Selasa, 06 Maret 2012

Oh, Wow...

Oh, gosh, guys...

How long has it been? Almost five months? To the day?

Holy crap.


Sorry guys. I didn't mean to leave for so long :C
Some things just came up. You know how life is sometimes.

We have some catching up to do, dear blogosphere.

First of all, my last post pertained to NaNoWriMo. Yes, I did participate--and yes, I did make it to 50k before the deadline. It was pretty hard, but I pulled through in the end. And I was pretty darn proud of myself, too.

In other news, I have a big, big, BIG project planned for April 5th involving BROKEN. More on all that later.

I had a great Christmas and New Years (and I hope you did, too), and I celebrated my nineteenth birthday. 

Lately, I've been concentrating on editing my three active projects--mostly BROKEN and DARK WATER. (DARK WATER has become my baby. I love it to bits.)

Annnnywho...

I just wanted to drop by and let you guys know I'm still very much alive. And that I'm sorry for skipping out on you for so long.

Hopefully, I can fall back into the habit of writing regular posts soon.
 

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Senin, 07 November 2011

NaNo-A-Go-Go


Just wanted to drop by and let everyone know I haven't gotten sucked into a black hole or eaten by ravenous werefrogs or anything crazy like that.

I'm still very much alive...I've just been working my butt off on my NaNoWriMo project, which I've decided to call FLIGHT OF THE FINCH. 

I'm currently 21k in.

Whoo. That's a lot of work for one week :)

So yeah--for those of you who missed it the last time I posted about my NaNo project, here's the craptastic summary I worked up for the story:

***

Finch Bettencourt begins as little more than twisted scraps of wire and lumps of clay. His father's masterful hands shape him and give him life. Eighteen years later, his father announces he's dying of a mysterious illness and sends Finch away to live with a dear friend--queen of their great country.

Finch is forced to leave his small hometown for the first time in his life and relocate to the huge palace at the heart of his country's biggest city. Though suffering from culture shock and in deep mourning, Finch manages to make a few new friends--Cleona Rosslyn, the queen's niece, and Dorian Malone, the royal family's aeronautics expert.

While the queen plans a grand masquerade ball to celebrate Finch's arrival in the palace, Finch can only think of his father. As the ball draws nearer, he hatches a plan. He'll steal away with the king's prized airship and find the Gray Maidens--powerful Fae who reunite the souls of the dead with their bodies. With Cleona and Dorian's help, he slips away during the ball and sets out of find the Maidens.

But trouble awaits Finch along the way. The mysterious truth of his origins come to haunt him in the form of a traitorous palace guard and a greedy air pirate. If he is to reunite with his father, he must evade capture while also unraveling his shadowed past and his father's deep-running lies.

***

It's a YA fantasy, with some steampunk-esc bits and--GASP!--a male MC. I'm having so much fun writing a guy. I'm surprised at how well it's flowing. I figured I'd be kind of stumped. (Y'know...being a girl and all.)

 But anywho--I just want everyone to know I'm not dead! Just really busy. And I will be back to action on the blogosphere soon! Pinky promise!


Are you participating in NaNo this year?
If so, what's your story about?
Are you reaching your goals?


HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Senin, 31 Oktober 2011

Happy Halloween + Horror Movie Survival Guide


Hello, lovelies! 

I'm back to wish everyone a happy Halloween! I hope everyone enjoys their last day of freedom before NaNo begins. I know I will. (By the way, if you want to become my NaNo buddy, click HERE and I'll love you forever.)

In the spirit of the holiday, I typed up a horror movie survival guide. Everyone I showed it to pestered me to share it here, so that's what I'm going to do. But I must warn you: There is some seriously harsh language. If you don't like that sort of stuff, feel free to skip this post.

---

Survival Guide
Rules to Surviving a Horror Movie
Has a masked killer ever chased you through a graveyard in the dead of night? Is a sociopathic burn victim invading your dreams? Have you awakened one or more times to find a ghostly Japanese child looming in the corner of your bedroom? Has a machete-wielding maniac ever ruined what should've been a hormonally driven, weekend-long bangfest between you and your uncannily sexy friends?

If so, you're probably in a horror movie. But fear not! Just follow the simple rules found in this guide and you'll be sure to stumble to safety before the credits roll.


1.) Never, under any circumstances, investigate that noise!
Things that go bump in the night are fucking spooky. Which is exactly why you should never go "check it out!" Ignore it, tell yourself it was the wind, whatever--just DON'T investigate. Remember: Curiosity killed the dumb teenager.

2.) Basements and attics kill more unsuspecting teenagers a year than spoiled milk, escalators, and auto-erotic asphyxiation accidents combined.
Stay clear of all basements and attics. They are death traps. Dark and musty, usually lacking proper electricity, with plenty of old--and probably creepy as shit--family heirlooms that will make you shit yourself right before the actual killer slits yours throat from behind. Be mindful of: the area under the stairs, the rafters, all dark corners.
2b.) Running upstairs, AKA: The Fuckwit's Death.
When being chased through a dark house by a bloodthirsty lunatic, the worst thing you can do is go upstairs. Stairs only lead to the killer carving you up like a Christmas goose and fashioning your skin into coverings for his furniture, Ed Gein style.

2c.) The front door is a lie.
The front door always holds the promise of safety...the only problem? It's usually locked. And those precious seconds you're going to spend fumbling with the lock like a tweaking Michael J. Fox are all the killer needs to catch up and slit your throat from ear to ear.

3.) Have your keys at the ready!
You've been there--a shadowy killer is pursuing you through a dark alley. You finally reach your car. Panting, you dive into the front seat, but fumble with your keys and drop them, losing them in the darkness by your feet. Now you're going to die like the whimpering child you are. Keep a firm grip on your keys at all times. Tape the friggin' key-chain to your hand if you have to!

4.) Being in the dark (or even dim-light) is synonymous with 'instant death sentence.'
Going anywhere near the dark is just asking to have your head ripped off and your nostrils raped. It's just bad for business--granted you're in the business of "God help me! I don't want to die like this!" So, if you want to go on living, gather all the lamps in the house and hunker down until dawn.
4b.) If the flashlight goes out, you're screwed.
If you find yourself forced into a situation where you have to brave the darkness, keep a backup flashlight or extra batteries on you at all times! If you even suspect your flashlight is about to go out, break out the backup or change the battery immediately! And be quick about it! Every second you're without a light source is time the killer/ghost/demon/wereplatypus is using to close in on you!

5.) This is your brain, this is drugs, this is your decapitated head after you used those drugs. I can totally see your brain, by the way.
Engaging in the use of substances including, but not limited to: marijuana, hashish, mushrooms, cocaine, heroin, opium, meth, LSD or any other hallucinogen will probably get you gutted up the middle and left choking on your own blood. Hell--even alcohol will probably land you with a hatchet in your forehead. Or at least a butter knife in the eye.

6.) Sex is usually awesome...just not right now.
Yeah, yeah--I know. 'No sex?! This is bullshit!' you say. But hear me out. There's something about the mind of a horror movie monster/killer/CGI abomination that makes it get all worked up when it sees two (or more, if you're into that) young, attractive people boinking like bunnies. And, for reasons science can't explain, that makes them go all stabbity-rip-stab-stab. Usually on your faces and naughty parts. And no one wants that.
(*And yes, masturbation IS included. So, stop fapping so damn much.)
7.) Dress appropriately!
Close-fitting jeans and shirts (preferably sleeveless) to avoid getting caught on any pesky twigs while you're running blindly through the forest from that disfigured cannibal. Hiking boots with the laces tucked in are probably the ideal footwear. Absolutely NO high-heels! You WILL trip and you WILL twist your ankle and you WILL die. If possible, cut your hair short. Nothing is worse than being this close to safety and having your sexylicious hair get caught on a branch and ruin everything.

8.) Don't trust the sexy stranger.
Strangers are bad news--especially if they also happen to be a friggin' sex bomb. It doesn't matter if they're the smoothest, most charming motherfucker you've ever met--if you've never met them and they make your no-no place tingle, it's highly likely they want to slice you open and eat your spleen.

9.) If there's no indoor bathroom, hold it!
Nothing will get you killed quicker and in a more degrading way than going outside after dark to take a piss. Unless you want to die with your dick in your hand, you'd best wait until morning...or use the kitchen sink.

10.) Doors that open by themselves, AKA: It's A Trap!
You know those box-and-string traps? Prop the box up with a stick, tie a string to the stick, put food under the box, and wait. Eventually, something will be stupid enough to check it out. Simple, right? But people aren't dumb enough to fall for that. Nooo, of course not. Actually. Yes. This is just like that, except instead of food, the bait isn't even anything tangible. It's pure curiosity that drives your stupid ass to see what's behind that door. And what's behind that door is actually a ghost that plans to feast on your fucking soul.

11.) Don't be an asshat.
The douchebag usually makes it pretty far, but they always get their comeuppance in the end. And, nine times out of ten, it's fucking gruesome. If you don't want to be to one who gets strung up by meat-hooks jammed into your eye sockets, you probably shouldn't be a little bitch about everything.

12.) Drive quickly, but safely!
Cars in horror movies will flip over if you sneeze on them, so even the slightest bump in the road will send you flying end over end. You'll probably survive the crash, but you won't be so lucky when the killer shows up to rip your jaw off.

13.) NEVER get out of the car.
You're driving on an old dirt road after dark. Your tire blows. You aren't getting a signal on your cell phone. You have no idea how far away civilization is. What do you do? Get out and find help? Well, sure--if you want to die like an idiot, go ahead and walk. But for all you sane people who don't want to end up as a skin-suit, lock the doors, huddle up in the backseat, and wait until morning. If anyone shows up and offers you a ride, DON'T take it. They'll skullfuck you to death.
13b.) The backseat will fuck you over.
If you're stupid enough to leave your vehicle, you're usually going to get chased back into said vehicle by a flesh-hungry ghost child. But the thing is, that ghost child is probably already lying in wait in your shadowy backseat. As soon as you breath that heavy, relieved sigh, it's going to lurch around and rip your lungs out.

14.) If an invisible force attacks you in the night, sell the fucking house.
Seriously--don't be an idiot. Even if it's the house you've been dreaming about all your life, pack your shit and hit the road. If you stay, you're just asking for it.
14b.) When the dog is barking at nothing, it isn't really "nothing."
Don't brush it off just because it's the dog. Fido is probably smarter than you are.

15.) Trust your gut!
If you have a sneaking feeling he might be a creeper, he probably is. Get out of there before he staples you to a chair and forces you to watch him dance naked to Goodbye Horses. Remember kids: If it seems sketchy, it probably is, and you will probably be skinned alive and left hanging over an open fire by your feet to cook slowly like gross teenager jerky (which tastes like angst and Mountain Dew, by the way).
15b.) Feel that tickle on the back of your neck? Don't ignore it!
Do you ever feel like someone is watching you? Someone probably is. And they probably want to crack your skull open and drink from it like a goddamn coconut.

16.) If you're by yourself, you're dead.
Traveling by yourself--or even just living alone--is a GREAT way to make sure you end up dead in a puddle of your own bloody entrails. Pairs are good, but groups of three or more are optimal. Otherwise, prepare to get really acquainted with the business end of that hammer.
16b.) The slowest kid gets screwed.
If you're "that slow kid," go ahead and write up a will now. 'Cause no one is coming back for your slow ass. If this is you, shoot your friend's kneecap off right now. Maybe you'll have a chance.

17.) Louver doors suck.
You know those decorative closet doors with the little slates that sit at an angle? Yeah--those are pretty. And great for peeping through to see where the killer is! Trouble is, the killer can probably see your dumbass as well. He might make a couple sweeps across the room, and you might think you're safe, but he will be back and he will tear your face off.

18.) RUN, BITCH, RUN!
Do you really think cowering in the corner like a snot-soaked pansy will make the killer take pity on you and go away? Because it won't. If anything, it makes him want to cut your spinal cord out even more. And it makes you look like a pussy.

19.) Breaking windows saves lives.
If you won't break your own window, even when a grisly hell-spawn is bearing down on you, then you deserve to die. You can get new windows at the hardware store--there's no replacing your esophagus once that monster has pulled it out through your mouth. Throw a lamp through that shit and get out of dodge while you still can!

20.) Sharp, pointy objects are your best friends.
Get as many as you can. Collect them. Hoard them. Because, when push comes to shove, they'll save your ass from becoming a frothy dumb teenager milkshake. Things that go boom (guns) are great, but bullets generally have no effect on horror movie menaces. To really get 'em, you've got to shank those bitches.


(**Results may vary**)

Selasa, 25 Oktober 2011

Eek :(


I am SO sorry for not posting regularly. I've had a really stressful few weeks.

I wish I could say I was going to resume regular posting in the next few days, but I'm really not sure. I'm hoping I'll have everything worked out and under control soon, though, 'cause I really miss blogging and reading other people's blogs.

I'll definitely try to find some time for blogging in November--even with NaNo, I'm sure I can scrape at least a little time together.

Anyway, I'm really sorry, everyone, and I totally miss all of you!

Jumat, 14 Oktober 2011

FTLF -- Jane Austen's Fight Club


Hey, lovelies!
Long time, no see. Sorry about that. I've been really caught up planning my NaNo project this month. That's going really well, by the way.

But I always feel bad when I neglect the blogosphere. So, I decided to drop by today for another installment of For The Lulz Friday.

First off, this hilarious little video I stumbled across the other day:


I would totally read this book, by the way. Ladies in 1810 starting their own fight club? Pfft! That's awesome.


Next up, an amazing artist from Singapore. (Not actually funny, but definitely really awesome.)



So, SO cool. That has to be unbelievably difficult. Kudos to that dude.


Have I ever mentioned that I love Betty White? I think she's adorable and totally hilarious. Well...I happened upon this promo for Lifeline not long ago. Betty White. Surrounded by buff guys wearing nothing but shiny, gold trunks. Rapping. About how she's still hot.


Oooh, Betty. Keep on rockin'.


Next, quite possibly the most awesome trick shot video I've seen in a long time.


That Brodie guy is a GOD with a Frisbee. (A guy called Brodie is good with a Frisbee? Get outta town!)


Here's another video that isn't particularly funny, but definitely worth the watch.



Mkay--that's all for the videos, but I do have a few pictures from my Lulz folder that I'd like to share.

A tardis made completely out of balloons that seems to be set up in a comic book shop. If anyone knows where I can find that shop, PLEASE TELL ME!

Oh, this is just too great. Want to read this book as much as I did? Well, guess what--you can. DrFaustusAU on deviantART (the creator of this awesomesauce) is posting pages on his account. Click on over and check them out.

I actually found this while searching for references for the maps I was drawing for my NaNo project. It's got everything! Avalon, Never Neverland, the Land of the Lost, Hyrule, Labyrinth!! Squee!

I would've done the same thing. I can't stand missing apostrophes. Thank you for fixing that, Punctuation Pirates!

Holy shizz?! Those ponchos were good for space travel? What the hell?! Mine barely kept me dry in a light drizzle! I got ripped off....


That's all for now! Hope you got a few lulz.

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Selasa, 04 Oktober 2011

[Insert Pop Culture Reference Here]

I came across a book not long ago with a title that made me stop and say, "Oh wow, I really want to read that." I decided to check out the sample chapter before shilling out the ninety-nine cents to buy it. It started out pretty strong--I was enjoying the way the characters bounced off one another (though that didn't last long...more on that later)

Then...

The pop culture references started. 


BOOM--Jersey Shore joke! BAM--guy in a Rorschach costume! POW--Twilight references coming at me from every side!

By the time I got to page three, I felt like I had stumbled across the secret illegitimate love child MTV had with TMZ. Needless to say, I came away feeling a little dizzy.

While the jokes were somewhat amusing, I couldn't help thinking they'd be incredibly dated in a few years. I mean, with any luck Jersey Shore will be nothing but a distant, shameful memory ten years from now.

The jokes are funny now, but with time, they'll lose impact--and in some cases, they'll lose meaning all together. If whatever you're joking about drifts far enough away from the public eye, older audiences who actually remember what you're talking about will have to explain the joke to the younger crowd--and if there's one thing that will kill a joke, it's having to stop and explain it.

It's almost the same as how fashion and hair styles in movies and TV shows become dated.




Yeah, you see what I mean.

For instance, my boyfriend and I were once hanging around with some of our friends and a few of their much younger relatives. Somehow, one of us ended up making a Superdude reference. Now, the two of us and all our friends grew up in the 90s, so we definitely watched All That.


And we definitely knew who Superdude was.


So, we got the joke and we had a good laugh. But the kids hadn't been introduced to All That (though, they have started playing it again...really late at night on weekdays. Thank all things holy for TiVo) and, naturally, they didn't get what was so funny.

The same thing applies to this book. The entire first chapter, which was only a few pages long, was absolutely packed with pop culture references. There was at least one mention of AXE body spray or Jack Sparrow or Twilight every few paragraphs. In fact, the most pivotal part of the first chapter revolves around one of the characters pissing off a large group of Twi-hards.

It's almost like this author was setting their work up to become dated right from the get-go. (Not that I think Twilight will eventually fade from the public eye...I'm just pretty sure the Twi-mania will cool down after a while.)

My point here is simple: while you're writing, keep in mind what makes a work timeless...and what sets it up to become dated right off the bat.

Also, I mentioned wanting to talk about the characters' interactions with one another. That will be my next post. So yeah...be on the look out for that.


What are your thoughts on an abundance of pop culture references?
Have you ever found something you knew would be dated in ten years?


HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Kamis, 29 September 2011

"OH COME ON" Moments



Have I ever mentioned before that my boyfriend hates watching movies with me? According to him, I'm too critical. Instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride (like he insists I should), I'm on high alert for any little feck ups in the story. (And I'm very, very vocal about it when I spot one.) I like to call them "OH COME ON" moments. (Because, nine times out of ten, that's what I yell.)

Here are a few I griped about that all but made my boyfriend throw his bowl of popcorn at me:

(Fair warning: This post will probably contain spoilers. If you come to a movie you haven't seen, but want to, maybe you should skip to the next one.)

The Hangover

OH COME ON Moment:

So, you expect me to believe Doug spent two whole days on a sunny Las Vegas rooftop with no food or fresh water and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING aside from throwing his mattress off the roof? Have none of the writers ever seen I Shouldn't Be Alive? The lengths a human being will go to to save themselves are incredible, and yet Doug couldn't be bothered to bang on the door or call for help to the people below?

According to Wikipedia, "[in Las Vegas] the summer months of June through September are very hot and mostly dry, with average daytime highs of 94 to 104 °F (34 to 40 °C) and night-time lows of 69–78 °F (21–26 °C). There are an average of 133 days per year above 90 °F (32 °C), and 72 days above 100 °F (38 °C), with most of the days in July and August exceeding that benchmark." 

Excuse me, but screw that. Any person in their right mind would've been trying like crazy to get someone's attention. But not Doug.

Superman

OH COME ON Moment:

Is it just me, or did Superman let an entire neighborhood of people die horrifically to save his girlfriend? You remember that iconic (and very silly) scene where Superman reverses the Earth's rotation and turns back time? (However the hell that works...) Remember why he did that? Because while he was busy saving an entire neighborhood from the Hoover Dam's imminent collapse, Lois Lane died during the earthquake Lex Luthor's missile caused. So, Superman reverses time and saves Lois Lane from being buried alive.

But the whole reason he couldn't save her the first time around is because, at the exact same instant, the Hoover Dam was about to collapse and unleash watery death on a neighborhood full of innocent men, women, and children. Sooo...if Superman turned back time and saved Lois instead, logic tells us he couldn't also save those people. Jeez, Superman--and I thought you were supposed to be the good guy. Haven't you ever heard the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?

Speaking of Spock...


Star Trek

OH COME ON Moment:

When Nero is transported into the past, he destroys the USS Kelvin and kills Kirk's father. The next time we see him is twenty-five years later when he destroys the planet Vulcan. But...where the hell has he been for those twenty-five years? My sources tell me a deleted scene included on the DVD actually explains he was captured by Klingons and imprisoned for twenty-five years, escaping right around the same time Kirk and Spock are graduating from Starfleet.

Mkay, I'll take that answer, but I don't have the DVD, and if I didn't have trekkie friends that actually bought it, I never would have known about that scene. I get that they probably had to cut it for time restraints, but they could have squeezed in a line of dialogue or SOMETHING to explain where the feck Nero had been all that time! Because without it, those who don't watch the deleted scenes are faced with a real OH COME ON moment.


Edward Scissorhands
OH COME ON Moment:

This one actually kind of pains me to bring up, because I love this movie. Buuut...it wouldn't be fair to leave it out just because this movie is so close to my heart. (And, to be honest, I like all the movies on this list so far. So...yeah.)

If you've seen this movie, you probably remember the end--Edward has returned to his house on the hill and his ice sculptures are the reason behind the "snow" that falls on the neighborhood ever year. But...where does Edward get the ice to make his sculptures? I mean, he's a recluse who probably doesn't have an internet connection or even a phone line, so it's not like he could just order them. But somehow he has access to enough huge blocks of ice to rain "snow" down on the neighborhood below? C'moooon.


The Empire Strikes Back

OH COME ON Moment:

Y'know how Luke is getting trained in the ways of the force with Yoda while Han, Leia, and the others are being chased by the Empire to Lando's Cloud City? And by the time Han, Leia, and the others arrive on Cloud City and are taken captive by Vader, Luke has already finished his Jedi training? Well, how the feck did that work out?

I thought Jedi training was something you started when you were a young child. How freaking long did it take the Falcon to reach Cloud City? Either that was the slowest trip ever, or Luke somehow covered years of Jedi training in mere days. Maybe the Falcon's engines went out several times during the trip or something. *rolls eyes*



You should definitely watch out for these moments in your WIPs. No one wants their readers to get through an important scene and say, "Wait...but what about (insert detail here)? OH COME ON!"

And, since we're writing books, we don't have the luxury of using excuses like, "The scene that explains where my villain has been for two decades was taken out because of time restraints--it's on the Extras menu, though," and, "The only reason that training process that usually takes years seemed to take a few days was because of faulty parallel editing!"


Have you ever experienced an OH COME ON moment?
Do you watch movies purely for the entertainment or do you have a critical eye?


HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!