NaNoWriMo is Probably Going to Kill My Wrists

via the NaNoWriMo store

I promise that NaNoWriMo won't be the only thing I post about this month. But today is my second day, and I thought I'd share a little bit about how that's going.

First of all, for those of you who are new to this word - NaNoWriMo - it stands for National Novel Writing Month. As in the month in which you write a 50,000 word novel. In 30 days. Which works out to about 1,666 words a day. Oh, and there's a website on which I have a profile. If the website takes a while to load, just know that's because it's November.

So I currently have a total of 1707 words, a little bit over the suggested average per day. I haven't started today's writing yet, but I will soon. After I finish writing this blog post. It was amazing being able to type in that total at the end of the day. 1700 words. I think I can do this. 50k words doesn't seem so unreachable anymore.

Although I also have another story that I'm working on at the same time. I'm trying to finish up H2WaMM for publication the Blotter (and if you're new to this blog that doesn't make any sense. That's why there are helpful links.) Two stories going at the same time... I can still do this, right?

I'm also attempting to write a poem every single day, as a sort of writing exercise. But that doesn't take very long. I'm not worrying too much about quality. It's more for creative stimulation.

So a novel, a short story, and a poem every day. Can I survive this November? More importantly, can my wrists survive this November? We shall see. I may have to take it easy now and then with all this typing I'm doing. But I think it will be worth it.

Heard of NaNoWriMo before? Doing NaNoWriMo this year? How did your first day go? What's your word count? Any tips for avoiding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Genre Favorites: the Blogfest

Today I'm participating in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Genre Favorites Blogfest. The goal: list your favorite genre of movie, music and books, as well as a guilty pleasure genre.

Now, I love a lot of genres in literature, and I love a lot of stories that cross genres, or can't be classified in a genre, so it was a little hard picking just one. The most important things in a story for me are the message and the characters, so I can enjoy a story in almost any genre if these two elements are in place. But there are a few genres I enjoy more than others. Here are some of my favorites:

via IMDb

Movie - Science fiction

One thing I love about science fiction is that, unlike fantasy, it's something that might, just possibly, someday be true (look at Jules Verne's stories). This combination of reality and semi-plausable fiction makes sci-fi movies a lot of fun to watch. On the flip side, I also enjoy the sci-fi movies that pose a question that challenges your perception of reality. I think those are some of the most powerful movies. Some of my favorites in this genre are Star Wars, The Matrix, and Iron Man.

via IMDb

Music - Soundtrack

No contest here. This is the genre in which I most consistently find songs (and even whole albums) that I like. One of the things I love most about soundtrack music is that it's written to evoke specific emotions that tell a story. I tend to favor the composers (like John Williams) that have sweeping orchestral accompaniments. Some of my favorite soundtrack composers are Steve Jablonsky (Transformers), Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Carribean, Kung Fu Panda, the Batman trilogy, among lots of other things), and John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon and the Bourne movies). I've also been listening to Alan Silvestri's Avengers soundtrack alot. Good stuff there.

via Goodreads

Books - Mystery

Mystery will always have a special place in my heart. I spent maybe two or three months when I was 14 reading through the rest of the Sherlock Holmes stories, all the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, and a lot of the Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries. But I started reading Sherlock Holmes when I was 7 or 8, and he'll always be my favorite detective.

via Goodreads

And a guilty pleasure genre from any of the three categories:

Comic books. Especially the ones from the "golden age" of comics in the 60's. I love them for the same reason I love reading fairytales - its about good and evil in a simple, uncomplicated form. The first comic book I ever read was the very first Spider-man comic, and I'll always love those. I also enjoyed the original Fantastic Four comics, and some of the early Avengers comics. The newer ones can't really compare.

What are some of your favorite genres?

What Happened to My Summer Plans

"Summer!" I said in my heart, and in the pride of my heart, at the beginning of the sixth month, the month of June. "Summer is a time of resting and relaxing, of wide-open schedules and blank calendars, of laying in the grass and sipping lemonade. Therefore I will take this summer, to use it as my own, and I will perform many great works this summer; I will finish the first draft of my novel, yea, even the one which I have for so long been working on, and I will write a certain amount of chapters for my other story, yea, even one a week, for the whole summer. And I will study 5 hours a day everyday, and I shall take eight CLEP tests this summer. For I, Lauren, have the whole summer ahead of me, empty, and I shall do with the time what I please."

So even as I spoke these words in my heart I congratulated myself on the marvelous accomplishments I would do this summer. And so the day of planning and the day of lofty goals was the first day of summer.

Then the first week came and I said in my heart "I will not start my plans today. Today is a day for packing, a day for planning ahead for next week's vacation. I will put off my goals until next week." So the first week came and, just as certainly, the first week went.

Then came the second week and I went on vacation; yea, even to the Oregon coast, to the mighty Pacific ocean. And I said in my heart "This is a week for relaxing, for rejoicing. It is not a week for working or for toiling. I will put off my goals until next week." So the second week came and, just as certainly, the second week went.

When the third week arrived I said in my heart "I am just back from vacation. I am tired. Surely if I put off my goals another week, I will be more rested." And as I said in my heart, so I did, and rested the third week. So it came and, just as certainly, it went.

In the fourth week a dreadful cold assailed me, so that my eyes watered and my nose was stuffed up. And a fever racked my bones, and a great headache, so that I could hardly stand. And as I lay upon my bed, I said to myself "by dose id do duffed ub, ad by headayg id do bad, I gadot work od by goals." So the fourth week came and, just as miserably, the fourth week went.

Then the fifth week came, and with it a sore throat, and even so a cough. And I studied a little for my CLEP test, even for Social Sciences & History, as I should have been doing. And I worked on editing this video, and celebrated Independence day, but not much else in the fifth week, the first week of July. So it came and, just as certainly, it went.

And the sixth week came, and I lifted up mine eyes and, behold, the summer was nearly halfway over. And I was astonished, and I was much troubled, and inquired within my heart, even within the depths of my heart, where my summer had gone. And I looked and found that I had been procrastinating this summer, and my schedule had not been empty, and I had much to do and many places to go. And I was troubled, and I said within my heart "where will I find time to accomplish my goals, the goals that I set at the beginning of summer, even six weeks ago?"

So I went to the library and requested a book; and the name of the book was Eat That Frog, and the book was written to help those who suffered, as I suffered, from poor time management skills. So I read the book, and I heeded the words of the author; and I compiled a more detailed list for my summer, yea, even for the remainder I had left.

But it happened that as I pursued my goals I neglected that which I had heretofore been faithful to; my blog. And I worked on my writing and my CLEPs, and my blog fell by the wayside.

Then this day I lifted up mine eyes and, behold, my blog was neglected, and I said in my heart "I will write a post; yea, even one that explains why I have neglected my blog."

And as I spoke in my heart, so I have done it, that you may know why I have been absent. I, Lauren, have written this post; this salutation with my own keyboard I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (*)

How are your summer plans going?

Burdened With Glorious Purpose: Avengers, Conclusions

Well, here we are at the end of my lengthy Avengers review. So far I've talked about story structure, characters, humor, and theme. I could have gone longer - the action sequences, the costumes, the Joss Whedon touch, the music, what I disliked - but I've touched on everything that's especially important to me in a movie, so I think I'll leave it at that.

So what do we have left? Just a few parting thoughts about the film, and a little bit of application.

Application?

Yes, it's Christian-application-of-the-Avengers-time! You knew this was coming. Or at least you should have. Unless you're new here. (In which case, welcome!)

By the way, did you know that The Avengers has now crossed the $600 million mark? It's at third place behind Titanic and Avatar in highest-grossing films. 

This review is not as spoiler-filled as the previous ones have been, but still, don't read if you're trying to decide whether or not to watch it. My recommendation is: go ahead, watch it! You will most likely not be disappointed. And then you can come back and read this review.

You have been warned. On we go, after the jump...

Well, What Have We Here?

Because what this post really needed was a cat picture.

So are y'all getting a little tired of the series I've been posting, or have they been enjoyable? My five-part Avengers review ends tomorrow, although H2WaMM has three more posts to go. I might post a book review next week for a little change of pace.

It's been a while since I updated my Blogs You Should Visit page, so I did that over the weekend to include some of my new favorite blogs. I also cleaned it up a little to remove any blogs that had stopped posting, moved, or just stopped altogether. I realized I hadn't updated it since the A-to-Z challenge, during which I followed a lot of new blogs.

So go check it out, and let me know if you find any new favorites!

On Thursday Lisa Campbell left my 500th comment! I know for some of you bloggers it may not seem like a lot (Alex J. Cavanaugh gets about 100 comments per post, so he's probably up in the millions now) but it's very gratifying for me. Thank you to everyone who comments and continues to leave comments! I love to hear what you have to say.

Becky from Braveheart is currently writing a series that I very much like. It's called Ministry or Malarkey, and it explores whether fiction (malarkey) can help people reach God (ministry). So far she's posted on Christian Inspirational Fiction and Parables. Looking forward to her post tomorrow!

My sister Ava won a photo editing contest over at Randocology! Hop on over to her blog and congratulate her. And then maybe help her boost her follower count...

Speaking of followers, Jenn, who recently gave me the One Lovely Blog Award, also gave me the Liebster Award - an award designed to recognize and promote blogs that have less than 200 followers. Jenn has just reached 100 followers herself, and is hosting a giveaway! Go tell her congrats and enter to win either a $15 or $10 Amazon gift card.

Now, to accept the award:

Thank the person that gave it to you. Thanks so much, Jenn!
Link back to their blog. Jenn's lovely blog, Scribbles from Jenn.
Put the award in your blog. See sidebar.
Present the award to 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers.*
Leave a comment to let those blogs know that you've recognized their awesomeness!*

*Okay, I'm going to do awarding a little differently this time. Instead of picking 3-5 blogs (choosing blogs is always hard!) or even just holding out an open invitation, I'm going to go with this:

If you have less than 200 followers, and your blog is on my Blogs You Should Visit list, then I nominate you for this award! So go see if you're on the list, and then leave me a link if you decide to pick it up. 

By the way, have you reviewed The Avengers on your blog? I'm collecting reviews to link to in my final Avengers post this Wednesday. If you wrote a review or found one that you enjoyed, leave me a link and I'll include it!

This is Lauren, signing off....

(because cat pictures are like potato chips; you can't have just one)

Can You Wipe Out That Much Red? Avengers, Themes

Note: yes, this post was supposed to be published on Wednesday. Yes, this is Thursday. I didn't get it finished on Tuesday and then was sick all day Wednesday. But hey, better late than never, right?

When I watched The Avengers the first and second time I really watched just to enjoy the movie. But the third time I watched it (with this review in mind!) I tried to pay closer attention to the theme.

I identified two themes, one of which I think is the "heart" of the movie, and another which is not quite as crucial to the plot. Call it a theme and a subtheme. Like a plot and a subplot.

And of course I must add that this is not, strictly speaking, a "review." It is riddled with spoilers, so don't read if you're trying to decide whether or not to watch it. My recommendation is: go ahead, watch it! You will most likely not be disappointed. And then you can come back and read this review.

You have been warned. On we go, after the jump...

All Quiet On the Weblog Front

Where have I been this past week? 

I've been on the Oregon coast, getting alternately wet and sunburned. I scheduled my third Avengers review for last week but neglected to schedule the second H2WaMM post, which is why it didn't appear on Friday. My apologies!

My absence can also explain why I haven't replied to comments or been to any of y'alls blogs lately.

No, they don't say y'all on the Oregon coast. In case you were wondering.

I didn't really take a lot of pictures this year. You see, I didn't bring my camera, just my phone, and I didn't want to bring my phone to the beach because I didn't want to get sand in it. So I don't have any pictures of the sights (besides the one above).

But what I did take pictures of (and please don't hate me for this) was all the misspellings I found around camp and at the museum that we went to. I know, I know, I'm so nitpicky. But some of them were amusing. Let me share:

The reward he "hopped" to earn. Maybe it's like "jumping" at a chance?

Norwegion. Perhaps it's a region in Norway.

By the way, I'm thinking of keeping the name "Norske Love" around for a possible future character in a possible future story. I like the name. It means "Norwegian lion."

Okay, this one could go either way. Site or sight. But I'm guessing that it's really supposed to say "sight."

If, of, what's the difference, ya know? Just one little letter.

Also last week I worked on filming this project:

I just threw together the trailer this morning. Not professional quality, but I think it gets the point across.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to this past week. Be prepared for part 4 of the Avengers review and part 2 of H2WaMM coming up on Wednesday and Friday. 

How was your week? Are you on vacation, or planning one soon? Ever snapped pictures of misspellings you've found? What do you think of the trailer?

I Understood That Reference: Avengers, Humor & Nerdiness

Nick Fury: ...his own personal flying monkeys.

Thor: Monkeys? I do not understand

Captain America: I understand! (looks around, grinning) I understood that reference.

One aspect of The Avengers that made it really stand out was the humor. Of course, with Joss Whedon directing it, how could it not be funny?

It was a movie that didn't take itself seriously. Unlike the dark, gritty Nolan Batman films, most Marvel films are bright and funny, sort of lighthearted and colorful, like comic books. Not that either is better, just that it's one of the differences between the Marvel and DC movie universes.

Another great thing about the movie is that there weren't that many inside jokes - the kind of jokes that only comic book fans/nerds would get. There was only one obvious one that I can think of. This made it appealing to both fans and to moviegoers who aren't "comic-book-people."

Just a reminder, this is not, strictly speaking, a "review." It is riddled with spoilers, so don't read if you're trying to decide whether or not to watch it. My recommendation is: go ahead, watch it! You will most likely not be disappointed. And then you can come back and read this review.

You have been warned. On we go, after the jump...

H2WaMM: the Prologue

I'm no murder mystery expert.

Actually, I really prefer the non-violent mysteries (thievery, forgery, etc.) But the murder mystery is the most famous (and the largest) genre of mystery, so I've decided to focus on that.

Welcome to How to Write a Murder Mystery.

Me and murder mysteries go way back. I have read all sixty canonical  Sherlock Holmes stories, a goodly amount of Agatha Christie, nearly every Peter Wimsey, seen every episode of Psych... 

However, I've never written a (serious) one.

Wait a minute, Lauren, you say, why are you telling us how to write a murder mystery if you've never even written one yourself??

The answer: I'm not. I won't be telling you how to write a murder mystery. Instead I'll be attempting to show you.

Yes, my readers, I have written a three-act murder mystery that will give you the formula to write a formulaic MM. I have left no trope untouched, no cliche unturned. 

This three-act mystery will star our two generic heroes, Detective and Sidekick. They will be hired by Client to discover who killed Victim. And of course we'll have Bumbling Inspector, Sheltered Woman, and Heartless Murderer, as well as a good smattering of Suspicious Suspects.

It's a big cliche-fest, so get ready to gather round and prepare to predict what happens next. Hopefully you'll see murder mysteries in a way you never have before. Or at least you'll have a good time.

Either way, be prepared for next Friday, when I will present for your pleasure H2WaMM: Act One.

Are you a murder mystery fan, or more of a non-violent mystery fan? How many murder mysteries have you read? Ever written a murder mystery? What murder mystery cliches have always bugged you?

Sort of Like a Team: Avengers, Character & Continuity

Tony Stark: The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves. Sort of like a team. "Earth's Mighiest Heroes" type thing. 

The Avengers would (obviously) not be the Avengers without the characters that make up the team. And what's great about the film is the depth of the characters.

The team doesn't really get along. As I mentioned in this post, The Avengers is a prime example of every character having their own agenda. Each character is pulled from their own story and stuck into this one, and not all of them like it. There's arguing and fighting and insulting. Almost every character can be pitted against another and you can easily point out all the inconsistencies between their characters and the reasons they fight with each other. There's lots of good tension there.

Joss Whedon handled the screen time of each character very well, so that it felt like everyone got their turn in the spotlight. And everyone had their own little bit of character development as well. Every character changed a little during the course of the story, although some did more dramatically than others.

Going character by character, I'm going to attempt to pinpoint the development made in each case.

Obligatory warning: this is not, strictly speaking, a "review." It is riddled with spoilers, so don't read if you're trying to decide whether or not to watch it. My recommendation is: go ahead, watch it! You will most likely not be disappointed. And then you can come back and read this review.

You have been warned. On we go, after the jump...

Isn't It Lovely?

Well, yesterday I promised to post a picture of The Blotter, and here it is.

Lovely, isn't it? Lindsey, a talented artist and one of my very good friends, painted the picture that was used for the cover.

So what is The Blotter? It's a journal of collected stories and poems that were all written by the members of the writing group that I'm a part of.

Why is it called The Blotter? Because our group is called The Inkblot Society (not to be confused with these Inkblots.)

We have three featured works this edition; Bethany contributed a short story, Doug Hayes contributed a poem, and I contributed a poem which I've previously posted on this blog (Death of a Maple Leaf.)

I don't know if I can exactly say that I'm a "published author" now, since strictly speaking the journal is not "for sale" - I think it's more of a "suggested donation." (my, what a lot of quotation marks)

But it's still exciting to see my name in print. I believe the journal will only be for sale locally, although personally I'd like to see it online someday. Maybe an e-zine type thing, you know.

Also, it's kind of a coincidence that when I opened my dashboard today I saw this post by Leslie Rose. She has contributed a story to a short story anthology that is now for sale. It's currently $0.99 on Amazon. Go check it out!

Remember what it's like the first time you saw your name in print? Still looking forward to that day? Ever been part of a writing group or contributed to an anthology? 

One Lovely Blog Award & This Week's Menu

Last week Jenn at Scribbles from Jenn awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks so much, Jenn!

As usual, a questionnaire goes along with the award. This one has some interesting questions.

What is your favorite song?
Most of my favorite songs are psalms or hymns, but if I had to choose a song that wasn't, I would say Bearing Witness by Collective Soul.

What is your favorite dessert?
Almost any kind of pie. Except pumpkin and pecan.

When you're upset, what do you do?
Being an introvert, I normally hide my feelings, so most of the time I just continue doing whatever I'm supposed to be doing. Usually pretending not be upset makes me less upset, if that makes sense.

What was your favorite pet?
These two kittens have been my favorite pets.

What do you prefer to wear, black or white?
I prefer to wear black. White just doesn't really look good on me.

What is your biggest fear?
You know, that's a good  question. I know I'm claustrophobic, and of course have the traditional firstborn fear of failure, and perhaps am afraid of being abandoned by people I love, but I don't know what my biggest fear is.

What is your attitude mostly?
Calm.

What is perfection to you?
Strictly speaking, perfection is found in God alone, and He is perfection to me. But in the less strict sense, "perfection" for me is when something I've planned all comes together and becomes something even better than I could have imagined. A wonderful feeling.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Talking during movies. Everyone usually hushes me, but I love to do this sort of running commentary where I make fun of the characters' motives, or say what is unsaid but what should be said. So yeah, don't watch movies with me.

Okay, now let me see, a few lovely blogs to nominate. These are four that I find aesthetically pleasing:

Booktalk & More - I love the yellow and grey, and Ruth's reviews are always hilarious.
Ellyn Gibbs - her blog has a sea-faring theme since she's currently writing a sea-faring book.
Head in the clouds - I love her background - London!
Scribbles, Scripts, and Such - one of the loveliest blogs I follow - both aesthetically and content-wise.

This is not the week's menu. 

Also, I thought it would be fun to post this week's "menu" - what you'll be seeing on Word Art this week.

Tomorrow I'll be posting pictures of The Blotter - a journal that my writing group has collectively put out. One of my poems is included in there. Pretty exciting!

On Wednesday expect part two of my Avengers review - this one on Characters & Continuity. If you missed the first one on Plot & Structure, you can read it here.

On Friday I'll be posting part one (yes, I know, I do so many series!) of "How to Write a Murder Mystery," or H2WaMM, as I'll be calling it.

Why part one? Because it's much too long to include all in one post. Want further details? Sorry, you'll just have to wait.

This week's menu for my off-internet life includes taking the Introductory Sociology CLEP. I love when a test is just plain fun to study for, and that's been the case with Intro Sociology. It's a fascinating subject.

Have you received the One Lovely Blog award? Do you talk during movies or know someone who does? Anything you're looking forward to this week?

Custom Error Message and Kreativ Blogger Award

via Lolbrary

I'm on Google+.  Just so's you know. And I'm following Blogger. (Or is it "circling" Blogger? I'm not sure which is the proper lingo.)

Anyway, Blogger recently posted about how to change your "error message" - you know, that message you get when you click on a broken link. "404 page not found" and all that, wot wot?

Apparently in Blogger you can customize it. Go to "Settings," select "search preferences" and click "edit" under "custom page not found."

It was too good an opportunity to pass up, so I went and changed mine right away. You can see it by clicking this incorrect link:

http://lmswriting.blogspot.com/errorpage

Also, I've been awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award.

Becky Doughty from Braveheart gave me this lovely award. Thanks so much, Becky!

You know, at most award ceremonies it's the custom to give an acceptance speech, but on the blogosphere there are rules that you must follow. (Unless, of course, you're my sister Ava, in which case you write an acceptance speech and follow the rules)

And hey, I love rules, so let's see what we've got here:

We Shall Gain the Universe: Avengers, Plot & Structure

As I mentioned in my last post, I've seen The Avengers three times now; once in 3D, twice in 2D (in case you're wondering, it was neat in 3D but not really worth it.)

Why did I see it three times? I rarely ever watch a movie twice in one month (the only exceptions were Iron Man 1 & 2, actually. I've seen Iron Man 2 four times). Usually I don't watch a movie more than twice in one year. There are even some movies I would be content never seeing again. (Sorry, Alice in Wonderland. Just didn't click with me.)

But The Avengers is a movie that you can't just see once. It's a movie that you want to watch again and again to immerse yourself fully in the world and catch all the hilarious phrases and quips and subtle little expressions and actions.

Just to be clear, this is not, strictly speaking, a "review." It is riddled with spoilers, so don't read if you're trying to decide whether or not to watch it. My recommendation is: go ahead, watch it! You will most likely not be disappointed. And then you can come back and read this review.

All right, you have been warned. On we go...

June is Coming, I Can Almost See It...

This is the time of year that makes me want to visit the ocean. Of course, the Pacific Northwest ocean isn't quite as blue (or warm) as the ocean in the picture above, but it's still the ocean. And I miss it. Our annual vacation is coming up, though. Pacific ocean, here I come!

Today over at Emily Moir's blog Rantings of a Writer I wrote a guest post for her Blogger Spotlight series. Go check out my post (and Emily's blog!)

Having seen The Avengers three times now, I think it's time I wrote a review. So coming up will be my five part review/analysis of the movie. Yes, five part (I kind of have a lot to say).

Also, I recently started following Miss Jack Lewis Baillot's clever blog, However Improbable. She's a steampunk author (which is pretty cool) and we seemed to have watched and read a lot of the same movies and books. She only has 13 followers, so why not hop on over and check out her blog?

Doing anything exciting this June? Visited the ocean lately? How many times did you see The Avengers? Have you visited Miss Jack Lewis Baillot's blog?

Teaser Tuesdays: The Help

This post is for Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly event from the blog Should Be Reading.

The Help has been languishing on my nightstand for over a month. Now that my classes are finished and I have a little more time I've decided to pick it up.

Most of you have probably already read it, so this won't be much of a "teaser" but for those of you who haven't, here it is:

"Baby Girl, she looking at the door her daddy slammed, she looking at her mama frowning down at her. My baby, she swallowing it back, like she trying real hard not to cry. I rush past Miss Leefolt, pick Baby Girl up."

 This is the section that's in Aibileene's point of view. I love the relationship between Aibileene and the baby, Mae Mobley. So far I'm about six chapters in and really enjoying the book.

And hey! I'm studying for the US History II CLEP right now, which covers 1865 to the present. So since The Help is set in the 1960's, reading it counts as studying, right?

Have you read The Help? Do you have a book that's been languishing on your nightstand? What are you currently reading?

Deadly Deadlines (Part 2)

Today I finally realized that summer is almost here.

Well, I mean, it's only May, but that means only a month until summer, which is only about three months long. So, since this is my last summer before I graduate, I wrote out my goals for the summer.

They include:

• Finishing the first draft of my novel
• Passing six CLEP tests (two per month)

I especially want to finish my novel by the end of summer so I can do NaNoWriMo in November.

There's something so refreshing about writing out goals. Deadlines can be "deadly" but in some ways they give you more freedom.

Freedom isn't doing something just because you can. Ooh look! I can spend three hours surfing the internet instead of studying.

Freedom is doing something because you want to. I want to write this blog post by Friday, so I will.

So I said that I would talk about different ways to "disconnect your mind from the task at hand in order to give it a break."

There are three main ways I do that (it's Lauren-creates-another-list-time!)

1. Do something else

Obviously if you're an hour from the deadline then this may not be such a good option. But sometimes taking a walk, doing dishes, or doing something similarly mindless can help your mind focus on something else, letting your subconscious do the work for you.

2. Do something creative

Some writers have more than one project at a time to work on so that they can switch back and forth. I like taking a break and playing the piano, which works a different creative part of my brain. I read an article (on the CollegePlus website, actually) on "How to Be as Mentally Acute as Sherlock Holmes." The main idea of the article is that Sherlock Holmes played the violin, which is a great way to relieve stress, improve your mind, and learn discipline and patience.

I've also found that the different creative processes involved in writing fiction and writing blog posts is a nice switch.

3. Take a nap

Okay, this is actually a suggestion from the CollegePlus speed reading and memory course that I had to take. Apparently your brain solves problems while you're sleeping, so if you're stuck while studying (or writing, or whatever deadline you're on) then take a break and sleep. Even if the problem wasn't solved while you were asleep, you'll be a lot more refreshed (unless, of course, you overslept your deadline!)

Also last week I asked how people coped with deadlines. Three lovely readers shared their insights:

From MOV:

Deadlines. Just the word itself has a "deadly" connotation.

In college, I always produced my best work under the pressure of a deadline. I often waited until the last minute, but usually came out with the "A."

Now, with writing my blog, I only write when I have an idea. Sometimes that is every day, sometimes twice/ day, sometimes it is only once/ week. The A to Z Challenge was tricky for me because I did not like that added pressure of having to be "on" and "produce" every day. It is one thing to want to write every day (for yourself), quite another to be forced to (even if it is a voluntary contest).

From Andrew Leon:

Generally speaking, I find that most people won't do anything without a deadline. That's why almost everyone is rushing to get things done at the last minute. Like taxes.

I work with a lot of self-imposed deadlines. It keeps me moving.

From Amberr Meadows:

When confronted with deadlines, I become amazingly calm and then divide and conquer. It's almost like I become another person. Weird, I know.

I have to agree with MOV about school deadlines. And Amberr - wow, that's pretty amazing!

And I think Andrew brought up a great point. People won't do anything without a deadline. I think this is true on a far bigger level than just day to day deadlines, either.

If you think about it, life is one big assignment with the deadline being the day you die. An unknown deadline, which makes it even more urgent. A deadline which you can't pass.

Maybe it's kind of a morbid thought, but I think that it really puts life in perspective. We only have a set amount of time on this earth. Are we going to spend our time dawdling and dragging our feet, or are we going to accomplish what we were put here to do?

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

- Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

Couldn't resist throwing in that LOTR quote. ;)

Got any plans or goals for the summer? Any other advice on meeting or coping with deadlines?

Storyboardishness

Today I had a burst of inspiration for this novel idea (let me clarify - an idea for a novel) that I've had simmering in the back of my mind. It was an idea for a new scene. It opened up a lot of ideas for the rest of the novel.

So, since I've been reading Story Engineering (which is all about planning out your novel) I thought, why not plan out this one? I'm already writing two stories at present, but what if I had this one all ready to go when I finished them?

So I tried something I haven't tried before: storyboarding.

Okay, well, to be clear, it's not technically storyboarding the way I'm doing it. It's storyboarding for writers, which has no pictures. (I found a tutorial on one way to make a storyboard!)

You see that red wallet-looking-thing at the top of this post? That, when opened up, is a photo holder. It can hold 24 photos. But instead of photos, I put scene cards in them, like so:

Just to be clear, this is not the working title. It's just a placeholder until I find a working title.

I started with a title card, and then wrote a query/synopis card to remind myself of the basic premise (and to be thorough). After that I wrote out a scene card for the prologue and the scene after that.

I used a grunge filter to make the iPhone-quality picture look less lame.

And here's another grunge-filtered picture of the whole thing. After I fill out ten scene cards I'm planning on putting them all into one photo pocket since there are only 22 (discounting the title and synopsis card). That leaves room for about 220 scenes.

I'm pretty excited about it - I've never planned out a story this way before. We'll see how it goes...

In other news:

I saw The Avengers over the weekend! It was a fantastic movie. Austin, over at Gift of the Present, did a thorough review of The Avengers that I thought was very insightful. Daniel also wrote a very thorough spoiler-free review, as did Raquel and PolkaDot.

I recently found (and followed) a blog called Scribblings of My Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard, by Anne-girl. She did an excellent post on "being real" that I highly recommend you read. I think she hit it spot-on.

Becky Doughty from Braveheart featured my post "Top Ten Tips for Creating Top Ten Tips Lists" as her Friday Guest post! If you haven't read it or want to read it again, go check it out (and look around Becky's blog a little bit.)

If you haven't already, go leave a comment telling me how you cope with deadlines so I can feature it in Friday's post.

Have you ever done story cards? Ever extensively planned out a story? Do you have any tips for keeping your story cards or scenes straight? 

Do any of the links sound intriguing?

Let me know by commenting!

Deadly Deadlines (Part 1)

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.

Sometimes deadlines can be good for writing - that last minute adrenaline rush can get your creative juices flowing better than any amount of free time.

But sometimes deadlines can freeze your mind, stifle your creative process, tighten the rope around the neck of your inspiration, put your muse on the chopping block... you get the picture.

I tend to work better with some semblance of a deadline. I need endgoals, I need to see the finished product, so it's easier for me to have something tangible to work towards.

But let's face it, deadlines can be stressful.

I mean, deadlines are something we use in writing to up the stakes for our characters. Think the characters don't have enough problems, or there just isn't enough conflict? Eh, throw in a ticking time bomb. It worked for 24.

I have different ways of coping with deadlines. 

Checklists, planning ahead, setting a timer. These sometimes seem to work for me. But sometimes it takes the very last minute to come up with inspiration for a deadline.

For example, in my current online Rhetoric class I had to write a speech over the weekend and deliver it Monday morning. It was a very short speech - about 2-3 minutes long. I had specific restraints I had to follow, but the topic could be whatever I wanted.

My mind was frozen.

Finally, I wrote a mediocre, second-class speech on Saturday that I thought would have to do unless I came up with something better. I wasn't pleased with it at all, but I couldn't think of anything else to write.

My class is at 8:00 in the morning since I'm in Pacific time. I usually get up early so I can be awake for the class, but that morning I woke up at 7:00. I had been dreaming about the speech, but when I opened my eyes a flash of inspiration came to me.

I had an idea for a much better speech - but I only had an hour before class started.

So I got out of bed, hurriedly turned on the computer, and typed as fast as I could. I ended up finishing the speech 15 minutes before class started. I submitted the outline, rehearsed it a couple of times, and then entered the online class and gave the speech.

I got an A+.

As nice as that was, I really would rather not have had to come that close. But sometimes you need to disconnect your mind from the task at hand in order to give it a break.

Next Friday I'll talk about different ways to do that.

And I want to hear your thoughts, as well.

What do you think about deadlines? Are deadlines generally helpful or hurtful? Do you have ways to trick yourself into completing a deadline? Do you have any stories about close calls with deadlines that you'd like to share?

Leave me a comment with your answer, and I'll feature it next Friday in Part 2 of this series.

So, tell me:

How do you cope with deadlines?

A-to-Z Looking Back Through the Mirror (A Poem)

Listen, my followers, and you shall hear
'bout the A-to-Z challenge looking back through the mirror
(I admit, 'twould be easier if I had named it
"the reflections post" but the rhyme did demand it.)

They said share pleasures,
And please share your pains
Share with us any setbacks
Reveal any gains

So in order I think
I'll recount what I thought
Of the challenge this year
And from it what I got.

Guest-post is a Verb

Just thought you ought to know that I'm guest-posting today for Misha over at her blog My First Book.

The post is on What the Avengers Can Teach Us About Character. Go leave lots of comments, on that post and on Misha's other posts!

Top Ten Tips for Creating Top Ten Tips Lists

How could I not write the list that tells you how to write your lists? 

Read on to find my top ten tips on writing top ten tips lists....

1. Title your post "Top Ten Tips on _____"

This one's obvious. So readers know what they're getting into. Also, people search for "top ten tips" so there's a greater likelihood that your article will come up when they do.

2. Bold the main points

Makes 'em stand out. Busy readers can skim and still get the gist of the article. 

3. Lecture a little

If people click on this post they know (or should know) that they'll be getting an earful of advice. Don't start every tip with "In my humble (or not so humble) opinion." But also don't write a post's worth of advice under every main point. It's hard on the eyes and the attention span.

4. Try not to be so dead serious

Always, always avoid the use of words like "always" and never." These are just tips, people, not life-saving instructions. Oh, and a spoonful of humor makes the lecturing go down....

5. Don't accidentally repeat yourself

That's just redundant and annoys readers.

5. Don't accidentally repeat yourself

That's just redundant and annoys readers.

7. Make sure you haven't skipped a number on your list

Otherwise your readers will wonder why they should be listening to your advice when you obviously can't even count.

8. No money-back guarantees

Even if these tips completely changed your life, don't promise that they'll do the same for everyone else. You can insinuate that, yes, but don't outright say it. There may be legal ramifications or something, ya know?

9. You shouldn't not never contradict yourself

If people are looking for advice, they want to know that you're reliable. Nothing says "unreliable" faster than a contradiction.

10. Be fresh, funny, and unique

There are thousands of top ten tips posts out there. If you bring a new perspective, people will be more willing to listen. A little humor never hurts either.

Follow these tips and, well, I can't guarantee it will change your life, but, you know....

Any tips to add to the list? Let me know by commenting!

Z is for Ze Accent

Via Wikipedia

Ve all know zat ze evil villain must have ze accent.

I mean, how else vould ve know zat he vas evil?

Does anyone else find it amusing that evil villains in American stories usually have accents?

Maybe it's our American snobbishness, or maybe it's just ingrained in us from the WWII and Cold War periods where the villains in all the stories were Nazis/Communists/Russians.

I don't know why it is, but I do find it amusing.

The types of accents range from German to Russian to French to British to some made-up in-between language, like Gru's:

Accents usually come with stereotypes as well; for example, the cold British snob, the cruel German general, the handsome but vicious Spanish spy, the calculating Russian lady.

If you do write a character (especially a villain) vith ze accent, keep in mind these three things:

1. Listen to ze real accents   

Don't just assume you know what Russian sounds like and switch out all your the's for ze's. Zat vould neither be professional nor honest. 

Don't know anyone who speaks with a Russian accent? Zat is vat Youtube is for, mein comrades.

2. Don't spell out everyzhing

If you've ever read Huckleberry Finn, you've come across a passage like this:

“Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you's gwyne to git well agin.”

Via RT

That might be all well and good for Mark Twain, but please please please don't use it in youse awn writin'. Not only is it hard to read, but it can also interrupt the flow of the story as your poor reader tries to decipher  vat you are actually saying.

How many times in zis post have you had to stop and go back and read zat odd spelling? Zat is not vat you vant, mein comrades!

3. Avoid ze stereotypes

Is the accent part of the character or the character part of the accent? In other words, why are you writing about a character vith an accent? Is it so that your character will be scarier? More stylish? Weaker or dumber sounding? 

Don't give your character an accent just because. It's a part of backstory, of where they grew up, who they grew up with. It's not an accessory. Character before accent, mein comrades!

Follow these three tips and ze accents vill be much better. Until next time, mein comrades!

Do you have a character with an accent? What are some accent stereotypes that annoy you?

Let me know by commenting!

Y is for Yes, More T.S. Eliot

Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know I've mentioned this already, but I do love T.S. Eliot. His poetry isn't the kind that you understand right away. It's not light reading, but it's beautiful.

Four Quartets is, without a doubt, my favorite of his collected poetry that I've read so far. Wasteland was beautiful, wild, crazy, and deep, but Four Quartets is much more soulful. It was also written after his conversion to the Anglican church, so it has a lot of religious and spiritual themes, a lot more than Wasteland did.

The book is arranged into four separate poems: Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages, and Little Gidding.

When reading T.S. Eliot, my routine is usually this:

•  Read once, just listening to and enjoying rhythm and sounds of words
•  Read again, this time looking for the meaning
•  Read the third time, trying to make sure I understood the right meaning
• Read again, understand enough to move on

That's actually a lot like how you're supposed to read the Bible. Read, digest, read, digest.

I'll leave you with some bits of poetry from the book:

The wounded surgeon plies the steel

That questions the distempered part;

Beneath the bleeding hands we feel

The sharp compassion of the healer’s art

Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.

Our only health is the disease

If we obey the dying nurse

Whose constant care is not to please

But to remind us of our, and Adam’s curse,

And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.

- From East Coker

I said to my soul, be still and wait without hope,

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith,

But the faith and the love are all in the waiting.

Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:

So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.

- From Burnt Norton

For most of us, there is only the unattended

Moment, the moment in and out of time,

The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight,

The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning

Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply

That it is not heard at all, but you are the music

While the music lasts. 

- From The Dry Salvages

We shall not cease from exploration, 

And the end of all our exploring 

Will be to arrive where we started 

And know the place for the first time.

- From Little Gidding

Have you read any T.S. Eliot? Have a favorite book of poetry? Have a fixed way of reading poetry? Hate poetry? Love poetry?

Let me know by commenting!