Going Incognito (aka NaNoWriMo Approacheth)

Hello again everyone. I'm afraid I've fell into a blogging rut of late. I'm not keeping up very regularly at all. Sorry. BUT the end of the year approaches. Which for me means, a lot of revisiting of goals and making new ones for the coming year. So, I promise that by January I will have set some new blogging goals and be back to this on a regular basis. Hopefully with better posts. ;) I'm thinking its time for a revamping of my site. I'm not satisfied with its looks, and I'm actually kind of bored by it. I really need to buy a good theme but...yeah. Been putting that off because, ya know. Money. ;)

My days have been filled mostly with writing and art. Of late my favorite art resources have been Youtube videos. Particularly by Jennibellie--especially this playlist on making DIY art journal from scratch!

As for writing, I'm in the midst of getting a flashfiction anthology put together. I'm ready to get it formatted for publishing, and start on the ebook cover. I'm really excited about this, as its short retellings of lesser known fairytales...favorites of mine, like "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and "Katie Woodencloak."

I finished the first revision of my romantic comedy When Freida Fixes It. Very happy with how it turned out, though I think I'll take another pass through it (mainly for word/sentence/style editing). However, I may not get to it till after Christmas because.....

NANOWRIMO COMETH!!!!!!!!

Can't help it. It's my favorite part of the year. During November I do ONLY the absolute necessities and spend every possible spare moment working feverishly on whatever story (or stories, as some years I write short stories) I have going for NaNo. It's basically playtime for Writer Me! Though this year, I'm going to try and write/finish a new version of my story Aracely Twiggen, with the intent of publishing it next year. So it's play to good purpose. I also have a half-finished Christmas-ish fantasy that I may continue work on, if I actually manage to finish Aracely before the month is over. We shall see!

Don't expect to see or hear much of me until NaNo is over though. I may do blog updates about it. But I wouldn't count on it...

Unless blog posts can be counted for my NaNo wordcount of course! ;)

September Update

I didn't get anything posted last week or this past Friday. Sorry about that. My face broke out in a rash (happens occasionally, no idea what causes it), and when all was said and done, I had no idea what to post, and I didn't feel like writing, so I didn't. And Friday...umm. Just lazy I guess!

So what have I been up to the last few weeks?

Keeping up with Story A Day. I'm afraid its mostly subsided into making myself write down a new story idea before the day is over. That happened last time too. So...hmmm. Might have to rethink my story-a-daying method before the next one. ;)

Revising When Freida Fixes It, a romantic comedy set in the Ozarks. I'm aiming to publish it by the end of December (I was actually aiming for the end of September. But its abundantly clear now that a novelette of 15,000 words requires more revision attention than that. At least for me).

And taking a really awesome art course from Paivi over at the Peony and Parakeet Blog.

Then Saturday, I spent at Alley Springs (local park) with my sister, Stephanie, and my friend, Jami

Future plans:

Today, The Small Product Lab kicks off again. I have a series of six fairytale flashfictions that I'm going to work on. The goal is to start Monday, Sept 28, and have the product launched on Gumroads by Thursday, October 8th. Wish me luck!

And NaNoWriMo is fast approaching! Can't wait for November. I will be writing a new draft of my half-finished fantasy Aracely Twiggen. I'm toying with posting it to Wattpad as I write it but...I don't know. We'll see!

That's about it for me. Have a great week everyone!

How to Write Funny??

This week I had to write a short skit for a friend. It made my brain ache a little bit. Because, while I can write funny, I find it harder to writer funny on demand. For one thing, I'm pretty sure dialogue needs to be far more "snappy" and clever than what I was coming up with...

So, its not surprising that I would go looking for tips on how to write humor!

With that in mind, here are ten articles I found on writing funny. I haven't had a chance to look through all of them, but I have a feeling I will need them in future. At least I can find them easily, thanks to this blog post!

Enjoy!

1. How to Mix Humor In Your Writing


2. In Good Humor


3. Tips For Comedy Writers


4. 10 Ways To Improve


5. 4 Rules For Script Comedy


6. How To Write Funny


7. Humor Writing When You Aren't Funny


8. 4 Humor Commandments


9. Writing Funny Novels


10. 5 Practical Tips

Why I Love Nancy Drew

I've always been a bit of a Nancy Drew fan.

And this week I came across a couple dozen old Nancy Drew books lining my bookshelves...or rather my sister's. Both of us went through a crazed Nancy Drew Phase. I read everything the library had. She bought all the books she could afford.

For the most part, I'm not a mystery person. And let's face it, Nancy is written in a pretty cliche style. But every now and then...I don't know if its nostalgia or if there's really something in these stories...I just get a hankering to reread them.

So I thought it'd be fun to make a list of the reasons why Nancy Drew continues to be so popular after all these years.

So the reasons I've always loved Nancy:

1. Awesome book covers. As an artist and an indie author who does her own covers, I must point out that the artwork on those hardbound yellow books is pretty dang awesome!


2. She gets to travel all over the place. I mean, come on!


3. cool bits of history, facts, and info learned while reading a story.


4. Despite not being the best "quality" writing, their easy to read. The plot is intriquing enough that you don't mind too much. ;)


5. Don't forget Ned Nickerson: I mean she had an (apparently) good-looking boyfriend, but he was not the clingy type...he didn't hesitate to protect Nancy, but he obviously admired her greatly and never "held her back" in any way. Though to be honest I alway found him a bit dull. ;) And the few times they "smile romantically" at each other and someone teases them and Nancy "blushes." Yeah. I admit it. I laugh.


6. Then there's George and Bess! Let's be honest. Those two are the epitome of awesome best friends. And considering how hard it can be for a threesome to keep everyone feeling included, I think these three do a great job at being supportive caring friends.


7. Mystery. Duh.


8. The settings themselves.


9. How smart and clever Nancy is. Okay, so most of the plots are simplistic in retrospective and it looks like a three-year old could figure them out...and half the time the wonder isn't that Nancy figured it out...its that no one else noticed either. But so what if Nancy lives in a world of simpletons. When we read these books at the age of 12 or 13 they made us feel like WE were Nancy and we were the smart, clever, beautiful, capable sleuth...


10. And who doesn't want to grow up to be brilliant sleuth, huh? Answer me that.


11. And the fact that Nancy is beautiful and capable...when your 12 years old and you read about the heroine roaming all over the seven continents solving mysteries...how can you not be impressed?


12. She has the awesome dad ever. That's for sure.


13. Oh, and the housekeeper. Mrs. Gruen is pretty lovable too. In fact all the adults seemed pretty laid-back and perfectly okay with their young daughters running around looking for adventure and jumping headfirst into danger....


14. She's eighteen (sixteen in the original stories!) but apparently has no school or college connections tying her down. She has all the freedom anyone could wish for!


15. And the best reason? She was never a damsel in distress. If some villain tied her up and locked her in the closet, she didn't just sit there and wait for Ned to come rescue her. Oh no. She always figured out a way to free herself. Now that's what I call a role model for young girls! ;)

So what do you think?

Comment below on your favorite Nancy Drew read (or Hardy Boys if you read those instead!), and why you like it!

Divine Storytelling

So, a couple weeks ago, I noticed something really cool, while reading the Bible.

And yes, I've read this passage many times. And I've probably even noticed and pondered the whole idea before. But it never really jumped out at me like this. It was very inspiring.

I was sitting in church, reading along to the sermon text, on my phone. Only the pastor was reading from the KJV and I was looking at the Message Bible. This is how it translates, Matthew 13:11-14.

He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it."

Did you see it? Did you see it?!

Somehow, replacing the word "parable" with the word "story" just got me all kinds of excited...

Because of course, I'm a storyteller too. Just like Jesus!

Come on, you know that's an awesome thing.

But the thing that I really loved about this?

Jesus, explaining why He tells people stories. Not just to entertain, obviously (though he appears to thoroughly enjoy a well told yarn, just as much as the rest of us). But he points out to them the power of Storytelling.

To paraphrase, he's basically saying, "I can preach at people till I'm blue in the face, and it goes in one ear and out the other. But tell, a story and seeds of truth will be planted that, if not now, someday will bloom and they shall understand."

That's what it sounds like to me, anyway.

This whole thing about Jesus being a Storyteller reminds me of J.R.R Tolkien. Tolkien talked constantly of something he called "sub-creation." Which is, that humans have the inborn desire to make and create things, because they were made in the image of God. And he is the Greatest of Creators. He loves to make things (Universes out of nothing, saints out of sinners, and cool stuff like that). And so of course, we feel the same desire to create.

So if you are a creator of any sort, if you are a storyteller of any kind....

Don't try to hide it. Don't be ashamed. Don't feel like, "There's got to be something more important I should be doing."

I think its pretty obvious that what we are doing for this world is pretty important. Or else, the Greatest Creator and Storyteller of all wouldn't have given us the desire to create too.

And on that note, I'm think I'll go create something today!

A Glimpse of Elfland

Excerpt from "Falling Into Fairyland"

(Upcoming mini ebook)

DISCLAIMER: This is rough draft material. It will be buggy and contain typos. There is no guarantee it will even be in the book so there's no need to point out mistakes in grammar or spelling. This is provided for enjoyment only! All rights belong to the author. Please do not copy or share in anyway...except to share this post via email or social media with friends of course! Thanks. :)

So, enjoy!

INTRODUCTION

I'm not a fairy believer or anything. But there was a time that I nearly saw an Elf.

I have always been deeply into fantasy literature. And I love Elves. Ever since I read Lord of the Rings at the age of 12 or 13. Or even before. I remember watching Rigoletto and being fascinated by the hints of an Elfland in the movie.

And I'm a writer. I'm always writing or drawing something, especially something fantastical.

That hot August afternoon I sat on my front porch with pen and paper in hand. I don't remember if I was writing or drawing. But I was stuck. I remember that. And I fell to looking around the yard and staring, trance-like, at the vegetation across the road.

A cloud rolled across the sun. A gloomy sort of shadow lay across the world for a moment.

And I was staring deep into the canopy of green vines and leaves that draped over the creek-bank. It was a very Elfish place. I love those little glimpses. It gives me a shivery feeling of wonder. This is what I mean when I speak of 'magic" being in something. An overwhelming glimpse of beauty and majesty that overwhelms you. It usually involves the woods. Or God.  It's full of hope.

And Elves.

I fell into imagination somewhere along in there. What if, from deep within the shadows of the canopy...

What if an Elf--tall, blond, dressed in brown and green, with a longbow, shimmering with light--were to step from beneath it at just this moment? I was so deeply lost in imagination, that I could see him clearly. For a second I felt like I really had seen him.

Suddenly the green canopy gave a great twitch!

I jumped in my seat, heart going like a trip hammer.

And my little, brown dog leaped out of the green canopy, chasing a rabbit.

I let out a ragged breath of disappointment. Doggone it! (No pun intended).

For a second I'd really hoped I was going to see something!

That is the story of my life. Always so close to Elfland and never quite there.

I can't help it. A part of me keeps hoping to someday discover its real. :)

25 Crazy Excuses To Get Out Of Work

Something ridiculous and unexplainable has occurred this morning. There's no way way you'll make it into work--but your boss will never believe the truth.

Still, you have to try. So you pick up the phone and you say,

"Good morning boss. I'm afraid I can't come in today because..."

1. I didn't escape the dragon.


2. I've been whisked out of time and space by a mad man in a blue box.


3. I'm buried in a mountain of popcorn.


4. The kidnappers are fixing to push me off without a parachute.


5. I'm caught in a fairy ring and they won't let me go.


6. In 30 seconds the Dark Lord destroys the world and only I can stop him.


7. I was eloping and fell off the ladder.


8. The werewolf moon strikes tonight and its having a stronger effect than I anticipated.


9. My secret experiment exploded all over my apartment.


10. Aliens crash landed in my backyard and are holding me hostage for our worlds secrets.


11. My toe is caught in the faucet.


12. I got sucked into the computer and now I'm trapped in a virtual game world.


13. I'm holding off the vampires with garlic, crosses and holy water.


14. An angry earth goddess is threatening to turn me into a tree if I don't comply in the next ten minutes.


15. Giant spiders have surrounded my home and all I have to fight them off with is a frying pan.


16. My Muse and I traded places this week and now she's refusing to do boring things.


17. A jealous witch put a sleeping curse on me.


18. I ran into the door-frame and broke an elbow. Don't ask.


19. My bedroom is swamped by tiny blue people and they refuse to leave unless I give them cornflakes. Unfortunately I ran out of those yesterday.


20. An Elf riding a flying unicorn took me away to Fairyland. They're in need of some Unlikely Heroines.


21. I let Mr. Darcy out of the book and I have to get him back in before Lizzie marries Wickham.


22. I found a genie lamp and I'll be sending in my resignation.


23. I'm trapped inside the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci it seems was something of a magician.


24. A fortune teller says this is the day to find Prince Charming. And no offense but I'm not looking for him at the office.


25. I'm calling from the Underworld.

In need of more silly work excuses? Here's the story behind this fun game.

Comment below on your favorite excuse. And share three of your own silly work excuses! Or you could write your own blog post and put a link in the comments. :D