my current situation, however, I have decided that every reply to the Alphabet Meme-- or every installment in Tales from the Wishing Well, as the project is now called-- will be creative. Some installments may have a visual component (either photography or jewelry), but all installments will have a written component (mainly flash fiction and poetry, with forays into song-writing and essays possible).

My reasons for doing this are several. First, I'd like to encourage myself to start producing creatively to a schedule (no matter how busy I am otherwise). In addition to this, I'd also like to generate more interest in my writing. On the business side of things, I'd like to experiment with cyber-funded creativity. Finally, on a personal note, I am sadly in dire financial straits.

Schedule
As of 01/01/2009, the schedule is now once monthly to appear on the 15th of every month.

Topics, As Provided By You
behind the cut )

Donations, or The Cyber-Funded Part
Each installment in Tales from the Wishing Well will have a Paypal Donate button located at the bottom of the post. This is a tip jar, an up-turned top hat, an open guitar case. It is not a bill, an invoice, or a demand.

I ask only that, if you enjoy the fruits of my labor, that you consider throwing a bill or two into the jar.

Those who do donate, however, will have first crack at purchasing any jewelry made for this project. Or window-box prints of my photographs, with the photo surmounting the text of the accompanying installment. There may be other incentives to come over the next couple of months!

Coming Up Soon
On Friday, you'll get a short flash fiction piece inspired by [livejournal.com profile] afterimage's prompt: Abaddon. Come back and read the story entitled "In Extremis" (or "Lady of Locusts" as it's been rattling around in my head). Brought to you by the phrases "place of destruction," "land of the dead" and "where the damned lay half in fire and half in ice." I hope to subvert your expectations.

My Plea
If you know some people who enjoy free short fiction and poetry, would you mind directing them here? They can check out the first installment of Tales from the Wishing Well this Friday (and read some other free fiction and poetry on my site) and decide if they'd like to hang around for the whole carnival.

Thank you!

(I would be remiss if I did not mention the local trailblazers in cyberfunded creativity: [livejournal.com profile] ysabetwordsmith, [livejournal.com profile] haikujaguar, and [livejournal.com profile] shadesong.)
talkstowolves: I DO throw wild tea parties. Featuring art from Alice in Wonderland.  (wild tea parties)
Today's wordcount: 1505 (1113 usable)
Current project: "Child of Midnight"
Description: "At midnight, every stone was a poet." - Mia Nutick.
Reason for stopping: Some pieces rattled around and fell together in a way that will necessitate immediate revision, plus there was dinner.

This isn't the story I'm supposed to be working on! I'm supposed to be working on "Burier" and then I'm supposed to be researching for another story that's due very soon. However, this one leapt on me last night and I could not say no.



I also have a new Word Cloud to share with you, this one based on "When Death Dances," a Dia de los Muertos fairy tale I currently have sent out:


"When Death Dances"
(click for larger version)
talkstowolves: Courage lies between vulnerability and boldness. Girls are strong. Women have voices.  (strong like buffy)
All of the planned graduate applications are away. It's too late to last-minute add any schools to the list, either. So, done, five applications sent out.

I also sent "Green Dream" off to another publication today. I have no idea what the turn-around time is for the editorial staff at this publication, so I'll just endeavor to put it out of my mind. Still, it feels good to keep the blood flowing creatively.

Speaking of creative blood, I've got the opening sentences to the dark story that's been brewing in my head since February 7th. Now to get it out onto the page...

And, finally, I'll leave a note here that I need to check back at Cabinet des Fées for the next reading period. I have an excellent flash fiction piece to revise that might be right up their alley.
talkstowolves: Books + tea, books + coffee, either way = bliss.  (reading is a simple pleasure)
In today's edition of Green Man Review, my review of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald is a featured review!

If you're interested in literary fairy tales, please do read it.

(This edition also features reviews of Ekaterina Sedia's The Secret Life of Moscow, Patricia McKillip's Moon-Flash -- lovely volume!-- and Here There Be Dragons-- something I've been meaning to read.)
talkstowolves: Courage lies between vulnerability and boldness. Girls are strong. Women have voices.  (strong like buffy)
"Green Dream" was rejected from the publication I sent it to, alas.

However, life marches on and my career's poised to go with it.

Either tonight or tomorrow, I'll send it to the next market.
talkstowolves: Books + tea, books + coffee, either way = bliss.  (reading is a simple pleasure)
I finished the second edit on Green Dream and mailed it out to all of my beta readers. (Thanks for taking the time to do this for me, guys!)

Andy and I found Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper at the grocery store today. He bought one for us to try and it is truly awful. As I find [livejournal.com profile] cadhla's review to be quite accurate, I will simply quote it here:

Take a Tootsie Roll. Now, through methods currently unknown by modern science, turn it into a liquid. Not a viscous goo, like when you roll it between your fingers, but an actual liquid. Mix it, in equal proportions, with NyQuill. Pour the resulting mixture into a bottle of Diet Dr Pepper. Add a sprig of PURE UNFETTERED WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU PEOPLE THINKING ARE YOU ON GODDAMN CRACK OR SOMETHING?! and garnish with OH LORD IT'S IN MY MOUTH IT'S IN MY MOUTH I THINK MY TONSILS ARE MELTING AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

In other news, the second bottle is being kept in case of alien attack.

If this won't kill the bastards, nothing will.


That is it exactly.

Besides editing my story and trying Cherry Chocolate Rain, the most I got done today was cracking open Tithe. It's rather more "adult" than I expected so far... interesting!

Now, to make sure that this post is more other people's words than my own, I will quote something [livejournal.com profile] matociquala posted today that I love. It's a perversion of the opening soliloquy of Trainspotting:

Choose a novel. Choose a title. Choose an epigraph. Choose a protagonist. Choose a fucking opening sentence. Choose supporting characters, pets, backstory, and electrical tin openers. Choose heartbreak, repetitive stress injuries, and a lack of health insurance. Choose mounting credit card debt. Choose starving in a garret. Choose writing sex scenes instead of dating. Choose a laptop with a flickering screen. Choose a three-book contract with a crushing deadline and fucking basket accounting. Choose dying alone and wondering who the hell you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting in that chair writing mind-numbing spirit-crushing hackwork, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the last of it, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up Hot New Things who will rise up from your ashes. Choose your future. Choose a novel.

...but first, you have to choose an epigraph.


Love it. Might have to icon it.

Speaking of icons, be sure to check out [livejournal.com profile] copperwise's latest icons (featuring quotes by Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lint, Terry Pratchett, and others) at this entry over at [livejournal.com profile] little_shinies. They're fantastic!
talkstowolves: We love stories that subvert the expected. Icon inspired by In the Night Garden, Valente. (not that kind of story)
The first-pass edit has been completed!

One of my beta readers, glorious soul that she is, has replied to me with comments!

The story does not suck!

Hallelujah!
talkstowolves: We love stories that subvert the expected. Icon inspired by In the Night Garden, Valente. (not that kind of story)
I did a first-pass edit on half of Green Dream tonight. It gave me a headache. There are parts which I actually feel are good and like I know what I'm doing. And then there are the parts where I can't even tell if I know what I am doing and then the whole house of cards starts to tremble.

Is this any good? Would anyone care about this story? Do I care about this story? Is this getting across what I wanted to evoke? Who uses those words? Do I usually use that word? What the hell is up with that contortion act of a sentence? Am I ever going to get this right? Does this even have a chance of being good enough for submission in a week? Are my amateur panties showing?

Then: headache.

With my relative level of self-confidence, it's probably miraculous that I manage to get anything done.

I should draw solace from that and use it to build up self-confidence. ;)

Anyway, the current plan is to finish the first-over pass (tonight? hah! tomorrow, at best). I suppose I will then mail out the first-pass edit for beta-ing while independently continuing to tinker. At my discretion.

I would put this story in a drawer for a while, to gain some distance, but I'm working under a deadline.

The current word-count is 6942, and I'm willing to edit it down to approximately 6k, which I feel is pretty solid for a short story of this type. I compared it to a few anthologies I have encompassing a similar genre and my notion was borne out. It looks like my story would end up being about 12 pages.

Now, I am going to read something for pleasure and something for school. And take some advil.
talkstowolves: Fairy tales inform us for life.  (fairy tales take me far from here)
I just finished "Green Dream."

And, by "finished," I mean "finished an incredibly rough draft."

I am actually feeling pretty badly about it right now. I feel like I've fallen vastly short of what I was trying to say and I still have so much work to do on it. I need to edit out a lot of dead weight, find new words to make several descriptions much more illuminating and cutting, and try to bring it more into alignment with what I was trying to invoke.

I'm sure the alcohol is exacerbating my feelings in this regard.

Anyway. I wrote 2327 words on it tonight.

The current rough draft is about 13 pages in manuscript, or 8027 words.

I hope to have it out to beta readers by Tuesday night or Wednesday at the latest. If you are not a beta reader and would like to be, comment below. I'll consider you for inclusion.
talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (Default)
I'm so close to the end of this story that I can taste it.

Of course, in a way, then the real work begins. I only had the barest idea of who I was writing about and how I wanted to accomplish my vision of the end when I started. Now I get to go back and fill in some blanks, tuck in some places, fill out others, and in general make it a more compelling story.

In spite of my awesome progress on Sunday, Monday saw me bogged down and distracted by the application process. So I only wrote 41 words yesterday.

I don't have much of an excuse for today, other than that running around took too long this afternoon and then I dragged my feet on getting my schoolwork done and then Andy and I watched a movie during dinner. This carried me right past my target writing time of 8-10 PM and left me on the other side of 10 PM, feeling exhausted and vaguely sick (headache, emotional miasma). The best I could manage was 576 words and most of that was cheating: I typed up a scene I'd written for this story months ago. It'd been biding it's time in a notebook, waiting to see it's turn in the narrative.
talkstowolves: Books + tea, books + coffee, either way = bliss.  (reading is a simple pleasure)
My review of Vera Nazarian's Salt of the Air is up in today's edition of Green Man Review. Check it out. (Also, this is quite a packed issue, featuring reviews of [livejournal.com profile] papersky's Ha'Penny and [livejournal.com profile] truepenny's Mélusine.)

As we know, I got behind on my writing this weekend. I ended up owing 2,817 words before I even factored in today's wordcount. Here's what I've managed to get done:

For Friday: 122 words.
For Saturday: Nothing.

For Sunday:

Today's Goal:
750 words, and owing 2817 due to previous shortages.
Goal met? Daily goal was met: I wrote 1369 words, leaving me owing 2198.
Reason for stopping: I finished a scene and I need to get some sleep before school in the morning.

Project: Short story, title of "Green Dream."
Status of project: Carin made it to Dunwain, had "tipsy coffee" with another unforeseen minor character, and is now stumbling around the city.
talkstowolves: Writer by heart, English teacher by trade.  (bad grammar makes me sic)
Today had the unpleasant quality of feeling like a brick wall that I had just run into. Repeatedly.

On Tuesday, I gave my World Lit kids some easy homework. I really do not subscribe to the practice of giving homework just to give homework, but I wanted to get them back into the mode of actually doing homework and hopefully expand their horizons a bit. So I asked them to research some non-American winter holiday traditions and write me a short essay reporting on their findings.

No one did it. One student said he couldn't find anything because when he typed his search into Google, it kept giving him American traditions. Another student claimed he didn't know they had to write anything. I know this is not the case considering I wrote the assignment on the board, talked about why we were doing it, and then explained how much their grade would decrease with each day the assignment was late.

This was not a very heartening way to start the semester.

They went on to be incredibly unimpressed by the Epic of Gilgamesh and unable to understand where Sumer was located.

My composition class was surprisingly better today (sadly due to the absence of a couple of individuals). They took notes and did as I asked them, although it's still going to be a major uphill battle. (An example of what I am dealing with: "What are the building blocks of sentences?" "Paragraphs?" "Of sentences? What are the pieces that make up a sentence?" "Uh... subjects?" "A little closer, but not quite. What are the things that are coming out of my mouth...?" "... ... words?" "Yes, words are the building blocks of sentences!") We managed to go over the basic structure of a paragraph and types of paragraphs and their positions in the basic 5-paragraph essay. Then we started practicing writing introductory paragraphs, though I think I might scale that back to just working on paragraphs in general next week.

In my free period, I managed to get all my grades submitted. I was even extra nice and prepared them in a document indicating the relevant semester average and credits each student received. That should make the office lady's job easier, later, when she actually has to prepare transcripts.

I did not, however, manage to put the finishing touches on any of my job applications during my free period. I was having a real problem with my blood sugar and my hydration today, so my mind was twitchy and scattered.

Only half my class showed up for Southern Literature. Again. Only a third of Andy's Government class showed up. The weather was worsening this afternoon and several counties had let their schools out early, but that didn't touch Montgomery county. It wasn't even raining when school let out (at it's normal time). I suspect that might have had some bearing on why our students didn't show up, though. Regardless, I still got my students through an introduction to Southern literature and started them on Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." They had difficulty reading the Southern dialect and didn't twig as quickly as I expected they would to the fact that you can read it aloud and figure it out. "Ms. B, what does 'solitry' mean?" I waited, sure she was going to get it now that she read it aloud. "Ms. B, what does soli..." "Solitry. Solitary." "Oh... oh!" I figured she had it then. But she repeated it with "calk'lated" later.

I had originally intended to submit applications after school today. Instead, we had lunch with my brother. Then we beat the weather home. And I worked desultorily on one grad application while attempting to stave off a bad headache, etc.

I am tired of this post now and I am sure most others are as well! I will close with my sadly low wordcount and take myself off to more water (hydration!) and reading.

Today's Goal: 750 words, and still owing 961 due to previous shortages.
Goal met? No. 272 words were written, leaving me owing 478 for a total of 1439.
Reason for stopping: I feel unwell and just don't have much in me.

Project: Short story, title of "Green Dream."
Status of project: Carin on transport down to Dunwain, sleep-deprived and awash in despair and delirium.
talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (Default)
I have to learn to manage my time better: it's not that I'm disorganized, it's that I'm so organized I'm starting to micromanage myself. I'd really like these habits I'm developing to feel more natural than obsessive.

It'll be better when I finish the hunt for a second job. And finish up these applications for graduate school. And don't have grades to turn in. I think. At least then it'll be down to typical school-planning and writing.

This afternoon, I tried to fill out four job applications (managed one on-line that took forever, plus the majority of two paper ones); finish up one of the pending grad. school applications (realized too late I was working on the wrong one, really); prepare grades for the rest of my classes (mostly done, though there are a handful of students whose grades are still pending); make class plans for my three classes tomorrow, make/assemble my class materials, and put them on my flash drive (succeeded at, yay); make wordcount (also done successfully, even if most of what I'm writing is subpar and I'm almost certainly sure won't be in the final draft); and spend time with [livejournal.com profile] sirandrew (which I'd been neglecting in the face of all my other many tasks these past several days).

Whew. And blah.

Today's Goal: 750 words, and still owing 983 due to previous shortages.
Goal met? Met and exceeded at 772, leaving me owing 961.
Reason for stopping: Exhausted + feeling crazy + it's bedtime.

Project: Short story, title of "Green Dream."
Status of project: Avian alien pirate from nowhere, but she gets awesome magenta plumage and a fantastic wardrobe. Also apparently biomechanical nightingales, which I certainly didn't see coming.

Tomorrow's docket includes finishing up the UTenn application (involves researching faculty and revising SOP/writing sample), finishing grades during my free period at school, also putting the finishing touches on my job applications during the free period, and dropping off said applications after work.

According to Roy Scheider, I CAN DO IT!
talkstowolves: Books + tea, books + coffee, either way = bliss.  (reading is a simple pleasure)
Today's Goal: 750 words, and still owing 1028 due to previous shortages.
Goal met? Met and exceeded at 795, leaving me owing 983.
Reason for stopping: Exhausted + it's bedtime.

Project: A review of George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin + a short story entitled "Green Dream."
Status of project: The review is finished, pending a final read-through tomorrow. Carin didn't make it much farther than actually onto the transport ship itself tonight and is reflecting on Trellan in spring.
talkstowolves: Books + tea, books + coffee, either way = bliss.  (reading is a simple pleasure)
It is my bedtime! Time to lay down and finish reading George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin and get some sleep to face the cretins lovely schoolchildren on the morrow.

We finished the day at school looking not quite so grim on the enrollment front. And Andy and I have reached an accord on what we need to do regarding this school-mess, so I'm currently back in the find-a-replacement-second-job mode now rather than the argh-quit-now-find-new-primary-immediately! mode. Not that understanding what we're doing and why makes me any more enthusiastic about my current responsibilities.

I have decided that, novel-wise, the children get to read the following this semester:

Southern Literature
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

World Literature
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Luckily, I've taught three of those books before and so should be able to use most of the activities, quizzes, and exams that I created for them last year.

Hm, I also need a book for my Writing & Composition class, however. I need something that'll be relatively easy for them to understand but also chock-full of material good for teaching literary terms. [livejournal.com profile] lapsus_lingue, [livejournal.com profile] hrimcealde, any ideas? Right now, I'm considering an Edgar Allen Poe anthology.

I created my first experimental (for me) dish of the new year: a beef and broccoli stir-fry incorporating baby corn and shimeji mushrooms. All the ingredients turned out marvelously, of great flavor, especially when seasoned by soy sauce; however, the meat itself turned out dry. I'm going to have to figure out some way to prevent that next time. (Less cook time? The meat was pretty much done when I added all the vegetables.)

I know this is elementary cooking: but everyone must start somewhere!


And, finally, in writing news:

I managed to make word count tonight and even take almost 100 words off my owed wordcount. I'm calling this good enough for now-- especially since I was only allowing myself to work until bedtime. A few surprising things happened in the story and I named my pirate (space)ship!

Today's Goal: 750 words, owing 1124 words for previous shortages.
Goal met? Met at 846 words, leaving me owing 1028 words.
Reason for stopping: Bedtime!

Project: Short story, entitled "Green Dream."
Status of project: Carin is on the transport ship of glass and mirrors, ascending into the cold void of space to rejoin her crew aboard the Golden Bough.
talkstowolves: I speak with wolves and other wicked creatures. (Default)
I didn't get any work done on applications or syllabi, but I did get off to a fantastic start on writing my story tonight. I mean, I still feel like everything is one step to the left of right, but one step away from what I'm shooting for is much better than nonexistent! I'm tentatively excited over a few parts of what I wrote, though I'll probably return to the glum humdrum when I work on it tomorrow.

A few highlights from tonight's writing:

- I've almost settled on actually calling it "Green Dream." It was a placeholder title at first, but some things that suddenly occurred to me as I was writing tonight revealed that it might be more apt than I thought.

- I almost pulled something out of the following Christina Rossetti poem for the title, but concluded that it didn't quite mean what I'm going for:

The poem. )

- On my new planet, florists sell temporary stasis chambers in single-blossom and bouquet sizes. It's only legal to put plant matter in them, but some off-worlders are trying to adapt the technology to be suitable for other organic matter (it's better than deep freezing and the new technology wouldn't necessarily be looked for yet by the law, making it easier on smugglers who are into organics).

- [livejournal.com profile] the_red_shoes is an awesome cheerleader!


Today's Goal: 750 words.
Goal met? Met and blown away, baby! 1345 words.
Reason for stopping: A scene change stymied me and I wanted to spend a little time with Andy, snuggled and watching a movie, before we go to bed.

Project: Short story, tentative title "Green Dream."
Status of project: Carin has left a meeting with an Aide to the Elders with a curious flower I had not foreseen and is on her way back to her ship for the journey to Dunwain starport. Irritated pirates and wondrous alien cities imminent.

To close, Andy and I totally just sat through Balls of Fury together. It was made fun by fun-making, a few funny jokes, and conversation.

My personal favorite moment was when I turned to Andy about 30 minutes in and said, (insert Walken accent here) "Wait a minute, wait. What I need here is... more Christopher Walken. This is not working for me... without the Christopher Walken. Please, guys, more Walken."

Ah well. If you can laugh at yourself, you'll never cease to be amused. Am I right?

P.S. Who (besides [livejournal.com profile] sirandrew and without Googling) can tell me where the quote in my subject line comes from?
talkstowolves: Courage lies between vulnerability and boldness. Girls are strong. Women have voices.  (strong like buffy)
When I sat down to write tonight, I opened up iTunes in search of inspirational music. Putting my songs on shuffle yielded "Going Through the Motions" as sung by Buffy in the musical Buffy episode, "Once More, With Feeling."

As I said earlier, if it weren't so apt, it'd be funny.

For those who don't know the song, the title pretty much sums up my chagrin. But at least it also contains inspirational lyrics such as "I go out and fight the fight" and "I just wanna feel alive."

But, yes, my plotting yesterday didn't help as much as I had hoped. I realized a bunch of things I hadn't thought about needed to be figured out before I even started writing random bits... so I wrote a few random bits and then wrote more concise plotting along the lines of...

Only the curious should click here... )

But, yeah, the gritty details:

Today's Goal: 750 words.
Goal met? No, it's even worse than last night: 212 words.
Reason for stopping: Need to get away from the computer. I may try to keep writing by hand once I lay down.

Project: Short story, working title "Green Dream."
Status of project: Plot, plot, plot.

March 2017

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