Where Have I Been?

I just got around to crawling out of my Rapture bunker. I climbed down on the 20th after making my last post. And since I'm pretty cut off from the rest of the world down there, I didn't realize the Rapture hadn't happened until I worked up the nerve to peek out this morning. You better believe my face was red. Too bad. I wasted a lot of provisions down there just to find out the Rapture has been rescheduled to October 21st.

I'm kidding, of course. (You guys know I don't really have a Rapture bunker...right?) Actually, I've just been super busy lately.

Like I mentioned in THIS POST, my mom is opening a kennel soon and we're working out asses off to get the thing built in time. But everything is coming together nicely. We'll definitely make the June 1st opening if we keep going at this rate. And before we know it, we'll be up to our armpits in these things:

In other, less strenuous news, my little brother, Ronnie, turned seventeen last Sunday.

D'awww.

(They grow up so fast!)

He spent Saturday playing paintball with a couple of old friends and Sunday playing video games. (Doesn't sound like much, but for someone who's been working as hard as he has lately, I'm sure a couple days of relaxation was just what he needed.)

Funny story--in between rounds of Call of Duty, one of Ronnie's besties (they've known each other since they were, like, five) decides he wants chocolate milk. Problems? We don't have any, I'm not buying him any, and he's too cheap (or frugal, as my mom would put it) and lazy to go get his own. But that's never deterred Zack before.

His solution?

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave--after adding a heaping tablespoon of butter for some odd reason--and stir it into a glass of milk.

Now, this might have worked if he'd A) actually melted the chocolate all the way through, instead of settling for what looked like a cup of chunky peanut butter ('cept with chocolate...I'm sure you can visualize that for yourself) B) realized chocolate melts better if you stir it at regular intervals, and C) stopped to think about what happens when you put something incredibly hot into something straight out of the fridge.

So, what he ended up with was a glass of slightly brown-tinted milk and a huge, crusted hunk of chocolate in the bottom of the glass.

Silly boys.

And my final reason for not being around:

I've been in serious writing mode.

Like, no joke. The new Sims 3 expansion pack is coming out on May 31st.

And I know myself well enough to know exactly what's going to happen when I get my hands on it. I'm going to spend at least three days straight playing around with it. So, I'm trying to get as much work done as possible before then.

So, yeah...between working, writing, and spending time with the family, I haven't had much spare time lately. But things will normalize soon.

I know I keep saying that...just try to bear with me.

What've you been up to lately?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

It Never Stops--And That's Okay!

Here's a little-known fact about me: I meditate regularly. But I don't go all zen with it and Twister-cross my legs. I just like to take a little while to sit back, listen to some nice, slow instrumentals, and collect myself--even if it's just for ten minutes.

Well, after Travis went to bed, I decided to try out this new guided meditation CD I picked up. Guided meditation is basically just like those sounds of the rain forest CDs, except someone with a droning voice comes on, tells you to close you eyes, and takes you on an adventure to nowhere. (Hah. That probably sounds dirtier than I meant it to.)

So, I'm trying out this new "adventure to nowhere" and the voice tells me to walk down a path into a forest. It (I say it because those voices always sound so damn robotic, I can never say definitively which gender I'm dealing with [maybe they are robots...]) led me to a spring in the middle of a "lush, green rain forest."

All right! That sounds totally relaxing. But then it tells me to go swimming and enjoy the cool water, and leaves. And I'm alone, with nothing but this loud dripping water noise in my ears. (I've got awesome headphones.) And you know what happens when you leave a writer with an open scenario?

We fill in the rest.

Before GLaDOS (that's a Portal reference for all you non-nerds out there) got back, I'd been run up a tree by a crocodile.

My point?

I never take my writer hat off.

Not even when all I'm supposed to have on my mind is deep breathing.

My cat came home not long ago missing a patch of hair, so, naturally, I made up a whole long, weird story about the adventures she must have gone on while she was outside. (It included an epic fight to the death with a hawk.)

Everything gets a story.

If someone loses a pen, wall elves took it to use as building materials for an expansion on their mall. If a sock disappears from the dyer, it's been stolen by a race of aliens with chronically cold feet, who are tragically suffering from a sock shortage. If I see someone running on a sidewalk for mysterious reasons, they've just stolen a bottle of magical water that restores youth from a wandering band of witches. (Moral of the story? Don't run anywhere if I'm around--I will make up a random story about why you're doing so.)

Someone asked me once if it ever got on my nerves.

I don't see how it could! I love it! Instead of just saying "someone probably borrowed your pen and forgot to give it back," "the dryer eats socks--that's what it does," and "that person is probably late for something," I get to come up with never-ending list of fantastical reasons for the mundane things that happen around me. It really helps liven things up.

Y'know...it's really awesome being a writer. You can get away with stuff that would get other people thrown in a straitjacket.

Yep, it's the good life, all right.


Do you come up with a story for everything?
If so, have you got any you feel compelled to share?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Oh, You Guys!

I noticed I hit 200 followers the other day. That's, like, tremendous for me. When I started this blog, I figured I'd get a handful of followers. Hell, I was shocked when I reached 100, so actually reaching 200...wowza.

If I could, I'd give all of you a hug. But since I can't, here's the cutest darn thing I could find.

(Hopefully it will recreate the warm feeling you get from my patented SUPER AWESOME hugs.)

And here's a baby panda for good measure.



But really--you guys are amazing. When I started blogging, I had no idea how friendly and supportive this community is. I mean, really--you guys just blow me away sometimes. I don't think I've ever met a group of people as eager to lend a hand.

M'kay, I'm gonna stop gushing about how awesome you all are. (You already know you're awesome.) I am really honored though. I wanted to do a 200 followers giveaway, but I opened my wallet and it laughed at me. (Damn my budget...or lack thereof.)

I dunno. I just feel like I should do something big for you guys.

Something with balloons...

And fireworks...

And skywriting...

And possibly a dragon...

(Caged of course.)

Yeah...all that stuff.

But until I can afford that stuff (and track down a pet store that sells dragons), I hope you all know how much I truly appreciate your support.

Thanks, again!

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Forget The Camera, Keep Walking--Yeti?? The Abominable Snowman Expedition

Click the badge to start your adventure!

------

The camera! How could you have forgotten the camera? You cast a fleeting glance over your shoulder. You could dart back and get it in no time. That’s what logic tells you, anyway. But logic can stuff it. You’re not about to give the Yeti a second chance to get away.

You start forward, but another problem itches in your mind. Evidence. Without evidence, you’ll have to go home with nothing but a story. A story that won’t garner you anything but a few sets of rolled eyes. No fame, no fortune, no future expeditions. No gloating to everyone who laughed and told you to give up on chasing your imaginary beast. You curse under your breath. You’ve got to get the camera--

Your eyes land on a softball-sized rock just inches away and another idea clicks into place. What’s better than photographic evidence? Physical evidence, of course. If you can get close enough to club the Yeti in the head, you can collect fur and skin samples and take all the pictures you want. Heck--you might be able to tie the thing up and drag it down the mountain for the whole world to see!

The thought makes a smile tug at the corners of your lips. You set your sights on the Yeti--still looming in the shadows--and scoop the rock up. You turn your weapon in your palm to get a feel for its bumpy surface and find the best grip. Satisfied, you take a faltering step toward the creature.

Fear runs through your nerves like electricity as you inch forward, making your legs quiver. What if you don’t knock it out? If that happens, you won’t have anything but a raging Yeti on your hands. Then what?

You shake those thoughts away. You’ve already wasted enough time--you don’t have the luxury of second-guessing yourself anymore.

The Yeti is sniffing around the cave’s walls, not paying you any attention at all. Perfect. You swallow the fear clogging up your throat. With just a few more steps, you’ll be close enough to whack this furry sucker and claim your prize. Your heartbeat thunders in your eardrums from an overwhelming mix of excitement and dread.

Almost...almost...

You raise the rock over your head. The light from the mouth of the cave is almost gone and you curse yourself for leaving your flashlight. Despite the darkness, you can make out the faint outline of the Yeti. It’s smaller than you thought it would be. Still freaking huge, but not the towering beast you’ve been envisioning.

You’re upon it now. The muscles in your arms go tight as you start to swing the rock down. But the Yeti straightens up and swings around. Your breath catches in your throat and terror brings your arm to a dead stop. It stares down at you, black eyes boring into your skull. If you weren’t completely petrified, you’d be making a mad-dash for the mouth of the cave, leaving no trace of yourself in this wretched cave--save the trail of urine that would probably mark your path.

The Yeti cocks its head and leans forward, sniffing at your shirt sleeve. You give a whimper reminiscent of a scolded puppy and tense in preparation for the attack you know is coming. But the Yeti doesn’t tear into you. Instead, it gives its best imitation of a smile, makes a series of high grunting noise, and nudges your wrist with its nose. It leaves a wet smear behind.

Your fear wanes and confusion rushes in to take its place. This is the gruesome man-eater you’ve spent the majority of your life searching for? This is what you endured endless laughter and teasing to find? Well...at least it’s something. You could have to go back home empty-handed.

But what do you do now? Smack it upside its head, get your samples, and hightail it home? Or maybe--just maybe--you can work up the courage to pet it.

Click your choice:

DO YOU:

Smack it with the rock?

Pet it?

Or
Go Back: Run back and get your camera
Start Over

The Adventure Begins...Tomorrow!

Choose your own adventure books were a childhood favorite of mine. I could spend hours flipping through, deciding and re-deciding on what path I wanted to take. Well, the crusaders from group nine (CLICK HERE for more info on the crusades) got together and decided to set one up.

Pop back in on May 17 (tomorrow) to join in on the fun! You'll find a badge on my post that says "The Adventure Begins Here." It'll take you to the beginning.

From there, the choices are in your hands. Chase down the fabled Yeti, and work your way through the blogosphere in the process--just be careful. Every choice has consequences.

HAPPY ADVENTURING, LOVELIES!

Well, That Sucks...

So apparently Blogger went down recently and ate a few of the comments people left on my last post. A couple of which I found very interesting. So, seriously, Blogger, WTF? I want my comments back. Regurgitate them. Right now.

In other news, I am one busy KayKay. I didn't get any writing done yesterday because I was putting up a fence with my father. Y'see, my mom is opening a kennel next month and we've still got lots of work to do to get it up and running, so I've been forced to pull myself away from my darling WIP and help out as well. (Not that I mind helping out. All that manual labor, however...)

So yesterday, I toiled under the hot sun from noon until we lost daylight at around eight-thirty PM. And I'm probably going to have to go back today.

So here's a heads up--be prepared for a wonky blogging schedule this week.

Sorry, everyone :(

Things will level out for me soon! Pinky promise!

Did Blogger eat any of your comments/posts when it went down?

How's life treating you?

Is it intruding on your writing like mine is?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

Are There Two Rs in Grrl? Or Is It Three?

I read two veeeeery interesting articles this morning. (THIS and THIS)

You remember how surprised I was when I found out about all the words Shakespeare made up? Well, here I am yet again, surprised by something involving words. But there's a difference between the surprise I felt then, and the surprise I feel now.

I admired Shakespeare for his creativity.

This makes me want to slap someone with an English textbook.

The board game Scrabble has updated their dictionary. It now includes Myspace, Facebook, Wiki, and Inbox. I'm cool with that. I don't see anything wrong with including those.

But I do see something horrifically wrong with adding "grrl" (or "grrrl," hence my title question), "innit," and "thang." Oh, did I forget to mention "punaany" in that list? Yeah, punaany. (Female genitalia.)

I've only got two things to say about that about that.

First:

That's gross, Scrabble.

Second:

Every time I've encountered that word, it's been spelled P-U-N-A-N-I. So, what's up, Scrabble? Am I allowed to spell words wrong now, too?

But the addition of sexual slang seems almost trivial when compared to their decision to include "innit." For those of you who don't know (it's okay, I didn't know what it was supposed to mean either), "innit" is a condensed version of "isn't it."

I have a few questions, the first of which is a resounding:

Why?

I mean, really--is that necessary? Isn't Scrabble supposed to be about words? Real words? Why is it suddenly okay for a game about WORDS to completely bastardize the English language?

Grrl? Thang? INNIT?!?

This leads me to a little story.

A few days ago, my boyfriend told me about something his younger sister did to get herself into some pretty hot water, both at school and (hopefully) at home. You know how you've got a limited amount of space when typing a text message or tweet, so sometimes you're forced to abbreviate a few words? (As in using U instead of "you.")

She wrote multiple essays in the same fashion. And I'm not talking about using a couple of letters in place of full words--noooooo.

Those essays "lookd lyke dis thru n thru."

So, when I found out Scrabble had introduced several not-words...let's just say it didn't do anything to lessen my pain. As far as I know, the essay thing is an isolated incident, but if things keep going the way they are, I can see the problem spreading. And it almost seems like people are embracing the defilement of the English language, instead of working to teach the younger generations that slang has it's place and it's not in *formal writing.

I mean, we've added LOL and <3 to the dictionary...innit and punaany to Scrabble.

What's next?

Sad to say, but I won't be surprised if next year's additions to the dictionary include "OMGWTFBBQ," "haxorz," "pew pew," and "!!!11."

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a scalding shower to wash away the stink of not-words. (I'll be spending most of it curled up in the corner, crying and biting my knees.)

What are your thoughts on Scrabble's to decision to include slang?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

*Using slang in your book is just fine, as long as you don't go overboard with it. But it's never okay in formal writing. You certainly wouldn't use the words "innit" and "thang" in a term paper, would you?

Plotting--How I Do It

First off, I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Mother's Day yesterday. My family has been so darn busy lately, we didn't get much of a chance to celebrate. Le sigh.

Anywho--as you might have guessed from the title, I want to talk about plotting. Do you all remember that plot map you (probably) learned about in school?

Y'know--this one:

Pretty simple.

I learned this same chart through elementary, middle, and high school, so it's pretty much engraved in my skull at this point. But the only time we used it was on the big test we took after finishing whatever book we were supposed to be reading at the time. So, naturally, I didn't learn to appreciate how helpful this simple design can actually be.

I went through most of my (short) life thinking, That's just for summarizing books on tests and junk. I can't possibly use it in my own writing. ERRRR--wrong! (That's the noise a game show buzzer makes, by the way.)

I've mentioned before that I started out writing as a panster, but realized that method wasn't working for me. For a cripplingly disorganized person, I really crave structure and planning when it comes to my writing. (Maybe I subconsciously realize my cluttered lifestyle isn't working and want to save my writing from falling into the same pit or something like that.) Somewhere in my writing journey (about midways through OPHELIA, I think), I figured out I needed to learn to plot.

How do these two things relate to one another?

That chart is how I taught myself to plot.

Of course, I'm a hardcore plotter, so the chart is only step one. I mean, look at my plotting notebook for DARK WATER:

(All that stuff sticking out is about half the paper out of another notebook.)

I've filled this notebook with detailed outlines for EVERY scene. But it wouldn't have been possible (okay, I'm exaggerating. It wouldn't have been as easy...) without that chart. Thanks to that uber simple design, I knew all my major plot points ahead of time. It was just a matter of fleshing out the rest.

I'd show you the chart I made for DARK WATER, but y'know...that would ruin the story.

Annnnyway...

After I draw up a "plot pyramid" (as many of my teachers called it), I fill four or five pages with a more detailed, but still pretty loose summary. It's almost like a synopsis. ('Cept it's usually really badly-written.)

After that, I just can't stand it anymore and start writing. I usually get about two or three chapters in, then I start taking about an hour or two every night before I go to bed to write out a couple of those detailed outlines for the scenes that follow. This helps keep me from getting stuck (on the plot. That's not to say I never get stuck on wording and whatnot). That's actually how I know I'm inching toward the end of DARK WATER--I'm in the process of detailing the big climax scene in my notebook right now.

So, basically, my plotting method looks a little like this:

Step 1) Draw a basic "plot pyramid."

Step 2) Write a synopsis. It's okay if it's crappy. It's not your official synopsis.

Step 3) Get fed up with plotting and start writing.

Step 4) Realize plotting is still important and start outlining your next few scenes before you write them.

Are you a plotter or a panster?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!

The Simpsons Did It

Recently, I saw someone comparing THE HUNGER GAMES to BATTLE ROYALE, a Japanese novel originally printed way back in 1999. That person was trying to say Koushun Takami, author of BATTLE ROYALE, has a strong plagiarism case against Suzanne Collins. 

I've since picked up a copy of BATTLE ROYALE, but I have yet to read it and I haven't seen the movie based on it. All I have to go off right now is the plot description from the Wikipedia article.

"Officially a military research project, it is a means of terrorizing the population, of creating such paranoia as to make organized insurgency impossible. ... According to the rules, every year since 1947, 42 third-year high school classes are isolated, and each class is required to fight to the death until one student remains." (Taken from the aforementioned Wikipedia article.)

"As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains." (Taken from THE HUNGER GAMES Wikipedia article.)

Hmm...when you break it down like that, they do seem rather similar. But when you look a little deeper, they're obviously their own entities that happen to share a plot point or two.

I hate to say it, people, but you can't copyright concepts.

If that was the case, can you imagine all the lawsuits Stephenie Meyer could potentially file? (I mean, honestly. How many plain-girl-falls-for-vampire novels came out after TWILIGHT exploded? About a bazillion?) Or how many people could sue her? (She damn-sure wasn't the first to write a supernatural love story.)

Just look at Ellen Schreiber's VAMPIRE KISSES, published in 2003. I read this book as a kid (I believe I was ten at the time) and couldn't help but pick out a few similarities when I read TWILIGHT a few years later.

"The book introduces 16-year old Raven Madison, a girl living in Dullsville, who is constantly complaining that there is nothing to do. At least, until Alexander Sterling, a vampire, moves in. Raven falls for him, but they, like any other couple, have obstacles." (Taken from the VAMPIRE KISSES Wikipedia article.)

"It is the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen." (Taken from the TWILIGHT Wikipedia article.)

At the end of VAMPIRE KISSES, (SPOILER) Alexander leaves town because his love for Raven has put her in danger. In the beginning of NEW MOON, Edward leaves town because it's dangerous for he and Bella to be together.

Meyer and Schreiber's books can come off as pretty similar. But neither of them has a case for plagiarism. Because while they share a few plot points, they're both unique unto themselves.

Nine times out of ten, when someone says, "Oh, these two ideas are really close to one another!" all I hear is "The Simpsons did it!" (Which is a South Park reference, if you didn't know. Episode 86, Simpsons Already Did It.)

"Stan and Kyle invite Butters and others to see the aquarium. Butters realizes that the Sea-Ciety plot is similar to that of the Treehouse of Horror VIII short The Genesis Tub. The boys agree with him, but note that The Simpsons has done everything, so worrying about that is pointless. Chef points out that they in turn borrowed their ideas from a classic Twilight Zone episode, The Little People." (Taken from the Simpsons Already Did It Wikipedia article.)

Thank you, South Park. You've pretty much made my point for me. With so many books and movie out there, pretty much everything has been "done" before. Ideas and concepts in their most basic form are bound to seem similar from time to time. But once you start looking at the works in question in a boarder view, you'll probably find they're actually very different from one another.

Have you ever come across two books that seemed eerily similar?

Have you ever found something you would consider blatant plagiarism?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!