Enigma Inklings

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012.

2012-01-01T01:47:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone. =)

I hope everyone is having a great and save new year.

Since my last blog entry, I finished #butterflies! I'm so stoked to get the query going and finally start querying. Also, while I'm doing that, I'm going to work on #kiegan some more, along with other projects I have going, not to mention the game and book reviews I have decided to do.

And speaking of which, the first game for the first review of 2012 is going to be....

MAGNA CARTA 2!

It's a Korean RPG, and boy, is it beautiful. It's real time based battle system, but I believe it works. The controls take a bit of getting used to, but once you're used to them, you're on your way to a great game, IMO.

I can't wait to start reviewing it. :) The next game lined up for a review is Muramasa: The Demon Blade. That one is just as equally, if not more spectacular in appearance, beautiful and so awe inducing, you can't put it down. It reminds me so much of Okami.

Now, you're probably all wondering which book I plan to on reviewing in 2012. Well, I haven't exactly thought of it yet. Heh. It might be an older book, or it could be one of Beth Revis's. I don't exactly know yet, but whichever one I decide to review, I'll definitely say. And I'll try to alternate which I review, probably:

game --> game --> book --> book --> game --> book --> game

Or something like that. I'll figure out the system and I'll get a good pattern going. :)

Happy New Year!

#butterflies ~ complete
60k/50k

Still Here!!

2011-12-29T21:02:00.000-05:00

What I'm doing right now: Playing Muramasa: Demon Blade
What I should be doing right now: Writing, so I can finish up #butterflies.

I've neglected my blog, and I feel terrible for it.

Never fear, though! I'm still alive. :) Just been busy working on writing. I'm almost done with #butterflies, too. I'm at the 58k mark right now, so I'm way over the 50k goal.

I didn't finish NaNo this year. Mainly because I ended up behind a wall and couldn't get past it. However, I did manage to get 30k in out of 50k, so I don't think that's too bad for my first time doing it.

Not to mention I didn't have as much material as I liked when I started, but that's okay. This gives me time to go over all that I've written and research more. I have something else to work on when I finish #butterflies, which I'll be doing either tonight or tomorrow, seeing as how I'm on the last chapter and all. :)

Just putting up an update that I'm not gone. I've just been busy. Sorry, again, for neglecting my blog. I think once I'm done writing #butterflies, I'll take my time to review some of the books and games I have. I sure know that I need to start getting on that, plus it'll give me something to write about when I'm having an off day.

I think I'll make that my goal in 2012. Work on writing reviews for the books and games I own. <3

NaNo - Muse = :(

2011-11-10T22:49:00.001-05:00

Writing is hard.

Don't let anyone let you think otherwise. I mean, it can be easy, but it can be hard all at the same time. There's so much you have to do when writing. You have to make sure there's no plot holes, make sure you cover your bases. There's also the times where your muse won't cooperate, won't listen and tell you to shove it as she (or he!) crawls away under your bed to hide.

Thanks, muse. Just when I need you the most.

I'm behind in NaNoWriMo. Starting tomorrow, I'll have two days to get to 22k. I'm not exactly complaining. I can do it. But not when she's being a butt and hiding under my bed while ignoring my calls.

Pretty much, I'm having trouble putting the words down. Then again, I'm switching from first person present tense to third person past tense.

And that's hard.

Plus I have three POVs this time instead of one.

I'm still working on #butterflies, but I decided to do NaNo this year. I have little under 2k to write for #butterflies, and then some, but I wanted to get this idea done so I didn't have to worry about it later, which is why I am doing NaNo. Usually I say I'll do it, then I don't (I have another idea, but looks like I'll do it for next NaNo; there's a little too much I have to research for it first before I even think about attempting it). It's what I did last year.

I'm great at that. I need to stop doing that.

Though, luckily, this time, I have an outline written, so at least I have some kind of an idea of where this story is going. It's just getting it written and having my muse listen for once.

Hello, muse. Come out, come out. It's time to play. Oh, where, oh, where has she gone?

I think she hates me. :(

Ae

Batman, It Lacks (Spoilers)

2011-11-06T11:01:00.001-05:00

Since not everyone can see my GameSpot blog (settings are on private), I'm going to repost what I wrote there, here.

Do not go any further if you haven't played all of Batman: Arkham City (not including Catwoman DLC). Might contain spoilers.
Something feels lacking.

Both my boyfriend and I played the game while I was at his house, though he played it more than me. I.e. he beat the game, unlike me. I didn't use the Catwoman Online Pass code yet because I've never gone through the hassle of Online Passes, so I didn't know how it would work out, and it wasn't on my 360. It was on his.

We both agree that there's something missing. Maybe it has something to do with Catwoman, maybe it doesn't. Don't know yet. So I could be basing this gut feeling on nothing and it's just a hole in the storyline.

Just, I don't know. Something about it felt like it was nothing but an empty shell if you don't use her. You start off with Batman getting punched in the face and tormented in jail. You meet Penguin and move along to figure out what's going on. You have to find Catwoman, who is held up with Dent (Two-Face). They say when you use the Online Pass, the beginning will be a bit different. I don't know how different, or how much it effects it right away as I haven't used the code yet, which I will be doing later today, as long as I get the other things I need done first.

I mean, that's pretty much it for Catwoman when you rescue her. You really don't see her for most of the game.

While finding Joker, you can take side missions. One of the side missions is Edward Nigma (Riddler), and you have to save the hostages that are from the Cathedral. Now, when doing this, it gets tricky. You can't complete all of it unless you have Catwoman, so if you're a completionist, well, you have to use the code to do it.

And what I mean by all that, Catwoman has her own set of trophies. You can't touch them. If you touch them, it'll ask you to download the pack bundle in order to pick them up.

All throughout the game, it seems like they overwhelm you with characters. Because of that, half way through the game my boyfriend asked what I'd give the game based off what I experienced so far. I told him around 5 or 6. Yeah, like he said, it's a bit harsh, but I was taking everything in to consideration. Plus the thugs completely spoil that Catwoman is working with Poison Ivy.

Great, huh?

(Note: If anyone gets upset that I said that, please remember that in the title AND at the beginning, I said there might be spoilers, so you read this on your own will, knowing there would be spoilers)

Some of you might not see it as a spoiler, but I can understand it not being so if we weren't promised you could play as Catwoman and she has her own storyline you can go through. I'd get it if she was a secondary character in the game, just like all the other characters. That would be something key interest to know. However, that whole thing has nothing to do with what you, as Batman, have to do. You don't meet up with Poison Ivy. You don't do anything that might hint at what Catwoman's up to.

Again, you don't see her for pretty much of the whole game until the point with Ra's.

Up to the point with Ra's, it feels a bit rushed. You're thrown into each character so quickly, it comes to the point where it gets a little overwhelming. Doing side missions, you sort of thrown in to more characters.

You might say the first game was like that, but I played a bit of the first before playing this one. It didn't feel like that to me.

Now, don't get me wrong, the game is good, but it feels like you're playing an outer shell--freebie kind of thing until you download/buy this certain content to enjoy the full game as it should be enjoyed.

You can say, "Well you bought the game new, didn't you? Why are you complaining?" or "Why does it matter if you bought it new?"

I just feel like it's not fair. What if I don't want to play as Catwoman right off the bat or don't want to use the Online Pass right away? It's my choice, and I want to enjoy the game as it should be enjoyed. Yeah, I know you can play it without Catwoman and beat it without her, but that's not the point. Initially, the reason these Online Passes started was for multiplayer servers. Buy a used copy, okay, then you have to pay a little extra to get online and play multiplayer.

Alright, fine. Whatever. But this is for singleplayer and not for a server or anything. It's for content that you can tell was part of the game before they decided on the Online Pass. Not to mention that even if you buy it new, those who can't access the internet with the 360 won't be able to play as Catwoman, anyway. How is that fair to the consumer who bought it new for $60? It might not have been me, but it's still not fair because they don't have the full game to begin with. They can't play the game and complete it like everyone else who has an internet connection. Again, it's like an empty shell that is given for free, but you have to have an internet connection/pay more to access the other features. It lacks in game content that should already have been there and should be there without an Online Pass.

Is this missing content, this lacking feeling, because of Catwoman missing? I don't know. I'd have to play as her and find out myself, which I will. And I will blog about whether or not it's the cause for this lacking feeling I have when playing the game, like something is being withheld from me until I give them what they want (or put in an online code). Until I play, I can't give a rating of the game. If it's not Catwoman that makes it feel lacking? I will give it at least an 7.5, mainly because of how they presented the Online Pass after telling everyone they can play as Catwoman, because not everyone can play.

That's the thing. It doesn't matter if you buy new or used. If you don't have an internet connection, you can't play it as her, anyway.

Also? If you want to play the game in five years or buy a new copy then? Better read the back of the case to make sure what the expiration date for the Online Pass says. Mine says, since I bought it the day it came out, October 18, 2016. That's five years. If I don't use the Online Pass in five years, it becomes worthless and I won't ever be able to play as her.

Kind of ruins the value price of the game, too, if you ever want to sell it in five years, still sealed. Because of that, with it still in the factory shrink wrap, it's the same as a used game.

#10kgogogo!

2011-10-09T05:16:00.001-04:00

#butterflies

10k Words to go since restarting Chapters 30 and 31.

Have 8572 words left.

Chapter 32 started.

41,422/50,000

One I'm done, I'll work on the romance part and that'll be it. Done, complete, finished.

:D Oh, how I can't wait.

Oh, Sony.

2011-10-08T18:53:00.000-04:00

Recently (like thirty minutes ago) I read that Sony is planning to put online passes in all of its games.

Personally, I'm not happy with this.

I don't know how this is all going to go down. I don't know if it's tied to your account or if it's tied to the console you first play the game on, which is really going to make things difficult if you ever have a console that decides to fail on you.

Because, you know, hardware isn't forever and will fail.

Then there's the rental and used games market. I know this whole point is to fight off the used games market, but what about the rentals? Not everyone can afford new games right off the bat, so they either rent or buy games used.

Just, I don't like this. I really don't. Sony will give more information in the future, so I guess I'll wait until then.

/rant.

Reading, Writing, and Video Games.

2011-10-07T22:43:00.001-04:00

Hello, lovies.

I haven't really posted much on here in months. That's my bad. I've been working on writing and babysitting, so I haven't exactly had the time to come here.

Again, my bad.

So where to begin?

Couple weeks ago, before Borders closed, I went to check out what they had left. Everything was 90% off, so I figured if anything, I could at least get five or so books, you know?

Well, to my surprised, I got more than that.

Way more.

For YA, I got 12 books. Here they are:

Morganville Vampires: Midnight Alley (3rd book)
Thirsty
Tandem
Hourglass
Across the Universe
Prey
Specials (3rd book of the Uglies series)
Blue Bloods: Bloody Valentine
Blue Bloods: Keys to Repository
Blue Bloods: Misguided Angel
Strife
Changeling

Update: I just noticed that two are not YA. Tandem and Thirsty. Oops. They're adult books. I didn't realize it until now, so my bad. >>

What else did I get? I also got 27 manga (28 counting my brother's I got him). Those were:

Replica 1
Bleach 31 (for brother)
Spice & Wolf Vol 3 (manga)
Fafner 1
Rosario Vampires Season II: Vol 1
Rosario Vampires Season II: Vol 2
XXXholic Vol 5
XXXholic Vol 6
XXXholic Vol 7
XXXholic Vol 8
XXXholic Vol 9
XXXholic Vol 11
XXXholic Vol 12
XXXholic Vol 16
Spice & Wolf Vol 3 (novel)
Kobato Vol 1
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol 2
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol 6
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol 7
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol 8
Dance in the Vampire Bund Vol 9
V.B. Rose Vol 6
V.B. Rose Vol 7
V.B. Rose Vol 8
V.B. Rose Vol 9
V.B. Rose Vol 10
V.B. Rose Vol 11
BIOMEGA 4

All of it, total, came to be about $441.25. Like I said, it was 90% so I really only paid $44.13. :D I just kept grabbing books and manga, and putting them in my carrier until it was pretty much overflowing with them, lol. My dad had pull me away from the books so I wouldn't get anymore.

Sad face.

Anyway, I think I did pretty good. It'll last me a while, when I actually get a chance to read. Right now I'm reading Across the Universe by Beth Revis. :3

Now on the writing side of things, I've updated my WIPs page. I have less than 10k left in #butterflies and started on another I'm going to call #kiegan. She's a Eurasian wolf with a mohawk, and that's all I'm going to say about it. ;)

There's other projects I'm working on, sure, but they're in the outlining stage. I haven't really decided what I'm going to do with them or what I'm writing goal is.

Video games, I got Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle. I got it for $20, new. Been playing that nonstop. I also preordered Batman: Arkham City.

Well, that's it for now. ;3 I got some writing to do and finish that up so I can work on the romance part of it. I skipped it for now.

Oh! I also made a mini top hat, and making another, but I need glue for the glue gun. I'll post pics when I finish it up with the last details and finish the other mini top hat.

Until next time. :3

Slutty Werewolves, and WTF?

2011-06-24T08:38:00.005-04:00

Update: Sarcasm detected and known. :3 [<--This is supposed to be a face...and failed.] All is well.

Update II: I seemed to have pressed strikethrough without realizing so oops. =D I'm just that awesome!

(Note to self: don't make silly mistakes like that.)

So I came on my computer in the morning to print something out and work on it, not get distracted (like I just did for the past...ugh, hour and 30 minutes, god damn it) by the internet. Yeah, that so did not work out according to plan.

(Note: I'm still going to print out whatever I was going to print out and work on it. I just have to remember to do so when I'm done with this.)

I decided to hop on to Absolute Write and look to see what's up like I usually do because I'm nosy and I want to see what's going on the forums today. I scroll down a bit until I come across the Young Adult board and they have something about a YA author writing a Slate article with another person. I've heard her book before, so it got me curious what she (and he, I'm guessing? The article is also by Grady Hendrix, so....) had to say.

Article: Writing Young Adult Fiction

First of all:

*Headdesk.*

First thing that sticks out when I see the article is this:

Writing Y.A. as an adult is a chance to rewrite being a teenager. Our series, The Magnolia League, is, in some ways, the high-school experience we never had, where everyone is witty and good-looking and their problems are more like, "My evil grandmother is torturing my dead mom's soul!" rather than, "I have a lot of zits." It's an opportunity to relive high school in a more perfect manner. Who doesn't want to be 16 and living in a mansion? And hooking up with the hot guy? And having super hoodoo powers? It's totally normal.

I hope they're both being facetious when stating this (mainly because of the "It's totally normal" part having a sarcastic tone), but it's probably not. And ugh, really? More teenagers want to relate to the character, not fantasize about how she's the hottest girl and doesn't have zits (everyone gets zits, just FYI, just some more so than others), practices hoodoo, and is sixteen and hooks up with the hottest guy like evarz, not to mention living in a mansion.

Yeah, uhh, I never wanted that, sorry. So I guess I wasn't totes normal (then again, plenty of people can attest to me not being normal, anyway), and that was only two years ago!

Oomf!

But god, I love my grandma so much, I wouldn't want her to torture my "mom's dead soul". What the fuck kind of thinking is that? I mean, there's nothing wrong with having an evil something-or-other, but don't make it seem like it's one of the norms.

By the way, if you haven't guessed, the author is Katie Crouch and is the author to The Mongolia League.

Reading more of the article, I come across this which, okay, is in the next paragraph, but whatever:

It would be creepy if we included explicit sex scenes with glistening young skin and heaving young bosoms, but we keep it on the clean side. This isn't Twilight. No slutty werewolves here.

Holy crap, Batman! I didn't know Twilight had slutty werewolves!

One would think that it would make the books better if it had slutty werewolves!

Seriously, though. Read the fucking book if you're going to talk about it. There's. No. SLUTTY. WEREWOLVES.

Let alone there being explicit sex scenes (seriously, did you even read the god damn book?). I'm not defending Twilight or anything because I thought the books were terrible (the movies are worse; bore, IMO), but least I READ them instead of not reading and bashing them. I mean, I know they're hottest YA book out there, but for Christ sakes, READ IT FIRST.

And there's no "young glistening skin" (unless you count Edward's, but apparently there's more sparkly than glistening) or "young heaving bosoms" (lolwut?), so what the fuck did you read? Or did I read the clean version of Twilight without my knowing?

(And yes, I know there's sex in Breaking Dawn and it's not just one sex scene, but that's not even explicit say what other YA books are. And if you're going to talk about the sex scenes in Breaking Dawn THEN FUCKING NAME BREAKING DAWN AND NOT SAY TWILIGHT.)

Then there's this, and yes, in the same paragraph, but anyway:

Mostly we pass the rare sex scenes in outline form back and forth between us like a ticking time bomb until one of us bites the bullet and puts it on paper. When it's completed, the other one innocently asks to make a pass "for editing" and then reads it aloud in a mocking voice and turns the most embarrassing lines into an email signature.

Really? You don't have to have sex scenes, you know. If it's not important to the plot, don't mention them, but also not act like we're thirteen and giggling at the idea of sex scenes. Let's act like adults and treat sex as something mature than a gigglefest.

Plus, nine times out of ten, teens want to read about sex. Oh, oops. That was supposed to be a secret, huh?

I digress, if it's not important, then don't add it. If it is important, but you don't want to write explicitly, then just write to the point where it fades-to-black and have it at that. Be creative. You are a writer, after all, aren't you?

Adult and YA books don't have to have sex in them, especially if it's not part of the plot. Don't just put it in there (that's what she said?) for the sake of having a sex scene. If it's part of the plot, then it's part of the plot. If it's not, it's not. Don't act like it's this some creepy thing that teenagers can't have. You want it clean? Then keep it clean but don't mock at the idea of having sex in your novel.

Blah.

It's sort of weird how, at a time when a reliable scare story is, "Are internet predators coming for your children?" that we are being paid good money to be literary predators and come for people's children. Only we do it with a nice marketing campaign and books about Southern debutantes with occult powers, rather than an old van with the windows blacked out. At least we're locked up in our rooms with our laptops and not out there on the streets teaching creative writing or something.

Lolwut?

This makes no sense, so I'm going to leave it here. And god for bid they write MG next.

The next paragraph, I really don't care about, mainly because it's more of an opinion than factual. Sure, there's writers who collaborate with each other, but there's just as many writers who write YA alone (including myself). I'm not saying there's no collaborating in YA, but it's not so much as they're saying.

They want you to tell a story. In Y.A. you write two or three drafts of a chapter, not eight. When kids like one book, they want the next one. Now. You need to deliver.

Isn't a good thing that they want a story, not someone describing about shag carpet (which, I'm sure you can do in YA anyway)? And so what if you write two or three drafts of a chapter? It's not exactly true, either. There's writers who write YA who write their chapters more than two or three drafts before getting it right. So what? I'm also hoping it's a good thing that kids want more books when they like the one. THAT SHOWS YOU HAVE READERS!

God.

We're literally rewriting the second draft of the second book in the series in four weeks. The average length of time you get to write a Y.A. book is six months.

Just FYI, no it's not six months. Some writers take longer than that (maybe a year or two or more) to write a YA book. That's how it goes. Such is life.

Of course, we know that eventually they'll turn on us. But right now Y.A. is hot hot hot, and it's like the older you are, the cooler it is to watch teen movies and read Y.A. books.

They didn't turn on you--if you didn't write YA to begin with, they wouldn't have read the book (obviously). YA might be "hot hot hot", but that doesn't mean you should write if you don't want to. Write what you want and love to read about. Don't write about something you have no interest in.

And by the way, reading YA and watching teen movies doesn't make you "cooler" or anything. And adults read YA because they ENJOY reading them.

Or must they always just read adult novels?

The two of us were ahead of the curve in that respect. In college we were both dedicated viewers of 90210 (which dates us horribly), and in our late 20s we went to see Varsity Blues together on opening night in the theater. At the time, people thought we were just old pedophiles, but who's smart and hip now?

Well, after this article, probably not you two. And 90210 always sucked, just IMO, even the newer version that's going on today.

And I don't care about the last paragraph, but I will note, just because you write YA and you're close to your 40s, no one is going to call you a creeper.

After reading this article, I hope it is a satire one because really, this just alienates your readers. This isn't a good thing, just so you guys know. Your readers are important because they determine the sales you make. If you alienate your readers (your YA readers, who are teenagers AND adults), they're going to turn away and not buy your next book based on this article, and you won't be churning out a sequel because of sales.

(Btw, you're supposed to write a stand alone novel because there's no guarantee you'll have a sequel; sales determine that, or so that's what authors and literary agents have said, so what do they know?)

Yeah, great going.

I'm kind of disappointed by this if this article is indeed being serious. I'm going to take it with a grain of salt, but seriously, this is disappointing. I never expected a YA author would write something like this, not to mention make it seem like she (and he) hates writing YA.

So, good luck with your next book. If there is a next one.

Oh and note: this article kind of makes me want to read about slutty werewolves, now (maybe even write about one?).

Adventures

2011-06-18T05:33:00.000-04:00

For the weekend, I figured I'd take a break from MS Word and its reluctant obsession with giving me the wrong suggestions for corrections. Fair, I figure. Well, it doesn't always start off as pretty.

I suck at paying attention to things at times. I will be doing one thing, working on something that seems like great fun or playing video games because, well, that's great fun, too, and then suddenly, my attention will move on to something else. The thing I was doing before is completely forgotten like I'd left it in a corner for months (speaking of games....). I try to go back and remember what I'm doing, but it usually doesn't happen. So as I go about to trying to deal with stuff (like writhing in pain, for instance), wracking my brain to figure what was so important to begin with, I come across something very strange.

And not very explainable (well, it is [was]), hence an induce freak out.

I'm typing away on an instant messenger when waiting for a reply, I look down at my pinky and see this weird little bubble on my finger and I have no idea where the fuck it came from.

Panic induced.

First thing on my mind is, "OMGWTFISTHIS?" while trying to figure it out and I don't know what it is because, well, IT LOOKS LIKE A FREAKIN' BLISTER TO ME. I feel my heart racing and beating as fast as it can go before I come to the conclusion of:

"*Scratch pinky, maybe to get whatever-strange-looking-blister-is off.* Oh, it's just toothpaste!"

*Headdesk.*

Moments like these, I wonder if maybe I should calmly try to figure it out before I have a panic attack and cause myself such grief, I wonder what's going to happen if it is something bad. I mean, I do this all the time--okay, maybe not all the time. Maybe nine times out of ten. Nonetheless, it usually ends up with me going way overboard, and I shouldn't.

One of the greatest times is when I'm playing something or just doing absolutely nothing for sake of it because I get bored and just don't want to do anything besides stare at my computer screen (yeah, I know, would be a great time to work on writing and all, or play video games), and something out of the corner of my eye strikes my attention.

And fast, I may add.

Usually it's nothing. Usually it's one of my cats just going about to get food, but there are times where there's this little chance of it being a spider. And most of the time, it's not a little spider. But that doesn't matter to my mind because after I see something zip right past my peripheral vision, my heart goes nuts and my brain is just wanting to know, "OH GOD, WHAT WAS THAT?"

Panic induce again.

And again, usually it's nothing and just my cats. But the chance of it ever being a spider and I SEE this monstrous (in my mind) spider, I tend to freak out because I'm so afraid of them for whatever reason I'm still not sure of. Could be from the time when I let a harvestman (not even a spider, I may add) crawl on my arm and something happened and since then, I just been terribly afraid of them.

And looking up to make sure I'm right about the harvestman, I just learned that daddy longlegs (or cellar spiders; we have a lot of those) has a human skull-shaped cephalothorax. Huh.

(^ I told you, I get easily distracted.)

I don't know where this innate fear came from. I really don't. But it came from somewhere, and that somewhere could be from anything, any time when I was a little girl. That's irrelevant now. Back to the story.

(Uhh...oh, right.)

So when it is a spider, I either scream my lungs out and have an induced panic because I freakin' hate spiders and want nothing to do with them, and I don't want them crawling all over me or my blankets or I grab the nearest object and attempt to kill it (notice I said attempt and not that I kill the things), but sometimes that fails. Either it'll run away from me, the object won't work (like how I tried to kill a spider with a shuriken once) and have to get another object or wither in fear after I lose such a demonic thing.

After a while, though, I forget it's ever there and go back to what I'm doing as happy as I can be because, like I said before, I'm horrible at paying attention unless I really really want to. Even then it can be hard. Though, oddly enough, I'm great at paying attention when it comes to video games. I can play them for hours without being distracted and sometimes forget that I'm on the computer for such a numerous amount of time--like, say, 15 hours straight.

But then, once I do lose such a thing and I do forget, sometimes my mind will go back to it like, "I know it's here. I know it's somewhere around; I know the thing is just WAITING TO ATTACK ME IN MY FUCKING SLEEP!" It's terrible. I have no idea where such a fear came from, but I feel like if I continue to let it get to me, I'm going to look like a dork to people, and I swear that I have at times.

And you know, this originally has nothing to do what my blog entry was about. I don't know how I veered off topic, but I managed to do so with such great willingness, I didn't even realize it. It was mainly about how I found a blister-but-not-a-blister on my finger. I don't even remember what I was going to put with this, either. Go figure.

Oh, Look, We're At It Again.

2011-06-17T15:00:00.003-04:00

Seems like MS Word 2010 (yeah, I know, why the hell haven't I changed yet?) is at it again. Sigh. And I thought it was going so well for a little while before it decided my sentence should be, "Both I kill myself or do what they tell me."

Uhh, what?

I have either where it wants both. I'm a little confused on what it wants in this case, so uhh, okay, MS Word, if that's what you think and all, but I'm going to agree to disagree.

And in place of, "...I don't have what they want...," it wants, "...I don't have what they don't want...."

????

Maybe MS Word is just messing with me. Maybe it's not really wanting this and just want me to think it does.

But it highlights another sentence where I combine two sentences together with the word but--because, well, it's a conjunction and that's its function, right?--to make it a complete sentence and it says it's a fragment. Again:

????

Whatever. And yes, I would turn it off, but it turns right back on, not to mention I've added "shapeshifter," "shapeshifting," "shapeshift," and "shapeshifted" to the dictionary a bunch of times and it still says it's spelled wrong.

I'm just going to give up--not on writing, just MS Word 2010 in general.

Stupid MS Word 2010. I still hate you.

Yeah, Still Fighting With MS Word 2010

2011-06-14T01:35:00.000-04:00

>:( Still fight with MS Word 2010.

Stupid MS Word 2010. Least I'm not getting the paperclip. Shh, don't tell MS Word I said that. ;=; I don't need it. I really don't.

Back to writing and fighting with MS Word. It's never going to end, is it?

Sigh. I better get used to it now....

I think I'm going to switch to Libre Office. Sorry, MS Word 2010, if you're reading this. I just really hate you right now. No offense or anything.

No hurt feelings, mmkay?

STFU MS WORD #3

2011-05-28T02:26:00.000-04:00

Dear MS Word 2010,

I now know we did not have a misunderstanding. You truly do confuse it's (IT IS) with its (POSSESSIVE). You think ITS is IT IS, which it obviously is not.

Sincerely,

Abigail

STFU MS WORD #2

2011-05-24T21:17:00.001-04:00

Dear MS Word 2010:

It seems we had a bit of a misunderstanding last time. I'm sure it was just a mistake and you really didn't mean ITS (possessive) instead of IT'S (it is). I'll forgive you for that.

But why in ALL HELL DO YOU WANT KNEW INSTEAD OF KNEE?

You don't even have a reason WHY you want knew. It's baffling. KNEE is correct because she's HITTING him in the stomach with her KNEE. It has nothing to do with KNOWING him in his stomach--that doesn't even make sense. Why do you want "...I knew him in the stomach..." instead of "...I knee him in the stomach...."?

Again, she is HITTING him in the stomach in my WIP, which putting knew would not give the same meaning. I have rewritten the sentence more than once now and you still want knew instead of knee. Not only that, but it is in PRESENT tense. Wtf do you want me to do? Say she knew him in the stomach which makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE?

And here's another problem, my good ol' friend, MS Word 2010: When the sentence is such as the following:

"I groan. This is not what I had in mind when I kneed him."

She is not saying she NEEDS him. She is saying she KNEED him, again, in the STOMACH, in the GUT, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, and she's groaning because he has her by the hair. She did not have that, the hair pulling, in mind when she KNEED him (hit him, kicked him, with her knee) in the gut. IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE NEED. SHE IS NOT SAYING SHE NEEDS HIM, SHE LONGS FOR HIM, OR ANYTHING YOU ARE THINKING.

Again, I said I would forgive you for the it's/its thing, but COME ON! This is getting ridiculous! This is not once, not twice, BUT THREE TIMES IN THE SAME FUCKING CHAPTER you're saying I'm wrong and it should be this.

If you are such a wonderful word processor that I MUST spend over $100 on, I expect QUALITY grammar(z) instead of this inane bullshit you keep spewing. I cannot forgive you for this. I cannot give you my love anymore if you keep doing this.

I am switching to Libre Office if you keep doing this to me. I know it's painful, and I'm sorry it has come to this, but with your little green and blue squigglies, I don't know if I can share the same passion for writing all over you as I once have. It's not just doable unless you change your ways and go back to school and work on grammar (or have whoever programmed you to go back to school and learn grammar skills).

Good day, MS Word 2010. GOOD DAY. TO YOU.

Sincerely,

Abigail.

STFU MS WORD

2011-05-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Dear MS Word 2010:

WHY--for reasons I'm not sure of and would like to know--ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THIS SENTENCE: "...but I honestly don't think it's good enough." IS WRONG? WHY--honestly, I would love to know; I'm just dying to know--ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT IT'S (it is) SHOULD BE ITS (possessive)?

I know this sounds harsh, and I am truly sorry if I'm coming off as a bitch, but WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS WHEN IT IS BLATANTLY WRONG?

Sincerely,

Abigail

And to those who RELY on MS WORD's GRAMMAR RULE(Z):

THIS is why you do not.

"Check the meaning of the marked word to be sure you are using the word correctly. Words that sound alike are often confused with one another."

IT'S = it is. ITS = possessive. MS WORD wants ITS, not IT'S.

HMM, MAYBE, MS WORD, YOU SHOULD CHECK THE MARKED WORD AND MAKE SURE YOU'RE (or should that be YOUR?) NOT CONFUSING ITS WITH IT'S.

GOOD DAY TO YOU, MS WORD 2010. GOOD DAY. TO YOU.

I'm Tired.

2011-05-10T00:52:00.000-04:00

I've recently been stressed and just over all tired. I've been trying to finish up on this rewrite and been working on my query.

Both are making me feel like I'm going crazy and I want to throw sticks at my query.

In other news, though, I finished Golden Sun: Dark Dawn the week I got it. Great game. I like how it takes place 30 years after the initial Golden Sun events. Though, I would have never thought Garet to have a mustache....That came completely off as a surprise. Yet, it works. Imagine that.

There's also new Djinnis you collect. Unlike Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, they're drawn to portray their names and what kind of Djinns they are. At first it took me by surprise and I wasn't sure what I thought of it. After a while, I loved how they drew them (not like I didn't before, but when I first saw them drawn to match their names, I never remembered it happening in the other games, though that's probably because it never did xD).

But anyway, this happens 30 years after the Golden Sun event. In this time frame, there's been Psynergy vortexes popping up all over the place. Having the soar wing, Isaac had plans of going to Mount Aleph where the start of it happened, but of course, Garet's son being just like Garet breaks the soar wing. Now Isaac's son Matthew, Ivan's daughter Karis, and Garet's son Tyrell must go on their own adventure to gather the Roc Feather needed for the soar wing.

I find it a great little sequel to the other games. Though, just like the other two games, there's a cliffhanger. What happens to the Psynergy vortexes? What's going on at Mount Aleph? It feels like there's another sequel in the making, but is there? Or is it truly it?

Besides playing Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, I've been playing Fable II. It's different from other games I have, that's for sure. I'm not sure what I think about it, yet. I like it and it draws me in, but I guess I have to play more to initially make my final decision.

Book wise, I finished PERSONAL DEMONS and BREAK. And that's pretty much it besides crazy family issues going on (like my dad's side of the family being a pain and all and just being overly dramatic. There's no reason to cause the stress that they do, but of course, the main person just seems to love doing it and making us look bad. I feel so bad for my grandma. I wish I could have seen her and seen how she's doing this past weekend after her stroke).

Until next time. Maybe next time, I'll have my rewrite finished and will talk about my struggles with the god awful query letter (though maybe I just need to be beaten with a stick and do my homework. :p)

Who's Read Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers?

2011-04-04T17:29:00.001-04:00

FRANNIE CAVANAUGH has always been a bit of a loner. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance, even her closest friends. That is, until Luc Cain enrolls in her school. He's hot, sarcastic, and dangerous--and Frannie can't seem to stay away.

What she doesn't know is that Luc is on a mission. Because Frannie isn't exactly ordinary. She possesses a skill so unique that the King of Hell himself has taken notice, and he's sent Luc to claim Frannie's soul. It should be easy: All he has to do is get her to sin, and Luc is as tempting as they come.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and he's just started making progress when the angel Gabriel shows up. Gabe will do anything to keep Luc from getting what he came for, and his angelic charm might just be enough to keep Frannie on the right path.

It isn't long before Luc and Gabe find themselves fighting for more than just Frannie's soul. But if Luc fails to win her over, there will be Hell to pay...for all of them.

PERSONAL DEMONS is by Lisa Desrochers and as us writers start working on books, there's bound to be a sequel if a sequel is warranted. ;) So, what does that mean?

Yup. She has a sequel to PERSONAL DEMONS, coming out July 5th. W00t, w00t! And you know what that means?

A contest for the lovely ORIGINAL SIN. ;) But it's not just for the lovely ORIGINAL SIN, it's also for DEMON GLASS (SIGNED copy) by Rachel Hawkins. :3

So go over there now and enter if you want to win, and also to say hi to Lisa (Hi Lisa!).

(She probably thinks I'm nuts on twitter now (oops).)

Can't wait, but now I gotta read PERSONAL DEMONS, along with working on the rest of my novel. What a great time to do that now while it's raining. :)

Skipping.

2011-04-03T04:11:00.000-04:00

Worked on writing a few minutes ago. Wrote about 1255 words, got rid of a few hundred, and skipped around 15 pages.

Huh, oops. I guess those pages weren't as important as I thought they were.

Bridal Shower, Yayy.

2011-04-02T18:45:00.001-04:00

It was rather boring.

There wasn't very much going on to begin with. We kind of ate (there wasn't very much there). I mean, it was pretty much like a get together, but just not very fun. The bride took two hours opening up gifts, but that's because people seem to have gotten her a lot of shit. And I mean a lot.

I wrote on the table. I wrote on the stain my sister made on the cloth, so it's not like I made another stain or anything. I just got bored, so I wrote on it (yeah, I shouldn't have, but I did).

And that was pretty much it. Yeah, rather boring.

I Got Those Panties I Won!

2011-02-08T04:55:00.001-05:00

I made a blog about winning panties last time. Well, yesterday, I finally got them!

I also won Okamiden swag a couple of days ago. I can't wait to get it! Once I get that, I'll take pics of my gaming collection and all that.

Until then, more writing!

New PSP Announced

2011-01-27T02:04:00.000-05:00

Today (1 A.M. East Coast, 3 P.M. Japan), the new PSP, along with PSP Suite and Certified (and android support, I do believe, but don't quote me on that) has been announced.

Like many peoople have been discussing, there were rumors about it coming out and what it would have, e.g. two analog sticks and 3G networking. People thought that the PSP Phone was the new PSP2 (so it was called; though, they called it Next Generation Portable).

So, everyone, this is the new PSP.

As you can tell, it has two micro analog sticks (finally). It also has WiFi and 3G Networking. The new interface, I'll admit, is different. And it also has an OLED touch screen and on the back, there's a touch screen as well (as silly as it sounds, it makes sense for the touchpad on the back; it can move the character as well).

Some games have been announced for it such as Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet.

Here's a vid of the release.

The user interface for the new PSP is LiveArea (?). From the sounds of it, it sounds like the PS3 interface, with comments and communication, and a live feed.

I don't know the price, yet (the conference is still going on). It'll be released this holiday. It'll also connect with other mobile networks, as well.

To follow the rest of the Sony's Tokyo Press Conference read about the new NGP, clickity click click here!

Update: The link above is no longer the Sony's Tokyo Press conference, but about the new PSP2 or NGP.

I'll update accordingly/with a new link later today. :)

In Regards to My Last Entry ("Red Flags, Red Flags")

2011-01-20T20:24:00.002-05:00

My last entry talked about First One Publishing and how they were doing a contest.

Well, it looks like they took the rules down.

I don't know if they are revising the rules and/or making changes, but I will do an update about what all goes down. :) If they do change the rules to make them more reasonable and sensible, then it's a step in the right direction and I wish them well.

I am in no way condemning them and think they're making it out to scam people. I just did not agree with the professionalism (I didn't see any, for that matter, when Karen replied to the writers on Absolute Write), nor did I agree with the rules, but that doesn't mean I thought it was a scam. I just wanted people to be aware of it all and take a closer look when it comes to terms and agreements. You never know what people will put in there.

And on that matter, I'm happy to represent as a Boo-bird that I am. :3

Gotta love them boo-birds. ;)

Red Flags, Red Flags.

2011-01-15T19:36:00.003-05:00

I hate playing Devil's Advocate, but today I will.

Everyone should always read the rules and regulations when it comes to dealing with contests, signing up for something, what have you, especially if it's dealing with writing and money and getting published. You don't know what they'll sneak in their clauses, and today, I'm going to show you a prime example of that.

So, there's this contest going on at First One Publishing (?). It appears to be fairly new and dealing with e-books. This is what they have for their About Us:

Since the emergence of the ebook, publishers have been scrambling to find their way along this winding, digital speedway. People have shifted their reading habits from terrestrial books (Hmm, they're using it wrongly here), and the market has been driven by devices—The Kindle, The Nook, The iPad—not driven by content.

That’s about to change!

From the clay tablets to papyrus, from Guggenheim to Random House the one thing that hasn’t changed is that a book is still a book—produced from the mind, the spirit and the soul of a person. With that philosophy, First One Publishing will focus on digital books. But more than that, it will focus on the people who produce those books.

It’s time for the producers of books to reclaim their power. ("Reclaim their power"? Whatever that means.)

First One Publishing is the first major publisher to put the ebook first. (No, they're not.) Our focus is on all things digital—from the ebook, to the trailer, from the audiobook to the songtrack (music to accompany our books). (Well, color me pink. This is the first time I've ever heard of a publisher having a songtrack with their books, unless it's dealing with a book that got a movie deal. I could be wrong, though. It just seems bizarre to me, that's all.)
We are also the first publisher to truly put the focus on the author. (No, no they're not.)

“In this world, people relate to people,” said First One president Karen Hunter. “Our publishing house will focus on people who tell great stories, and people who are great stories.”

First One Publishing will launch with a contest, a search for the next great story teller. (More on this later. I promise. :)) We will do a worldwide viral search that will culminate in a digital publishing deal and a global marketing campaign for the winner.

[Storyteller is one word, not two. A publisher should know this. And proof of this, from Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

storyteller
sto·ry·tell·er noun \ˈstȯr-ē-ˌte-lər\
Definition of STORYTELLER
: a teller of stories: as a : a relater of anecdotes
b : a reciter of tales (as in a children's library)
c : liar, fibber
d : a writer of stories
— sto·ry·tell·ing \-ˌte-liŋ\ noun]

Each month, First One will educate, entertain and enlighten with new releases and new titles added to our free ebook library. There will also be book, T-shirt, ereader and tablet giveaways as well as special announcements of new partnerships and initiatives.

Welcome to the future of publishing… (Sorry, but they're not the first to start digital publishing, and it's already been on it's way. In 2007/2008 (and most likely way before), we were already in the "future" of publishing. We're just moving right along now.)

First One is the first major publisher (No, not really, they're not. They just started, so they can't be a major publisher) to:
• Promote the ebook not as an afterthought or an add-on, but as a special entity unto itself
• Treat each author as a star
• Focus on book clubs and other groups devoted to reading
• Feature product placement within books.

Now, I've gone and highlighted/bolded the text that should stand out in this. What I've written is in red, of course. Those are my comments. Something feels way off with this publisher. Maybe I'm judging a little too harshly, but that brings me to the contest that was mentioned.

Everyone has a story to tell—whether it’s a mystery plucked from the recesses of your imagination or a true-life experience that is better than fiction. Few, however, get to share their stories with the world. Well, here’s your chance! Who Wants To Be An Author will make you put your writing where your mouth is.

This writing contest will show you whether you have the stuff of Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Nicholas Sparks, or Stephenie Meyer. Show your skills and talents and compete for the grand prize: Cash, a digital book publishing deal with First One Publishing, and a chance to have your works read by millions! (As a publisher, they should know that they cannot determined that, AT ALL. There's no guarantee that millions will read your work, sorry to say. There's no way of knowing if you're the next Stephen King or Nicholas Sparks. There's no way of knowing, at all. That's just setting up disappointment and giving false hope. Let's be honest here. Don't dangle candy in front of a baby. Come on. That's teasing and ill-informing writers.)

This contest is limited to completed fiction manuscripts of any genre (no children’s books, please) between 35,000 and 65,000 words. Submitted manuscripts must be unpublished and not under contract at the time of submission.

Submissions will be limited. We can’t take them all, so get yours in early for a chance to win. (Well, this seems odd. More on that later.)

Who Wants to Be an Author…is it you?

Okay, so far, I've pointed things out. Things are looking iffy again, one saying that you'll be the next Stephenie Meyer or Stephen King; second is that it'll be read by millions. Sorry, but that's not necessarily true. You cannot give false hope guarantee such a thing like that. You don't know that, we don't know that. Saying that is being naive and ignorant.

Now on to contest rules here:

Note how in rule 1 right away, it says, " Plagiarism, which includes the use of third-party poetry, song lyrics, characters or another person's universe, without written permission will result in disqualification." That's not plagiarism. That's copyright infringment. There's a difference.

As a publisher, I would've hoped they'd know the difference.

Also, note in 2, it says, "To be eligible, entries must be works of prose. We regret that we cannot consider poetry, or works intended for children for this contest." First, young adult is labeled under kids literature. Should we assume that it's not a work of "prose"?

They really need to reread and rewrite their rules, because in rule 3....

"The contest is open to nonprofessional writers who are legal residents of the United States over the age of 18 as of February 1, 2011. Employees (or relatives of employees living in the same household) of First One Publishing..."

We're getting closer as to what they want, but saying nonprofessional writers, that doesn't mean being a professional writer, you've already gotten your book published. You could just write for a news column or something. Are you not allowed to enter because of that?

I also like the "...and wherever prohibited or restricted by law." part of the clause. Don't a lot of contests or what have you simply label all the information? Then again, I could be wrong.

Now, we're going to skip 4 and 5, and get right down to 6 and 7 because (and you'll love this)....

"6. Each entry may be submitted only once. Please retain a copy of your submission. You may submit more than one manuscript, but each submission must be email separately and paid for separately. Entries must be received by April 11, 2011."

Clause 6 good and all, but when reading right under it, at Clause 7:

"7. FEES: There will be a $149.00 entrance fee for each submission. The fee must be paid online before the manuscript is accepted."

Talk about a swift kick to the gut. Really? $149 for EACH submission?

Yes, you're reading it right. EACH submission. I've taken a screen shot of it, for all you love kiddies:

That's steep. Really, really steep. On Absolute Write, they have mentioned why they have made it so high. Still, it's way too much, especially for a contest like this. What are their motives? It doesn't match up with what they said there. They say it's to wade out all the non-serious writers.

I'm sorry, but I'm a serious writer and I still wouldn't pay that much for a contest, especially for a contest from a publisher that I have no idea about and one that seemed to have started not long ago. It's crazy for such a high amount and it doesn't wade out to the serious writers; no, it does not.

Serious writer =/= writer willing to pay $149 for a contest fee, for EACH submission.

Sorry to burst their bubble, but it doesn't give them serious writers. In fact, it does the opposite.

Let's continue on, though.

Clause 8 is funny, because, well, frankly, they used terrestrial wrong again. They want print publication, not terrestrial.

Here's Clause 8:

Though, for their book theme clause, they're missing a word.

BOOK THEME
We are not restricting books to any specific topic or genre, however they should embody what all First One Publishing authors encompass—they should smart, thoughtful, and edifying.

It should say "they should BE..."

It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes like that, myself included.

Now, for the judging, I'm a little iffy on it. I don't know if there's really going to be John Paine or Tracy Sherrod. Maybe there will be. However, I would tread caution when reading that.

Clause 9, 10, 11 are just basically judging, notification, and publicity.

Now, skipping ahead to Clause 12 and 13:

Let's take a look at Clause 12 first. The first part of the clause bothers me. Maybe that's me being me, I don't know. Read it and tell me what you think.

But for the second part of the clause....

"CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AD CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE. THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW."

Uh, what?

First off, that's threatening. Second off, being concern and letting people know "Hey, this might not be a good idea to enter contest. Please tread with caution" is not deprivation of any kind. We're not trying to damage any website, but we are concern of the operation of this very contest.

As writers, we want to help other writers in giving them a heads up, to guide them. We want to see good things happen to other writers. We don't want anything bad to happen to them, so threatening to file a lawsuit is going overboard. There's always a cause of concern and when there is one, we must question it. We're not hurting anything while questioning such motives or legitimacy.

But alright. Let's look at Clause 13, though:

Here, there's quite a few things that bother me.

"All submissions become sole property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. By submitting an entry, all entrants grant Sponsor the absolute and unconditional right and authority to copy, edit, publish, promote, broadcast, or otherwise use, in whole or in part, their entries, in perpetuity, in any manner without further permission, notice or compensation."

Uh, what?

Right there, that's saying if you lose, well, tough shit. You're not going to get your rights back. You're paying to hand it right on over to us, the Sponsers, so deal with it. Not only that, but they can do what they want, such as copy, edit, publish, promote, broadcast, otherwise use, in whole or in part, their entries, in perpetuity (in other words, forever), in any manner without further permission, notice or compensation.

I'm sorry, but I am NOT comfortable with that. That is producing red flags EVERYWHERE, saying they can do what they want with your manuscript and WILL NOT notify you of doing so.

The second half of this:

"Entries that contain copyrighted material must include a release from the copyright holder. Prizes are nontransferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions, except by Sponsor in the event of prize unavailability. Sponsor reserves the right to its sole discretion to not publish the winning entry for any reason whatsoever."

So in another words, if it's copyrighted material, it must be released from the copyright holder. The moment you write something, it's copyrighted. Also, if you want out of the contest or whatever happens, refunds will not happen, unless the by the Sponser if the prize is unavailable (hmmm).

So it makes you think.

Now the second part of Clause 13:

"In the event that there is an insufficient number of entries received that meet the minimum standards determined by the judges, all prizes will not be awarded."

So unknowingly what the number of submissions is the minimum, we're unsure how many they want or "need" in order to judge, thus the prizes will not be awarded.

So all that money for the entry fee for EACH submission will not be given back, or so that's how I'm taking it, by what I've read.

Now here's the thing. They say it's an 18+ contest, yet here....

"within 15 days of winning notification, or an alternate winner will be selected, in the event any winner is considered a minor in his/her state of residence, such winner’s parent/legal guardian will be required to sign and return all necessary paperwork."

All states see the age of 18 as the legal age of an adult. There's no need to consider if the winner is a minor in his/her state.

And the last part of Clause 13, I'll let you take it as you will.

That's it. This contest is really pushing red flags for me and my gut is telling me to not do it (the amount alone being a huge red flag). Their attitude on Absolute Write makes me question their professionalism, especially when they responded to most of the responses as a laughing matter and putting "LOL". I mean, I know this is the internet, but come on. Let's actually take things seriously. That's not the only thing I question regarding their professionalism.

In one of the responses, they claimed that the writers there were cowards and hiding behind a fake name and everything. The publisher was attacking us when alone, we were just concern about it all wondering about why the words are worded the way they are.

If you want feedback and willing to take it seriously, then do not brush it off as a laughing matter and then say we're putting holes into everything and calling us cowards. There's just some things I cannot leave alone, and these are one of them, sadly. I want other writers -- especially new, aspiring writers -- to know and be aware of things like this. I mean, maybe they are legit and just worded things wrongly, but still. It brings up concern. As a serious writer, I want to see other writers not fall for scams or lose out on money when there's no reason for them to, especially for a contest.

Oh, and not only that, but the publisher kept comparing herself to self-publishing,saying that writers will pay more than $149. I'm sorry, but this is a contest, two different things in the business. They are not the same, and furthermore, the publisher herself never mentions once about being a self-publishing business, so why compare to it at all?

Lastly, the publisher said not to judge a book by it's cover before reading it. Well, she published these rules to the public, on the internet. Of course it's going to get scrutinized. If you're not ready for that, then don't publish it yet until you are. Everyone's going to nitpick and see what they don't like about things, and they are going to do it especially when it's on the internet, public for everyone.

That's what happens. That's what's going to happen, whether you like or not.

Now, please, understand that I'm not trying pick on this publisher. I'm just really concern about this. I'm not trying to spew hate or any of that. I'm not trying to throw around that this is a shit contest and everyone should steer clear away. What I'm trying to do is that I want people to be aware. I don't want a writer who is looking for a break and not used to the business yet to be taken advantage of. I hate seeing that.

With that said, please note that this is just a cause of concern that everyone should read the rules, no matter what the rules are for. Always pay attention to the little tidbits of the clauses, of the privacy and whatever agreement you're agreeing to.

That is all.

13th Zodiac and All Things A-Crazy

2011-01-14T01:38:00.000-05:00

I've been working on writing 750 words per day. Yay! I figure this will be a good thing to do and get a hang of, even if I feel like not really writing that much a day (booo). I figure I could easily get to 22,000~ words by the end of the month if I at least try to do it.

You know?

I mean, I should be able to do it and all. It shouldn't be that hard, but there are just days where I don't want to work and just want to do other things besides write. Weird, I know, but whatever.

Also, anyone have suggestions as to what I can do to keep myself not getting distracted? It would be a great if I had ideas of what to do besides turning off my computer (kind of hard to do when I need to type up what I've written) and turning off the TV. Neither of those suggestions really help since I end up finding other things to do in my time when I should be writing. I hate being easily distracted.

Anywhoo.

Apparently there's a 13th zodiac going on called Ophiuchus(?). The Earth's gone awry and wobbling on its axis so everything is all lined up differently. With that said, the zodiac has changed to different dates, but that's okay, because apparently none of that matters. Why? Well, if you believe in tropical zodiac, you're still what your signs were before.

What?

So first they say, "Hey gaiz. Yur zodaic signz have changed; now yure this, LOLZ." (Spelling terrible for a reason; never doing that again), but then they say, "No, just kidding, LOLZ."

Okay, I don't think anyone knows. Everything is just a-crazy today (well, yesterday. It's already January 14th here. Heh, oops).

Either way, I think I'm just going to look at it like:

"*Thumbs up.* Okay! ;D"

(Not like there's anything I can do about it.)

Update: LOL, spelling mistake, yay.

Oh, My Muse

2011-01-09T15:32:00.002-05:00

I'll get to writing; just please, stop yelling at me.

In Terms of Political Correctness

2011-01-05T17:51:00.001-05:00

We all know that we want everyone to feel accepted and not left out or hurt or what have you. Political correctness is done in a way to make everyone feel comfortable or included. Sometimes, though, it goes way too far and people try too hard to include everyone and make everyone feel in the state where they are comfortable with the text or context or whatever. Sometimes political correctness isn't needed at all.

People aren't going to agree with me on that, but I really feel like there's no need for political correctness where it's not merited. If there was a need for it, it would have already been done or used before. To broaden what I mean by that, is that in terms of political correctness, it's to remove anything offensive towards gender or race.

In regards to my last blog entry, it was about Huckleberry Finn. Yes, the use of the n-word is in the book, but it was done because that was the language that was used back then and it goes with the context of the novel. If you were to change the n-word to slave, it would remove the context that was used and replace it with a far more offensive one. Political correctness is to remove offensiveness. However, how does slave change n-word's offensive when you're just calling all the "black" people in the book slaves? It removes one context and adds another. I don't think that that's what it was meant to be when the n-word used. Not only that, but the n-word was also used 200 times during the whole book.

If people want things to be more politically correct, then do so in a matter where it doesn't add another negative to the context of the book. You're removing one "negativity" and replacing it with another.

Personally, I hate the n-word. Personally, I don't use it and I don't feel that anyone should use it, especially in a derogatory manner, but when it comes to the world of books and literature and the need for context to portray a person, especially in that time frame, words need to be used. Words need to be said, to be written, to convey what kind of character that character is, even if the words are words that are considered offensive and hurtful. And we should all know how Mark Twain, as a writer, is. He meant for the words to be used. He meant for it to be seen as it is. He meant for it to be controversial. He meant it the way he wrote it and having it any other way, would be one) disrespectful towards him and two) taking the meaning out of the whole book and context. Basically, people are changing the context of it and adding a new one.

Same thing happened to The Bible. In some editions, the term mankind was changed to humans to make it more friendly to males and females (which I don't see what is the problem with the term mankind besides it having the word "man" in it, which in the time The Bible was written, the word mankind meant differently. Same with the words gay, queer, and fag). There wasn't really a need to change things, and if we go and make everything politically correct, then how are we going to learn from it? How are we going to learn from our mistakes and our pasts?

I agree that things are more offensive than others, but when it comes to writing and something being used and needed, you can't do anything about that. If a word or phrase is needed to convey a character, to show the scene or what have you, then it has to be used, and political correctness just isn't going to portray the same message or context that was originally used.

So, Explain to Me.

2011-01-04T23:41:00.004-05:00

Huckleberry Finn is being edited and reprinted.

It's nice to have books reprinted for the mass and be out there, especially like the book Huckleberry Finn.

But there's a stupid reason why it's being edited and reprinted (at least, I think it's a stupid and unwarranted reason).

So please, explain to me why removing the n-word from the book -- may I remind you this book has been out for a long time and no one seemed to have a problem until now -- for political correctness is such a necessity? What's the point?

I feel like this whole political correctness BS is getting out of hand and everything is now warranted as offensive. They changed mankind to humans in The Bible to make women feel like they are included (I mean, really? Women were offended to the term mankind?) and now this?

So please explain to me what I'm missing. It's a book and it was the language used back then. Personally, I don't like using the word and am not fond of it, but it's just. a. book. It wasn't a problem before and now it suddenly is?

Source here and here.

Different Scheme of Things.

2011-01-04T15:31:00.001-05:00

For a new year, I decided to change my blog schemes. I finally found an appropriate blog background. :p I liked the bird one, but it just seemed rather dull.

With the other changes I've made, I made a new blog description, but kept the butterfly reference. I may do some tweaking with it later. Right now, I'm in the mood for some gaming and writing. :p

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T02:17:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

I Won Panties!

2010-12-01T02:42:00.000-05:00

Long story short, I entered a giveaway contest Etna's Secret: Demon Collection (instead of the actual design the panties contest, but oh well, I didn't have time) based on the game Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! and I won panties!

x3 I can't wait for my panties.

(Note: I also won God of War: Ghost of Sparta on Black Friday from GamePro via Facebook, but this blog entry is about panties. :3)

Sorry.

2010-11-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated this in a month (x_x). I've been really busy. For the last two weeks, I've been making my Etna from Disgaea cosplay. xD I've been meaning to make a blog for a while now, especially after adding a blog thing to firefox (to make it easier). I'll have a better blog entry later. :p Just wanted to say I am NOT dead.

Bye bye!

Sacrificial and Death Moments of Gaming (featuring four).

2010-09-14T02:02:00.002-04:00

There seems to be a lot of video games where one of the main characters is sacrificed to help, save, or restore the world, their friend(s), or what have you.

While playing Suikoden on my PSP, I've been thinking about this lately. This definitely will hold some spoilers, so if you haven't played any of these games, do not read.

(Or do, at your own risk.)

Some of the games that I thought of are Suikoden, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Tales of Symphonia (more than once). There are more, no doubt, but, for now, I'm going to be focusing on these four games.

Why just these four games?

Well, having a large list of games would make this entry boring and long, wouldn't it? :p I don't want all these "tl;dr" comments now.

So with that said, let's get started.

First, let's start with Final Fantasy VII.

In Final Fantasy VII, in the middle of the game with Sepiroth and Aeris (Aerith), she dies.

I told you it was a major spoiler. :p

Anyway, in the game, with no one really expecting it, Sephiroth (antagonist; the epitome of a villain) stabs Aeris. She's one of the main characters of the game, and this is the part that really sets off the emotion of gamers. It's disturbing, cruel, and troubling all at the same time. Why does Sephiroth do this? Why does this happen? Why to her?

I don't want to spoil the game anymore, so maybe you should find a copy and find out. :p

Okay, for those who are really curious, this is what happens to her:

Aerith (or Aeris) decided to go to the Forgotten City alone, where she found by Cloud and party, praying at an alter. There, Sephiroth comes and stabs her in the back, killing her. The materia her mother gives her falls out and lands on the floor. This is after the failed attempt of stopping Sephiroth from getting the black materia.

Suikoden, another JRPG, is different from Final Fantasy VII, on how the main character dies. He isn't killed for no particular reason, but more because he sacrifices himself. In this game, Dude (who you control; you can give him whatever name) and his party goes to Scarleticia to face Milich. However, first you must get rid of the poison, so you have to find a pharmacist. You can find him at his little hut by boat after you get the essential materials for it (two people will build this boat for you).

When you find the pharmacist, he will tell you he wants nothing to do with you and for you to leave. However, when this happens (after talking to him for a second time), Milich will have him taken to the prison so you cannot destroy his "lovely" poison that surrounds his Scarleticia. But do not get discourage about this. You'll be going to the prison to the get pharmacist out.

Yay!

Once you get forged papers from Kim and another companion of Matthieu, you will go to the prison and sneak in as if you've been given the papers by Milich himself. Once you break the pharmacist out and come out from the prison area, you'll be greeted by Milich. He has such a lovely present for you, however. =)

He will be sending man-eating spores after you.

Yes, man-eating spores.

Everyone freaks out (sort of, I think. It's hard to tell if these characters are sarcastic or not, and for whatever reason, Milich repeats himself in one part before sending out the man-eating spores). At this point, Milich will leave, locking the door behind him so you cannot leave.

This could get messy, however, everyone gets the idea to move back behind the wall and --!!!!

Gremio stays behind, to save Dude and everyone else, and gets eaten by the man-eating spores.

Dude is sadden by this and will take a moment to mourn for his lost friend. Him and Matthieu and the gang will leave, but Viktor will stop to gather the items that was left behind.

However, do not fret! There is a way to bring him back to life. You must have all 107 recruits in order to do so, before going to Gregminster Castle. Only then will he be brought back to life.

In Metal Gear Solid (and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snake), you will be on your way to battle Sniper Wolf when Meryl is sniped down. Here you have the chance to save her or let her die. If you do save her, she will be back to help you later on in the game. However, if you don't save her, she will die, and it will give you an alternate ending.

Here is the alternate ending.

Now for the last, but not least, game that I mentioned. =) It's long, so it deserves such a wait.

In Tales of Symphonia, you play as Lloyd and are best friends with Genius, a half-elf, and Colette, the chosen one.

As the Chosen One, Colette must go to all the summoning temples and then go the Tower of Salvation, where she is then turned into an angel and salvation is given to the world.

However, this is where the twist comes in.

Without knowing what really truly happens, she must become an angel. To be an angel, that means losing all her senses of taste, smell, hearing, voice, and memory/heart. After visiting each temple, she is given part of her new life, while having one of her senses taken or heightened (such as hearing). At the very last place, the Tower of Salvation, all her memories of her loved ones and family will be taken away from her.

She keeps this from Lloyd.

Lloyd doesn't find out until he tries an experiment on her. He will give her "coffee" because he suspects something is terribly wrong. He'll ask her about the weather, talking about how cold it is. He'll then given her the coffee. This is where he finds out what truly is happening, which is really a touching scene (I cried. >___>).

Here's the scene.

When they go to the Tower of Salvation and Colette is made into an angel, they try to stop it, and they try to get Colette to come back to the way she was. They try to come up with different ideas while Sylvarant is "flourishing" (this is where they learn about Tethe'alla). Sheena tells them that she came to Sylvarant to stop this from happening, and that if Sylvarant starts to flourish, then Tethe'alla, the paralleling world, will be destroyed, so they travel to Tethe'alla to stop this whole thing and in hopes of saving their dearest friend, Colette.

There's more of what goes on in this game, such as friends sacrificing themselves to save each other. When facing or going to face Mithos/Yggdrasil, Raine and Genius sacrifice themselves in order to make sure that Lloyd gets to Mithos in time. They do this because they know the mission is so very important, and that they do not want this to fall on deaf ears. It's a powerful scene to watch. You get so attached to these characters that it's so hard to not watch the powerful moments happening. All in all, the moment it happens, you cannot help but feel pain and cry of losing such great characters.

There is a lot of betrayal in this game. However, there is also a lot of emotional parts, too. With these elements and more, it's full of great twists and impacts that makes you not want to put the game down. However, all of that is for another time. =) This is the end of my sacrificial moments in video games, featuring four video games with similar elements.

I may do another one with more games, but for now, this was more of an experiment. I hope you enjoyed it.

=)

Abigail E. Grace

I Stepped Down As Moderator.

2010-08-06T01:50:00.001-04:00

Three days ago, on a gaming forum called GameSpot, I stepped down as a moderator. With writing and needing to take a hold of what I want, I felt that it was the right thing to do.

I mean, after all, I need to focus on writing. And with gaming, I need to focus on gaming, not moderating a website.

:) As a moderator, I felt it was the right time to take a break. As a person and being young, I need to think of what I should be doing. I love being a moderator -- don't get me wrong. It's just, with what I want to do and with what I want to be, I need to pull the reins and head in that direction.

And sometimes, in order to do that, you need to sacrifice some things.

It was great being a moderator and being apart of the moderator team. I hope one day I'll be able to again. Right now, though, I need to focus on what I need to do -- and that is writing. :) I need to work on getting things done and being where I want to be.

So right now, I stepped down. I am also not going to be visiting the site in the duration of working on my novel.

That is all. :)

Grawrawrawr, Babysitting...and Such.

2010-07-28T00:37:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure people remember this schedule:

Late June

Work on finishing up rewriting Ashes, Ashes
Once done with rewriting, proofread and edit. Once that is done....
Gather beta readers to help with proofreading and editing, along with some critiquing.
Babysititng

July

Beta reading. By this time, I want to start with beta readers and get things on the roll. That way I can work on finishing up with the draft and having Ashes, Ashes polished for submission.
Babysitting (more)
Other plans that aren't set yet (and may talk about later)

August

Have Ashes, Ashes completely done. That includes:

editing
proofreading
beta reading

Start working on Umbra's Howl
Work on query for Ashes, Ashes
Other plans not set, yet

September

Once query is done, start submitting
Work fully on Umbra's Howl

Well, it didn't go quite to plan. I got stuck babysitting longer than I really had in mind, and with four kids, it became quite hectic. I basically wasn't able to finish editing or have beta readers.

So what does that mean?

We're going to try August!

So, instead of July being the month of beta-ing, I'm going to try out August, or at least the beginning and middle of August, where people are not getting ready for school (especially since I just have two more days of babysitting left).

This is how it will go down (this time!):

August

Editing for Ashes, Ashes; hope to get most of this done in the beginning/first two weeks of August
Cleaning (just because I gotta finish cleaning my room)
Beta-ing the moment I'm done editing; will probably give it to three or four readers instead.

September

Get feedback from my beta-readers; I will then do any changes necessary.
Work on querying.
Start working on Umbra's Howl.

That's the bare bones of it. In August, I'm going to be leaving on August 14th, so I hope to have things out for beta readers by then, since I really won't be able to afterwards unless I get on my boyfriend's computer. :)

I hope everyone is having a great summer, though. To those who I have asked to be my beta readers, I am sorry things are so late. I really wasn't expecting my brother to screw me over (but least I'm getting paid more than he is!). I hope to have everything ready to go very soon. It's just been one hectic month, for sure.

Btw, I forgot to mention that there's a giveaway going on at here, La Femme Readers, if anyone is interested. :) Gotta love some free books, right?

Here are the titles of the books given away to six winners:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Angelfire (Book #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton
Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach
The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
The Gathering (Book #1) by Kelley Armstrong
City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4) by Cassandra Clare (Cover has yet to be revealed.)

So if you're interested, please take a look at the link and follow the directions. :)

The Bad Man's Daughter.

2010-07-24T01:56:00.003-04:00

About "the bad man":

In my book, the MC calls him "the bad man" because she doesn't know his name. He is human, whereas the MC is a half-breed (half wolf, half peregrine shapeshifter), and he massacres her people, destroying her village. He is to take her back to Galway, to a church where other half-breeds are, but where she won't have any contact with them. She's kind of the "special" kind, for reason that will be told later in my novel. With that said, humans are portrayed as the "bad things" in the MC eyes (she's been told by the peregrines that the humans are one of the "bad things").

This is just a mock-up of what I originally wanted, but since I'm not done with my editing for my book, I wasn't able to do this how I really wanted, so I did a mock-up version (redundancy, yay!). With that said, I've been really busy babysitting, therefore I haven't really been able to do much and COMPLETELY far behind. x.x

Maybe later, I'll post an the original thought of how I wanted to do this. This is more of like a regret/sympathetic afterthought.

------

It was silent among my men.

If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have noticed. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have felt regret, pity.

Pity over a child that isn't mine, that isn't human.

She's not even a child.

She's a thing.

I had looked over from my post, over at my men. It amused me how they were so quiet, so focused on what they were staring at.

But it was odd. It wasn't something they normally do, with their fingers curled around their triggers, ready to pull.

Arc's men were doing the same thing. They were all on guard, but for what reason? I didn't know until I looked over at Iarlaith and saw him smiling at her.

I breathed. I don't know what he was thinking. I was questioning my men's actions when I should have been questioning his.

I even asked him what he was thinking, telling him to stop pretending. He didn't need to pretend with her. We massacred her village for a reason, and he knows that very reason. I don't know why he sought pity on her, but there was no reason for it.

And there's no reason for me to be pitying her, either.

There was just one problem.

For whatever reason, she reminded me of Aeria. Just as when I thought I forgot about her, she brings her back up.

She brings her back alive.

It wasn't the same, though. His feelings were suspicious, as if he actually had some kind of feeling for the little bitch.

She just reminded me of my daughter.

Her smile disappeared the moment it was there. I watched her eyes meet mine after I came in her view. I grabbed her hair and pulled her forward, away from him.

I pulled her up by her hair and watched her face. She didn't even wince. The pathetic thing was so used to it.

The moment I saw her face, though -- at that very moment with the rain falling into her eyes as she stared up at me -- I saw the face of my daughter, of my Aeria.

I didn't want to see that face, though! I didn't want to see her there, in that face of that wretched thing that I had to bring with me, that wasn't even human.

I backhanded her. I backhanded her hard across the face and just continued to backhand her every time she looked up at me until she looked away.

I had to, though, I had to.

But I stopped. Her face.... It was too close to Aeria's.

I didn't want to hurt my little Aeria.

Thing is, she wasn't my Aeria.

I felt the pull in my throat. It was the regret, the lump I can't swallow.

Everything stopped. The thoughts went back to the beginning and I stared at her. I stared at her as she smiled, as she looked up at him.

She even said the same words as her.

She even called me the same hurtful name that Aeria did.

You're a bad man, Daddy.

Look at Mommy. You're hurting her. Your hate towards peregrines isn't fair.

You hate me, Daddy. You're a bad man.

I slammed my fist down and cried out in frustration. It didn't matter anymore. Aeria's dead.

-------
This month's subject was suggested by CScottMorris : Cast your antagonist in a sympathetic light.

Here is the list of participants to the July Blog Chain:
CScottMorris: http://cscottmorrisbooks.com/ and direct link to his post
Aheïla: http://thewriteaholicblog.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
AuburnAssassin: http://clairegillian.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
DavidZahir: http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/ and direct link to his post
IrishAnnie: http://superpenpower.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
Anarchicq: http://anarchicq.com/ and direct link to her post
Proach: http://everythinghistorical.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
devero: http://mysticcrossroads.wordpress.com/ and direct link to his post
hillaryjacques: http://www.hillaryjacques.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
LadyMage: http://www.katherinegilraine.com/ and direct link to her post
M.R.J. Le Blanc: http://libraryofandunien.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
Mariekeme: http://www.mariekenijkamp.com/ and direct link to her post
aimeelaine: http://www.aimeelaine.com/writing/blog and direct link to her post
CowgirlPoet: http://frontnotes.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
Collectonian: http://collectonian.livejournal.com/ and direct link to her post
Amb The Creative: http://ambthecreative.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
defyalllogic: http://tavialewis.com/hyperbolicallyspeaking/ and direct link to her post
cryaegm: http://enigmainklings.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
Irissel: http://irissel.blogspot.com/
Alpha Echo: http://writersramblings81.blogspot.com/

I Would Like to Say Something.

2010-07-07T21:01:00.000-04:00

I would just like to say that I have realized what scams are like.

Trolls.

Yes, they're like trolls. People fall for them, people feed them, and they just won't go away. The only way they will go away is if you ignore them and don't give them attention (or money) that they want. :p Too bad people don't do that. They just buy into the trolls.

And wow! xD This Zemanta thing just gave me government pictures when it looked up trolls. Wow. That's hilarious.

Yeah, pointless blog is pointless. :p

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T23:16:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! :p

I hope everyone enjoys the fireworks. :p I'm going back to playing Killing Floor on Steam.

Quite A Bit Going On.

2010-07-03T15:37:00.000-04:00

There's quite a bit going on today. Writing, fireworks, and Fourth of July is just, JUST around the corner. :p And I have to leave to go to my sister's house.

>_> I love how I'm told at the very last minute about these things.

So I'm going to be taking my writing with me. :p Seeing as how they can't tell me ahead of time, I'm taking it with me so I can finish up editing and all that. There's also a bit of family issues going on, but you know, it happens. Nothing really to talk about, anyway.

At least, I don't find it important. :3 The person in question is just what we like to call a big troll.

I hate trolls.

I Has Printer.

2010-07-02T01:04:00.002-04:00

I has printer now. :3

Now time to work on some writing!

More Snippets

2010-06-30T01:31:00.003-04:00

Last time, I was working on Chapter One, splitting it so far into chapters one, two, and three. :p I finished working on it today.

And it's split into six chapters. Yes, six chapters. :p

I just felt that splitting it into six chapters was the right thing to do. I originally wanted fifteen chapters in total for my book, but with the word count, I just wasn't sure it was going to work in the end. So, instead of doing what I originally wanted, I printed out the first chapter and looked at it. That's when I got the idea to split it into six chapters in total.

:p Obviously.

So, just like I did with the first two chapters, I'm going to do with the next four chapters. :p So here are the snippets. Enjoy!

[Redacted]

Edit:

I had to fix url link. For some reason, it just wouldn't link. :) All fixed now.

Oh Boy.

2010-06-28T23:23:00.001-04:00

Oh boy. Barely any writing done today. x.x I really need to get it in gear if I want to finish soon. Least I only have to babysit two kids for the rest of the week. Yay!

Cleaning, End of June, Drawing.

2010-06-28T00:53:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit busy again. I'm finishing up Ashes, Ashes (albeit being behind schedule :() and I've been cleaning.

Icky, icky cleaning. >:( Damn that cat.

What have I been drawing? Well, nothing special. Later, I'll probably post pics of it. Right now, xD it's not even much.

Though, so far, one good thing has happened. I went over 70k! YAY! I just gotta finish the novel now. >_>

Fun. D:

End of June is here, basically, too, so I really have to kick myself into gear. x_x

I Went Over!

2010-06-25T19:49:00.001-04:00

Even though I said one post per day ~~(and obviously shows I didn't mean it. *Whistles*)~~ in the comments of my last entry, I am making another one today, just say I went over. :3

Over what, you may ask? Well....

I went over my 70k word limit last night! xD I'm over by 1536 words and still going!

But that's not all!

Nope!

:p Last night (3 AM - 5 AM) + today (4:30 PM - 7:15 PM), I wrote 3558 words.

Apparently, I'm an Irishaur.

2010-06-25T02:28:00.005-04:00

A couple of nights ago, I was acting like a dinosaur (see here~~, along with here, even though that doesn't count as a couple of days ago~~) apparently. When I go "grawrawrawrawr", it's usually out of frustration. (xD I don't even remember how I came about to saying it, but one day, it just came out instead of "rawrawrawr" and ever since, I've been saying it, so yeah. :3)

*Little short history lesson there.

Anyway, my friend decided to call me a dinosaur because of the "Grawrawrawr Schedules". That, or he saw one of my posts on GameSpot, where I was acting like a dinosaur and crawling around in a box. <__< I still have yet to figure that one out.

*Ahem.*

When he was done reading my posts, he called me a dinosaur, then he said I was an Irishaur because I'm part Irish. I just heavily got distracted by my feet, so I don't remember what else I was going to put. Maybe later, I'll explain how I came to be "Irishaur" in full detail, but right now, that's how I became an Irishaur, and how I am apparently an Irishaur.

>:(

Edit:

Lawl.

I got so distracted, I put "posts" instead of blog entry. See, I told you I was distracted by my feet. >:( Another time, for another BETTER, and thorough, detail of how I became an Irishaur, and how I am apparently an Irishaur.

>:(

Getting Closer to Goal Reach.

2010-06-24T04:45:00.006-04:00

As I'm finishing up rewriting, I'm getting closer to my goal. Right now, I have, if not less than, 600 words to write before I end exceeding 70k words. :) However, it won't stay like that for long.

Nope. Once I start editing, the word count may go down. :p

I don't know by how much it'll go down. Right now, I'm thinking maybe roughly around 50k - 60k. It really depends on how much I end up finishing with. The goal is to keep it roughly under 80k.

:p Right at this moment, I'm finishing up the scene where she turns into and discovers her half form. :p I'm going to have fun describing it. :)

Edit: And yes I changed it all to blue!! It's going to stay like that, too!

Chapters 1 and 2 = Edited

2010-06-21T03:04:00.002-04:00

Chapters 1 and 2 are already edited and complete. :p I'm in the works of editing Chapter 3 right now.

Chapter 1 and 2 didn't start out as 1 and 2, however. They started out as Chapter 1. Same with Chapter 3. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are all chapter Chapter 1. Reading through my chapter, I figured that it would be best to divide it up the way that I did.

And I'm glad that I did, too. :)

To start this blog off, I'm going to post a little snippet from Chapters 1 and 2. :p So here we go:

[Redacted]

Grawrawrawr Schedules.

2010-06-20T02:18:00.004-04:00

Before I begin, I added an "About" page. :p It's not technically an "About Me" page, so, yeah. >:( I'm not calling it that.

So, back to what I was thinking about doing, summer wise....

Oh, summer schedule, yay!

(~~God, I hate this part.)~~

While thinking about it, I have come to realize that I need to do something. Schedule, list, whatever to get me motivated and to finish up what I need to do.

So what I have decided to do?

I have kind of decided to melt a schedule or list or whatever you wanna call it into one big giant thing!

~~>__> Watch, I'm going to end up getting confused and confusing myself.~~

~~No, I won't!~~

So this is what's going down:

Late June

Work on finishing up rewriting Ashes, Ashes
Once done with rewriting, proofread and edit. Once that is done....
Gather beta readers to help with proofreading and editing, along with some critiquing.
Babysititng

July

Beta reading. By this time, I want to start with beta readers and get things on the roll. That way I can work on finishing up with the draft and having Ashes, Ashes polished for submission.
Babysitting (more)
Other plans that aren't set yet (and may talk about later)

August

Have Ashes, Ashes completely done. That includes:

editing
proofreading
beta reading

Start working on Umbra's Howl
Work on query for Ashes, Ashes
Other plans not set, yet

September

Once query is done, start submitting
Work fully on Umbra's Howl

That's pretty much it, for now. After each month, I will cross out what is done, and what is not done, I'll add to the next month. :) We'll see how it goes.

So, for now, that's pretty much it. Grawrawrawrawr, schedules. >:(

Everything is Done.

2010-06-18T01:54:00.001-04:00

After thinking long and hard, I'm finally done messing around in my blog. :) This is going to stay for now, so I hope people enjoy. Later on, I'll be working on other things and I will be updating my blog regularly. Right now, this is just to say that I'm done messing around. :p

With that said, I'm almost done with Ashes, Ashes, as you can very well see on the right. :p I just have a few more words to go before I am completely finished. Then I will be printing it out and working on editing/proofreading. :) I have a couple of beta readers, as well, so I hope things go well!

I am also thinking of a pen name. Right now, I have Abigail E. Grace. Let's see how long that'll last. :p

Until then!

Abigail

Update: Added a couple of things. :p NOW it's complete.

Crawls around on knees, acting like a dinosaur.

2010-06-05T02:17:00.001-04:00

*Crawls around on knees, acting like a dinosaur.*

Rawwwrrrrr.

*Leaves.*

My Adventures With HTML.

2010-06-01T18:10:00.002-04:00

First off: I didn't break anything.

Yayy!!

Though, xD it's probably a bad thing that I was messing around with my HTML last night without knowing very much about it in the first place. xD I'm not very tech savvy when it comes to HTML, so I could easily screw things up if I don't pay attention or exactly know what I'm doing.

But last night, I didn't know what I was doing.

What did I do in the HTML? I added a tweetmeme. xD I figured, "Oh, why the hell not?" And so I did.

Though, it ended up as an adventure instead (...which may be a bad thing).

As I'm working on it, I'm looking at the script that tweetmeme gives you, along with the instructions. I start messing around a bit, wondering where to put it, so I look.

>_> I end up forgetting to expand the widget (go me!).

So I do that and start ctrl f ~~(*this is probably why I shouldn't be messing in HTML to begin with*)~~ to find the place I'm supposed to put this code in (I think it was like < bi: loop > or something like that. Something with loop in it, that's all I know). I get it, I work on it, preview it, and go, "Oh cool! I know what I'm doing! "

...Not.

Seeing as how I don't want it at the bottom, I remove it and place it somewhere else, more like at the top where it is now. I see other things I can do with it and decide to add to it. Well....

I end up putting three tweetmeme buttons up. >____>

This definitely makes me realize that I absolutely have no clue what the hell I'm doing. xD Still, though, I still work on my blog, messing around in the HTML like a mindless idiot ~~(or blonde *can so joke about that because I was born a blonde*)~~ who knows nothing of what she's doing ().

Gotta love it.

Anyway, I have a friend check it out just for some laughs and so he can laugh at me and say I have no idea what I'm doing; I give him the link and he puts:

"Yaaaaay
"*Goes to your blog*
"*Can't see it*
""
*Disclaimer: I do not have the actual emoticon he used, so this will do.

He tells me my blog is on invite only. xD Oops.

I completely forgot that I had done that before and during messing around with the HTML
(Aren't I just special! )

After fixing it up and making it public again, he goes to take a look and tells me:

"I feel like such a guinea pig
"'WHICH ONE DO I PRESS!? ARGHHHHHHH"

*Just totally realized that the invite thing happened AFTER that part.*

>_____> My bad.

Anyway, on to the story.

So, I fix the three buttons. Get rid of them. Try again. Trial and error basically with my blog's HTML (we all know how bad THIS could get) and even try the little gizmo thing that tweetmeme has for those who have absolutely no idea what they're doing (me). However....

"Invalid Template: not a valid Blogger template. If editing an Advanced Template please ensure Expand Widget Templates is highlighted when copying your code"

So I can't use that. No matter what I try, IT WILL NOT WORK. I give up on it. I go and work on it manually all by myself, knowing something bad will happen, but I don't give a damn.

*This is where the invite only thing comes in. Yay for failure!*

Finally, it's done, it's complete. What did I do to get it to work? >_> I had to leave the "' < data: post .url > ' ;" in the tweetmeme_url thing alone.

Go me!

I was so hung up on it, I couldn't figure out what to do. It wasn't coming to me on why it wasn't working. I figured, okay, maybe I'm not putting the right thing down since the website said to change it. I tried over and over trying to figure out until I googled it and thought, "What if I just leave it alone?"

And it ends up work, yay! =3

So, everything is set up as you can see, and that was my adventure with HTML. =3

(I know I said I'd post about my cat bitch-slapping me. Well, long story short, she did. I was playing around as she was sitting on the table, petting her. I decided to grab her tail, she ignored me. I grabbed it a few more times and she bitch-slapped me for it. It was loud, too. My dad asked what that was and I said, "D: The cat bitch-slapped me!")

Raptors and Robot Sex.

2010-05-23T22:00:00.008-04:00

So Thursday, I hop on to my computer and as groggy as I was, just stared at the screen for a good hour. Yeah, >___> I am really lame when I get up. So, because of how lame I am, on Twitter, I start to talk about whether or not I should drink some coffee. And somehow, that leads to robot sex.

Yes, robot sex. You are reading this right. We talked about robot sex.

However, it doesn't start as how you might think it started....*
*Warning: strong language. Adult supervision is advised*

Me: o____o What the fuck was that? It sounds like there's a raptor stalking me outside my room. That or robot sex.

Boyfriend: raptors?! I blame vista.
(Here, we were talking about Vista the OS beforehand, and how sucky it is, in case you were wondering why he was blaming Vista.... Though, I think a lot of people just blame Vista altogether, so this footnote-like disclaimer here wasn't really needed. :D Yayy!)

Me: It's either that or robot sex. >__> I don't know which.

Boyfriend's friend: LOL, I had to click on the "in reply to" thing to see WTF you're talking about. Good lord. :D

Me: xD Hehe. :p

Me: All in all, I do have a dirty mind. :p I just don't show it very much. Or at all. I just...well. Fuck it.

Boyfriend: Robot sex? o_0 looks like screws, nuts and bolts aren't for screwing anymore...wait...

Me: XD Not in this day in age. Hell! They make sex robots now.

Boyfriend's friend: So it's official.... Raptor sounds = Robot sex. Ok folks I'm getting off of here for a while. :P I need to crash.

Me: Yes, very much so. Robot sex is the rage with raptors. Didn't you know?!

Boyfriend's friend 2: [boyfriend][me] Yeah, drop a few grand and you get a robot that feels like a person, moves like a robot.

Me: Ehh, I think I'll stick with [boyfriend's name here]. :p

Boyfriend: Vista has now rotted her brain. GOD DAMN YOU VISTA!

Me: D: I don't want robot sex. Why would I want robot sex? I want your -- well, that's private -- uh, between us.

Boyfriend's friend 2: Time to upgrade.

Me: But I don't want to have sex with robots. >:(

Boyfriend's friend 2: It's all the rage now, you have to. Even the raptors are doing it.

Me: Are you having sex with robots? >:( Can't preach what you're not doing.

Boyfriend: [previous tweet deleted that said "Damn straight RT...."] Damn straight, she needs windows 7 RT @[boyfriend's friend][me] Time to upgrade.

Me: xD And here I was thinking you wanted me to be with a robot instead of you. Unless you do. ._.

Boyfriend: No you just need a new OS for your laptop xD

Me: xD Okay. And I know. My laptop needs a new OS. Poor computer. *Pets.* Vista is so hard on her.

Boyfriend's friend 2: [in reply to boyfriend] What sex robot runs Windows 7? Need to invest in that.... Bedroom media center? Awesome.

Me: You just wish you were getting robot sex.

Then it goes on to how my computer is having rough robot sex....

Boyfriend: VISTA ROUGH LOVING FTW

Me: It's all it knows. During the rough times, it gives it rough robot sex!

And somehow we got into how I don't want raptor sex o___o....

Boyfriend's friend 2: I can't afford that! But apparently they're in your house.... with raptors.... time to get busy!

Me: *Cries.* I don't want robot sex! >:( Let alone raptor sex

Then I get off-topic:

Me: Oh god! It's that fucking bee again! It won't leave me alone! *Cries.*

And back to raptors!

Boyfriend's friend: [me][boyfriend][boyfriend's friend 2] http://www.redsave.com/productimages/roboraptor_400.gif That is all, now I'm out. :P

Me: Oh god, I want one. XD

Boyfriend's friend 2: [me][boyfriend's friend] OMG I shit you not my little brother in law has that thing! Swear to GOD!

Me: :( I want oneeee. Where did he get it!?

Boyfriend's friend 2: Told you it was all the rage. He got it for Xmas. The thing walks around and turns to avoid running into stuff.

Me: Oh god. I want one. XD Gotta find out how much it costs and where to get it. I would so love to have a raptor robot.

Me: It would be my raptor minion and we will take over the world!

Me: Touching its face when it is hunting will make it react angrily and most likely attempt to "attack" the person touching it. cont...

Me: But if it is feeling playful, it will nuzzle the person's hand and then "attack", using its jaws. <-- Fuck yes.

Me: *Goes to tell Mom.*

Boyfriend: Only until the batteries would die out. :P

Me: But then I'll just replace the batteries. :p It would be an ongoing taker of the world. That and it would make me french fries

So, that's how the raptors and robot sex started. And how we got roboraptor!:

Until next time when we talk about how my cat bitch-slapped me!

*This is why I don't have coffee. I get really hyper and crazy shit like this happens....

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning. God, I Hate Cleaning.

2010-05-12T11:31:00.001-04:00

So since this weekend, I've been cleaning. And I hate cleaning. It took me four hours to clean one window, and a little around three hours to clean half of the large window.

And I'm. Still. Not. Done. Grawrwarwarawr.

I hate cleaning.

Though, I get to paint! Yayyy! I can't wait to paint! :o I'm going to paint green colors and lots of other stuff. >_> But first I have to finish cleaning the room. >:( That's going to take forever.

I WILL FINALLY GET RID OF THE DAMN PINK WALLS, THOUGH! YAY!!

In other news, while I'm taking a little break from writing and playing God of War (...those Cerberus and their fuck bundles rather angered me), we've had a bunch of tornado warnings. When I was paying attention to the weather, a loud train whistle went off and scared me. .____.

Grawrawrawr. Allergies.

2010-04-27T17:19:00.000-04:00

I hate allergies. They are my worst enemy.

They make my head hurt, they make me sneeze. They make me feel tired and not how I please.

Grawrawrawr.

I hate allergies.

With the hate of allergies, I'm staring outside, looking at the trees blowing and watching my TV reception go crazy. D: Maybe wind is my worst enemy as well.

But that's not important.

Though, last week, I saw a crow and a blue jay fighting over a tree branch in my yard. o_O A bunch of apple blossoms started to fall, and they got really angry at each other. It was really scary. My cat kept going crazy, standing on her hind legs and doing her "meow" which really isn't a meow, but more of a "ROAWR." She also makes monkey noises. o_o

I was going on about allergies, wasn't I? >:( Well I don't want to go on about them anymore! I'll go on about what I want!

D:< I hate allergies.

(Disclaimer: There's really no point of this blog. I just wanted to write something down out of the neglect I have done for my blog. :( I know, I'm a horrible person.)

Pen Names

2010-04-13T22:51:00.000-04:00

Pen names.

That's what I'm writing about this week.

Pen names.

If you were to come up with a pen name, what would it be? Would it be a mixture of your names mashed together in a simple first and last name or would you choose something completely different?

How would you go about to making a pen name? What is your reasoning behind it? Do you want a pen name?

I've been thinking about this for a while. I don't know for sure if I truly want a pen name or not, but I figure that if I'm going to think about it, why not come up with a list of names that I may want to use?

I mean, it doesn't hurt to do that.

I've come up with a few so far. I just don't know which ones I like more. I have come up with a few and just wonder if it's truly me or if I really will like it down the line. I don't know if I will still go with it but there's many reasons why I may choose a pen name instead of using my actual name.

It's not that I don't like my name, I just don't feel it is strong enough.

So I'm leaving this open for some people to think about. I'd appreciate comments if anyone has any. :) I want to hear what others have to say.

Sorry!

2010-04-09T00:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't done some writing in my blog recently. =P I've been really busy. I'll be working on blogging some more soon.

This week, I've been working on finishing up Ashes, Ashes. I've probably written around 10,000 words alone. Two days ago I've written 4,000 to 5,000 words and still feeling the effects. xD Today, I've probably written a lot less than that, but that should clear up soon, I hope.

Anyway, I just wanted to update and show that I am not dead. =P I'll be working on the blog later. Bye bye for now!

Oh, I've also joined Absolute Write Water Cooler.

*Poofs.*

Okami -- Legend of Zelda on Crack?

2010-03-21T02:06:00.000-04:00

Not trying to diss Legend of Zelda -- in fact, I love, LOVE Legend of Zelda. I have a lot of the games. My point of the title is that Okami reminds me of Legend of Zelda in a Japanese calligraphy while on crack.

And with that said, I truly, ABSOLUTELY love the game. It's the best game that I have played this month.

I have been told to get Okami for a long while now and have put it off because, well, I have forgotten to get it. I wanted it for some time, so I finally got it for roughly $20, new. This is for the PS2, so it was kind of hard to find. With it, I got Gold of War: Chains of Olympus for $13. However, this blog entry is about Okami.

And seriously, this game is amazing.

In the game, you're Amaterasu -- Japanese Shinto sun goddess -- Okami. She (even though considered "genderless" in the game) appears as a wolf in the game, told to have defeated Orochi with the famous hero Nagi. After 100 years, she is brought back after being encased in stone after the battle with Orochi. Darkness has spread over Nippon (Japan) and she is needed once again to have Nippon put back in peace.

It doesn't seem much like a game, but it is great. The whole game is based on the Japanese mythology, folklore, etc. It's a bit slow in the beginning, but it really starts to pick up and I have a hard time putting it down. The visuals are amazing, and it reminds me of Legend of Zelda. It's definitely a unique game. Sadly, the team that did Okami (Clover Studios) is of no more, but from what I have read, most have joined up with Namco, the publisher. If you ever come across this game, I advise to pick it up. I never played the Wii version, so I can't really say how it is, but the PS2 version is amazing.

What makes it unique is that you use a brush as a weapon. You get different techniques called "Celestial brush techniques". These will help you during your journey across Nippon. Another thing that makes it unique is how it is done. I knew about the game, but I didn't know what to expect. The visuals are wondrous, colorful... They are just beautiful.

I've been playing this game until 6 AM each night. xD I can't get enough of this game at all. I'm almost done, from the looks of it. I've already reached Sei-an City and have 10 of the 13 brushes. I love the Japanese calligraphy feel of it. It's really artistic. I love how they kept the Kanji in the game, as well. I can't wait to finish it, either. Hell, it's been keeping me from writing, but it's been helping with my writer's block. :)

I think my next blog, I'll talk about God of War: Chains of Olympus. That game is awesome, as well. I had a great time playing it and it's just kick ass. xD I love my video games.

Romance Novels.

2010-03-12T22:42:00.001-05:00

I think I'm starting to like romance novels. x.x

For someone like me, I'm not usually into that whole romance genre. I never cared for them. I don't even like the romance movies. Though, I have noticed a difference when it comes to the movies and the books. There is a huge difference in the two.

I never cared for the romance movies, mainly because I never found them interesting and I found them boring. I just could never get into them. I didn't like the Notebook. My sister made me watch the movie and I just didn't really care for it. =S

I know, being a girl and all with me not liking the Notebook, you're all probably wondering, "What the hell? How could you not like the Notebook?"

I just never could get into it. Romance movies are not my cup of tea.

However, that doesn't mean all romance novels are my cup of tea.

It really has to get me interested. I don't like mushy, day-of-the-mill type romance novels you might find in a drug store. It has to have elements that I like, also. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I don't really want the mushy, sex-filled novels, I guess you could say. When I read something like that, I get all awkward and I feel uncomfortable after reading all that. xD As weird as that sounds, I get like that.

Even though I do get like that, I am writing a novel that is romance based. It is a dark paranormal romance, but it is also for young adult, so it's not going to be heavily sex-related, if at all. You can write a romance without having to have sex in it. But if you're going to have sex, then there's nothing wrong with keeping it subtle.

I think subtle is good. It hints, but it's not full blown sex scene that can make some people uncomfortable. Not with that said, there's nothing wrong with having a full blown sex scene... And that's all I'm going to say with that. :P

And yay! My games came today. >> There shall be no writing as I am going to play God of War: Chains of Olympus and Okami, even if I already had an awkward moment when my dad walked into the kitchen and I was in the middle of God of War: Chains of Olympus sex minigame. x.x

Portraying a Character.

2010-03-08T02:23:00.001-05:00

How do you portray a character? What attributes do you give him/her? What should define a woman as a woman and not just a character that is nonexistent or unbelievable?

No character is perfect. None. There's never a character that can do everything and anything. There's always weaknesses. I bring this up from another blog entry that I read and have thought about for a while (sorry Emily. ._. Please don't get angry for bringing this up), but it makes me wonder. How do you portray your characters, especially if they are female?

I think a woman who has more of a masculinity than her femininity doesn't make her less of a woman, but because she acts like a man, she is more prone to not knowing how to portray that feminine side of her. That's her weakness. She may be strong enough to fight off men or take them down whereas the average woman is not. However, when it comes to portraying that femininity side of hers, that side that she does not know herself, it makes her vulnerable. It makes her weak. It makes her unsure of who she is as a whole.

She has grown up as a warrior, to fight and kill, to do masculine things; however, she is at a lost when it comes to being a woman. That doesn't mean she's not any less of a woman than say the one who is in touch with her femininity. She just has to take more steps than the average woman. Doesn't mean she won't ever get there.

It may seem like random babble, but it makes me wonder. How does a woman get like that? How does it all start? Does it make her not a woman anymore and makes her just a man with breasts? Why or why not?

~Abigail

More Woes -- This Time With Open Office Writer. UPDATE

2010-03-03T01:22:00.001-05:00

Previously, I talked about how I hated Microsoft Word 2007. It's still true. Microsoft Word 2007 likes to do things its own way, but that's already been talked about. This time, this blog entry is about Open Office Writer 3.2.

Yeah, I complain too much about the writing programs. But what else can I do?

Basically, for this writing program, it's just another version of Microsoft Word 2007. Only difference is that it doesn't make the Widow/Orphan Control be on for part of the default. There are other problems, though. Some of the problems are:

The default margins are not 1" all the way around, unlike for Microsoft Word 2007. Instead, it's something like .79" all the way around. Troublesome.
When copying/pasting a document into an email, it doesn't embed the indents. It completely removes it. If you paste said document into Microsoft Word 2007, it doesn't copy the indents with it either. However, Microsoft Word 2007 actually copies the indents, so I guess it's just a matter of opening the document in Microsoft Word 2007. +1 for MS Word 2007 for once?
There's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to it after you get used to using Microsoft Word programs.

Those are some of the problems. I have been using Writer despite its problems. Microsoft Word 2007 grammar issues were getting really ridiculous, saying I need to do change a word to something else, when it doesn't even make sense in the sentence. Yeah, what the hell MS Word? Anyway, I believe it's a lot better than MS Word 2007. There's a bit of a learning curve, but I'm getting used to it.

The learning curve, I'd have to say that it takes maybe an hour, at least. If not more than that. It doesn't take much to learn how to use it, but when you're used to Microsoft Word 2007, it can get a bit complicated. I have figured some things out and have found other information, but it's just opening a fresh document and fooling around with Writer. Maybe in a future blog entry I'll give a tutorial for both Microsoft Word 2007 and Writer.

P.S.
From what I have gone through and looked at, the margins all the way around ARE 1" in Writer. It may say that the top is .50" and the bottom is .50", but when you have both the header and the footer on, it's going to be like that. They are still 1" all the way around.

I have gone into Microsoft Word and checked both documents side by side. The same number of lines and words are on the pages that are on Writer. I would mention this, but seeing as how they are the same, it's not really a problem.

If you like the double check, however, go into Format --> Page --> Page Tab. Here, you will see Right, Left, Top, Bottom. You can change it to how you like, especially if the default is 0.79" like it is for me.

When you format a manuscript, you want your margins 1" all the way around. This includes a header and footer. This is one of the essentials when it comes to formatting. You don't want the margins to be any smaller than that or any bigger. Do not try to save paper by playing around with the margins. It's not advised. ;)

~Abigail.

UPDATE:
Thanks to Morgan Ives, here's a tutorial on how to create a template that will fix the margins and make it 1" all the way around. :) Again, thanks to Morgan Ives!

The Troubles Microsoft Word 2007 (and Open Office 3.2) Causes.

2010-02-25T00:25:00.001-05:00

I hate Microsoft Word 2007.

I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

I hate it.

I get in fights with it. I try to make it listen to me, but half of the time, it doesn't want to. It's like a disobedient child or a stubborn child that just wants to do its own thing. And that frustrates me. Why? Because when writing a novel, I want to have the formatting right at the get go so I don't have to go back and do it. It's just easier to get the formatting correct at the beginning rather at the end.

There's more to it, though. When I try to format and uncheck things in the little boxes that are already checked to begin with because it is the default, which I don't understand why it must be, it can get a little aggravating when unchecking those little boxes don't work.

All because Microsoft Word 2007 doesn't want to listen to me.

Or because there's another tab that I have to click on and uncheck even more little boxes.

Let's go through some of the things that Microsoft Word 2007 likes to mess with, shall we?

When it comes to widow/orphan control option, it's automatically on because of the default. Many writers might not realize this is on. Of course, it can get annoying because it likes to do things that we do not want it to do.

What does it do that we don't like, you may ask? Well, here's the function of the widow/orphan control:

"Widow and orphan: A widow is the last line of a paragraph printed by itself at the top of a page. An orphan is the first line of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a page." - Word Pagination
So, here, this automatically tells us that when it comes to the end of a page, Microsoft Word will automatically take the last line of a paragraph and bring it to the beginning of the next page (widow) or take the first (few) line(s) of a paragraph on the last page and bring it to the beginning of the next page (orphan).
Now, you're probably wondering why that is so annoying. Well, that is so annoying because it causes the lines of each page to be off. Why is it so important, though? Because it can throw some things off, and we don't want that. No sure-y-bob.
The next thing on our list are the "smart quotes" and "straight quotes." Yes, there's a difference. A few of you out there are probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about, so let me explain:

Smart quotes are those curly quotes. They are a default with Microsoft Word 2007, but they are highly not -- I repeat: not -- recommended when it comes to formatting your manuscript. In fact, they are advised to be turned off.

(Disclaimer: If you do not turn those off, you cannot come back here and say that I told you not to turn them off, because, quite frankly, I told you to do so. So you can't blame me.)
Ahem, now that we have that out of the way, let's move on.

The reason why they are not advised to be on is because they mess with the formatting, especially in emails and when formatting it into HTML. It can make things quite ugly just by littering your precious work with random coding junk. Yeah, not fun. So turn those little buggers off. It will save a lot headaches. You want to use straight (or "dumb") quotes, anyway. :)

(I don't know why MS Word decided to have smart quotes the default, silly as it is. If you would like to post such information, please do so in the comments and I will edit this with that information, along with crediting you with such find.)
Double hyphens are used in manuscripts for novels. However, Microsoft Word 2007 has, yet again, decided to automatically correct itself and put dashes in place of the double hyphens. We don't want this. It can mess things up in emails with the coding junk (yuck!). So change that. Uncheck the box and it shouldn't happen anymore.

I don't know why Microsoft Word 2007 has these as defaults. I find it annoying when I'm trying to format my manuscripts. I've tried another writing software as well, but it seems to resemble that of Microsoft Word 2007 (why, I don't know. It's rather annoying, though).

If you're wondering what program I'm referring to, I'm referring to Open Office Writer. If you don't like how Microsoft Word 2007 looks, it's a great free program to switch to if you want to use Open Office instead.

Anyway, now that I have complained about all that stuff, I'm going to help others out and tell you how to fix all those problems, and then some.

For the widow/orphan control, go to Page Layout --> Paragraphs --> Line and Page Breaks. Uncheck the Widow/Orphan Control and it should turn it off. Once you're done, hit okay.

NOTE: Home --> Paragraph takes you to the same place.

To change smart quotes to straight quotes, it's a bit of a walk. Go to Word Options --> Proofing --> AutoCorrect Options --> AutoFormat As You Type. Uncheck straight quotes with smart quotes. Do the same thing for hyphens "--" with dashes, and then hit okay.

And that's pretty much it. Easy, right? All of that is done in a matter of seconds, that's if you know your way around Microsoft Word 2007. The ribbon thing can make things rather confusing, same with that button in the left hand corner (which brings you to the screen so you can save, print, etc., along with where the Word Option is). Open Office Writer 3.2 does not have the ribbon, so it looks pretty much like what Microsoft Word 2003 did. That makes things easier for those who are used to it.

A couple of things for Microsoft Word 2007 that I would like to add: when formatting, make sure to do a couple of the following along with what I just told you:

Paragraph: make sure it is double spaced throughout your whole manuscript. This makes it easier to read instead of having it single spaced. With the 2007 version, it likes to add spaces before and/or after the paragraph. How to do turn this off, go to Home --> Paragraph. Click on the little box that has an arrow going up and an arrow going down. It looks something like this:

^ ---
|  ---
v ---

The 2.0 will give you double spaced, so click on that. Then, click on that same box again and click on Remove Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph (whichever one says "Remove". Both may say it, so click both, but if one just says it, then just click on the one). This will get rid of the annoying blank space that is between paragraphs. For some reason, Microsoft Word 2007 also decided to add that to its default.

The only time you want space between paragraph is when you are breaking for a scene. Do not click on the "Add Space Before/After Paragraph". Instead, press enter twice.

That's it for now. :)

~Abigail

What I Plan to Do.

2010-02-20T18:40:00.000-05:00

Now that I am done with all the changes I have made, I think it's time to turn this blog in the right direction. :)

What I have wanted to do with my blog is make it a writing blog, hence the "Enigma Inklings" title. Sadly, I have neglected my blog for unknown reasons and have strayed from the whole idea.

But no more! I shall be working on getting it in the right path. I just need a little time to do a bit of research so I can make this a writing blog, like it so proudly deserves. :) I am going to work on dedicating my time to my blog between working on my novels and playing video games. First off, I will plan a schedule and I will be sticking to it (an idea given by Morgan Ives on her blog Brave New World).

Second, I'm going to create a time when my entries will be posted, even if I'm unable to post them myself. It might seem impersonal, but if I'm really busy, then I'm really busy. I don't want to neglect my blog again.

I will be trying very hard to work on this blog. I need to start blogging again, and I think that that will help me relax. I miss writing all the time, even if it is just by blogging. So, hopefully, I'll be doing more and writing more.

I really need to.

That's it for now. :) More next time.

~Abigail

Changes Part II

2010-02-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

I've added more to the "Pages" of my blog. Finally, I have decided on the titles for the four book ideas that I have been brewing in my head (you would think that I would have a headache by now!), and, even though there is nothing there at the very moment, there will be samples later. I probably should have them as drafts, but oh well. Maybe I will make them as drafts later, but right now, I'm just messing around with things. =P

Besides that, I have decided to split Ashes, Ashes up. The reason I have decided to do this is because it is rather long, and I feel like that it should be two books. It used to have parts, but I took those out. I have also taken out the prologue.

Reading up on the things that are particular agents favorites and particularly not their favorites, I figured that I might as well take the advantage of not having a prologue...

Okay, not really an advantage, but a lot of writers are using prologues now. I can see why it is not a favorite of theirs, mainly because a lot of people can't write a correct prologue or a prologue isn't even needed. I have a few things up my sleeve and with taking time to relax, I have decided that I would work on my book more.

I have started working out on an outline. This will help me, I hope. I didn't write an outline for it before, but if I can write an outline to make it stand out to 80k pages, then I should be in the green light and ready to go. It will help me put my thoughts into simple words and not into an extensive. That way, if I need to go back, I can read over the ideas and get it down on paper.

Will this help me? I don't know. But I hope it does.

With that said, I have also added a little info on my novels to the right. It will show the progress of what I have and where I am at, regarding words. I hope things go according to plan!

And while I'm at it, I'll be playing Final Fantasy XII. :)

Changes.

2010-02-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I have changed a few things. I have added a "The Engima" (basically a "About Me" section that I'm still playing around with) and an "Artwork" section. The artwork page will be linked to another blog that will show all my drawings (changed it from a diary type thing to a page with all my artwork). It will still be like a diary thing, but it will be different than what it was before. I didn't really have very much to begin with, so it's a fresh start. =P

I'm going to be working on here a bit more now. I have to. I've neglected my blog and I feel terrible for it! It's not~~hing~~ something I wanted to do, but I have been going through things. Last night I had a severe asthma attack. I almost went to the hospital. However, I'm feeling better now (but I'm still feeling the effects of it) and to calm myself down, I'm going to be working on writing (which I haven't for a month) and playing video games, along with working on art. Not only am I going to work on writing, but I'm going to be putting stuff on here about writing, like I had intended before (ha, I think I just repeated myself. Wow).

Some things I'm going to be putting up on here is informational material. I'm going to research different writing information, whether it is agents, formatting, whatever. I'm going to back everything up with the information that I have found to make sure everything is correct since I am not a published author myself (wouldn't be fair if I didn't do it that way). I will also ask for thoughts and opinions or advice that anyone might have to help other aspiring writers.

Why, you might ask? Well, I have come across a blogger that is doing something similar, but it is to destroy agents. It's sad, really. I don't think it is right, and I want to help, not hurt. And with different writers out there, I'm sure people can come up with some kind of sound advice that may help for future reference or future authors. :)

Other things I'm going to be posting are samples of my book. It's only going to be ten percent of it, but I'm still going to do it, so it's a sample of my writing. I may first post it as blog entries and then have a separate page for it so it doesn't get lost in all the amount of entries that I will be doing~~, hopefully without neglecting my blog again~~.

I hope everyone enjoys once things get rolling. :) Happy reading everyone!

It Amazes Me.

2010-01-24T00:43:00.000-05:00

This is not so much a writing blog than it is a rant. It deals with writing, yes, but there are some things that have nothing to do with writing at all.

So, I shall begin.

I've come across many ridiculous things. At best, it's hilarious. Just reading some of the things, it makes you wonder, "Did this person read what was said at all?" or "What the hell?" I've come across this recently and just has me thinking.

Why do this, and what personal gain are they going to have?

I'm not going to say names for obvious reasons. I'm not that type of person. However, I'm still going to talk about it. The recent one I have come across is this person (not going to say if this person is male or female. That is for you to decide, if you really want to know) who waits to prey on literary agents and bash them. Why? To be honest, I'm not really sure why, except for the fact that (s)he has been turned down multiple times by literary agents and it just left a sour taste in his/hers mouth. That being said, they'll take every little thing that a literary agent has said and either

a) turn it into something that it is not.

b) used it against said literary agent, just to be able to bash him/her.

c) use it as a way to spread false information, especially giving aspiring writers the wrong idea (which is similar to a) anyway).

I bring this up because I hate it when people spread wrong information, especially writing information. On a website that I am a moderator on, this user asked for writing advice, such as how (s)he promote his/her newly self-published book. One user tried to tell him/her that a literary agent would be costly, as just as the topic creator believed, which in fact, most literary agents will not ask for an up-front fee, at all. I tried to tell him/her this, but another user kept saying the same thing and kept giving the wrong information.

Now, before I keep repeating myself, the reason why I'm saying it is the wrong information because a lot of people believe that self-publishing is just like being published by a major house. In all reality, it is not. Being self-published is a lot harder. Most known bookstore chains will not take on your POD or self-published books because they are just that. Bookstores do not want them for obvious reasons (maybe in another blog I'll explain such reasons, but for now, this blog entry is just a rant. If I remember for later blog entry, I'll do it with research to give links and information along the way).

When you self-publish, you're all on your own. You need to work hard and do a lot of it all on your own. With that being said, being self-published is not easy. You have to represent yourself, market yourself, get your book sold in order to make the money back that you invested to publish said book. It is rare for a self-published author to be a best-seller, along with sell to get their money back (like I said, it is rare, but possible).

Now, back on to what I was saying.

It's harder to tell people the correct information when others are saying the opposite. There were users saying the same thing as I was, sure, but it irritated me how he was given the wrong information. So, that's one thing.

Another thing is of another person, not of a website that I moderate, but of a different website. It was on their blog, and I came across it on Twitter. I couldn't help but laugh at the things (s)he was saying, mainly because it was ridiculous. (S)He was bashing a literary agent based on what that literary agent said. (S)He was using it against said literary agent. Many people wondered why. Many people were asking if the person even knew what (s)he was talking about (to be honestly, I highly doubt (s)he even did). I won't say what it was about, because frankly, I don't think it matters. But anyway, I even asked this person if (s)he knew what (s)he was spewing.

It was wrong. And I wonder to this day if this person has any experience at what was at hand (yes, this is rather vague, but I like to keep it that way).

This wasn't the only time this person has done it. Nope. (S)He has done it more than once, and (s)he continues to do it. What for? Who knows, besides spreading lies and slander. It's not giving him/her a good name, either. And if (s)he wants to be a publisher (only hint that will be given to know who I am talking about), this person better stop.

Why?

There's nothing to gain, for one. Two, it gives aspiring writers the wrong information. In the second to latest blog entry of his/her, (s)he speaks how this literary agent is hiding behind a guest blogger, saying that all literary agents is going to do this and that writers better watch out. That wasn't the point of the blog at all. The point was to bring up discussion on whether or not the writer would do it or think, "No way! There is no chance I'd ever think of doing that!" It was a hypothetical question, of all things.

Like I said, this person just twisted things around to make literary agents look bad.

And in no way am I promoting literary agents (I think they can be trusted, but this is really not the point of the blog, so why should I promote literary agents? Don't get me wrong, I think it's essential thing to do when it comes to being published, but it is not the point of the blog).

That being said, that's the end of my writing rant.

Now, on to the next one.

The next one deals with trolling and flaming. I'm sure a lot of people on the internet knows what that is. Basically, you're making fun of people and calling them names. Now, why is this so important that I'd bring this up? Well, a recent (well, not so recent) dispute about a website and this person ended up with the user threatening to sue the website master (who is also my friend).

What happened?

Well, the person that is threatening to sue my friend if he didn't take it down has been getting rather upset about how people on my friend's forum keeps trolling and flaming her behind her back. You wonder, "Who cares?" Well, she does. She is all upset about this, even though she repeatedly says she doesn't care and ignores it all. Oh, really? Is that so? If she really didn't care, she wouldn't be threatening to sue my friend.

My friend took down the website, of course, but the thing is, the person that threatened him has no case. It's the internet, of all things! There's going to be trolling, there's going to be flaming, everything! Grow up. And bringing up a lawsuit is going to do nothing but feed the trolls. It's what they want. They want attention. They want their words to be recognized. If this person ignores all of it, the flaming would die. The trolling would die.

However, I wonder if this person truly likes this negative attention, but secretly doesn't realize it and continues to feed it, or really is stupid to begin with.

Then again, it's her. It's who she is. It doesn't surprise me that she would go this far just because people trolled and flamed her over the internet.

So, in the end:

Internet = serious business.

2010.

2010-01-04T00:48:00.000-05:00

So, it's a new year and a new month! I had a good Christmas (until the very end) and my birthday was a few days ago (December 31st). :) Now it's 2010. I hope you guys had a great year and a great New Years.

My resolutions? Well, I don't really have any besides writing more and, well, writing more. I've also been thinking about getting my hair cut, but not short. I really love long hair, but it's time to get a hair cut when you're sitting on it.

So, my resolutions of this year are:

-writing more
-writing more
-buy more pens
-writing more
-make sure not to run out of ink or pens.

(I ran out of ink in less than a month and I need a new pen already. What can you do when you're a writer?)

Grotesque Appendages

2009-12-10T23:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, you're all probably wondering what the hell my title is about. Well, let me post this passage to explain:

...Fear licked my skin as I stared into its yellow, wolfish eyes. I glanced at and slowly felt the creature's body while its hot breath touched my neck; its pelt was thick and coarse.

It snapped at my face, its breath rotten. I wanted to sink deeper into the ground as I felt its hot breath again dance across my skin. Death struck my mind as the creature put more pressure onto my chest with its grotesque appendages wanting to tear me apart. I felt the cloth tear above my skin and feared the image of it happening to me. It was painful to breathe. I felt a lump stuck in my throat as I tried to swallow and breathe through parted lips. However, the rotten smell from it took my breath away...

Yeah...that probably didn't help any. As you can see, this is my favorite passage of chapter II (even though short) of my book. Can you guess what I'm describing (the creature I mean)? If not, look at the cross out word under spoiler:

***SPOILER***

~~A werewolf~~

I wanted to keep the truth of them while mixing it up. Instead of having just one form, I have two. The human structure of it is the lycanthrope. Now, by now you should know what I'm talking about.

I just figured I'd make werewolves dangerous, but also disgusting, especially in the dark, like we have above. Reason why I gave its paws the description of grotesque appendages (plus I wanted an excuse to use appendages. >_> ).

So that's my story.

Now, onward to what I wanted to write!

I have been editing and I have finally been able to capture the voice of hatred that the main character has towards humans. Right now, the voice is just the hatred that the peregrine shapeshifters have taught her to have towards the humans without understanding why, and right now, she's seeing why. When it comes to the massacre, that hatred will grow.

And I can't wait till I get there!

I'm so happy with the edits I have made and glad that I have made them. I feel like my book reads faster and just all around better than what I originally had. I can't wait to read the whole thing and see how well it turns out and goes together.

Ta-ta for now!

*Explosion.*

"Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down."

2009-12-07T22:25:00.002-05:00

So, as I was working on the title of my book (I love the title of it right now, but I thought maybe it needed a new change, but keeping the "ashes" part), I thought long and hard about it, and about what I could change it to. So, yesterday after waking up, I was thinking about my book and the first thing to come to mind was the nursery rhyme. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.

At least, I hope.

It's a very old nursery rhyme from Mother Goose. The original was this:

"Ring-a-ring-a-roses,
A pocket full of posies;
Hush! hush! hush! hush!
We're all tumbled down."

Here's the UK/Ireland/South Africa/Australia's version:

"Ring a-ring o' roses,
A pocketful of posies.
a-tishoo!, a-tishoo!.
We all fall down."

And now the United States/Canada's version:

"Ring around the rosie,
a pocketful of posies.
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down."

It is said that the nursery rhyme has something to do with the Black Death and that most have either "atchoo" or "a-tishoo" because it is said that the final (and fatal) symptom of the Black Death (the plague) was sneezing. Many carried posies with them in hopes of warding off the Black Death and that a rose-colored rash indicated a person had the plague, along with "we all fall down" associating with death. Though, many scholars say that this isn't true.

However, why would this work well with my book? Well, my book is a dark fantasy with fire, death, destruction, and ashes. It doesn't talk about the Black Death, but it does talk about death. "Ashes, Ashes", I figured, works greatly with what is going on in my book, and hopefully, I can use the nursery rhyme as well.

Plus, it's always been my favorite nursery rhyme.

NaNoWiMo -- Two Weeks Late.

2009-11-23T00:12:00.000-05:00

So, I'm two weeks late to the party. Heh, oops. I've been out of the state for two weeks (I didn't want to come back), and didn't write either of those two weeks. I've been playing video games the whole time. So, I'm two weeks late. Being two weeks late, I don't know if I'll be able to do the NaNoWiMo thing this year. I'm going to try, though.

If I'm unsuccessful, then I'll just post it as a short story after going through some hard editing. I'm going to try to get at least 50k words by next Sunday. I don't know if I'll be successful or not, but it's just a gander and a try. Nothing wrong with trying, right?

Writing News?

2009-11-21T10:54:00.001-05:00

Writing news? Well, at the moment, nothing. I haven't worked on my synopsis for two weeks. Mainly because I haven't really been on my computer. However, I did defeat Tales of the Abyss and have been playing Tales of Legendia. I am almost done with the main story (on the last chapter). Though, apparently, the second half of the game doesn't have voice acting. Hm? A little strange, huh? Well, no matter. A game with or without voices, I won't mind. It just reminds me of a GBC/GBA game anyway. :P

I'll probably start writing again shortly. Until then, this is just an update to show that I'm alive...and on twitter? o_o

Untitled Short Story Project #1

2009-11-02T01:49:00.001-05:00

"Don't scream."

"Who are you?"

"Your mother, your father, your creator."

"No, you're not -"

"Do not speak!"

It was dark. The lights were out and blinded the little girl. Her breathing was labored from being frightened and the sudden blood loss. She was on a metal table in the morgue, covered by what felt like a thin tissue. She tried to move, but her arms and legs felt numb. Blood trickled down the wounds and down her naked body. Needle marks and sutures covered her body and where her limbs used to be.

It was why they felt numb.

She panicked. She moved her head quickly from one side to the other as she searched for a source of light, but everything was dark.

Her eyes had been sewn shut.

She screamed.

"I told you not to scream!" the mortician shouted as he backhanded her into unconsciousness.

Happy Halloween My Little Kitties and Goblins.

2009-10-31T17:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween my kitties and goblins!

...Don't ask. >_> I had cinnamon cookies that are trying to kill me. D:

ANYWAY, I've been pretty busy with rewriting my 5-page synopsis (already finished writing my 1-page). Though, besides that, I've been playing Tales of the Abyss. I'm almost done with the game and I can say that I've grown attach to the characters and some parts have made me cry. ;-; Though, not as much as Tales of Symphonia has. I love that game. <3

Yeah, this entry isn't much of a writing entry, but I wanted to post an update and say happy Halloween. So stay safe and be good! Eat your yummy sweets and scare the hell out of children!

Err, I mean...>_> yeah, I mean just that.

Just a Little Test. Giving This Mail2Blogger Thing a Go.

2009-10-25T22:30:00.001-04:00

This blog entry is a bit of a test. I'm just checking out this "Mail2Blogger" thing and see how it works out. I figure if this works, I can use this when I'm busy and need to post a small update or blog.

It won't be deleted unless it doesn't work. I don't like deleting blogs, unless it's absolutely necessary.

What I will be testing, also, will be the color.

Test

That's it!

-cryaegm

Not Sick Anymore.

2009-10-19T22:50:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone. I'm not sick anymore. I haven't been on blogger for two weeks, but that's mainly because I've been busy. I've been playing games to get through whatever I had. I've also been working on polishing a bit more just to make sure things are in perfect (or at least near perfect) shape. I ended up with around 106,000 words though. I started off with 104,500 words before the polish, so I gained words instead of losing. Though, I think it's for the better.

The game I've been playing is Tales of the Abyss. I haven't played it for three years and thought I should play it again. I'm still playing Disgaea, but that's when there's not as many distractions since it's a strategy game and I get easily distracted. That's not very good when playing the game. I don't need the distraction and end up dying and losing while in Item World. >_> Yeah, that's not awesome when it happens.

Just an update to show I'm still around and kickin'! Just been a little busy, but will be around more now. I'm also planning on doing something rather soon and hope things go to plan. Just something to do before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Sick.

2009-10-04T01:54:00.000-04:00

So I've been a little sick. It's hard to eat since my stomach hurts afterwards. I'm also dizzy when I stand up, and I feel like I could just flop over and fall asleep! Because I'm sick, I've been a little antsy and haven't really done much editing/polishing.

Just a small update.

Gobs of Goblin and Monkey Tootsie Tops!

2009-09-25T18:10:00.001-04:00

Grr, cat! I go to let her out of my room and I step in her food dish. I swear she's planning to attack me one of these days...

Uhh, moving on, I just finished working on my prologue. Thanks to everyone that helped me out. :) I really appreciate it.

I'm also reworking on my query letter. I went in blindly the first time (big mistake!!); I really want a great query and I've been researching and researching on how to make it so. It's going to take a little bit of time, but I'm sure I can do it. It takes practice, after all. But hey, nothing wrong with that.

I think this blog is going to be rather short, though. I don't know what all to say right at the moment, and my head is killing me again. Not bad as yesterday, but I need to start going to bed early instead of 6 AM (haha, oops). I've also been polishing my novel, Ashes, and making it the best that I can. :) It's going to take a little bit, but who said it wouldn't?

Some time in October, though, I'll have to put some things on halt, and work on the children's book that I was writing for my niece. Her birthday is going to be coming up soon. Though, maybe I'll have it for next year instead of for her sixth birthday. It's a bit of a dark theme, and I think maybe being the age seven, she'll appreciate it more. I just wish my sister would let her get into the dark world instead of being all swarmed up in the "girly girl" world. I want her to experience more than just the girly girl stuff. But what can I do? I can only try to see if she's interested. Though, my sister will just push that out of her way...

Pity.

That's it until next time!

The Word of a Female Dog.

2009-09-22T02:37:00.001-04:00

I said I was going to bring this up in the last blog entry, and that's what I'm going to do. If you find this word offensive, I advice you to not read this blog.

The word I'm talking about is the word that means female dog; in another words, the word is bitch. The reason why I bring this up is because in the book that I'm writing, I have used this word once in the entire thing. I don't want it to be considered an adult book because of that one word, but I'm not sure if people would take it in the sense of the modern version or the actual meaning.

I have used other words that could be considered as "controversial" (i.e. queer, hell, damn, gay). However, they are not used in the sense that most use it today. I want to continue using bitch, but I want to know what people think? The way I use it is not in the form of an insult since, technically, the main character is not human, but a female wolf shape-shifter.

I know that when many people read books or hear the word "bitch", they think of the meaning that is used today, just as they would if they heard the word queer. However, with that word, I'm using the almost-obsolete (if not obsolete already) meaning.

So what does everyone think? Should I use it? Or should I use another word that is similar? I have tried using other words, but they do not seem to work the way that bitch does...

Hm.

P.S.
I have also been working on editing my prologue. I may post it later, but for now, I'm still in the works of it.

Regarding Underlining.

2009-09-21T01:46:00.002-04:00

Now, I want to explain to everyone about my blog yesterday. I want to clear some things up in case people are a little confused or think I'm wrong. I was in a rush yesterday, so I wasn't able to explain thoroughly (been working on polishing my novel, as many of you already know) on what I meant.

First off, I'll start with the academic work that I talked about (it was rather brief). I've always used italics when it came to writing academic essays, etc., but that's me. I'm saying to not underline or to use italics instead. That was just an example that I was using. Personally, I never was told that I was in the wrong for using italics when writing my academic papers (you know, underlining book titles, etc.). That's why I included that part. I was simply saying that I have always done that and was never told that I was doing it completely wrong (honestly, my College English teacher always told us to use either italics or to underline; she didn't care). So that part is cleared up.

Now, on to underlining:

**By the way, this is about book manuscripts and the format. Please keep that in mind when reading this or the previous blog entry. I forgot to mention that when I was writing the previous one because I was in a hurry, just as I have stated ~~earlier~~ before.**

Let me explain what underlining was about. Underlining was used in the old days with typewriters because you weren't able to use italics on a typewriter. ~~You could use underlining, however, so it became the standard format.~~ Being able to use the underline, it became the standard format.

Many websites suggests to use underlining and still go by the old standard format. So it may be a little confusing. And if you're using courier, italicizing won't necessarily look like they are italicized or may be missed.

Italics is part of the new format. Quite a few things have changed, it seems, including the underlining and italicizing bit. Like I said, it can be confusing. Some editors may prefer the old format rather than the new. If they have guidelines and it says that they prefer the old format, then by all means, use the old format.

I'm sorry to cut it short, again, but I'm still in the middle of working on polishing my novel. Next blog entry I'll have will be about a controversial word: bitch. (Mainly because in my book, I am using the word, but it is used properly. Hmm, how should one go about this?)

Hello My Lovely Kittens and Mice.

2009-09-19T18:54:00.001-04:00

After having that little issue with MS Word, everything saved perfectly! It didn't end up with me getting an error about it not existing (yay!), so now I don't have to do it all over again (another yay!). I'm still polishing though, and it's going great. Though I still have a lot left to go (only on 104; boo).

You've probably noticed my image for my header. I was bored and thought it would look lovely up there. :) And I was right. The image turned out perfectly and I'm glad. It gives a little spice to my blog. Also, I changed my "avatar". I wanted to match, so there it is. I think it looks great, to be honest.

Now, my lovely kittens and mice (...don't ask), I thought I'd talk about writing and manuscripts. After all, that's apparently all that has been on my mind lately (for a good reason? I sure hope so!). ~~I'm part of a writing forum on Writer's Digest and have come across a few stories in Critique Central.~~ No, ignore that last part. I'm not going to talk about the writing forum I'm at. Anyway, I've seen a lot of new writers underline in their manuscripts (I guess it could go with the writing forums, but I really don't wanna go there; nothing bad, I just figured to keep it anonymous), and it started making me think about why I hate underlining things so much (except when I'm writing by hand, of course). I don't know why, but ever since I started writing and started working on stories, etc., I've always hated to underline. I didn't want to underline. I wanted nothing to do with underlining! It was like my enemy and I just wanted to RIP IT TO SHREDS!

...*Coughs.* Excuse me.

...Anyway, ignoring that little outburst, I hate underlining things. I don't know why and I don't really care, and yes, you're all probably saying, "But you have to underline! Book titles are underlined! There's lots of things you should underline!" But why underline when you can do the same with italics? The only time I underline is when I'm writing by hand and have to underline.

Other than that, I hate underlining. Period.

That being said, it brings me to my point about underlining (wow, that's a lot of text just to get to one point...): when it comes to a manuscript, don't ever underline. Ever. Why? Well, it's something not favored. anymore, unless you're using courier. Instead of underlining, use italics. Even with academic papers, I've always used italics and never had a teacher mark it and say, "Don't italicize! Underline it!" Why? Well, mainly because it means the same thing.

Or, so I've been told.

Underlining is basically old fashion, and it's really not wanted in manuscripts (or so I've researched). Something to keep in mind when it comes to writing.

The Dread of Realizing Nothing Saved...

2009-09-18T23:32:00.000-04:00

Last night, at around 11 PM, I decided to have two separate documents for my manuscript, as I have stated in my last entry. I also stated about the straight and "smart" quotes that MS Word decided it would try to sneak inside...

Too bad for you Microsoft Word! Muwahahahahaha-- *cough*

Anyway, as I was saying, I worked on it and finished at around 4:40 AM, this morning. I save, I'm good to go; I'm pretty sure I saved so I go on and do other things, then go to bed at around 6:20 AM (after being in the shower and realizing I could add a little something to my manuscript to make it a lot better). I am feeling great that I got it all done and everything is going well. I wake up, get on my computer after a little while of sitting down, and I go to open the document until I see this:

"'Document's name' does not exist."

I was in shock. I worked on that thing for five hours and forty minutes (granted, not very long, if you think about it, but damn...), only to find it not existing.

Yeah, thanks Microsoft Word. I appreciate that (hope you heavily not the sarcasm).

So, after getting over the fact that it did not save as I thought it did, I went and started up a new document and started working on doing the same thing that I did the night before...again. I made it (yay!) and it didn't take as long as it did the night before. I'm still upset that MS Word didn't think it had to save my document, but no less, I am grateful that it is done, and I will make sure that it saves this time. I definitely don't want to do it for a third time...

...Unless I really do enjoy torturing myself (a masochist, methinks?).

Straight Quotes and the "Smart" Quotes.

2009-09-17T23:34:00.002-04:00

So, as many of you know, I've been polishing Ashes and came across two sets of quotes that were in my MS Word document. I never really thought of it until I started ~~to notice.~~ reading to make sure everything was polished.

After turning off the auto correction, I came to the realization that I would have to correct every single quote...and I mean every single one. Not wanting to do that, I started to experiment. Not thinking which quote I was putting in the Find and Replace box, I ended up putting the smart quote in the Replace box...

...And ended up with the end quote backwards.

The irritation of it, you're probably wondering ~~why~~, "Why not press ctrl + z?" Well, I don't really feel like messing with a 300+ page document, even though I could exit it and restart the program, but that would mean that any editions that I might have made, I would have to make...again. Not wanting to deal with that, I just pressed ctrl h again. This time, I put the "smart" quotes in the Find box and straight quotes in the Replace box.

Oh, how lovely the change looked. And now it's not as much of a hassle as it would have been if I just did every single quote manually.

I think I would have smashed head against a brick wall a couple of times. Either that, or a dry wall, since that is what my room's walls are made of. Nonetheless, it would have ended in a stressful day for me.

And boy, stress is not fun. Ever.

Polishing.

2009-09-15T02:28:00.001-04:00

Lately I've been polishing Ashes. Just adding or taking away little things, nothing major. I'm still continuing my research for literary agents and doing my best. I've also been drawing when writer's block has gotten in the way...

This is just a check up of what I've been up. :) I'll be posting more later. Right now, just giving a short idea of what I've been doing.

"Except for a Shallow Grave."

2009-09-09T00:27:00.003-04:00

I look by day and into your eyes,
your lips scream for the day to end, but
your soul screams for light.
I bring heart aches and pain,
just hoping you'd go away;
however, you're still there,
burning and whispering,
"Are you happy with what you've done to me?"
Your whispers are dark,
your memories are hollow.
Yet, when I see the tears that fall,
there's nothing but a loss,
except for a shallow grave.
You kick, you scream,
but you always come back, hoping it will all be left in vain.
Oh, lovely ashes, what have you done to me?

It's Going Well!

2009-09-03T18:11:00.002-04:00

So far, the book idea is going well. I hope to do a few pages a day and finish it up by November 19th. That includes the writing and everything else. So far, the idea is about curiosity and it'll sort of be a moral type story. The main character is a little girl name Kessa. I don't have much of her planned out at the moment, but I hope to work on it very soon!

What I have Decided to Do.

2009-09-01T15:58:00.005-04:00

My little niece's birthday is coming up and she's turning six. I want to do something special for her, and most children books I don't like. They just seem to be all friendly and unexciting with barely any adventure or a little scary parts in the book. I mean, sure it's best to not have a book where the child will have nightmares, but back then, parents read the Brothers Grimm fairy tales to their children before bed. So, since her birthday is coming up in November (two months), I've decided to take some time off from writing my books and write a book for her.

Mainly, I want my niece to experience more things that are in writings than what most children books give. Also, my sister seems to limit her on the "girly" girl things, and I want her to experience more than that. Furthermore, my sister isn't letting her play video games and I know my niece has at least some interest in it. It's funny since she'll let my nephew and step-nephew play video games, but not my niece and step-niece. Of course, the little one is two or three, so I don't know if she's into it or not, but my niece would always watch me play whenever she was over, no matter what type of game I was playing (I did make sure to keep an eye on the rating of the game).

I want her to enjoy other things than the girly girl stuff, like the Bratz dolls (never EVER going to buy her one), Dora, barbies, etc. I want to show her the style I'm into, and it's not going to be bloody or gory like my other writings are like. It'll deal with fantasy, but it'll be more towards children than what I usually do, but it'll have that scare tactic feel as well. Children have fears and my nephew's experienced some scary stuff, such as in books and video games.

I'm not all too sure what I'm going to write about yet, but I'm going to start off with the beginning and just go from there. I have two months to write and I'm hoping to have fun with it and see where it takes me. :)

Things.

2009-08-11T19:53:00.002-04:00

I've been rather busy as of late. It sucks, but what can one do? Anyway, I started working on a journal/diary that I'm writing by hand. I never liked the appeal of writing a diary on a computer so I decided to do it by hand. It makes it easier and my handwriting is all loopy so it's not like anyone is going to be able to read it. I could do a diary here, but I don't know yet. It'll be separate from this, most likely, but I'm not quite sure yet.

I've been writing, just less at the moment since I'm getting things ready. Once I get things all good to go, I'll start writing more again and it will help me lose the stress that I am having, which is another reason as to why I started the diary. I wish I had a regular diary/journal rather than a notebook, but it'll do.

I've also been playing a few games lately, mainly Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. I defeated Sands of Time in a day. I keep missing the one item in the game that is apparently behind a breakable wall that isn't breakable. o_O Yeah. I keep missing it since I don't know it's there, so once I go back through the game, I'll try and get it. I always feel like I'm missing something, and lo and behold, it's that. How lovely.

I've also joined a friend's website, and will be helping contribute some articles. Besides that, I've just been thinking and been a little lonesome. I would like to talk about a few things here, but right now, I'm not ready to do that, but maybe a little later. Until then, I'll be updating with writings again soon. Just have to get through a few things to do that. Haven't quit on getting published either! Other than that, I've just been rather busy.

I miss my knight...

What's Been Going On.

2009-07-20T17:24:00.005-04:00

Since my last blog entry, I have been very busy. I haven't done very much writing, but I have recently been traveling and hanging out with my boyfriend. I'll be traveling again very soon and won't be on very often until I do travel again.

I have been also frustrated. No, it's not writing wise, but personal wise. I really do not want to talk about it right now, since it deals with my sister and her husband (more her husband than my sister). Right now, I'm upset at her for blaming me for her husband's grandmother's death (like I have any control of it). This is just an update blog to let people know that I haven't forgotten this place and that right now, things may appear sporadically than they should. I have also been playing a couple of games (Super Stardust Portable for the PSP and Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles). Once things settle down and I'm ready to blog again, I'll post an update. However, for now, I'm going to be very busy and won't necessarily have a new entry this week or even the next (may be every two weeks before I post another blog entry; gotta do what you can and what you have to first).

Continue to have a great summer, everyone!

What Would You Do if You Deleted Your Novel?

2009-07-06T23:53:00.003-04:00

As I am writing my two novels that are a continuations of Ashes (Knights (Working Title) and i.l.l.:Iliad Lethe Lionhart), I remember my adventures with the writing and what I did to get where I am today. There were some ups and and downs with it, especially when not paying attention as to what you're deleting and accidentally delete it (ouch!). It all comes down to knowing what you're doing and if you have any backups to save what you just did (or not do). These backups can come in handy and many shapes and form, such as on another computer, a backup file, a flashdrive, etc. It just depends how you utilize the materials you have.

When writing Ashes, I was fifteen and in the ninth grade. I came up with an idea for an ending on those index cards on my sister's bed (I was rather bored and had nothing else to do, so I just started writing away). As I was writing, I would change it until I got the main gist of what I wanted. Then I started working on the beginning.

The beginning wasn't all that great (I recently found the beginning and decided to throw it away because I honestly didn't like what I had then and love what I have now). It started off with there being dragons, but I soon took out the dragons and just left the war (my cousins thought I needed therapy after reading what I had). I knew the war was what I wanted to show the wanting and the hate for something, along with the naiveness of someone being isolated for most of her life.

It grew and kept growing. I got to the point where I couldn't do anymore with what I had and decided to restart half of it. Yes, half of it. Writing something that is over 100,000 words is a lot of dedication; however, I didn't think that the part worked the way it was and needed to be restarted. So I restarted half of it while editing the beginning. As I was getting through it and get what I wanted, in 2007, I accidentally deleted the WHOLE thing.

There was nothing left. Nothing. It had been absolutely, COMPLETELY deleted, except for what I had before I restarted it all.

One would think that would make someone not want to write anymore and would give up right then and there, but I didn't want to give up. Don't get me wrong, I thought about giving up because of that moment and how hard I worked on it, but I didn't. I kept working. I continued to work with what I had before the restart and worked my way back to how things were. I went through old blog entries, old papers I had, a saved document that I had on another computer that I could only salvage the old remnants of. Everything that I worked on and had restarted was already gone and had to be rewritten to what it was before.

It took many nights and many days to do that, but it was finally done. Some things are not the same as to what I had, but it doesn't matter now since I'm sure I would have changed it anyway. I did what I could to make what I wanted and to write it the way I wanted to write. And of course, around that time, I had a received a horrible comment on a rough draft that I decided to post.

I did ask for criticism; however, saying something like "Don't quit your day job, honey" isn't criticism, if you ask me. Criticism is actually reading it and giving suggestions on what could make it better and to say what is wrong with it now, what to change, what to give it that spark that'll keep readers interested. Not the whole, "Don't quit your day job" comment. That doesn't help at all. That doesn't tell the writer what could change, what does need to change, and what doesn't.

All it does is make the writer wonder why a person would say that. So I pushed him. I pushed him on to explain as to why. Instead of explaining, he ripped it to pieces and started flaming and trolling me. Now, I'm pretty sure that's not the point of a critique. I'm pretty sure the point of it is to help the writer out.

Flaming and trolling does nothing. Nothing at all. If you must flame and troll someone when explaining why they "shouldn't quit their day job" or why their writing stinks, don't even bother. Simply say, "It's not that great at all and could use a lot of work" or something to that extent. Don't go out and flame the writer because you think his/her writing stinks. Be honest, be harsh, but don't be an ass.

Anyway, enough about that. Basically, it got to the point where he told me all my English teachers lied to me about what I have learned from them and that they were all wrong (he didn't have an English degree or have English as his major [he gave what his major was on his profile, and he was 18]).

Moving on, I changed a lot in my book. I've made numerous amount of corrections, rewriting, etc. to get to what I wanted and what I have now. I even when back to the beginning to add more and take out more what I thought wasn't need or to be expand. I also changed a scene into something completely different. The ending is what I wanted and stayed the same, just in different words. There are two epilogues, both re-edited, but one is going to my boyfriend and is rather personal and private, whereas the other version is the water down version and will be the actual epilogue.

I have also used one "swear" word (not counting damn and hell). The reason why I put it in quotes is for another time and blog entry that I will write later (along with a few other questionable words). I deleted my book twice and had to restart twice, almost lost my book once on a flashdrive that decided to break (boy was I angry when I found that out. I was also frustrated and when I finally got it to work after shoving it into the USB port on the living room computer, I broke down crying because of how close I was to losing everything). It was a grueling process, but I have completed it and happy with my success.

That's the point of being finished after doing something, right? Being happy with what you have done? At least, I sure as hell hope so. Nonetheless, I'm very proud of what I have done and where I'm at now. Right now, I'm waiting to hear from literary agents (may be rejections, may not be. Won't know until happens!) and see where it goes from there.

Alas, this blog entry is completed and that's my tale of my gothic/dark fantasy novel, Ashes.

Now, with what the title has stated: "What would you do if you deleted your novel?"

Troubles No More.

2009-07-06T00:09:00.004-04:00

I finished writing my synopsis. I wish it was shorter than what it came out to be, but it came out to be less than 1000 words (maximum length; most synopses are 500-1000 words [2-3 pages]). Now that I am done working on that, I can work on the other two novels as I wait for a reply from the literary agents I have sent my query to.

Though, before I start working on my novels again, I think I'll play some more Final Fantasy IX. :P I haven't finished this game yet and I'm on the second disc (I restarted the game since I was basically at the end, but I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I would if I just restart it and play it through). I'm not sure what game I'll play after FFIX. I might play Disgaea or Xenosaga Episode 1: Dur Wille zur Macht (The Will to Power). Maybe I'll go back and play one of the Prince of Persia games.

Hmm...

Troubles.

2009-07-05T00:19:00.005-04:00

Recently I posted about forgetting to write a synopsis. Well, I'm now having trouble of writing one. I didn't realize how difficult it is to write a synopsis for my book, but getting it started is the part I'm having trouble. I don't know where to begin. I wish I didn't have this problem, but for some reason, I do. It's really tiring to have this problem of starting, but I sometimes like to look at examples to see how to start it and get it going. Nonetheless, I'm trying my hardest to work on getting this done so I can go straight into my other books.

Edit @ 1:58 AM:

This is just an update as to my troubles. I have the beginning finally. It was a bit rough, but I finally have it.

Ack!

2009-07-03T22:43:00.003-04:00

Ack! How could I forget!?

"Forget, what?" you're probably wondering.

Well, recently I've been looking for literary agents to send my query to so I can get my book represented and maybe become published (fingers crossed! I really hope to become a published author!). As I'm looking through and emailing the literary agents that prefer email queries first (I'm going to be moving soon, so either I send snail mail and have my mom send me what I have received or send the snail mail after I move, I think waiting would be the better choice), I come across one literary agency that asks for query, synopsis (do'h! forgot to write this!), and first five pages of my book.

As you can see in the parentheses, I forgot to write that important synopsis. No, not the short synopsis that appear on the back of the book (that's usually in the query, after the hook, as you're explaining what the book is about), but the 2-3 page synopsis that literary agents are usually asking for.

I got so caught up in writing my two novels that are a continuations of Ashes, I forgot to work on my synopsis for it. I've been meaning to write it and I've been meaning to look up information to see what is all needed and how long it should be (must do research before doing something you haven't done before in your entire life!), I kind of forgot to do so... Pretty sad if you're going to be a writer and that's the one main thing you need to do, yet you forgot to.

Oh well, though! I'm working on that right now! Hopefully it won't take me long to work on it and won't turn out bad--at least, it shouldn't. Once I'm done, I'll be able to work on my other two novels again and get them going. I started on the prologues and have the first couple of pages written. Though, I might go back to the third book and take a look at the beginning to see if I can do anything with the first chapter (it's one page, and I don't know if one page would be good enough or if I should combine the two chapters).

I just can't believe I forgot to do that. Something that is vital and needs to be done, I forget. Probably why I shouldn't procrastinate or multitask... I'm an easily distracted person (hmm...) and I enjoy playing video games, so it kinda gets me wrapped up and drifted away to what I really need to do.

But nonetheless, I'm working on it now. :)

Moments of Paralysis

2009-06-26T02:09:00.006-04:00

I forgot that I had short story. I might go back and fix it or keep it the way it is to show the progress of my writing from when I was fifteen to the age I am now: eighteen. I love the way it is though. I'm going to post it, nonetheless, the way it is. It's what I wrote when I was fifteen, the start of my writing career.

It's called Moments of Paralysis:

Moments of Paralysis

The coldness struck the little girl’s lungs as she continued running down the dirt path of the forest. Sounds of angered beasts echoed behind her, running after her and catching up to her. The only thing lighting the path that she followed was illuminated by the moon, leaving the rest in darkness and making her fears grow stronger. Desperate to escape from the snarls of starvation, she continued running as fast as she could, even though her legs were growing tired, cold, and starting to feel pain.

The air became colder and clouds covered the moon’s light, leaving the path dark and dangerous. Stopping, the little girl turned around in a circle, looking in all directions for the beasts that were chasing her. Seeing nothing, she let her body relax and let her breathing catch up to her, but acknowledging it was a bad idea. With growling and snarling noises coming from all directions, she became distracted, not seeing such devilish creature lunge at her from the darkness behind her. Landing on the ground hard, her lungs screamed out in pain as she looked into the eerie yellow eyes of the wolf in front of her.

With Death meeting at her small feet, she started crying in pain, not wanting to die. Her fears of pain and death came back to her as the wolf glared into her eyes, showing no pity for the little girl.

She tried to escape again from it while her eyes ached from holding the tears back. However, it moved its face closer to hers, snarling and breathing heavily in her face, trying to make her hold still. Frightened by the wolf, she became frozen and closed her eyes, letting the tears streak her face as she began to move her lips in a silent prayer.

When the moon’s light became visible, she opened her eyes, still seeing the damned beast and hearing its angry growls echo in her ear, awestruck by her prayer not being answered. However, she found something peculiar about the wolf’s eyes. They had changed from yellow to obsidian, and then back to their original color. Then, the wolf’s face started changing features; changing to similar features that she had seen before: a human. Her eyes widened by the rare sight, not sure of what had just happened.

The transformation continued as the eerie yellow eyes turned to obsidian black. Just like the darkest and coldest pit of night. The former wolf—now a young man, not much older than eighteen—gave a grim smirk as he continued to hold her down. As his smirk disappeared, his fangs were revealed with saliva dripping down like venom dripping down the fangs of a snake as he hissed in pleasure for receiving his next meal.

He moved towards the girl’s neck, licking her flesh and savoring it, moments of paralysis taking effect. Terrified even more, she grabbed a rock, hitting him across the face with it. The young man growled and hissed as he looked at her with anger in his eyes. He touched the wound and glanced at his hand, seeing blood. He backhanded her across the face with the same hand covered in blood, making her whimper. “Do not make this difficult on yourself. Blood coming from my own veins that were shed by other people are exiled from life. Now I claim ow-” a gunshot interrupted the young man. He snarled and hissed, turning back into a wolf while running off into the darkness. The other wolves followed him, leaving the little girl alone in the dark forest with the gun shots from the distance.

The little girl stood up and looked around, realizing how lucky she was. Death was right there, ready to consume her. With the last final thoughts about Death, she ran to the opposite side of the forest, the direction she came from.

The Beginning.

2009-06-23T17:31:00.004-04:00

This is my first blog entry on Enigma Inklings. Enigma Inklings, like I have stated at the bottom, is the place I'll be talking about my writings and what I have done so far, writing wise. However, it will not be limited to just writings. I may also talk about video games or other things that might come to mind. I may also talk about mythology or what I am reading. It could also hold random, useless information that would really seem not likely to be here, but I'm just like that. Nonetheless, this will be mostly about my writings and the things I have done as a writer.

Enigma Inklings

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012.

Still Here!!

NaNo - Muse = :(

Batman, It Lacks (Spoilers)

#10kgogogo!

Oh, Sony.

Reading, Writing, and Video Games.

Slutty Werewolves, and WTF?

Adventures

Oh, Look, We're At It Again.

Yeah, Still Fighting With MS Word 2010

STFU MS WORD #3

STFU MS WORD #2

STFU MS WORD

I'm Tired.

Who's Read Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers?

Skipping.

Bridal Shower, Yayy.

I Got Those Panties I Won!

New PSP Announced

In Regards to My Last Entry ("Red Flags, Red Flags")

Red Flags, Red Flags.

storyteller

sto·ry·tell·er noun \ˈstȯr-ē-ˌte-lər\

Definition of STORYTELLER

First One is the first major publisher (No, not really, they're not. They just started, so they can't be a major publisher) to:

13th Zodiac and All Things A-Crazy

Oh, My Muse

In Terms of Political Correctness

So, Explain to Me.

Different Scheme of Things.

Merry Christmas!

I Won Panties!

Sorry.

Sacrificial and Death Moments of Gaming (featuring four).

I Stepped Down As Moderator.

Grawrawrawr, Babysitting...and Such.

The Bad Man's Daughter.

I Would Like to Say Something.

Happy 4th!

Quite A Bit Going On.

I Has Printer.

More Snippets

Oh Boy.

Cleaning, End of June, Drawing.

I Went Over!

Apparently, I'm an Irishaur.

Getting Closer to Goal Reach.

Chapters 1 and 2 = Edited

Grawrawrawr Schedules.

Everything is Done.

*Crawls around on knees, acting like a dinosaur.*

My Adventures With HTML.

Raptors and Robot Sex.

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning. God, I Hate Cleaning.

Grawrawrawr. Allergies.

Pen Names

Sorry!

Okami -- Legend of Zelda on Crack?

Romance Novels.

Portraying a Character.

More Woes -- This Time With Open Office Writer. UPDATE

The Troubles Microsoft Word 2007 (and Open Office 3.2) Causes.

What I Plan to Do.

Changes Part II

Changes.

It Amazes Me.

2010.

Grotesque Appendages

"Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down."

NaNoWiMo -- Two Weeks Late.

Writing News?

Untitled Short Story Project #1

Happy Halloween My Little Kitties and Goblins.

Just a Little Test. Giving This Mail2Blogger Thing a Go.

Not Sick Anymore.

Sick.

Gobs of Goblin and Monkey Tootsie Tops!

The Word of a Female Dog.

Crawls around on knees, acting like a dinosaur.