tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88627278812502352702024-03-13T06:28:12.579-07:00By any other name...Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-2522778781624910682012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:002012-01-25T05:00:04.642-08:00Soda-Fueled Organization and an ROW80 UpdateWoo! Another week down. Another week closer to the impending move-out/in date!<br />
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I'm buying a mattress tomorrow. Exciting, stuff, right??<br />
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Remember last post how I said I love organizing things? Look what I made myself today:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHT2QzAm8i2qDL9WdX4MiyC1-Ol20qVeVcvUzo_NP4u9NFt23j0soUXYBdd2rL16pqgeA9qmxyTAD_72vje-wQeoXg7yOmkvZBsmE9qr1a22Q0Lb0MLFlFjQ87ToDwgqTIo_wvHyrNMSZ/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHT2QzAm8i2qDL9WdX4MiyC1-Ol20qVeVcvUzo_NP4u9NFt23j0soUXYBdd2rL16pqgeA9qmxyTAD_72vje-wQeoXg7yOmkvZBsmE9qr1a22Q0Lb0MLFlFjQ87ToDwgqTIo_wvHyrNMSZ/s320/Untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
That looks very small, but only because... well mainly because I'm too lazy to resize it. BUT, it's okay, because that's what explanation is for. That, friends, is a schedule that I make all of the time for work. Instead, I applied it to my writing and gave myself a strict schedule for Arieties (that purple blob at the bottom), Skye's story (The blue), and another untitled novel that is still in planning stages. I don't know if you can read the little words on the side of each row, but I've given myself benchmark points where I can reevaluate myself to make sure I'm on target.<br />
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That goes until June. That's actually the first draft, the second draft is more updated, but also more secretive because why would I give away all of my secrets?<br />
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I apologize for this rambling post, but I'm hopped up on soda and I can't concentrate. I'm the idiot who didn't even think about drinking a glass of soda an hour before going to sleep. Oh, I forgot to mention that I drank barely any soda until high school, leaving my body completely unable to handle the sugar rush that comes with it. Believe it or not, I'm much better than I used to be. A bottle of soda sent me OFF THE WALL in high school.<br />
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(I wrote this post last night so I'm going to include my ROW80 update here. Again, sorry about the rambling, but I am very proud of my spreadsheet so I'm going to leave it.)<br />
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ROW80 UPDATE!<br />
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I hit my goals. I wrote 3620 words this week total AND made sure to spend 20 minutes a day on plot development. Well, okay I slacked off on Saturday and Sunday, but I spent an hour on Thursday and 40 minutes on Friday working on plot so I think it evens out.<br />
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This week's goals:<br />
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1. Write 1500 words a day on Skye's story. This is a little ambitious, but I am totally redoing the story, as in creating a new file and starting from scratch with a new direction. It has to be done.<br />
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2. Rewrite an alternate first 3 chapters of Arieties. I've narrowed my issues with this story down to this part. I'm going to set this over this week and next week, though, because I want to prioritize Skye this week. Arieties is all next week, though.<br />
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3. Work on plot development for 20 minutes per day.<br />
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Good luck to everyone else this week!Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-31567195450358049102012-01-21T10:41:00.000-08:002012-01-21T10:41:46.663-08:00You can keep your "real world"Moving is not a good time.<br />
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Okay, let me correct that, steps 1 and 3-5 of moving are not a good time.<br />
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Step 1: Find an apartment. Done... and thank the lord I'm done.<br />
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Step 2: Find THE apartment. Done... and YES. This was the fun part. We found the apartment and I immediately started visualizing the way it would be when we lived there.<br />
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Step 3: Pay for the apartment. Sheesh... welcome to the real world.<br />
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Step 4: Pack for the move. Wait... when did I get this much stuff? And I have to transport it all? Where am I going to put it? THEN I have to carry it up to the apartment? And what do you mean I don't have half the stuff I need? What????<br />
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Step 5: Transport it. Ugh... I need to start working out. Can't it just magically teleport into my new room?<br />
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Step 6: Organize it. Yessss. I love organizing. It's a weird trait, maybe, but I have so much fun putting everything away and finding a way to make it all fit into a space, no matter what size. In senior year of college I had the smallest room in the house, but somehow fit everything I could possibly need with space to spare. I love it.<br />
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I'm still only on step 4 and am not looking forward to finishing it or step 5 at all. Why did I choose to move in the winter again? Someone fast forward time until Step 6, please.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-53546260904092302072012-01-18T13:45:00.000-08:002012-01-18T13:45:35.751-08:00ROW 80 Check InI probably should have skipped this check-in, because I like to skip things when I don't do them very well. But, in the spirit of my new conquer-your-fears attitude, I'm going to stick it out.<br />
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I didn't hit all of my goals this week. I did edit Arieties for an hour, but let's face it, that was probably my least ambitious goal. I'm kind of stagnant with Arieties because I'm having mixed feelings about the story as a whole right now. I'll push through, giving it another hour a week, but I think we need to stay on a break for now.<br />
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As for writing, I wrote about 2000 words this week, most of it revision. I'm going in a different direction a bit with Skye's story so we'll see how this works out. I'm still going to set my goal at 3500 for a week (with a week beginning on Sunday) so I'm going to do my best to actually hit it.<br />
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Even though I didn't hit my goals, I'm going to add another one: Spend at least 20 minutes a day developing the plot for a new story. I have 3 bouncing around my head in various stages of development so I think I need to get some sort of plot down before they start killing each other. <br />
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In all fairness I was somewhere between freaking out about moving out and celebrating moving out all week so I didn't have the best focus.<br />
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Hope everyone else killed it in their goals this week!Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-7847477556535363312012-01-16T11:02:00.000-08:002012-01-16T11:02:10.563-08:00I did it!Wellp, it's happened. After about 2 months of searching and saving, I've finally signed a lease!!!<br />
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I've hit step 1 in being a grownup and it was a lot less scary than I thought it would be. Well, for now. I'm sure when February 1st starts getting closer I'll start freaking out, but for now I'm just excited.<br />
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It really hammers home the cliche that you have to face your fears. I did it. I looked the one thing that has been stressing me out in the eye and said "Get out of my way. I'm going to be okay." And you know what? I am. I am so okay.<br />
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Of course, I'm also considerably more broke financially, but I'm young. I don't need tens of thousands of dollars in the bank to make me happy right now. Maybe one day when I have obligations that amount to more than pay my rent and feed my cat I'll have a different tone.<br />
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Stay tuned for more! I'd continue but I have to wrestle a cat into a carrier for her trip to the vet. She knows it's coming and she's not happy.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-37665251309287831882012-01-11T15:00:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:00:05.372-08:00ROW80<div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g54/southernseanachi/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g54/southernseanachi/ROW80Logocopy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div>My last shot at <a href="http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/blog/">ROW80 </a>did not end fantastically so I'm going to give it another try. It's my first week so I'll start with some easy goals:<div><br />
</div><div>1. Write 3500 words a week. That comes out to 500 words a day, but I know that I'm going to miss some days so I can make that up.</div><div><br />
</div><div>2. Edit Arieties at least 1 hour every week. I took a little break from my baby so I've got to ease myself back in while I'm working on The Limit.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I might add to this as ROW80 goes on, but we'll see how this goes. Good Luck to everyone else!</div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-56658856199703235012012-01-09T18:55:00.000-08:002012-01-09T18:55:50.203-08:00Just JumpA few years ago I went cliff-jumping with some friends. I was so ready for it, so excited to make our way up the "cliff" and stare at the green water. I was so excited to feel the rush of adrenaline as my feet left the edge of the rock and plunge toward the ground. So one of my friends jumped. Then another. Then it was my turn. I stood at the edge, ready to jump and..... nothing. Well, there were too many rocks. I could fall.<br />
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Everyone helped clear the rocks off so the smooth ground would be stable and I could jump. So I looked down at the water... nothing. I froze.<br />
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I read a great blog post by Jenny Hanson today called <a href="http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/do-you-fear-your-dream-by-jenny-hansen/">Do You Fear Your Dream</a> and I literally sat back and said YES! I have these moods where I get really inspired followed by periods of inactivity because I trick myself into thinking I can't do this or don't deserve this or the rocks were in the way or blah blah excuse blah.<br />
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It isn't just limited to cliff jumping or even writing. I've been looking to move out of my house and into an apartment closer to my work, but the problem is I've never moved. Ever. So when I had to start looking at apartments my brain froze. I've spent about a week stalling my potential roommates because I figure they can find themselves an apartment and toss me out of the equation. Except I know they won't. Still, I'm in freeze mode.<br />
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It would be so much easier to keep living in my parents' house. Not only is it cheaper, I have a built in excuse to not participate in things! How perfect is that?<br />
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Answer? Not perfect at all. Because deep down I know that one day I'm going to regret it. So I'm going to go out of my comfort zone.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Korea-Busan-Cliff-Bunji.jump-01.jpg/429px-Korea-Busan-Cliff-Bunji.jump-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Korea-Busan-Cliff-Bunji.jump-01.jpg/429px-Korea-Busan-Cliff-Bunji.jump-01.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
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I'm going to move out. I'm going to write. And every time I hear that little voice start to speak up, I'm going to tell it to shut the hell up. Then I'll jump.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-31121359148972567362012-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:002012-01-05T16:00:02.505-08:00Introducing: VoldewartWARNING: This may gross you out<br />
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So for the past 3 or so years I've had a wart on my elbow. Before you all start with the "ewwwwws" I'd like to point out that there is no evidence to suggest that he's actually infected anyone else with a wart and he doesn't even look all that gross. Kind of like a little round extension of my elbow.<br />
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Anyway, my dermatologist is baffled that this wart has survived all of the treatment she's thrown at him. Baffled to the point that she gave me freaking CHEMOTHERAPY CREAM.<br />
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Let me just take a moment to point out that on my dresser, right now, is cream that is used to effectively kill cancer cells.<br />
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What has it done in the 1 month that I've been using it on the wart?<br />
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It's turned the skin around the wart into a dark, maroonish brown color that can totally not be healthy. Cancer treatment did not kill this wart.<br />
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So I've given up. I'd like to see what my derma says when I go back to her, but for now I've decided to name him since he's clearly not going anywhere. The great minds of my household (aka me and my 17 year old brother) put our heads together to come up with several options, but one name stood above the rest. If you've read the title of this post then you know what's coming. That's right. Everyone give it up for *drumroll*<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">VOLDEWART</span></div><br />
Notable runners up: Adam Lamwart and Warten Buffet. Weak showing, George Wartington.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-51803751142408162232012-01-03T19:56:00.000-08:002012-01-03T19:56:30.147-08:00New Year, New ResolutionsI know I've been neglecting this blog recently... well okay I've never been THAT good at keeping up with it, but this time I have an excuse, kind of.<br />
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I got a new job! Like a real, I-have-to-actually-do-work-and-not-go-on-the-internet job! And I love it. Plus I'm looking to move soon so apartment hunting has been taking up about half of my non-working time.<br />
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But that's not what this post is about. FOCUS, LISA.<br />
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My New Years Resolutions:<br />
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I vow to read at least 50 books this year (and my buddies over at WD are going to help me stay accountable for that one).<br />
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I vow to complete... as in totally complete to the best of my ability... a full, query-ready novel by August. Ideally earlier but I'm a perfectionist and Arieties has been technically finished for about 3 months and I'm still in the "I hate it" phase so we'll see where that goes.<br />
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I vow to not waste my time trying to make this blog something it isn't. This is a biggie, because I keep changing what I want this blog to be based on what I think will get readers or on what I think people are interested in and you know what? That doesn't matter. This is MY blog, gosh darnit, and I'm going to write about what I like, whether you like it or not (though I still hope you like it :) )<br />
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I vow to exercise... ehhh at least twice a week for now but I want to get up to 4 times a week of solid, hard, sweat-through-my-shirt exercise in a few months when my knees stop acting up. For now I'll settle for Wii Fit Plus (LOVE LOVE LOVE IT).<br />
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Well, that's going to be it for now, mainly because our heat is broken and I can't feel my fingers. I promise to work on this blog more. Once this month settles down I'll get into a schedule and get to work. Without a schedule I'm kind of lost and frantic and I don't like it.<br />
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Hope everyone had a happy holidays and may this year be even better than the last!<br />
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***<br />
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Edited: HAHAHA OKAY those asterisks up there used to be xoL, xoL is so not going to work. It's Lox backwards and while lox are delicious I can't get hungry every time I come on here. So no more xoL. Maybe just - L for now.<br />
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- LLisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-48849169731698126912011-11-16T08:02:00.000-08:002011-11-16T08:12:30.868-08:00Is it a scavenger hunt? No, it's a bar entrance.If I ever win the lottery, I've decided that I'm going to open something. Maybe a restaurant, maybe a bar. Doesn't matter. Point is, when I'm bored I often think about ways that I'm going to make this restaurant/bar AWESOME. I've gone through a ton of different ideas ranging from live animal shows to decorating it like the interior of an actual cave where all of the liquor comes out of stalactites in the ceiling (idea stolen from my beloved Cave Bar, aka El Chapandaz, in Madrid).<br />
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Then, as a friend and I were researching which speakeasy we wanted to go to tonight (you'll understand in a minute, maybe), I came upon this description of how to get into the subMercer:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">To get there, pass the Mercer Hotel (no. 147) and enter a little nook in the wall (no. 147 1/2). You'll know you're there when you see two unassuming henchmen hanging out in front of a doorway—just walk on by and enter the industrial freight elevator. Two floors underground, cruise down a long dark hallway stocked with bathroom supplies, turn left, pass the boiler room and then turn right through a heavy red door. One more hallway filled with wine and the faint sounds of lounge music will lead you to the promised land.</blockquote><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Read more: <a href="http://www.urbandaddy.com/nyc/1169/New_York,_The_Submercer,_Nightlife,_NYC#ixzz1dssuTebH">http://www.urbandaddy.com/nyc/1169/New_York,_The_Submercer,_Nightlife,_NYC#ixzz1dssuTebH</a></span></div><br />
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HOLY CRAP, GUYS. How awesome does that sound? Granted, further research let me know that since I'm not rich and famous (yet) I will probably have a bit of an issue getting in on the weekends, but still. AWESOME. If I win the lottery I am finding some way to make the entrance to my place as confusing and sneaky as this. <br />
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Of course, further research led me to discover that I probably won't be able to get in very easily, especially dressed in my work clothes, so we'll be venturing to another speakeasy that looks like an abandoned toy factory from the front but is a baller Victorian-themed bar where they serve liquor in teacups. Apparently there's a secret entrance to another room behind a bookcase that I'm definitely going to try and sneak through. Stay tuned for updates!Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-51025690226509264962011-11-14T07:03:00.000-08:002011-11-14T07:03:36.730-08:00The TRIFECTA of InspirationI had the trifecta of inspiration this weekend. Well, okay one of them didn't happen this weekend, but I'm going to count it because trifecta of inspiration sounds cool.<br />
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So first of all, I'm not the best behaved 23-year-old in church. If I go by myself I'm probably fine, but the problem is that I usually go with my brother and sister. There's just something about us all sitting there that turns us into children. Ergo, after about 5 minutes of homily I tend to space out, sometimes playing this stupid game with my brother that is way too difficult to explain on here so I won't.<br />
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This week, we went to a "family mass" at our church. Basically during the homily, the priest sits on the floor and has all of the little kids come up to the front and directs the message to them. Besides the fact that this little girl could not stop repeating her answer to "What is your talent?" (her answer was fixing the bed. Really? That's all you've got?) this message actually clicked with me.<br />
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Basically the idea was that everyone has talents and at the end of your life God is going to ask you what you did with those talents. Now whether or not you believe in God is your own business, but even if you take that out of the equation the message still kind of sticks. The priest basically asked the congregation "What the hell are you going to do with your life?"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQcKEuTtSS3ORkAzIBsP8UIAAkOyja7kxMwvr_o0sSc1GTiWYBNmavrCjfNt0VOMiu616rBpCeQVilbeuo2T1_1lpyBzv0M2U0V4NFpKH8VrgJJTZI44LpZXWsMXle1tf_mq-4t0qFFE/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQcKEuTtSS3ORkAzIBsP8UIAAkOyja7kxMwvr_o0sSc1GTiWYBNmavrCjfNt0VOMiu616rBpCeQVilbeuo2T1_1lpyBzv0M2U0V4NFpKH8VrgJJTZI44LpZXWsMXle1tf_mq-4t0qFFE/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A conversation every teenager dreads.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So, I immediately thought "Huh. I'd say my talent is writing. At least it's what I love to do." Then the homily was over and I was playing again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Later that day, I was laying on the couch, watching some brain-rotting TV with my brother and he said "You used to write stories, right?"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">"Yeah."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">"I remember some of them. You should do that again."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was such a simple statement, but combined with the priest it really hit me. I SHOULD do that again. Little does he know that I am writing, since, for some reason, I can't bring myself to let anyone know. It made me want to get really really serious about my writing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The third thing is the death of my friend in August. A 19-year-old, perfectly healthy person, who just didn't wake up one morning. Life is short, people. Every day is a gift.</div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-48941919049592887572011-11-11T11:08:00.000-08:002011-11-11T11:08:21.228-08:00Picture of the WeekThis week's photo comes from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bencanales/">Ben Canales' Photostream</a>. If you have time I'd definitely recommend checking his site out, he's got some awesome shots. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/6010999086_f43f6fe195_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/6010999086_f43f6fe195_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Have a great weekend!Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-38205419792155572262011-11-08T07:04:00.000-08:002011-11-08T07:04:22.185-08:00Non-Drowsy Medicine... Yeah Right.I am really really bad at schedules. It's a problem. I think it started when I was 18 days late being born.<br />
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Anyway, I'm sick so I am totally going off the self-imposed schedule and I'm going to vent.<br />
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After doing thorough research (aka combing the internet for 10 minutes) I've discovered that I suffer from the Paradox Effect. That's the only name that anyone came up with and it sounds really cool. Other people who claim to have degrees in things like biology just explained it as the non-drowsy bit doing the opposite of what it's supposed to do. As in, making me drowsy. I should probably have started off with that, shouldn't I? Whatever, I'm delirious from forcing myself to stay awake when the cocktail of vitamins and cold medicine inside my body wants me to go to sleep.<br />
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I figured this out a little bit when I had mono in college. DayQuil knocked me the hell out for hours. NyQuil also knocked me out. I figured it was just because apparently mono makes you really tired, but I still stayed away from cold medicine. All over-the-counter medicine, really. Pretty sure it's because my pediatrician told me that if I take too much medicine it won't work when I need it to. I think I was around 8.<br />
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Anyway, I didn't really take cough medicine until I got the flu two years ago and it knocked me out again. Ditto when I got pneumonia a few months later. But those are serious-ish issues so obviously they're going to knock me out, right?<br />
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Now I have the worst cold I can remember having and I actually have a job that I have to be awake at unlike when I had mono (college), the flu (college), and pneumonia (when I was an unemployed slacker the summer after college).<br />
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If anyone has any suggestions on how to stay awake, I appreciate it. Also, I hate coffee so there's that.<br />
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Sorry for the pointless post. But not really sorry, because you've read all of the way to the bottom and I love you for it.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-90888763730719042692011-11-04T14:19:00.000-07:002011-11-11T11:09:51.250-08:00Picture of the Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Here's a little break from the cold weather of this week:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photohito.com/uploads/photo2/user1698/50e8f523e8e30e0fda3bcb7baaeb668c/50e8f523e8e30e0fda3bcb7baaeb668c_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://photohito.com/uploads/photo2/user1698/50e8f523e8e30e0fda3bcb7baaeb668c/50e8f523e8e30e0fda3bcb7baaeb668c_l.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Kind of has an Alice in Wonderland kind of feel to it, doesn't it? Have a great weekend!Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-74333780552962405182011-10-31T07:23:00.000-07:002011-10-31T07:24:25.591-07:00The Scariest Part of HalloweenAHHHH IT'S HALLOWEEN!!<br />
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I love Halloween. Scary movies, jack-o-lanterns, candy, trick or treaters. Everything. One thing I don't love?<br />
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NANOWRIMO STARTS TOMORROW.<br />
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In context, I'm not freaking out as much as I would if, say I was being chased through an abandoned house by Michael Myers. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dailystab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Mike-Myers-Austin-Powers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://www.dailystab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Mike-Myers-Austin-Powers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This Michael Myers would be just as scary.</span></div><br />
So Good Luck to everyone attempting NaNo this year! Here's a list of things I did to hopefully gain me a win. I'll let you know if any of them actually help:<br />
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1. Subscribed to my Region on <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/">nanowrimo.org</a>. They had a Kickoff party yesterday that I had to miss because I was trapped in the frozen wasteland that was Connecticut (no offense to anyone who lives there but that place was AWFUL during the storm). I'm planning on attending at least one Write-In either this week or next week. If it's helpful I'll go back. I've never written with other people involved so it'll be a new experience.<br />
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2. Bookmarked writeordie.com. I'm considering buying the desktop edition, but I want to see how much it actually helps me for the first week before making the whole $10 plunge. Stay tuned for updates.<br />
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3. Plotted out my time in a nifty little chart based around what TV shows I would be sad to miss and which ones I can do without. Sorry, Sunday nights. The Walking Dead gets an hour.<br />
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4. Fully charged my computer so I can write on my 40 minute each way commute. I took this morning off to nap, but once tomorrow comes there'll be none of that.<br />
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5. Finished writing Arieties. Scenes are done. Handing it off to my critique group for comments. <br />
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So I'm as prepared as I am going to be. I was going to write an outline of my story but let's face it, I'm a pantser. It doesn't work. I might write up a page about the characters I already have in my mind but even that seems like a lot of planning for me.<br />
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I now have less than 24 hours before NaNo begins. What have you done to prepare?Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-21625486127535852792011-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-28T08:00:45.993-07:00A Halloween Writing Prompt<div>Halloween. Zombies, vampires, witches, ghosts. Any one of them could take up residence here:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsf0B8lNjBKUwfyQHMqO5pm9a1c-zQup0RagcWz4hsLg9xcEMglSYqH6DD4nG1-Jx8q76oYA2iz1pcgVA3rqhvz8ZesP2bDJcqkUvPC7NlLOMriChuA8EZd-6EUaFt1bdGd-lQBfwEveUO/s1600/Cool-Zone-abandoned-Six-Flags-New-Orleans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsf0B8lNjBKUwfyQHMqO5pm9a1c-zQup0RagcWz4hsLg9xcEMglSYqH6DD4nG1-Jx8q76oYA2iz1pcgVA3rqhvz8ZesP2bDJcqkUvPC7NlLOMriChuA8EZd-6EUaFt1bdGd-lQBfwEveUO/s320/Cool-Zone-abandoned-Six-Flags-New-Orleans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/05/creepy-crusty-crumbling-illegal-tour-of-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans-75-pics/%20"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">From www.lovethesepics.com </span></div><br />
Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans and it was never rebuilt. A photographer and his friend took pictures of the decaying park and it is really something. Granted, they had to trespass to get in, but I'm definitely putting this on my list of places I want to see in person. The cheesy subtitles don't take away from the creepiness in most of these pictures and, as they reference several times, it is the perfect setting for a horror story. If they don't clean it up a tiny bit to make it safe and make a haunted attraction out of it, then whoever owns this park is really lacking in imagination.<br />
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<a href="http://www.lovethesepics.com/2011/05/creepy-crusty-crumbling-illegal-tour-of-abandoned-six-flags-new-orleans-75-pics/%20">More pics from this collection</a></div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-85946863358219568322011-10-26T07:32:00.000-07:002011-10-26T07:32:42.116-07:00<div>Before I get into my post, I just want to give an update on my new blog schedule. This is especially helpful since I forget what my old blog schedule was.<br />
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<b>I'm going to write 2-3 times a week. </b><br />
<b>Monday: Writing-related post</b><br />
<b>Wednesday: General Post. If I skip a day it will be Wednesday</b><br />
<b>Friday: Picture Prompt</b><br />
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Okay, now that that's out of the way. Onto the post! <br />
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I work in New York City and as a result tend to see some odd things when I leave my office. The other day I was running an errand when I stumbled across this:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcU0enQNcl6KBkiEqF2jUI_VpAGXkM0L-WpXB86_sBunyR2Js3rAUn0E7LtVfPQ63zT5nqb_0yJNj9ozpcV145RgThuawuH_NOz7SrQj7iz-bIe7ychCywyYvaphcLRl2y2vkaHVnZ7F_/" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">That is four cats, three guinea pigs and a puppy. Just chillin on the sidewalk. And just so you know, the woman next to me as I took this was on the phone with the ASPCA to see if this was kosher (I'm going to assume no). The man petting the guinea pigs seemed like he was just a bystander. I didn't see any person that looked like they were caring for the animals, although they all looked pretty well fed and were way too calm around people to not be domesticated. Especially the cats. My cat, Shadow, would have been sitting behind the box hissing at everything before she probably had a heart attack.<br />
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Who says cats, rodents and dogs can't cohabitate? </div></div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-71338024709542245472011-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:002011-10-24T14:14:45.740-07:00NaNoWriMoI've taken the plunge and signed up for <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXsQj05OAonOjirF_SctFdDj0tsTYmm7QAGGtPp2IwS6gRySxjK11pGY9H7zDCPJrPvxyqtPPum3yxtKedUMFsB8om8NFztjw_jTn8poc0mKYlDqtPdDlR4ZCeGOAEFdMF0yW9KRILhVv/s1600/Participant2_100_100_white.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXsQj05OAonOjirF_SctFdDj0tsTYmm7QAGGtPp2IwS6gRySxjK11pGY9H7zDCPJrPvxyqtPPum3yxtKedUMFsB8om8NFztjw_jTn8poc0mKYlDqtPdDlR4ZCeGOAEFdMF0yW9KRILhVv/s1600/Participant2_100_100_white.png" /></a></div><br />
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For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it is super scary. Basically the premise is that you, as a writer, complete a novel in one month. If that doesn't scare you, then I'm not sure what will. I've never done it before so I'm kind of excited to see if I can do it. I'm also cheating, so that helps.<br />
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My goal is to have at least 20,000 to 30,000 words done on my current WIP before NaNo starts so I can finish it in the allotted time. I think there's a goal of 50,000 words for NaNo, but I'm shooting for 80,000 so I'm really just leveling the playing field. Plus, I'm still going to be editing Arieties so that will take up a little bit of my time. I ended up revamping the ending (again) so I'm hoping to have it ready for my critique group in the next week. I haven't done the math, but that would put it ready for beta reading (again) by the end of NaNo. Then the scary part. I want to start working on querying in January (eeek!).<br />
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Is anyone else giving NaNo a shot this year?Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-50909020444551000502011-10-17T13:22:00.000-07:002011-10-17T13:22:13.477-07:00Can't we all just get along?I take public transportation to and from work every day. It's about an hour and a half commute, which provides plenty of time for one of my favorite activities: People Watching.<br />
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I first developed my hobby when I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain and let me tell you, crazy NYC street fashion has NOTHING on those Spaniards. I am not exaggerating at all when I say that the number one fashion trend at the time (this was only 2 years ago, mind you) was MC Hammer pants. I'm sure they had another name, but they were basically this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/becoming-nikki-lynette/files/2011/06/498543-mc_hammer_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.chicagonow.com/becoming-nikki-lynette/files/2011/06/498543-mc_hammer_large.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">via Chicagonow.com</span></div><br />
Of course, there were different colors, fabrics and patterns. We're talking everything from snake print to denim here, folks. I'm sure there was some reason that they were popular but I was too busy eating tortilla and croquetas to notice.<br />
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That being said, back in America there is some crazy fashion (especially in NYC), but the trains and PATH aren't as exciting as I'd hoped. So I eavesdrop.<br />
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Don't look at me like that. You do it, too. And if someone doesn't want me hearing their conversation, then maybe they should wait until they are in a private space to have it.<br />
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<b>Anyway, the point.</b> This morning I overheard a girl talking about a Pokemon/Baptist camp she went on (both subjects were covered on the 20 minute PATH ride so I'm going to assume it was a combination). Apparently on the bus she took, in addition to gospel songs and trading cards, there was a conversation about the accents of the different people on the bus. This girl, who talked like I do and thus does not have an accent, was apparently the only one from NJ/NY/The northeastern US/anywhere that has television because she described how everyone kept asking her why she "talked so weird." When she explained that she was from New Jersey, they were shocked because she was... well normal I guess.<br />
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This girl explained at length how shocked these obvious aliens were. I'm going to guess all of their information came from that show, you know the one that I'm talking about. Apparently they asked her a bajillion questions (she was like 15) about New Jersey like it was a separate country. Seriously, people? New Jersey. It's a state. One of the original 13 colonies. Home to Thomas Edison and Woodrow Wilson and Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. Not to mention Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah and (for a brief amount of time) Mr. T. Queen Latifah, The Boss and Mr. T would not put up with Jersey Shore-like nonsense flooding the state like a contagious and incurable disease.<br />
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As I was playing this rant out in my head, I realized the conversation switched to the correct pronunciation of Pokemon and I wanted to slap her for the 10 remaining minutes on the train. At that point I remembered that the group on the bus were at a Pokemon camp and Pokemon's popularity died out with the Beanie Babies. And eventually the Jersey bashing will die out, too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.privilegedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Worlds-Most-Expensive-Beanie-Baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.privilegedclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Worlds-Most-Expensive-Beanie-Baby.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">What an adorable pile of worthless toys!</span></div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-84628622397419808282011-10-11T11:31:00.000-07:002011-10-11T11:33:07.837-07:00I think I may be falling in LoveI fall in love a lot. Not Love, which is reserved for very special people/things like my family, Boyfriend and my cat. No, I fall in love all of the time.<br />
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Seriously, I fall in love with ideas, shoes, characters, people and then I fall out of love with them just as quickly. The time that I spend in love with these things varies. For example, I was in love with the idea of buying myself a motorcycle for about three hours on Saturday. Seriously, I was on the verge of doing all of my research when I fell in love with the idea of building furniture and then with painting furniture (which I actually did, but did not love). I was in love with Eminem for about 15 minutes the other day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Eminem_at_DJ_hero_party_with_d12-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Eminem_at_DJ_hero_party_with_d12-2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Well hello there.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It passed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now I am in love with a new story that I've just begun. I'm still editing Arieties and I've developed a little system where I edit in the morning and write in the evening that seems to be working for me. Except for when this new story starts taking over. I am in love with my MC and her story, though her world still needs some fleshing out. I've gone through a lot of ideas in the past few years that haven't panned out into full length stories, even though I loved them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
This is the second story in two years that I feel like I might commit myself totally and completely to. I'm falling in Love with it. The other story? Arieties. Finished. Still being edited, but finished. That excites me more than anything I can even think to describe. Honestly, I've got that feeling where if I do this right, it could be really great. I Love Arieties and I cannot wait until I hit the point where I Love Skye and her story, too. Right now I think I Love it already, but I don't want to put a ring on it just yet. I mean, this new story already beat out Eminem, furniture building and motorcycles, so that's a start. If I'm still working on it in a few weeks I'll have to compare it against my ultimate love (who would become Love if he was real and in front of me).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreager1.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/indiana-jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://dreager1.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/indiana-jones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Oh, how I love you</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-43633322015537435432011-09-29T08:19:00.000-07:002011-09-29T08:19:58.311-07:00This post serves no purpose<b>An actual conversation with my sister via text messaging:</b><br />
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Sister: I forgot to ask, how was your birthday?<br />
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Me: Just about the same as last year, except replace drinking loko with slowly dying at work.<br />
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Sister: You're almost done!<br />
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Me: No. I still have 50 years.<br />
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Sister: Noo retirement is 65, you only have 42 left!<br />
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Me: That's assuming I can retire at 65<br />
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Sister: Why not?<br />
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Me: There are many reasons. Social security collapses, identity theft, the zombie apocalypse...<br />
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Sister: If there is a zombie apocalypse and you don't quit your job to fight zombies I will be seriously disappointed in you.<br />
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Me: Obvi I will fight the zombies, but I still won't be able to retire.<br />
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Sister: That's the next best thing!<br />
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Me: I suppose so. I'd rather fight zombies than vampires.<br />
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Sister: Well duh. Vampires only have two weaknesses. You can kill zombies in a bunch of different ways<br />
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<b>Just another day...</b>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-42097730950025658702011-09-26T12:10:00.000-07:002011-09-26T12:11:16.834-07:00Speed Dating your CharactersI do most of my story planning once I've already written my first draft. Kind of backwards, right? As a pantser (as in, I write by-the-seat-of-my-pants, a very technical term) I really only have a vague idea of where my story is going when I embark on the journey with my characters. So, in my second round of edits, I'm forcing myself to sit down and flesh out the minor characters (major characters got their own one-on-one time with me already). So I figure it's appropriate to share my procedure with you kind folks. Everyone has a different system so who knows, you might like something about mine :) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqZkKcOZIEi0hwQsughySL2gxWkjb4ra21EUwwGBa_NfsxDjJaiBog7QxvJ4llMWemE1qfRB6YYedVjx5jYa9Tc-_7cyiagMFyB9xnYi2fr9ftdUF8VFqH4ets7mI8U_FkAIiqpm0I3s/s1600/supportingcharacter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqZkKcOZIEi0hwQsughySL2gxWkjb4ra21EUwwGBa_NfsxDjJaiBog7QxvJ4llMWemE1qfRB6YYedVjx5jYa9Tc-_7cyiagMFyB9xnYi2fr9ftdUF8VFqH4ets7mI8U_FkAIiqpm0I3s/s320/supportingcharacter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Inspiration from Postsecret.com</span></div><br />
Without the supporting characters, the main character in your story is just wandering around alone talking to him/herself. Even in a movie like <i>Cast Away</i>, where Tom Hanks is stranded on a deserted island for almost the entire movie, there are supporting characters that make him more relateable and further the plot (namely Wilson). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Wilson_The_Volleyball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Wilson_The_Volleyball.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He's more than a little creepy.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So, when I'm trying to figure out my characters, I go speed dating.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>1. Main Character (1)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>2. Major Characters (3-5)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> 3. Minor Characters (3-10)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>4. Two-Sceners (2-3)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>5. Everyone else mentioned by name</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wait, what? Speed dating? Yes, speed dating. I use the categories above and work from the bottom up. Check it:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">5. Everyone mentioned by name gets a brief, one-sentence summary of motivation and relevance to the story. Like the first few crummy dates at a speed dating table (or what I assume they're like). "Yeesh, get me out of here."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Two-Sceners are the characters that appear in only one or two scenes but are still important to the whole story (i.e. the sympathetic cop who gives the hardened criminal a break that gives the criminal the opportunity to do x or z). They get 2 sentences. "You're kind of interesting, but I'm still not into you."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Minor characters are usually a part of a major event in the story or are in the story for a significant period of time. They tend to be more in the background, but still interact with the MC enough that they're not just Two-Sceners. They get a whole paragraph about motivation, significant personality traits, and relevance to the story.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Major characters are the buddies. The best friend of the MC, the enemy of the MC, the guy who follows the MC around the entire book until he just becomes useful. These are the characters that can make or break a story. As a result, they get 3-5 paragraphs on personality, appearance, motivation, brief background (usually not included in the story but helpful to the author), and anything else that seems important. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">1. MC - obviously take all of the time in the world for this guy/girl.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Everyone has a different process, this is just the way I get to know my characters. The main point is to not forget them. The supporting characters in someone's life story are the ones that help to move the life story along or change the life for better or for worse. They make a huge impact on the story either way so please, no cardboard friends.<br />
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<i>How do you get to know your supporting characters? </i></div>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-7758622961569466962011-09-22T13:03:00.000-07:002011-09-22T13:04:53.257-07:00Virtual library - the ebook takeover continuesI love libraries. It's impossible for me to run in, grab a book and leave because I get so caught up in... well in the books I guess. My sister actually refuses to go to the library with me if we have something to do after because I will lose her in the stacks of mysteries and YA and true crime books and.... I could go on all day.<br />
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There was even a campaign to save one of the two libraries in my town and I don't think I've ever gotten so riled up about something. It wasn't even the library I go to. The second library is closer to my house, bigger and all over better. But you know what? They weren't depriving the kids who were unfortunate enough to live on that side of town. Not on my watch! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.librarytechnology.org/photos-libraries/21765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="http://www.librarytechnology.org/photos-libraries/21765.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">There it is. In all it's glory.</span></div><br />
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Libraries are wonderful things and I've already bookmarked a significant portion of my millions that I'll get when I win the lottery to keeping them open.<br />
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Pop Quiz time!<br />
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What is one thing standing in the way of everyone who loves books purchasing an e-reader?<br />
(Hint. It's all I've talked about so far)<br />
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You got it! It's libraries!<br />
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See, the economy is bad (obviously) and there are people who aren't willing to shell out money for every single book when they can just traipse on over to Kennedy and pick a free one off the shelf for two weeks. So the smart people over at Amazon just said, know what? <a href="http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/09/how-to-check-out-library-books-for-kindle/">Why the hell not?</a><br />
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Go ahead. Click the link. I'll wait.<br />
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I KNOW RIGHT? Free books? For those of you who didn't want to read the Wired article by @tcarmody (follow him, he's great) Amazon is partnering up with libraries to offer book rentals. From what I understand, it's exactly like a library rental, you use your card and everything. Only catch is that you can do it from the overly crowded train that inexplicably stopped on the tracks due to "train traffic ahead of us" (Don't you guys schedule the trains so there is no traffic??).<br />
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It's still not going to be the same as a library, just like an ebook is never going to have the same feel as holding a physical book in your hands and turning the pages. But I'm glad to see that Amazon realized the importance of libraries and teamed up with them instead of stealing their thunder and releasing their own free model. I'm just hoping libraries are making money from this. I'll be really pissed if they all close down before I can give my giant donations once I win the lottery.<br />
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Also I love them. <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/altaff/advocacy/index.cfm">SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY</a>Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-45787007091794563932011-09-19T07:57:00.000-07:002011-09-20T05:51:53.806-07:00A New Obsession on My New ToyHello, lovely readers. Happy Monday!<br />
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Ordinarily I would cross out the happy because I almost always come down with a serious case of the Mondays each week, but today is a special day.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/filestorage/todays-anniversary-being-expelled-birthday-ecard-someecards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/filestorage/todays-anniversary-being-expelled-birthday-ecard-someecards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Via someecards.com</span></div>
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That's right. It's my birthday. I have two rules on my birthday. I am not allowed to get angry (deep breaths and pushing it to the back of my mind might make me explode tomorrow, but not today!) and I am allowed to repeatidly request that other people do what I want because it is my birthday. Maybe I go too far (I've said "Please, it's my birthday 4 times today and it's only 10:30) but it's one day a year and screw you if you don't like it.</div>
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So this weekend, I received a laptop from my wonderful and newly employed boyfriend, hereafter referred to as Boyfriend. Unfortunately, I have to wait for my discounted copy of Microsoft Office (Boyfriend's company has AMAZING perks like discounted software) so I went ahead and downloaded <a href="http://www.novelist.ch/joomla/">Storybook</a>, which I heard about through another writers blog, forgive me that I forget who told me about it.<br />
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3 hours later, I still hadn't made any forward progress on editing Arieties (which I have saved in portions that I can access online) but I was having so much fun playing with Storybook that I didn't even notice. See, when I write, I'm a Pantser. You tell me to plan out a story and I'll give you a detailed outline that ends up in the bottom of a drawer somewhere probably never to be used. But if I have an idea that I let marinate long enough to have a substantial beginning, middle, and end, I'm on it.<br />
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My problem is, once I get everything written, I have a hard time tackling 80,000 words to edit it down into a coherent manuscript. My mind is very methodical and I like organizing things out, just not when I'm writing. Now, I already see weaknesses that I missed on my first two edits and plugging in a story thread gave me a totally new direction to take a portion of the plot (not the whole plot but it clears up one of the weaknesses). I'm kind of a little bit obsessed. <br />
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My only issue right now is that I have a job that I need to pay my billz and it's totally getting in the way of my storybook time. Do you think my boss will accept the "It's my birthday" excuse?<br />
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Yeah, me either.<br />
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How do you get through editing walls?Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-84943705742281789812011-09-13T06:53:00.000-07:002011-09-13T06:53:56.220-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen, I have returned.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fm7.theoffside.com/files/2009/08/2356i_m_back-261x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fm7.theoffside.com/files/2009/08/2356i_m_back-261x300.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Thank you, thank you. Yes, I have finally made my triumphant return to the blogosphere. I'm too lazy to go back and check but I'm pretty sure it's been about a month since my last post. The good news is that I have been writing, even if it hasn't been as consistent as I'd like. The even better news is that I hit most of my main goal for ROW80, which was to get Arieties ready for beta readers. I still have about a week left to get it all revised, but I have a few minor tweaks I still want to get done.<br />
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On a non-writing related note, well I guess it's a little related to my writing, I've been doing some serious life reflection. The death of my friend over a month ago, plus the recent 9/11 anniversary really hit home the point that life is really short. If I died today, I mean I've lived a good life but what have I <i>done</i>? So, I'm going to push myself. I'm not going to create a bucket list or anything, but I am going to make some changes.<br />
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First is my job. Working on it.<br />
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Then we have my writing. Step one here is to buy myself a laptop. I have a monetary goal to hit before I allow myself a big purchase like that so I've got another month to go, which puts my laptop purchase right in time for NaNoWriMo.<br />
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Then we have my little goals. I want to rebuild a car engine. It's going to be pricey, so I'll have to save up, but I really want to do it. (Side note, I told my mom this last night and her reaction was "Why don't you just marry a mechanic like I did?" Oh thanks mom, I'll get right on that.)<br />
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I'm going to try and keep up with my blogging now that I'm back. I'll start at twice a week. I'm going to work on revamping my blog schedule a little bit so there may be some changes. I'm also going to start reading more, so hopefully I'll be able to get a book review up every 2 weeks or so.<br />
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EDIT: Is anyone from the WD forum having trouble getting on? I keep getting an error message saying that the website is forbidden. I tried to get on my phone because I thought they finally blocked it at work, but I had the same problem there, too.Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862727881250235270.post-43767692423944884822011-08-09T07:15:00.000-07:002011-08-09T09:31:17.516-07:00Rest in Peace, David<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-l6mmMhk_8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-l6mmMhk_8</a><br />
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Taking a brief hiatus from blogging, hopefully an even shorter one from writing... Lisa Rosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09054151451738617839noreply@blogger.com0