Short Attention Sp—Ooh, Butterfly!

Sometimes—no actually most of the time—I get ideas of something fun I want to do. Saturday it was a restaurant review blog, today it’s a book review blog. I think I would have a lot of fun, and I always think that I would actually be able to follow through with it. Remember the Internet Book Database I tried to start a while ago? That never took off. My whole life is littered with things like that. Clubs that never got past the first meeting, websites that no one ever visited, memberships contracts that I couldn’t fulfill, etc. It’s right depressing.
It all comes down to my short attention span. I have the same problem reading books. If it doesn’t hold my attention captive, then I give up and move on to something else. The only thing I’ve been able to keep up for longer than a couple of months is this blog, which I’ve actually been treating more like a diary—i.e. I rant, ramble, complain, and usually don’t talk about anything of worth, with a few exceptions.
I have the same problem with my writing. One day I’ll have a brilliant idea for a novel and I want to write it, and the next day the idea has cooled off enough that I want to write something else.
Today I’m not going to just complain, though. Today, I’m going to lay out my New Year’s Resolution to change all this. I know it’s a little early, but I wanted to start early so that by January 1st, 2011 I’ll have a workable plan to accomplishing my goal.
So, my goal is to make habits of sticking with things through a.) to the end or b.) long enough to make it a permanent habit.
For my next post I’ll have a better idea of how I’m going to do that, so stay tuned.

P.S. I'm writing this using Windows Live Writer, which is the COOLEST blogging program ever invented. Just so you know.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all had a happy holiday!

It's Official

I'm now property of the United States Air Force.

Yesterday I went to the Military Entrance Processing Station and spent all morning, from 5:30 until after one in the afternoon, filling out paperwork, taking a physical, signing a million things, getting my fingers printed, and finally, taking the oath that swears me into the Delayed Entrance Program. So now I'm a DEP poolie.

I'll tell you one thing about MEPS; when they drew my blood, it didn't hurt at all. Not even the slightest pin prick. It was really weird, and quite fascinating.

So I just have a few more months left before I'm shipped off to basic training and start my life as a military woman. It's just not coming quick enough.

Contest

I don't normally do this, but I was so excited to read about this contest that I decided that I had to give it a try.

There is this author, H. P. Mallory, who writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy. On her blog, she has posted that she's holding a contest for her fans to find someone to be a character in her book. Now, as a writer myself, I think it's a fabulous idea to have a contest like this, and I would die of happiness if I won.

One of the ways to get an extra entry is to talk about the contest on your blog, so here I am, talking about it on my blog!

Here's the link, if any of you are interested in taking a look; H. P. Mallory Character Contest

And now, we'll go back to our (ir)regular posting schedule.

The Christmas Tree

For almost as long as I can remember, my family has had a manger instead of a Christmas tree during the Christmas season. Me and my siblings have always complained about this, because we like having a Christmas tree. Of course, my mom hates it because my brothers always fight over who gets to put what decoration on the tree, and we never have enough money to buy a real tree.

I've never had a chance to tell my mom, but there are reasons that I feel a Christmas tree should always be part of the decorations around the house. For one, the sweet smell of pine reminds me of the Christmas season. It's not Christmas, until I can smell a pine tree inside. But here are the real reasons.

1. The Christmas tree itself. It's an evergreen. I don't know what other people think that means, but to me the evergreen represents immortality, which is part of the reason that Jesus was born on Earth for, to grant mankind immortality, and give all people a chance to obtain eternal life. So right off the bat, the tree represents something important to the Christmas holiday.

2. The twinkle lights. This had a double meaning to me. First, each individual light is the light of Christ that everyone has inside them, that prompts people to do the right thing. And second, when it's dark outside, the overhead light is off, and all you can see is the tree light up by all the little lights, the lights combine into a larger glow, which to me represents Christ himself, because he is the Light of the World, pushing back the darkness and shining for all to see.

3. The decorations. I don't know about other families, but the decorations we use (when we actually have a tree) are all ornaments that my mother has collected over the years, each one with a special memory attached to it. So the decorations represent memories, usually of family and friends. And Christmas is a holiday of reflecting, on both Jesus' birth as well as the good things we remember in our own past.

4. The angel tree topper. We put an angel on our temples, why shouldn't we put angels on top of our Christmas tree during the holiday that celebrates the birth of him whose name we take upon ourselves? It might not look like the same angel, but when we put that angel topper on our tree, we are essentially saying 'this tree is a holy symbol of our discipleship of Christ, just like the temple is'.

Now, I may be romanticizing the symbolism of the tree and decorations. They may not have any real meaning, and may just be relics of what Christmas used to be when it was a pagan holiday. But these are what I think of when I think of a Christmas Tree.

Speed of Light

I'm going to admit up front that I like reading science fiction. Not a lot, mind you, because some is just too bizarre for me, but I like what is generally termed as space opera. Star Wars is an example, though I don't read the books anymore because there are just too many of them. Of course, I haven't read a lot of classics, either. I'm still in the middle of reading Asimov's Foundation, I've read Herbert's Dune along with the first two sequels, and I've read some of Anne McCaffrey's stuff. All in all, not a very impressive list.

The last few weeks I've been struggling to find a way to earn money while I'm waiting to be shipped out to Texas. There aren't any jobs in the small town I live in, and I don't have a car so I can't drive to another town. I have just under three hundred dollars left from the insurance money I got when my car was totaled, but it's not going to last much longer, especially with a kitten to spay. So I thought I could try my hand at writing short science fictions stories to sell to magazines.

I thought it would be easy. I mean, 8k is easy for me, and I've finished a couple of stories that short before, but most of my writing has been fantasy, so I knew this would be different. I've never actually written more than a few thousand words on any science fiction story, though I have a lot of ideas. I originally thought it was just because I like writing fantasy more, but after attempting to write three different stories to sell, I realized that wasn't the case.

I'm either not smart enough or not crazy enough to write science fiction.

My idea of science fiction is more based on the silver screen than books. I like Star Wars and Star Trek, and I love Firefly and an old show called Space: Above and Beyond. The thing about all of these is that they are simple. You can empathizes with the characters because they live through situations that are translatable into our time, and the technology never overwhelms the characters and story. However, in my determination to write and sell science fiction short stories I read some of my books that have been gathering dust on my shelves, and found that simple is not what science fiction is, apparently.

I've been reading a book called The New Space Opera 2, which is a collection of short stories, (I have number 1 as well) and 90% of the stories make my head spin. For the most part I can't relate to the characters because half the time they are 200 or thirteen centuries old making bizarre choices and using technology that I could never dream of.

The other thing is most science fiction has aliens in it, and I don't like reading about aliens. That's one of the reasons I like Dune and its sequels; there aren't any aliens. I mean, I firmly believe that there are 'aliens' out there, but I believe that they have the same form we do, so reading about tentacled, gray skinned, three-limbed creatures that have three genders, speak in radio waves, and breathes methane, doesn't appeal to me.

I realized that I had to give it a try anyway, to try to write something to sell, but after struggling through ONE PAGE on one story, I gave up. I'm just not cut out for it. My writing style doesn't do sell-able science fiction, my intelligence doesn't do sell-able science fiction.

So I'm back to my favorite genre and no way to earn money unless I get a novel finished.

Noble on Minimalism

Sometime during August I discovered something called minimalism, probably through an article on the Yahoo homepage. I was immediately intrigued; people who live with the fewest amount of things they can get away with? I had heard of it before, namely in a young adult book called The Gospel According to Larry and its sequels, but I didn't know it had a name to it.

As usual, I did a ton of research on it. When I want to know about something, I read EVERYTHING. Seriously everything. Since talking with the Air Force recruiter I haven't learned anything that I hadn't already learned from doing my research. I'm a bit obsessive that way.

Anyway, I found a lot of blogs to read, a lot of articles, and the more I read it the more I realized that I liked the idea, even agreed with some of it. While I will probably never be able to be an extreme minimalist, I would love to only own what I absolutely need.

In my family, it's never really been that way. We have always had stuff; books, tools (kitchen and guy tools), decorative knickknacks, magazines, CDs, even old vinyl records that my mom collected and kept for a long time even though we didn't have a working player. I learned, probably subconsciously, to keep things. I keep all my papers, I always find a reason to keep books I will probably never read again (or even read for the first time), and I can't seem to get rid of small things that are usually associated with memories. Over my twenty-one years I have collected a lot of 'stuff'.

Moving four times in less than a year has shown me that I really don't need half the stuff I lug around, and that really they are weighing me down. And when I join the Air Force I won't be allowed to have my stuff for at least the first four to six months.

After a couple of weeks of going over everything I could find on minimalism it went to the back burner in my mind, like most things do. I kept tabs on my favorite of the blogs, listed to the right as miss minimalism, but that was about it.

Recently though, I've been having to go through my stuff and start packing it up again. While I'm not leaving for several more months, I wanted to make room in my room for a desk for my mom's sewing machine because I feel bad that I'm going to be here a lot longer than anyone thought. Originally the room I'm staying in was supposed to be mom's sewing room, and she's had to do without because of me.

So I had to look at my stuff and say what I could live without for a while so that I could give her a place to do her favorite thing (so she doesn't go crazy over the winter). I've found that packing things up and getting it out of my room, as well as getting rid of things I don't have room for, made me feel good. My room felt open again, and I have places for some more things. I even got rid of all but two of my favorite stuffed animals. I only kept the two that had the most special meaning to me (one I got when my second youngest brother was born, and the second I got when I was eight and got baptized).

Yech, I'm rambling.

Anyway, what I mean to say is, while I will never get my possessions down to one hundred, or even two hundred, during the months before I leave for basic training in Texas I hope to start my way down the minimalist path and get rid of everything I don't need and never use. Hopefully without so much stuff weighing me down I will feel less tired all the time and feel like I don't have to worry about where I'm going to put everything.

If you've heard of or practice minimalism or something like it, tell me about it.

December is Here

Finally. After about the third week of November I was sick of NaNoWriMo. That's a really sad thing to be feeling, sick of the novel writing month that I look forward to every year.

This year has been a disaster, though. I never got past 8k on any story I started, and I changed at least ten times. I just haven't been as dedicated to my writing lately. I've struggled to finish anything, and I've started to wonder if I'll ever be able to get published. It's really depressing.

I did manage to finish NaNoWriMo, though I didn't finish a novel. I found that the biggest reason I'm having trouble with it the past two years is I've been taking it too seriously. I've been using it as a way to get my publishable ideas written, and that's not what NaNoWriMo is about. It's about having fun writing something crappy. I may not ever do NaNoWriMo again because I can't write something crappy. Even when I banish my inner editor, I still physically can't write anything bad. It makes me sick just thinking about writing something like that.

So, since it is now December and I have up to five months before I leave for Texas, I've decided to try a different approach to writing. I've been focusing on writing novels (and once I have one idea than it turns into a whole series, which usually overwhelms me to the point I don't want to do it anymore) and what I need to be focusing on is getting SOMETHING published. Meaning, I should start at the bottom and write short stories for magazines and anthologies and get a foot in the door before I try to write a novel.

And I think I can actually do it. I have proven to myself already that I can write short stuff (even when I was trying to write long stuff) so now it's just a matter of writing one thing and finding someone who will publish it. All things considered, that shouldn't be excruciatingly hard, but we'll see how it turns out.

Missing: Holiday Magic. Please Return When Found

Recently I've discovered that most, if not all, holidays fail to elicit any kind of excitement. When I was younger I used to always get that tingly, stay-up-all-night feeling the night before, and most of the month before a holiday was spent thinking about the holiday and how much I loved it and how excited I was.

As I've gotten older, though, holiday's have lost their magic to me. Maybe it's because I have an unrealistic expectation of holidays, and it never turns out that way in my family.

Here's some examples.

Christmas. I love Christmas. I love celebrating the birth of our Savior, but I also love decorating the Christmas tree, being secretive about presents, going caroling in the cold, ice skating, making snowmen, etc. My absolute favorite thing about Christmas has always been sitting in the living room with only the Christmas tree lights on and everything silent except for the soft sound of the snow outside.

Of course, my mom doesn't believe in, or like, Christmas trees, so we rarely have them. Instead we have a manger with a baby Jesus tucked inside. Now, I know that Jesus is the true center of Christmas, but I never feel like it's Christmas when we have a manger. I always feel like we've left out an important part of the holiday, the Tree. When it gets closer to Christmas I'll explain what I mean.

Here's another example, Halloween:

Halloween has been my favorite holiday for ages and ages. What could be better than dressing up as someone or something else and parading around the neighborhood to get candy? I mean, it's candy, how can you go wrong? I personally went trick or treating until I was seventeen. I know that's completely against the rules, but I had a legitimate reason, I was always with my younger siblings. (Except for that one year I went with some really good friends)

But the last two years I've been delegated to handing out the candy, and it just hasn't been the same. I don't get excited about the holiday because I'm not preparing a costume for it (I've never been invited to a party except at work) and both years I've passed out candy no more than five people came to the door all night. Even in a small Iowan town, where you would think people felt safe.

Plus, Halloween has sort of become a holiday to scare yourself, what will all the haunted houses and scary movies that happen around Halloween. People have forgotten what Halloween really is, and what it was meant to be. (Maybe I just have a romantic take on the holiday)

One last example, Thanksgiving.

The final harvest feast before winter settles in, where family gathers together to celebrate their blessings. I had completely forgotten about it this year until FOUR DAYS before it was supposed to happen. Maybe it was the fact that I spent most of the beginning of the month making gingerbread houses for the branch, maybe it was the fact that our family rarely talks about it because it always stresses mom out, but I forgot about this holiday. And I really love this one. We have some amazing traditions, and I have always loved mom's cooking.

Unfortunately this will be the first in a long time that our family isn't getting together with my mom's brother. They still live in Utah, so we're all on our own this year. And next year, I'll be all by myself wherever the Air Force sends me. Thanksgiving just doesn't fill me with thanks anymore. Sure, I have a lot to be thankful for, but lately it's been hard for my family, and holidays always make me see how little our family has.

I want to feel the holiday magic again. I want to be able to celebrate, instead of just mumble 'happy [holiday]'. I want to sit in a darkened room next to the glow of a Christmas tree decorated with memories, I want to sit next to the door eagerly waiting for the next doorbell so that I can see what cute costumes kids are wearing these days, and I want to feel like I have something to truly be thankful for when we say our Thanksgiving Prayer.

Man, I feel like I'm always apologizing for my moody posts. Instead of apologizing this time, I hope you learned something valuable; Don't take holiday magic for granted if you have it.

Halfway mark

I finally reached the halfway point for NaNoWriMo, but it's still not going very good. I'll tell you why; I have switched stories a total of ten times. I haven't written more than 4.6k on anything. I feel a bit like I'm cheating, because by the time the 30th rolls around I won't have a finished story, just a large number of started stories.

I's sorry if I sound like I'm whining.

Well, this isn't turning out how I wanted it to

It seems like every year I do NaNoWriMo, it gets harder for me. This year, I haven't stuck with a story for longer than two days. It's down right depressing. I have such a constant flow of story ideas and an always changing mood, that I can't stick with one project. I'm really starting to hate myself. How am I supposed to become a published writer if I can stick to one project for longer than a few days?

If anyone knows the cure for this attention deficit, please let me know; I am in desperate need for a solution.

November

I have been derelict in duty of posting, and I'm sorry.

Normally during November Artemis, my inner editor, would guest star for the month while I work on NaNoWriMo. This year, however, Artemis has decided to take her vacation somewhere else. She might come visit later in the month, but I kind of worked her to death this summer, and she wanted to go somewhere where she could relax.

This November started out really badly. On the first, I was in Council Bluffs all day baking gingerbread. I only wrote about 400 words when I got home. Then on the second, I was back in Council Bluffs putting gingerbread houses together all day. I wrote about 600 words before going to bed. Then, on the third I spent all day finishing the gingerbread houses and going to Young Men and Relief Society to make sure they got decorated. I didn't get any words written that day.

So I started out the month terribly behind. Plus, the story I started writing wasn't going anywhere because I tried combining too many genres and it just wasn't working. It was a science fiction/mystery/spy/urban fantasy story about a woman who is a spy and a detective and who is clairvoyant living in the year 2314 or so. I realized, on the third when I sat down to start writing again, that it just wasn't coming out ME. It was a bit like another writer had hijacked my brain for a few days.

So when I started writing on Thursday, I started a completely new story. This one I like a lot more, and is in my usual paranormal/urban fantasy genre, which is my favorite to write in. And I wrote a little over 4k in one sitting on that one, giving myself a big leap towards catching up. The story was exciting and interesting, and while there's one thing I need to go back and fix, it was exactly the kind of thing I like to write. It has a good female main character with an undeveloped paranormal gift to discover, a handsome man who is willing to teach her how to use her gift, and a really, REALLY nasty bad guy. In this case, the bad guys are demon like descendants of Cain.

Anyway, it's back to writing for me. I'll try to post more often to keep you up to date. Until next time.

Owning A Dog

When I was about eight or so, I wanted a dog. I begged my parents to get me a dog, and finally they did. We went to the local pound and picked out a six month old golden lab/collie mix named C.J. She was a pretty dog, and could have been a good dog, but at eight, I wasn't actually very good with dogs. Since she was supposed to be mine, I was the one who was supposed to feed her, but I constantly forgot. And I never went out to play with her because I was little and she was big, and she scared me. And my two younger brothers thought it was funny to throw things at her, like sticks and bricks. C.J. was constantly escaping the fenced backyard, not that she was ever getting very far, and dad was constantly upgrading her chain to keep her inside.

Finally, mom and dad decided that enough was enough. It was pretty clear--to them at least--that there was a reason she kept escaping, and and they thought it was because she was pregnant and didn't want to have puppies with my brothers throwing things at her. So, mom and dad sent her back to the pound.

For a long time, our family swore we would never have another dog. They were too much work, my siblings and I weren't old enough or big enough to take care of one by ourselves, and mom just didn't like dogs.

Cut ahead 13 years, and we have a dog again. This time, a 5 month old German Shepherd/Mastiff mix named Charlie. (Which is a funny story in itself) This time the dog is my brother Joe's, though somehow everyone else has become the caretakers. I walk him every morning, dad feeds him every morning, and the two little boys feed and play with him in the afternoon when they get home from school.

This time around, owning a dog has been much easier. I'm much bigger than him, so I'm not afraid of him--though he is stronger than me--and thankfully he doesn't bark. He only whines, and only when no one has fed him. He has his own fenced area and doesn't ever try to escape, and he's generally a loved part of the family. I don't think he would ever try to escape, even if given the chance. He always just comes back.

Sorry if this post doesn't have anything to do with the world.

My Process

A while ago I read a post entry on my idol Kateness's blog about her writing process and how she imagines things before putting it down on paper. It was really interesting to read, because how she does it is completely different than how I do it.

I am a very visual person. I love watching movies and TV shows as much as I love reading and writing. My parents try to get me to stop because they think I watch too much, but in my mind it's the same as reading a good book. And because I'm such a visual person, it translates into how I think.

When I write it's sometimes hard to get the words down on paper because in my head, I see everything like I was watching a movie. So instead of being able to just think up the words to put down, I have to translate what I see in my head into words first, and it doesn't always come out right. And sometimes what I watch or read or see or hear can change what I see in my head.

I'll give you an example of this process: when I'm writing I'll see a scene in my head. It'll be very specific choreography and setting. The only thing I have to come up with on my own is dialogue. So I'll try to write what I see. The first time, it'll usually come out a little wrong, like a character turns left when she should have turned right, or I describe the walls slightly wrong. When I re-read it, I'll notice the differences, because I'll have the original playing in the back of my head and the visual of what I'm reading playing in the front of my head, and I'll compare the two. Then I'll go back and change what needs to be changed.

So that's how I write. In a way it's harder than just visualizing the words that need to be on the paper, because I have to act as translator, and sometimes my writing comes out rushed because I'm trying to describe everything I see without delving into what the characters or feeling. But it works for me.

Autumn

I'm a day late, and I apologize.

The leaves have been turning and falling the last week or so and it's been getting colder. It's still a little warm during the day, but it gets really cold at night, and it's still cold during the morning before the sun has burned away the cloud cover. It's really beautiful here, and I feel kind of lucky that I get to be at home to see it.

Everything around me is reminding me why I love Fall in general and October and November in particular. Everywhere I go I see beautifully colored trees and the fields are all either harvested or a pretty golden color. There are Halloween decorations everywhere, and Halloween is my favorite holiday (not for the obvious reasons though.) The colder weather forces everyone to wear longer sleeves and sweaters, and I LOVE wearing sweaters and jackets and scarves.

And my absolute favorite thing about Fall? November First, when I can start on a brand new novel and know that I'll have it finished by November Thirtieth. I love November so much, that I'm always antsy for it months in advance.

The only hard thing about cold weather in the morning, is I have to go running every morning to get ready for basic training, and when you first go outside in running shorts it's pretty cold. My legs always turn instant red, and it takes me a long time to get warmed up.

Thankfully, I walk the dog for half an hour before I go running, so I'm all toasty warm before starting running.

Swap This

The middle of last month I discovered a website that has become my reading self's best friend. It's called Paperback Swap, and once you are a member you swap books with other members. You post what books you have available, and people request the ones they want. You mail the books to the people and get book credits in return. Then, you can use those credits to order books that you want. The only thing you ever have to pay for is postage to mail the books to people.

The downside to this is they don't always have the books you want. It's a bit like a used bookstore; they only have what people give them. But other than that, it's a dream come true for someone who has limited funds for buying books.

Since joining I've ordered maybe twenty books, and mailed at least that many. It's fun browsing the books that they have available, and the website even recommends books to you based on books you rate, books on your wishlist, books you've ordered, and books you have on your bookshelf. It's great.

If you haven't heard of it already, I suggest checking the site out. It's a great way to get new books without having to invest $7-$10 in one.

Quick Note

So, in my working towards enlisting in the Air Force, I went and took the ASVAB today. For those who don't know what that is, it stands for Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery, and it is pretty much the entrance exam for the military. If you don't get a certain score--and each branch has a different requirement--you don't get in.

The Air Force has the highest score requirement of 65. When I took the practice test three weeks ago at the recruiters, I got a 50, mainly because my math was so bad. So I've spent the last three weeks working on my math, and took the test today.

I GOT AN 88. 'Nuff said.

Neverending Flow

I never lack for ideas for writing. At least twice a day I'll be struck by a brilliant idea, but since I'm usually working on something, I'll write the idea down and sticking with my ever-growing stack of ideas. In fact, if I stacked up all my ideas that I haven't been able to do anything with, it would probably be in danger of toppling over.

The problem is I have trouble finishing a project. While I have two novels, neither of them are finished, and both have been through five or more drafts. I get bored/sick of stories after working on them for a couple of months straight. This really puts a damper on my work. I can't get published if I can't finish anything.

Thankfully, I had an epiphany early last week that will solve all my problems. I hope. You see, I can't seem to write anything longer than 50k, so why not just write 50k novels? There aren't enough of them on the bookshelves anyway, and smaller books would be able to sell for a little bit cheaper and would take less time to read, allowing the people who want to read but don't have the time/money to actually read.

And I actually like this idea. If I pushed myself I'd be able to have write and edit a novel start to finish in one-two months, getting it done before I got bored, and the quicker I can finish a novel the quicker I can start on another idea.

And maybe, as I get better at putting stories together I'll get better at writing longer and longer novels, until I can write a full length novel without any problems.

What do you think? Would you purchase a short--meaning 40k-50k, or less than 200 pages-- novel?

That's my name, don't wear it out

For a long time now, I've gone by the name Noble. This may come as a surprise, but it is actually short for Dark Haired Noble. The name is a bit odd, when you think of how light my hair is, but the name actually has nothing to do with me. But I've gone by it for such a long time now, that the name is as much a part of me as the name my parents gave to me.

It started back when I was about sixteen or so when I was in my 'join-every-community-forum-that-looks-good' phase. I remember I had just joined a community that discussed science fiction books and movies under a generic alias. The community had a gallery of avatars to choose from, and one day I was browsing through the gallery when I decided I wanted a picture of Padme Amidala from Star Wars Attack of the Clones as my avatar.

At this point, I decided that my alias didn't work with the picture, so--being me--I wanted to change the name, rather than the picture. I brainstormed a whole list of names that would work with the picture, and after thinking about it for all of two hours, I decided on Dark Haired Noble. It was a clever reference to Padme, as well as her daughter Leia, both of whom have dark hair.

The name stuck around, sort of on the fringes of my mind and thoughts, for another year before it really became who I was. Originally my writing pen name was Artemis, after my favorite Greek Goddess. But when I started my senior--and only--year of high school, I met a girl who is now one of my best friends. When she found out about my online alias of Dark Haired Noble, she immediately started calling me Noble instead of my real name. After that, I became Noble, and Noble became me.

And that's the story of a name. Do you have an interesting nickname that has a cool history to it? If so, I want to hear about it!

The Future of the Blog

I'm sorry for the slightly depressing post last time. I wasn't having a very good week and needed to vent a little. That's over though, and I feel much better now. Anyway, I decided today that I needed to get my rear in gear and make this blog less like a diary where I vent and more like an actual blog.

So, from now on I will be posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Mondays I will talk about myself and/or about how things went during the previous week. This will be the post where I'll keep you updated on my enlistment process and when I'll be shipping out, etc. And after I get out of Tech School I'll talk about life in the military and how I'm managing to survive.

Wednesdays I'll post something about my writing. Excerpts, thought processes, and progress, etc.

Fridays I'll talk about the world, either something I saw in the news, some topic I've become passionate about, that sort of thing. This will be the day I keep with my blog title and tell you all how the world is, according to me. If there is a subject you want me to talk about, feel free to email me and ask.

I'm tempted to also say I'll write a book review sometime, but I can't promise this one. I don't FINISH books often enough, despite how often I start them.

Anyway, this new schedule will start tomorrow.

ME

This post is dedicated to my parents: may they read this and understand why I can't live up to their expectations.

I'm going to be honest here. This will probably be the hardest post I'll ever write, and it's full of secrets that I've kept from everyone outside of my family. But I think the first step to getting over it is to tell people about it.

You see, I have a problem that is interfering with my progression in life. I have a debilitating shyness so deep that I can't hardly go anywhere or do anything without someone there to give me emotional support. It's embarrassing to be honest, and I'm not sure how I became like this. I used to be the kind of kid who made friends easily and who did things by herself with out problems. Maybe it was the years in Young Women where I didn't have many friends and almost always felt like I was too different to be including in the groups. I was always the only one in my age group, and because of this I matured a lot different than the other girls. In someways I became more mature, in others, less. I was also the only one who never went to public school, so I couldn't relate to most of the girls and the things they talked about with each other.

This problem has brought my parents no end of grief. Most of the time my mom has to almost literally strong-arm me into doing things like calling strangers on the phone or going into buildings by myself. Most of the time from what I can tell they think that this is because I'm either lazy or I don't want to do things. Far from it. I'm actually terrified to do these things. And I hate myself for being so scared of doing normal, every day things. But I can't see a way around this, can't see a way to face my shyness without making it worse.

Recently this problem has ballooned and is threatening to sink my future. After a lot of thinking and praying since about mid June, I've come to the conclusion that enlisting in the Air Force is the right thing for me to do right now. It's an interesting change in my career desire, and I'm actually excited to be apart of something that helps people and will give me a chance to become better. However, once again, my uber-shyness has gotten in the way of my progression.

I spoke with the AF recruiter in Council Bluffs two weeks ago. Everything was going great, he was really nice and helpful, and I really thought I would have a shot at getting in. Then, I took the practice ASVAB test they had there. For those of you who don't know, the ASVAB is pretty much the entrance exam into all branches of the military. The test has four parts to it; two English, and two mathematics. Naturally, I got every English question correct. However, I completely failed the math sections. I've never been good with math, and I'll admit I don't have all my math facts memorized. I just never had the need to. I have a calculator, and my writing doesn't need math.

With such a poor math school, my total score was 15 points below the requirement to enlist. After that, the recruiter was cooler towards me, like he wasn't interested in helping me get into the AF anymore.

At the start of the interview, everything had been going well. I had gone in by myself, and he was really nice. But as soon as he saw that score and started acting differently, my resolve faltered and I began to have doubts again.

Now, he said he was going to call last week, and I sure he tried, but our phone was out all week, so he never got through. Which means that now my parents are bugging me to call him this week and set up the meeting we're supposed to have again this week. Only I can't bring myself to call him, because I don't want to face him again. It was extremely embarrassing to get such a poor math school, especially after telling him that I'd been homeschooled. I can only imagine what kind of poor education he thinks I got.

So now I'm stuck, needed to move forward with my life but unable to because of my terrible shyness.

If you've read this far, thank you for listening to my whining. I'm sorry if this has changed you outlook on me for the bad.

Help Wanted: Beta Readers

I'm sure the few people that read my blog have been wondering about the status bar along the side there. I haven't given a lot of description for what I'm writing, and the word goal has changed from 100k to 87k. As I currently have the first draft written and am working on the second draft to bring it up to the correct word count, I decided that it's time to start recruiting people to beta read it when I'm finished at the end of the month--or sooner, depending.

If you don't know what a beta reader is described on Wikipedia as "a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public." In my own words, I just want someone willing to read my book and tell me what I can do better.

The reason I'm asking other people is because my mom doesn't like reading the genre I'm writing, and my dad is too busy teaching and coaching. So, if you are interested in reading a clean urban fantasy novel about a woman who hunts monsters please say so.

Anyone who helps will be listed in the acknowledgments when/if it gets published.

Quick blurb:

Nikelle Sharp hunts monsters for a living, sending them back to their own reality. So it's only natural for her to chase after a ten foot troll who just slipped through a rip in the Fabric of Reality. But what isn't natural is for a man to come through the rip as well, chasing after the troll for murdering his uncle and stealing a family relic. And it's definitely not natural for the troll to escape before Nikelle can kill it, and it's absolutely not natural for the troll to kill her landlord and steal his heart for no discernible reason.

While Nikelle scrambles to this problem, her police contact informs her that there is more to her landlord's murder than they originally thought. On top of that Nikelle's boss assigns her a case chasing down a monster that may have connections to the mob. Add to all of this a man from another reality that Nikelle is attracted to but can't--under any circumstances--become involved with and an ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be a hunter, appearing on her doorstep at four in the morning covered in blood.

When everything turns out connected, Nikelle has to race to stop a doorway being permanently opened through the Fabric, or her reality will be overrun by horrors she can't even begin to imagine.

Editorial/Soap Box

Has anyone noticed that people flock to the theaters to see movies like Saw and Halloween? The films that you just know are going to be filled with the most bloody and destructive way to kill a person? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. The ones where people get their heads or appendages ripped/cut off, their body torn to pieces, splashes of blood, stabbing, crushing, ripping, tearing... uh, it's making me sick just writing about it.

I have always wondered why people enjoy watching these. Since I had never seen anything like it, I couldn't say that I didn't like it, but I didn't like the idea of it. Sure, I like it when the heroes of a book or movie get injured, but not fatally so, and definitely not gorily so. I want them to emerge victorious and on their way to healing, not dead, dead, dead, dead, crippled, dead, or scarred for life.

Well that was interesing

The novel I'm currently working on (see the progress bar) has a dog in it named Charlie. He's the main character's dog, and he's pretty smart for a dog. He's almost like an attack dog, because he helps her fight monsters. He's a German Shepherd, and he came to the main character when he was five months old. Now, I had this dog in mind for a couple months. He wasn't in the last draft, but is in the current draft.

Here's the interesting part: A couple of weeks ago my 17 year old brother got a dog, pretty much for his birthday. (That is a funny story in itself) The thing is, it's a part German Shepherd five month old named Charlie, and he's as smart as they come.

I must have some prophetic ability, because there is no other way I could have called that one. So now, there are two smart German Shepherds named Charlie in my life. Huh. I wonder how that will work out.

It's amazing to see how far I have grown

I started this blog back in 2007 while I was still in high school. My best friend had one, and I thought it was kind of a good idea. It was better than writing in a journal, which I've never been able to consistently do. Now, three years later I can look back at what kind of person I was, and remember fond memories that I might have forgotten.

So whenever I go back and read earlier posts, it always astonishes me how... different I was. And not just different from who I am today, but different from any social norms that would come to mind. It's amazing to me that my family could live with me back then, and I'm reminded of how grateful I should be that I've changed since then.

For one, my writing and editing has improved by leaps and bounds. When I read the older posts I can see where I misspelled things or accidentally wrote the wrong word, etc.

There are something that haven't changed that much, but my attitude towards them have. For example, seeing movies multiple times in the theater or spending money willy nilly. The period where I didn't have an income changed my perspective on money and buying things. And while I still love watching things more than once, I boast about it to a world that doesn't care that I've seen Speed Racer fifteen times, or that I got to see Prince Caspian in the theater twice every Saturday for two weeks.

Reading about my past has shone me that yes, I go through phases and no, I don't watch things when I'm not in that phase. I still have many, many DVDs that I haven't watched in a long time but that I don't want to give up because I might want to watch them in the future.

While I still have problems and phases I go through, I know that I keep getting better, and that's all the motivation I need to actually continue getting better.

New Layout

As you probably have noticed, I have a new layout. I like changing my layout every so often, because I generally get bored with the same thing. It happens with everything in my life, from furniture arrangement to homes. I blame it on my parents, because I've never lived in the same house for longer than five years. Ever. And the longest I've ever held a job was twenty days shy of a year. I would still have that job, except the economy was shot and I was one of the casualties.

Anyway, new layout, hope you like it, now I have to get back to writing. The next post will be all about what I've been working on the last little while.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Have you ever had an experience where you just start laughing for no reason and no matter how hard you try you can't stop? But you try to hide the fact that you are laughing because you are in public and end up with a sore abdomen? Then when you can't hide it anymore you start laughing out loud and people look at you funny? You even laugh so much that you get teary-eyed? Then it suddenly stops as quickly as it came?

Well, if you haven't it's an experience worth having. It's bizarre, but gives you a healthy dose of laughter, and as a firm believer that laughter is the best medicine I would highly recommend it. However, it's spontaneous, so you can't really choose to have one. And if it does happen your mom might get mad at you because you can't stop laughing and can't tell her what you're laughing at.

I'll tell you this, I think I was laughing because of a hazy, half-memory of a dream that I could sense was there but couldn't touch. It was weird.

Well this is weird

Last week I complained that it was too hot. Well so far this week I've been cold. It has been a bizarre shift in temperature. It rained most of the day yesterday, which was amazing. It was beautiful and I got very little done.

Blah

It stormed again last night, thankfully making the world a cooler place. We still have an excessive heat warning going on, though it hasn't been as hot today as it was yesterday. The cicadas are very noisy.

We unpacked some of the kitchen boxes today. Not all of them, mind you, because we ran out of room. So we still have about ten boxes, including the boxes with food, stacked up in the kitchen with no place to put the stuff. It's great.

And my boxes are still in the trailer. They somehow made it on first, so they're coming off last and the boys aren't going to finish unpacking the trailer until this evening, when some men from the branch can come by and help. So I have my furniture except for two very crucial parts of my bed, the clothes from my suitcase, the books I'd brought on the road-trip, and that's about it.

Not that I really need anything else. I've been reading what I have, and I've sort of forgone watching stuff so that I can help mom and write, and I haven't missed hardly anything. For the most part, anyway.

My plans to join the Air Force have been postponed a little bit. Something happened here and mom wants me to stay to find out if it's going to pan out. So I'm going to hold off until about January, and probably make my decision in November. The good side of this is I'll be able to do NaNoWriMo. The bad side is I have to live with my family for longer, and I probably have to start looking for a job.

Hopefully the thing (not going to tell until after the fact) will pan out. In fact, I'm kind of praying for it. Let's just say it's everything I could want and more.

Anyway, back to unpacking with mom.

Now that is what you call HOT

Today, I went to church. It was kind of cold inside, but it was better than being outside. My sunglasses stayed in my bag the entire time, getting nice and chilly. Then, when I put them on just as I stepped outside after church, they INSTANTLY fogged up because of the temperature difference. It was the weirdest thing.

It's boiling hot outside today. We've had two weather advisories about the heat already, and boy can we feel it. There's no air conditioning in the house, so we have to make do with portable fans and the newly installed ceiling fans, and it's not working out too well. I'm probably going to have a second bowl of ice cream some time soon, though the ice cream keeps melting before I can finish it.

When it's not so melt-the-skin-from-your-bones hot then I'll post something more interesting.

Well, I'm here in Small Town, USA

And it's already a love/hate relationship. It's so GREEN out here. Everything is green, and there are miles and miles of corn and soybean fields. But the towns are so small, there's nothing to DO. And it definitely has a different atmosphere than Utah, where practically everyone is LDS. Here, almost no one is. We have on other family in the whole town who is LDS like us. It's crazy.

Sunday was alright. We drove for twenty minutes to get to church, and there were less than thirty people there. It's a branch that covers a wide area, and most of the members are inactive. I met a lot of new people, saw one cute single guy, and missed the Utah ward. I missed there being lots of people and lots of kids. It was depressingly sad how few people came to church on Sunday.

After church there really wasn't anything to do so I worked on my story. Thankfully almost everything is working out on that front. My main romantic interest is being stubborn, but nothing I can't fix with a daily dose of The Dresden Files.

Monday was a new experience. As the first normal day in the small town, I got a taste of what life will be like until I leave for Texas. Let me tell you, it was boring. We have no dishwasher and very few dishes so we have to wash the dishes by hand after every meal. That's not bad, since there isn't too much. But the worst of the day came when my parents left after lunch to go shopping and forgot to tell me that they were going to be an hour away and that they'd be shopping until evening. So I had no one to talk to and nothing to do but write. You'd think that was a good thing, but I need distractions some times when the words aren't coming.

Not too much distraction, mind you. Because as soon as my little brothers came home from spending time with friends I couldn't write anymore. I had been typing on my mom's desk top computer because I hate laptop keyboards and because I don't have a desk yet, and as soon as the boys got home they began a constant barrage of bugging me into letting them use the computer. So I couldn't concentrate and didn't get much writing done.

I stayed up late Monday night so that I could finish the scene I was working on, and around midnight I realized that it was starting to storm outside. I got ready for bed and planned to go to sleep, but the storm wouldn't let me.

You don't know the power of nature until you've been in the center of an Iowa thunderstorm. You know how when you turn a bucket of water upside down all the water comes out? Well it rained like that FOR A FULL HOUR! It rained like it the storm was trying to drown the world. And the LIGHTNING! Holy Poodles (as my friend says) the lightning was cool. If you've lived in a place like Utah, which I did, then you expect lightning to be, you know, every once in a while. I can probably count on two hands how many thunderstorms there were during the EIGHT years I'd lived in Utah.

Here? Lightning strikes EVERY SECOND! I stayed up until after one in the morning just watching the lighting and rain. The world was lit outside by the lightning flashing every second, sometimes multiple times. And I couldn't actually see the lightning because it was RIGHT OVERHEAD. I've never been so happy. I love rain and storms so much, and this was the MOTHER of all storms. It was flooding in the streets and sidewalks and yards, there was so much water coming down. It was a truly amazing sight. I had my eyes open as wide as they go the entire time I watched, and I walked around the house the entire hour, trying to find the best view.

The bad thing about it was our basement leaks. We had water coming in through the walls. The WALLS. Thankfully there's nothing down there.

So those were my first experiences out here in the Heartland.

I have never laughed so much in my life

It all started when my dad called up the stairs for mom to get him a glass of water. He does this a lot when he forgets and is to tired to come back upstairs himself. Mom has done this many times, and so she figured she's play a little joke on him.
"Lot's of ice, please dear," dad told her, and mom got a brilliant idea. She looked through the cupboards for the largest glass she could find, then spotted the empty very large mason jar we use for a cookie jar. And when I say large, I mean huge. It's larger than a football standing on end. (Most apt description I can think of)

So mom rinsed the cookie jar out, while I tried to contain the giggles that were coming up. Dad, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, noticed my giggling and became suspicious so while mom was getting the ice out of the freezer he came up the stairs. A little counter-productive, but that's dad for you.

Mom hid the cookie jar and had me grab a normal sized glass, claiming to dad that she had needed to get the ice out of the ice trays. He headed back down the stairs and mom dumped ALL of the ice into the mason jar then began filling it up with water.

I was laughing to hard I had to gasp for breath whenever I could at this point. The joke struck me as extremely funny, and I couldn't wait to see dad's face.

While mom and I brought this giant water glass down to dad I tried to calm down. I didn't want to spoil the surprise just yet. Of course, every few seconds I burst out laughing again and had to calm myself down again.

Of course, dad's reaction wasn't as funny as the anticipation had been. He pretended to be asleep when we got down there, like always, and mom had to bump him to get him to open his eyes. Then he caught sight of the mason jar full of water and ice, and he gave a small smile.

Boo.

But even after the fact I was still filled with side-splitting laughter. It was a blast.

Never would have thought.

I'm thinking of joining the United States Air Force. Not just, hey wouldn't it be fun and boy would it surprise everyone, but as a serious job opportunity. Here's how this came about:

Wednesday when my dad and I were driving back and forth between the city justice court to take care of a ticket I told him a funny story about how I knew more about cars than my institute teacher. We talked about learning more about cars, and left it at that. Then, later that day when I mentioned that I wanted to learn kung fu, out of the blue dad said I should join the Air Force. I still don't know where it came from, but after the initial laughing off the idea I really thought about it.

And I liked the idea. Sure, I would have to endure 8 1/2 weeks of basic training, four years of enlistment, etc. But I would have guaranteed housing and food, I would learn great personality traits that I don't have (like dedication, mental and physical strength, etc.) and I would be physically fit.

I did as much research on the Air Force and their basic training as I could, and even talked with (read: listened to) an Air Force recruiter.

I think I might actually do this.

It's all very weird to me, because a year ago I never would have even considered joining the military. That was going to be my brother, Paul. But now that I have almost no options for living and earning money when my parents leave, the idea of free housing and food on top of pay is really enticing.

The downsides are, of course, basic training. I am not 100% sure I would make it through, though my mom seems to think I can do it which is very weird. That, and the waiting period between enlisting and being shipped off to basic is up to 6 months, unless you are willing to leave at the drop of a hat if someone drops out.

So, if I have to wait for up to 6 months before being shipped out, I will have to get another job and a place to live, so that I can survive until then. On the flip side, if I volunteer to leave if someone drops out, I will have to be ready for it, which means everything of mine has to be packed and moved to Iowa with the family, and I have to have a duffel ready for basic at all times.

All of this, plus the fact that I'm not physically able to pass the initial fitness test. I have never run a mile much less a mile and a half, I have never been able to do push-ups, and I'm pretty sure I can't do sit-ups. But, I plan on being ready. If I work hard at it every day, then I'll be able to do it in about six weeks, minimum. But if I get sent out early, I'll have to push myself harder to get ready.

So, I'm thinking of joining the Air Force. Who would have thought?

I'm ready to scream now

Tuesday, my mom put too much oil in the car and it started to smoke really bad. I didn't have much of a choice, so I drove it to institute on Wednesday. On the way home, I was pulled over by a police officer. The officer was polite and considerate, but he gave me a ticket for the smoke, and for not having proof of insurance, since I couldn't find it. (It's mom's car, so I didn't know where it was)

So I have officially gotten my first ticket. It wasn't a moving violation, so it's not on my record, and mom said that because it wasn't my fault she would pay for it, so I'm really all free an clear. But I still have to go see a judge to explain what had happened, show him that it was fixed, and prove that the insurance really was in the car, I just couldn't find it. Dad's going to help me with that.

I still feel like my (almost) perfect driving record has been irreparably marred. And I don't like that feeling.

In other new, the half of the family that was in Iowa is back now, and already it's a nightmare. Joe, my sixteen year old brother, brought a friend, who is just as obnoxious and annoying as he is, so now I have four 'brothers' again. And I had gotten so used to one...

Just Don't Breathe

I went shopping with my mom today. We didn't buy clothes or shoes, like normal people, no, we went to Home Depot and bought manure. If that wasn't bad enough, Home Depot was one of our first stops in a long list of errands. So we put the four packages of manure in the back of Hank (the suburban) and drove to our next stop.

The stench of the manure filled the truck so much that it was hard to breathe without gagging. Let's just say lesson learned.

Let Me Tell You A Story

This story starts many years ago when I was living in Provo and working at the Provo Library. I had just found a BYU magazine called Leading Edge that I had fun reading. It was/is a science fiction and fantasy short story magazine that is published twice a year, and after reading a couple of issues, I had decided that I wanted to publish a story with them.

The trick was coming up with a story unique and interesting, like all the stories already published were. I brainstormed for a while, thinking of everything I could do, and I finally settled on doing something that I knew about: Libraries. I worked more on that, fleshing out what it was about libraries that was so special, until I came up with the idea that every book or series had it's own reality, and sometimes holes appeared in the fabric between our Reality and the fictional realities. And there were people who fixed these holes.

I liked the idea, but never got around to writing it, so it sort of sat in the back of my mind,fermenting. Jump ahead a few years (but still not the present). I was looking for something to write when I stumbled upon the paper that had the original idea. It had been sitting around long enough that as soon as I finished reading the idea and character beginnings, I began having more ideas about what to do with it. I decided that it was to good to be wasted on a short story for such a small magazine, so I began developing the character some more, and came up with a whole list of interesting things that could happen.

But again I didn't do anything, and it returned to the back of my mind. Skip head to July 2009, when I was living in Provo again. I was going through my writing stuff when I, again, stumbled upon the file with all the ideas I'd had. Again, I'd had enough time that I started thinking of new ideas, and decided that I really wanted to write it.

So I got out the list of things that could happen and began plotting out an eight book series on my bedroom door using post-it notes. And I really liked it. There was action, romance, devastation, happiness, and characters that I could like.

But I got so busy with other things that it got accidentally shelved for a couple of months. When I got it back out again, I decided to just start writing it, and I wrote about three chapters of the first book before losing interest. The characters weren't turning out how I pictured them, and the plot just wasn't as excited as it could have been. So it got shelved again.

Jump ahead another few months, and it's 2010. The series came out again, and this time I decided to revamp the whole thing. So I went back over and made a list of everything that could happen, explained what the main character really does a little more, and developed the girl some more. (Hereafter known as Nikelle)

It got set aside once more (happens way too often) when I started working on another story that I was excited about, and when I went back I spent an entire day just mapping out the plots so that they were done. And I liked them a lot better. They were more jam packed, and there was an overall story arch that carried through the first four books, and allowed for a second story arch through the next four.

Now, through out this entire process, Nikelle, the main character, has been the only character that didn't change from version to version. Originally, when it was just a short story, there wasn't a romantic interest. Then the first version had a romantic interest named Jesse who was a college student. Then he got kicked out of the story and the next romantic interest appeared, named Harry. He has stuck around through the rest of the versions, but Jesse came in and out, unable to make up his mind about whether or not he wanted a part of the story.

In the latest version, however, Jesse made it clear he was there to stay, and that he had been Nikelle's boyfriend previously. Two other men have forced themselves into the story, demanding to have a part of Nikelle's romantic history, one an FBI agent named Price who she dated steadily for a while, and the other her boss's assistant named Ethan who she only dated a few times and never got serious with, but is good friends with.

So then Nikelle had four men vying for her attention. This shouldn't have been too much of a problem because I should have been sure that she would end up with Harry, since he is the main romantic interest, but as I developed the other men I liked them all the same and finally couldn't make up my mind.

One character, made my mind up for me. I sat down on Friday and finally outlined all of book one so that I can sit down and write it, and by the end of the book Ethan had made it clear that while he was in love with Nikelle, he couldn't stand by and watch while I gave her to someone else. So he forced me to kill him.

That was NOT on the menu, and he didn't tell me it was going to happen until I wrote the outline for that scene. It was very distressing, since I really liked him. But he made a logical argument, and it gave the story more dynamic.

So I've finally started writing this project long in the works, and I like this version the best, despite Ethan getting killed. The character is much more likable, and there is enough action to fill the book. And this time I am determined to finish writing it.

This WILL be my first published novel, if it's the last thing I do.

You have been tuned in to Noble's memories, thank you for reading, and sorry for there being so much.

Something's going on that I don't like

Something is going on in TV land and I don't like it. I haven't followed TV shows through an entire season before, and this year I've followed quite a few. And out of those, three have ended in a frustrated romance. I am not happy at all.

The first was Fringe. I missed the entire first season, but after I started watching the second season, I fell in love with it. And I really wanted the two, Olivia and Peter, to get together. So in the season finale I was very happy to see Olivia admitting her feelings for Peter and them getting together. Only the ending ended up with Olivia trapped and Peter not knowing about it, leaving the romance frustrated until next season.

The second was Bones. I have always loved this show, though I've only seen season one, five, and bits and pieces of the other seasons. I love Booth and I think Temperance is really funny with her social akwardness. But is has really frustrated me that even after five years of working together with sexual tension flying all over the place, they still aren't together. And they ALMOST got together in the season finale, but then didn't. And won't see each other for a year.

And the third was Castle. (Notice how each show's title is only one word) This one is a great show, especially for me, because it's about a writer AND detective work, two of my favorite things. And the last few episodes of the season have in the background been about how much Castle really likes Kate but can't have her because she's with the robbery detective. And in the season finale it finally compounded on him, and he seems like he gave up, just as she realized her feelings for him. So he left with someone else, while she's left by herself.

GAH!

And now I have to wait until September or later to find out if there is any chance at redemption for any of the couples. If this turns out to be a pattern for any of the other shows I watch, I'm going to be really angry. (and I can't say either way about White Collar because I missed the last three episodes, even though I love the show to pieces. I have a sneaking suspicion I know what happened because of spoilers, but I'm not sure.)

A little piece of obscure knowledge

I don't think I've ever mentioned this on here, or even told any one, but I am an avid fan of Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest. If you don't know what that is, look it up on Wikipedia. It's a fantasy comic book/graphic novel series from the 70s that has a cult following. Everyone I have ever told this didn't have a clue what it was.

I found it when I was probably twelve, when I was browsing the few shelves at the Dumfries Library back in Virginia. At the time it was something that peaked my interest, since it was beautifully drawn and colored, and was all about elves, riding wolves no less. Both of which were a big plus in my young mind.

Over the years, I have read even more of ElfQuest, and several times tried to create my own fan holt. (tribe of wolfriding elves) It never really succeeded, mostly because I couldn't recruit enough members to keep it active and fun.

It fell into the wasteland of my mind over the years. I collected the books, checked the main website every so often, but generally didn't think about it.

Then, yesterday I happened upon a picture of a wolfrider that I didn't recognize, and I was off exploring as much as I could possibly find until 1 in the morning. (cringe, I know, that's pretty late...) And after thinking about it, I decided I wanted to do more than just look. I wanted to participate, like I had tried to do in the past. Only this time it would be with a holt/club that was already active.

So I found the (almost) perfect holt/club, and joined.

I am so happy to find people who love ElfQuest as much as I do.

If you live in Stafford, VA, raise your hand please

I was just looking on Google Analytics, which keeps track of the traffic here for me. I hadn't been on in a while, and I was looking because of the commenter on the last post. I didn't know who it was, and wanted to see who all was looking at my blog. If there are actually people reading I might have to start posting meaningful stuff.

Anyway, I looked and found that someone from Virginia was looking at my blog. First reaction; huh, I don't think I know anyone in Virginia. Then, I looked closer and saw the city they were in is Stafford. New reaction; HUH?! Someone from my old town is looking at my blog? WHO ARE YOU?

It was a surprising experience and if it's someone I knew from when I lived there, I would love to reconnect. HINT HINT!

It's funny

Every time I say "I'm going to do this from now on," it never gets done. I said I was going to write every day with the goal of being consistent, but it never happened. I wrote for two days, coincidentally the two days I worked that week, then nothing. Now I've missed out on all that time, and have even decided to change around what I'm going to be writing.

I just can't seem to stick with a plan, and it's bugging me.

In better news, I finally reconfigured my urban fantasy series' plots, making everything fit. I'm really happy about it, and excited to start writing tomorrow. The first book of this series is what I plan on being my first published novel. I've had the idea in my head for a very long time, I've revised it a couple of times, and I'm finally ready to get it all on paper.

I'm not going to say that that's what I plan on doing over the summer, because that would jinx it.

Can anyone help me?

I have discovered that I like reading political fantasy more than quest fantasy. This startled me, because I really don't like politics; whenever it comes up in the conversation I tune out or try to change the subject. But when I'm reading high fantasy (apparently this is my own classification; example, Lord of the Rings is high fantasy while Harry Potter is not,) I prefer reading about political intrigue and the like rather than a bunch of people trekking across the world to find something/stop someone.

Let me give you some examples. I loved Brandon Sanderson's Elantris. I have never finished Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule. I loved K.E. Mills' Accidental Sorcerer, but couldn't finish Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara.

Now this doesn't always hold true; I did read David Eddings' Belgaried series, but couldn't get through Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince. But for the most part I have an easier time reading political fantasy.

The down side to this, is I have a hard time finding something to read. Just like when I'm in the mood for urban fantasy, it's hit and miss, and there really isn't a list out there that tells what is political and what is quest.

So if you have suggestions, I would love to hear them.

This is where everyone thinks I'm insane

In honor of the great Kateness, I'm come up with a solid plan for having four novels written by the end of July, and six done by the end of November. You are all allowed to think I'm crazy; even I think I'm crazy. But I'm going to do it. Here's how.

Starting today (as soon as I stop procrastinating) I'm going to write 2k a day. Granted, that is barely a fraction of what Kateness writes every day for NaNoWriMo, but the goal is to work my way up slowly, so that I don't end up killing myself. By the time July and JulNoWriMo comes around, I plan on being able to pound out 7k a day. Again, not very much compared to Kateness, but that's what I can foresee myself being able to do. Anything more, and I'll just drown.

Now, the goal is to finish the next three short stories in my Monstrum Venator series (roughly 20k), write books one and two of my Reality Repair series (100k each), write a medium length fantasy, what exactly I haven't decided yet (75k rounded up), then for JulNoWriMo write two out of four of the novels in my new fantasy series (100k each). Then finish up the last two out of four during NaNoWriMo (100k each)

This is all theoretically possible if I can work my way up to 7k a day.

Now, this really shouldn't be too much of a problem. I can generally get more than 4k in a day, but not consistently. The real goal here is consistency. The only thing I'm really worried about is being able to stick to one project long enough to finish it. I've only managed to pull that off once (more if you count the short stories in MV)

Now, I'm pretty sure there is no way I will ever be able to truly emulate Kateness; I just don't have the disciple to write a million words in thirty days. But I am going to progress enough that I can produce enough to publish frequently. And publishing frequently=more money=not needing a day job=more time to actually write. Which is the ultimate goal. (Aside from marriage and family, of course.)

So wish me luck on this insane journey!

In Honor of my Hundreth Post

I am no longer really sick. I still have a slight cough and I wake up every morning feeling like my immune system has shut down during the night and is trying to reboot, but that has to do with my allergies (household dust. It sucks.) But I'm not lay-on-the-couch-and-rot sick any more.

What a relief.

I am also getting back into reading normal fantasy. For a while now, going on a year, I ignored every other genre except for urban fantasy. It was mostly because that was what I was in the mood for most of the time (why, I don't know), and I've slowly but surely run out of good urban fantasy to read. So I've forced my brain to switch gears a little. It's a slow process; the current fantasy book I'm reading, while more high fantasy is still set in a time period much like ours.

Science fiction on the other hand, is harder to get back into. I love science fiction to pieces, but there is so few books out there that I will actually read because I like list of undefinable specifics in my sci fi books. And I really can't define them, so I can't tell for sure if a book I pull off the library shelf is what I want to read or not. It's bothersome.

In other news, something I should have put last post, I cut my hair. I didn't get it trimmed, I CUT my hair. It is now very short, like a pixie cut. And I love it. I think I look much better now than I ever did with longer hair. Funny, considering the last time I cut my hair this short I hated it. But I look great now, and as soon as I have a picture I will post it. (I.E. not very soon)

Well, I really should stop procrastinating writing something. It's a bad habit I need to break...

I hate being sick

Last Friday I got home from work feeling a little ill. I thought it was just because I was tired (I stayed up until after 1am on a regular basis) but by Saturday I was feeling horrible. I had a raging headache, my nose was all stuffed up, and I just felt rotten. It got progressively worse, adding a really sore throat and a painful earache by the middle of last week, and then it got a little better. I didn't have a headache any more and my body didn't feel like I was going to collapse into a pile of goo. However, a cough replaced everything. And it hasn't gone away. I've missed the second Sunday in a row of church because I've been coughing so much, and nothing seems to help.

In other news, I... nah, I got nothing. I'm just sick of being sick. Sorry for the downer post.

Some Good News

Remember when I told you about the website Protagonize? Well, for the last thirteen or fourteen days I've been writing at least two chapters and at most six chapters a day on one story, currently called Monstrum Venator, but it's due a title change any day now. I currently have almost 30k words on it, and have enjoyed writing it so much. I love the main character, who stars in three out of the four short stories I've finished, and I love the main guys (there are two!) so much.

I have to admit though, before my conscious is ground into dust from all the guilt, it's based off of the TV show Supernatural. Now, before I get lawsuits coming out my ears, I want to say it has evolved a lot since that original basing.

Now that I got that out of the way, I can actually talk about my story. It's about a woman who's grown up with a pair of brothers (not related to her) and they all hunt the paranormal. That's where the similarities end. Well, those and the fact that they're all orphans. Other than that, the characters have differing personalities, and the overall mythos is different. And I jump back and forth through the years. One story is when the girl, Katey, is 6, another is when she's 24, still another when she's 16. They're all about how she evolved from a little orphan girl into the strong not-so-independent woman who can kick butt and track like the devil.

I actually feel like changing her a little bit, because she is so very dependent on the brothers. She's grown up with them and they're all closer than siblings, and she's always relied on them for emotional and physical support. It makes her a little weak and I'm not exactly sure that would appeal to readers. I mean, the only person I've gotten feedback on it is twelve year old girl on the Protag website. I know of one other person who has read it, but I don't know how much they've read, since they haven't commented and given me anything to go on.

Anyway.

I've kind of put Huntress on hold. Sort of. I totally revamped the plot, some of the characters, almost everything, and even tried a new title on for size; As Brightly as the Moon. But I've been so entranced with writing MV that Huntress has taken the back burning.

And Reality Repair... I'm thinking of revamping that one as well. I've thought a little bit about how, but I haven't done anything yet. Of the four (or was it five) chapters I did write on the first book, I wasn't completely enamored by the main character. Or the romantic interest, for that matter. Sure, I didn't hate her, but I didn't love her either. And the guy didn't turn out quite how I imagined him to be. He appeared... weak... and that's not what he's supposed to be.

So, now that I think about it, maybe I'll work a little on that once the next two MV stories are finished. Or maybe in between.

In other news, since I haven't written in a while (I apologize for that), I went shooting for the first time near the end of March with my younger brother and some of his friends. Let me tell you, I have never out-classed anyone MORE than I did with him and his friends.

I have recently changed my clothing style. I know favor my skinny jeans and boots with a 3/4 sleeve black leather jacket and diamond studded aviator glasses when it's sunny. So I looked cool. Classy even, depending.

My brother's friends? Black. Long, uncombed hair. Camo pants. Flipflops or boots. Basically, two of the friends (the couple) wore completely black, even had matching jackets, while another wore camo pants and a cowboy hat.

I had more fun staring at the rock formations then actually shooting.

Saturday, March 20th, 4:03 AM

I'm shaking, so I must be in shock. It's hard to think properly, hard to get these words down on the computer. I've only been scared worse twice in my life; once when I was eight and had a terrifying nightmare, and again when I was nineteen and almost drowned. The difference this time is that I'm not scared for my own life.

I have two friends, brothers, who I'm pretty close to. We haven't known each other very long, but they are both really great guys and loads of fun to be around. I just found out that they were in a terrible car accident. They were driving with their dad and got t-boned by a runaway semi truck.

I don't know if they're going to make it. I got the call while they were on route to the hospital, and I don't know what condition they are in. I was told that their car is a complete wreck. When I asked if I could meet them at the hospital to see who they were doing, I was told that I couldn't because I'm "not family," even though they don't have any other family. So all I can do is sit at home, worrying and trying to get back to sleep.

Are they going to survive? Will there be any permanent damage? Will life ever return to normal?

Edit: Saturday, March 20th, 5:03 PM

They're going to be okay. I got a call this afternoon from the hospital, and the brothers are going to be okay. The younger one is pretty cut up, but nothing serious, and the older one was unconscious for a few hours with damage to his liver and kidney, as well as a really nasty bump on the head.

The father, unfortunately, didn't make it. They tell me that he was awake and walking around for a little while, but that he collapsed unexpectedly and passed away.

They're still not letting me come see them, because the older brother is still in really critical condition, but as far as I've been told, they're going to be just fine. I've spoken with the younger brother, he called me as soon as he'd found a phone, and he's a real mess. Everything that's happened, from what he's told me, I'm really not surprised that he's emotionally a wreck.

But the boys are going to be okay, which is what is most important.

Protagonize

So, I've been floundering for the last little while when it comes to my writing. I'm not in a writing group any more, so I don't have anyone cheering me on, or even telling me I can do better. I finally decided on Tuesday that I needed something, so I googled 'writing communities'. I checked out a couple that popped up, but nothing looked like it was what I was looking for, until I found the site called Protagonize. It had a cool layout, a great logo, and from what I read about it, it was exactly what I was looking for. A website where writers can get together and either write solo stories or collaborate with the rest of the website.

I signed up and immediately jumped in, posting something I had written that morning and introducing myself on the forum.

Ten minutes later I got a comment on my story. She, the girl who had read it, said that she really liked it and was pleased that I had almost perfect grammar. This made me feel all bubbly inside, and I was so pleased that posting more on the website as been the only thing on my mind since then.

I would definitely recommend this website to all you writers out there. If you already are a member, look me up under DHNoble.

I'm sick of making plans that never pan out.

Let me clue you in on a secret of mine; I'm a big planner. I make plans for everything, from what's going to happen when my family moves to Iowa without me, to what I'm going to do during the day. The only thing is, I never actually follow through with the plans. If I've made a list of things to do during the day, they never get done. If I do research and make plans for my schooling, I change my mind. I've changed my mind half a dozen times about whether or not I was moving with my family to Iowa. (currently it's not, and as far as I know it's not going to change, thank goodness)

This has always been a big problem of mine. I make plans to work on one of my novels and end up getting side tracked by another. I make plans to work on the one that side tracked me, and I get side tracked again. I can never stick to one project longer than a few days, and it's driving me nuts. I'm almost ready to throw the proverbial towel in. Almost, but not quite.

I'm going to make one last-ditched attempt to get my life situated. My dad sent me some job training ideas, and as soon as I can open the file I'm going to start working on acquiring a skill that will earn me more than $150-$200 every two weeks. I'm determined to get out of my night owl, TV, and generally lazy habits, and get into some better habits.

It really hit me in the last week or so that I only have another few months before I'm completely on my own. And the way I'm living my life right now, I won't survive at all. I don't make enough to pay rent and insurance, my job isn't completely steady, and I generally have too much time on my hands.

So from now on, I'm a changed woman. I'm no longer the lazy do-nothing that I once was. I'm going to be proactive about my future.

Just as soon as I quit blogging as a way to procrastinate.

Holy Wow, that car is cool

First things first: I have to admit that I finally gave in and started watching the TV show Knight Rider. Not the older version, I would probably gone insane watching that one. No, I started watching the 2008 Knight Rider, and believe me, I was hooked, instantly. The movie, which I own, was okay. A little cheesy, but okay. The TV show, much better. I have always loved movies/shows with racing/really fast cars; Speed Racer, etc. So after I watched about half of the show, I got a really great idea for an urban-ish fantasy series I could write.

It would be about a woman (duh) who is a great mechanic and loves cars. One day she gets struck by lightning and (par What Women Want) she starts to hear cars talking. She then goes on grand adventures with different kinds of cars, rescuing people, stopping bank robbers, etc. I ran the story idea by my mom, and she liked it. (which surprised me)

So of course, for this kind of story I would have to get pretty intimate knowledge about the best cars, car terminology, and how to fix cars. So I hurried like a good little writer over to the local library and found some books that might help. (might, since I didn't find an all encompassing car book detailing how to become an automobile genius) I got a book about Pony cars, a term I hadn't heard of before, muscle cars through the ages, and a ladies guide to taking care of your car.

Being myself, I read through the muscle car book first, drooling over the pictures of the really amazing looking cars like they were male models. I couldn't decide what car I liked the best, so I decided to do a little more research online. This led me to the Dodge Challenger.

I was originally looking at the Ford Shelby Mustant GT500, which is an amazing car, and was looking up pictures when I came across a picture that compared the Shelby to the Dodge Challenger. Next to the Challenger, the Shelby doesn't look nearly as cool. So I began to look up pictures of the Challenger. This led me to finding out what the specifications of the car could be, so I headed over to the Dodge website to build my own from scratch.

This led me to the Challenger SRT8 (Street and Racing Technology, in case you were wondering), which automatically comes with a 6.1 liter V8 SRT HEMI engine. For those of you who haven't been studying cars all day, that means this is a really fast, powerful car. It can pull 325 horsepower, which, while not as amazing as the Dodge Viper (600hp, and $91,000), is really good for a muscle car. As a comparison, average coups and sedans get about 110-150hp. See?

Now, the Charger SRT8 actually has the same engine. The selling point for me was the Challenger can come in purple.

Now you see how very non-girly and girly I can be, at the same time.

Sorry about the ramble... I tend to be long winded.

They have come back to haunt me.

As someone who loves her dreams and hates waking up in the middle of them, I have had some trouble with the last two nights' collection of dreams. Don't get me wrong, I loved them all. It's just, every single one of them reminded me how very alone I am, as well as how scared I am of being in a relationship. My subconscious has it in for me, I swear.

Talking about another plan

My life has taken on some structure; For once I have a concrete schooling goal that is possible to complete, as well as an after the fact goal. Like my novel, mentioned in the post below, it has taken a long time to get to this point.

As someone who is college age and who could be almost done with her third year, I'm not the most dedicated person. I have a problem with procrastination (got it from my dad), and I'm always changing my mind about exactly what I want to be doing. I've planned everything from ASL interpretation to crime scene investigation and police work. But when I actually get to the part where I have to start working on it, then I have either chickened out or decided that I wanted to be doing something different.

This year it's going to be a little different for several reasons. My family is moving to Iowa without me, and I still don't have a way of supporting myself when they're gone, and I'm tired of being stuck in a rut of earning very little money and having no money. So after careful thinking and discussing with my mom, I've decided to take some advice that my dad gave me last year.

This may be completely against my personality, but I'm going to become a Certified Nurses Assistant (hereby called CNA.) It's hard for me to admit that I'm going to become something I'm not entirely one hundred percent enamored with, but it's going to happen. I have started saving for the class, which I will probably take in either April or May depending, and I've already started planning where I might be able to get a job.

I'm hoping to be able to get a job at the children's hospital in the city, because I would rather work with children than with old people. Then, once I have a steady job that pays pretty good, I plan to buy a car. Preferably a Ford Focus because that's my second choice; my first choice is too expensive.

So my financial life has been planned for almost the entire year, which is a first.

If that was all a little bit scattered and random, I'm sorry; I'm tired and have the residue of a headache sitting in my brain.

In other news I love the movie The Lake House; it's now on my top ten list.

Thus I am ready to spearhead the global take-over

It has taken me a long time to get to this point. I've thought I've been here several times before, but each time it wasn't right and stalled out. This time I am positive that I'm going to get it right, and there are several long reasons why. Let me start from the beginning so that this all makes sense:

I have a single novel that I actually reached the words THE END. I wrote it during NaNoWriMo in 2008, and despite how completely boring most of it was because of how much filler I put in it, it was a great story and all of the people who I let read it raved about it. They all said that it had great potential, and one particular friend has been great at helping me get to that potential. After November was over, I started working on the second draft, and decided that somethings needed to change. So it began to evolve from what it was, very slowly morphing to what it is today. However there were quite a lot of large bumps in the road along the way.

Since the first time I wrote it, I haven't been able to bring it back up to 50k. After the initial paring down, the most I got it to was 24k. At first I didn't understand why this was happening, then I realized that it was because I didn't have enough plot to actually fill that much space. So around version three, I started adding new plot stuff; dreams, more bad guys, a longer conflict with Chandra instead of Artemis (they are the same person, just different personalities, in case you were wondering), etc. Nothing worked.

Another thing was the guys in my writing group kept accusing telling me that it was like Twilight, which was NOT my goal in any way. So I finally just set it aside and didn't touch it for a few months.

About a week ago, I decided that I really needed to work on it some, because my best friend has a printing waiting for me to finish it. (her own painted cover included, it was the best birthday present I have ever received) So I pulled it out, thumbed through my notes, read through several of the different drafts, and talked it out with my mom. It's always fun doing that, because while she doesn't like what I write, it's good to bounce ideas off her (and they always come back better than I threw them.)

After a few days I came to a decision: Huntress was taking on a whole new direction. After carefully examining it from every possible direction, I came to the conclusion that it would be better for Chandra, the main character to be older; It would make it easier for me to write it since I hate writing about high school students, and it would solve a lot of time constraint problems. So Chandra had a small encounter in high school, but the big one didn't come until she was halfway through college.

And since she was older, many other things had to be changed as well. Friends had to be cut out or changed, setting had to be rearranged, and finally I had to come up with things for her family.

But I still didn't have an exact plot in mind; I knew the very VERY basic of what I wanted to happen, I knew that it had to last longer than any of my other plots, and I knew that it had to be amazing.

So today, while mom was at work and the boys were at school or asleep, I sat down at mom's computer (mine's in Iowa) and just started typing the plot. I wrote up a little of what I had already written, including a prologue and some of chapter one, then just continued on from there.

The plot was similar to the first drafts, but at the same time very different. There were less important characters to keep track of (though I did completely forget about one while I was plotting...) and there was a lot more action and danger. I finally got around to inserting a new scene that I have wanted to get in there for a while now (it never fit until now), and I got to use two characters as supporting characters instead of background, like they were before.

Somethings still happened, like her mom dying a fiery death, and somethings that happened in the first drafts but not the more recent ones came back, like certain people getting injured, and some completely new things happened, like Artemis not really coming back all the way, just as a voice in Chandra's head.

All in all, when I was finished writing the plot, I felt a sense of elation; I was actually going to be able to get this done.

And so here I go, on my way to a complete global take-over, stealing the world right out from under Twilight's vampire riddled, annoying feet.

Wish me luck.

Numa Numa

I assume everyone has heard of the Numa Numa song by Ozone? If you haven't, go to youtube and type in 'numu numa'. It's the music video one. If you have, you know what it's an energetic, interesting song in Russian (or Ukraine I think.)

I mention this song because it's my family's favorite song. My mom in particular. Every time she hears it, she immediately starts to dance, which starts the whole family dancing and leaves everyone out of breath and in a good mood. It's a great spirit-lifter, and I love it when my mom is in a good mood. 'Cause when she's not, then no one else can be in a good mood.

It is incredibly hard to come up with a unique magic system

Every so often I'll read, either on my favorite authors websites or in writing books, about creating a unique magic system. I never really thought about it that much, because I was more in to writing modern fantasy or science fiction, or really light high fantasy, with very little mention of magic. It's only been recently, after reading Branden Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy (have yet to read the third), Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time that I really started to get interested in writing epic fantasy with a larger focus on magic.

This brought with it the problem that every kind of magic I could think of either wouldn't work under close scrutiny, or had already been used in one form or another. So, a few months ago I created a new word doc and just began making a list of different kinds of magic I could develop. I've worked on it on and off, and did some developing on one based on light.

Two Sundays ago at church, I got the idea of a kind of magic based on song. It took me a while to come up with how it actually worked, and after that everything took off. I loved it, and really wanted to work on it.

That's when I needed a story to go along with it. I tried to come up with one, but I kept finding that it was too similar to Mistborn. So I gave up and set the magic aside.

Now, for the past couple of weeks, the only things I could get written were stories based on my dreams. My normal creativity has been somewhat lacking, so I've been relying on my subconsciousness. It's worked, I've written anywhere from 2k to almost 5k steadily every day, and I can definitely tell that my writing is getting better.

However, Saturday I woke up and couldn't remember any of my dreams. I remembered having them, and remembered that they were cool, but I just couldn't call them to mind. So, when I sat at the computer, determined to write something, I started typing, not really sure what I was creating.

As I continued writing, it became clear (as clear as the sub-zero air in the story) that this was the story for the magic system.

It fit perfectly. Every reason and law I had come up for the magic meshed so perfectly with the frozen landscape I had written, I was amazed that I hadn't thought of it before. So, while it took longer than I have ever prepared for anything, I found the story that fit, and even the characters to go along with it, and am so excited to continue writing it.

Alright

So I finally got a job. Hallelujah!

It's a nanny job in my neighborhood, and is only part time, but it's a job! Whee!

A New Year

This is a little late. I've been procrastinating it for the last couple of days, but I finally have the house all to myself during the day again, and I've decided that I really need to make some changes. Good thing it's the New Year, because I can label these changes as being New Year's Resolutions.

I've never been good at this. I don't think I've ever fulfilled a Resolution, and the only goal I can remember ever completing was when I saved enough money for an American Girl doll when I was eight or nine. This year, I'm going to actually make an effort, though. Events, and even some threats of eviction from my parents, have forced me to realize that I really need to get my lazy behind working, or else I might not be following the family to Iowa, and I don't know what I would do without them. Sometimes I hate their guts, but I've never lived truly on my own before, and it terrifies me a little.

So, here's what I plan on heading for this year, and this is mostly for my benefit (and my dad's):

1.) I will have a job by the end of January. Completed!
2.) I will finish the fifth draft of Huntress
a.) I will work on plotting and outline at least two hours a week
b.) I will write at least one chapter a week
3.) I will follow a detailed daily schedule
a.) I will write said schedule to include writing and relaxing, but have most of the day planned out to get a job and help around the house
b.) I will get up by eight o clock and be in bed with lights out by eleven o clock
4.) I will exercise at least twice a week
a.) I will walk one mile twice a week during the day
b.) I will do yoga twice a week or more
5.) I will write something two hours a day, spaced out in half an hour to an hour intervals over the whole day

For now, that's all I can think of things I want to work on. It will definitely get longer the more I think about it, but until then, this is it.