The Beginnings of an Idea

It's really interesting where some of my ideas from. Like most other authors I get most of my ideas through the media. I get inspired by watching movies and TV shows, by listening to music, by reading books and magazines. For example I got my idea for my first book from a combination of a book on Dragonology and the cartoon Yu-gi-oh. So you can use media to get get your ideas too.


And then there are life experiences. A few years ago I wrote some poetry. Most of that poetry has a theme and that theme was being close to death and surviving it. About a few months before I became ill with Ulcerative Colitis. I lost more than 30 lbs in the period of a few months. But in the beginning I got dehydrated and was throwing up. So I used that experience as inspiration for my poetry.


I also used to play a game that I got some of ideas from and even used to improve some of them. I called it the game of pretend. First you find a quiet place where you can be left alone and where nobody can hear you talk to yourself. Then you put yourself in your mystical place. Then you allow yourself to be as many characters as you want and you banter back and forth (yes, banter, as in to jabber like an idiot). You can do this till the cows come home or at least until the kids wake up. The best place to do it is inside your head, but then you can't record it.


How do you get ideas? What do you think about how I get ideas?


stats:
Mood: same
Chapters written: same
Watching: Dr. Phil
I'm on twitter @Sorica2001 and on Facebook.

Amelia

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last posting. I think my butt is too afraid to go near to my computer so I couldn't post anything. That was until last Christmas when I got my new iPad. and even with a new toy it took me some time to get comfortable enough with it to the point where I could post again. So finally...

I don't think I could continue with the second part of my book without introducing you to a new character.I might have mentioned her before as Prag's love interest. And I do have pictures of her.

Her name is Touhana, but she prefers to go by Amelia. Her gift is form-shifting (which is kind of like shape-shifting except that you can only change into a specific number of creatures,in her case three). She is three-quarters Asian Dragon and in that form she's extremely beautiful and attracts male Dragons very easily. In fact she's been jaded by her attractiveness. She hasn't had anything done to her yet, but she is tired of all the attention. Which is why she prefers her human-form. And being in her human-form all the time has lead her to discover books. Her favorite activity is sitting under the cherry tree and reading.


What do you think of this new character?

Stats
Chapters completed: 11.75
Mood: content
Watching: Ghostbusters II
I'm now on Facebook.

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

It'll take a miracle

I finally finished chapter 10 with no ellipses and no knots. And now I'm trying to get chapter 11 done by this Monday, May 16. There's nothing particularly special about that date except that it's two days from when I promised myself I would be finished with a third of my promo animation. And I've already completed that. But now I've got another problem. My right arm has been cramping up in the evening. And my right arm is my primary writing arm. I am not ambidextrous. So the process of writing this chapter is going to be slow. It's going to take a miracle to get this chapter done in time.


Stats
Mood: content
Chapters completed: 10
Promo Progress: Finished 1-12 on storyboard
Music currently: Your Decision by Alice in Chains

Not about pets

I realize that this post will be my 4 x 7th post. And on my 7th day I usually blog about my pets. Well today I've decided not to do that because I've decided to try something new.

I'm trying to start a new chapter in my book. Yet I'm not completely finished with my last chapter. I still have ellipses not to mention that I have one heck of a knot. I really can't wait to get the first draft of chapter 10 done.

But here are a list of issues I have 1. I think chapter 10's too long already and it pains me to make it even longer. 2. My muse frequently take vacations and I can't finish the story without him. 3. My mother is constantly interrupting me with reminders to eat and sleep and to take a bath at inconvenient times like when I'm getting the groove of writing. And finally 4. My butt prevents me from getting near the computer and writing. Whenever I go to my computer when nobody's home my colon goes into hypersensitive mode and produces poop. TMI I know, but it is a constant problem.