What's in a Name?

There are our given names such as John Smith or Susan L. West. There are nicknames (mine at work was “Westside”). There are our twitter account names (@Sorica2001). Then there are names that we learn not to like such as “Coward” for Prag, “Traitor” for Lore, “Dark” for Dorthor, and “Cheater” for Praxel. These names all reflect on the world who we are and what our personalities will be. And we can either go with the flow like I did with “Westside” or Lore did with “Traitor”, or you can let it bother you each time you hear it like Prag does with “coward”.

I remember my name. It was “Cutie Girl”. And it wasn’t because I was cute, but because they all thought I had a contagious disease called Cuties (which doesn’t exist). I know it’s childish, but it followed me all the way through elementary school. They also called me the “Wicked Witch of the West”, which turned out to be partially true because I was a Wiccan for a good part of my life, but I never did anything evil or dabbled in the Dark Arts. It says it right there in the Wiccan Reed, “An ye harm none, doest what ye wilt.” One time, when I was in middle school, I tried damn hard to ignore all of the bullies that I was actually accused of being deaf.

stats:

music: When Doves Cry by Prince

mood: a little tired

chapters: don't ask

Questions of the week:

1. What were some of the names you were called when you were younger?

2. Have you accepted them or do they still haunt you?

3. Did any names have any meaning beyond the obvious?

Knots, ellipses, and notes: Three things that are driving me crazy.

When I write, sometimes I find it hard to write strait through. Which is why between some paragraphs I put double ellipses. And I always rely on notes. Between the notes and my literature & every two consecutive notes I place a single ellipse. Of course, the biggest problem with this method comes when you have to fill in the ellipses  and the double ellipses. Yep you guessed it. You need to fill in the gap between two ideas that might have been placed minutes apart. Which is where I get to knots. They can carry on a story for pages without end. They can be resolved easily with a "let's change the subject" or a change of the paragraph before or the paragraph after. Or they can be impossible to sort out. In which case you can delete either all or part of it and start over.

Now I am in no way advocating that this method is right for everyone. You may find it easier to write strait through. But you might want to try it if your a little scatter-brained like me. Or you could try your own method. As long as you write for at least 15 minutes a day, you'll do good.

stats:
Music: the Otherside by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Mood: ;-)
Chapters: still working out the ellipses in 11 and trying to avoid the knots

I'm Baaack! Back in the saddle again!

Yes, I'm back after a long hiatus. And here is a first, I'm also writing a post without the crutch of my word processor. So why such reckless abandon? Well, first off my butt isn't so sporadic anymore. And secondly I got someone who I can trust to read what I've got so far and give me an honest opinion on it.

So who is this person? He's an old friend who just so happened to find me on myspace and on twitter on the same day I predicted an old friend would. He took me to go see The Village and IRobot, to listen at a Dave Matthew's Band concert, to eat at a japanese style restaurant called Osaka, and to dance at my prom. His name is Chris Daly. And although I haven't seen him for a few years, I was still enthusiastic when I handed over part of my manuscript to him.

stats:
mood: elated
chapters: 11 (with a few ellipses)
music: Black horse and a cherry tree