My Parents Are the Exception

Warning: This post has the potential to get whiny.

Since I am not in the mood to come up with a long winded thesis to this post, I'm just going to jump right on in and get the water splashing...

I am sick and tired of getting sneered at and laughed at when someone finds out that 1) I am an English student, minoring in History and that 2) I write novels. Oh but not any type of novel, I write historical romance novels. So much worse. Apparently.

It's gotten to the point where I don't talk about my writing to other people and I dread the conversation when someone brings it up - not out of any sort of interest, but because they like to snicker at the fact that I have such dreams. Oh and by the way, these people are family. Snorts. Loving aren't they?

No, I am not ashamed of what I do, I'm just tired of hearing about it. Why would I be ashamed when I'm actually trying to do something with my life? It's not like I've dropped everything to write. I'm 19 and in school, so that if need be, I can help support my family in the future.

I know I've touched on these subjects before, but I find that with the approach of my third year of college and the fact that I'm only 25 000 words away from finishing the first draft of my novel, these issues have become exceedingly prominent in my day to day life. As sad as that may be.

It's just painful when I can't act like myself around my own family. I can't talk about school, because they think it's all fun and games ie., drinking, partying etc... Which as you all know, is not me. They won't even acknowledge the fact that college can be tough if the attendee actually cares about their grades. Nope. They just think my A+'s and A's come to me naturally. HAH! I wish.

And I most assuredly cannot talk about my writing. I always get comments like "when is your novel going to be finished" -snicker snicker- or "what's it about again?" so they can merely talk about how writing a book is so easy, especially when it's a romance novel. It's actually become a family joke - I've become the family joke. I don't think I need to tell you all how much that hurts. ESPECIALLY because they have never read a single thing I've written. They haven't read any of my college essays that were given 100% and photocopied to be passed around the English Dept office, or were put up as examples of publishable literary essays in classrooms. Nope. I mean, why would they read that?

They haven't read any of the poems I had published in my younger years, nor have they read a single page of my story. Oh, but do you know what the funniest thing is? They expect to get free, signed copies of my work and they have demanded they get dedications in my books. I have several choice words for them in response, but I shall refrain from posting them. No point in sullying my blog.

Anyway, needless to say, that's not happening.

-takes a deep breath-

Alright, now that I've vented a little, I feel a lot better. Thank you for sticking through that. I know it probably got a bit tedious. I also know it probably wasn't the best way to vent, but I really needed to.

So I've also decided I'm going to try some of those themed blog days, like WIP Wednesday. I think that will help me post during school. What do you think? Any suggestions for themes?

On a side note, it is 5:02pm and I already have 39 visitors to my blog today 0___0 uh WOW?

So how was every ones Monday? I had blood taken for testing, so I'm feeling pretty woozy today. I know they needed to take some to check my levels, but I'm already dangerously low on iron, so what do they do? Take my blood. Sighs. What a vicious, viscous circle. But my daddy was nice and made me hard boiled eggs afterwards =]

What did you do on the weekend?

10 for 10

What ten things would you do if you won ten million dollars?

(And yes, it's tax free... Just go with it)

1. Take care of my close family and friends. By that I mean my parents would never have to work another day in their life and can live comfortably without worrying about money. For some of my friends I would try and help them pay off parts of their student loans, or I would put money aside in a college account for their children.
2. Buy a nice big house with a pool in the backyard & furnish that baby up.
3. Donate money to specific charities.
4. Buy a nice family cottage in Scotland.
5. Travel the world! I want to go to so many places!
6. Set up a college bank account for my own children and leave it to grow interest.
7. Put aside a bunch for the future and let it grow.
8. Stock up my movie and book collection -grins-
9. Buy a car... or three.
10. RULE THE WORLD....

Okay, maybe not the last one, I think Bill Gates and perhaps China would give me a run for my money (hah, get it?) I just couldn't think of a last thing. Anyway, I'm sure I forgot something important but as of right now, that's what my brain came up with.

So what would be your ten?

Venting Over Book

Sometimes I really wish I would go against my own advice and spend an entire blog post shredding a novel and author to pieces. It is so tempting. It really is.

I suppose I should explain. Last night I convinced my Mum to go into the city with me to Chapters to pick up a bunch of books. Well, I picked up a book from a new author I had heard of in Washington. Now, I refuse to name the author, and I refuse to give away too much information on the book, but I'm afraid I absolutely must vent my frustrations over this novel.

The story was based loosely off of the legendary tales of Robin Hood. I know this narrows down which novel it could be, but I know of at least five other Robin Hood related romance books, so I feel relatively safe talking about it.

Now, this book surprised me... at first. The plot line was rather intriguing, though horribly confusing at times. The writing itself was poetic and very lyrical, which I quite liked. That is about where my enjoyment of the novel ended.

I know this has come up before, but I tend to dislike the heroines in most romance novels. In this novel, I despised her. She was a complete and total bitch. I'm sorry for the strong language but that describes her best. In her internal dialogue you got no hint that her attitude was a mere facade to protect her. Quite the opposite actually. She made no sense, and she, quite frankly, was a whore. And I say that, not because she slept around with a lot of people, but because she did not care who filled her “empty void.” She really didn't. She even admits as much several times to both the other characters and to the readers. Any guy would have done. Most of the time, the hero didn’t even do it for her, so she looked around for someone else.

She has a complete lack of regard for the people around her. She sets homes on fire, endangers her family and tries to kill the hero of the novel so many times I lost count. And trust me, none of those people deserved what she did. Especially not the hero.

Oh, and her sister. She was one of those characters you love to hate. She was spoiled, and exceedingly mean. I also know that this was not a "show" because we got her POV, which, I'm not going to lie, was terrifying to read. I felt dirty being in such disgustingly cruel thoughts. But get this; I just learned she's to get her own story within the year. WHAT?! I'm telling you, these girls are evil and should not be the heroines in ANY novel.

I understand authors wanting to be honest about humanity but... really? That’s the best you could do? No one wants to read about their high school nemesis getting a happily ever after. Trust me. No one.

On to the plot line. It was good, yes. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would to figure out who was behind all of the evil doings in Nottingham. But I chalk that up to the fact that the story was confusing and the only two characters I really remembered were the hero and heroine. Random characters showed up and somehow became integral parts of the story and the author just expected you to know who they are with no explanations given. The only people given descriptions were the heroine and a little boy. THAT'S IT! Even then they were very badly done. And yes, this book was the first in a series. Yippee.

The characters had conversations I could not follow because they made no sense. There was no connection between thoughts, and there was a lot of implication in the dialogue, with no actual saying of things. Normally that's alright, as long as you get the information elsewhere, ie., thoughts etc... But no. We got nothing. And these “implications” were things WE as readers couldn’t know or figure out for ourselves, the author NEEDED to tell us. But she didn’t.

The hero was alright I guess. However, he seemed weak to me, and seemed quite childish in scenes even though the author kept assuring us he was "very masculine". Snorts. Oh, and apparently he was a rogue, though there is NO indication of that in the story. Not one.

Overall, I despised the book.

Ugh, anyway. I have a much higher hope for some of the other books we picked up. Some of them are from favourite authors who have yet to disappoint me. So here's hopin'.

What about you? Have you read any books lately that just made you shake your head in disgust? If so, why? In your experience, are there certain genres that tend to disappoint you more in the larger scheme of things??

Headache... AGAIN!!

@!UFEYTDE^QE%$%!Q#W@#

That is all I have to say on that matter.

In other news... Rather than writing yesterday, a friend came over and we spent some much needed time catching up and going out for lunch. I now feel much more refreshed and will hopefully stop biting people's heads off - though, that is not a guarantee. You have been warned.

So for the rest of today, I'm going to do a little bit of treadmill time, come up with a creative post for my blog and write. Dundundun!

I know I didn't write yesterday, but I do believe I now know what to do with this particular scene that has been driving me insane. I shall tell you how I "fixed" it later. Ah, maybe that will be my creative post of the day. Hm.

Anyway, I'll update you all later when I'm back from my workout!

What's the Plan Stan?

Tomorrow I am going to try and write.

Sorry, I thought that was important enough to deserve its own line.

Anyway, I'm not setting any quotas for a while - at least, not until I get back in the swing of things. And if tomorrow doesn't go so well I will try and take more breaks and do other things in between. I'm also going to continue doing some work getting to know my characters more. I think I know them pretty well, but they may surprise me, so it's best I know everything I can now.

Although I'd really like to get back into writing, I think I'll be okay if it doesn't work out for a few more days. I know I need a break, especially right before I start school again. I need to get mentally prepared for college after four months off. Sighs.

So the rest of tonight, I'm going to try and re-read a favourite or two. I don't feel like starting a new series or author - I might get sucked in and then who knows when I'll write again! I'm thinking a Karen Marie Moning or a Kresley Cole.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

Chinese Noodle Soup & The Big Bang Theory

What more could you ask for?

Well, a lot actually, but we won't go into that.

So tonight is my third, and hopefully final night, alone in my house. I know I haven't mentioned it before, but my parents went to Jasper for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary, leaving me at home with the pets. Which was fine.

Did you catch the past tense there? No? Let me give you another chance: "Which was fine." Catch the was in there?

Apparently I am not as solitary a creature as I originally believed. Yes, I need to have my alone time (ie., reading, writing, etc...) but...at the end of the day I know there's someone home. Even when I'm living in residence.

But since Thursday afternoon it's just been me, the dog, the cat and a bunch of fish. It's extremely lonely, especially when the cat can only be bothered to make her presence known when she wishes to be fed. And the dog? Well, she just sleeps. So it's just me and my fish Gawain who swims around looking handsome. The other fish are outside in the pond, so they really couldn't care less.

Anyway, I digress. I'm lonely. I tried writing but I am still stuck - and since yesterday's post and every one's suggestions/hugs I've decided to cool it until maybe Monday or Tuesday. Until then I'm going to do some character building exercises and some other things that will be helpful to both me and my story.

I also tried to read, but that failed horribly. My imagination is too active. Every little creak in my house (which by the way, is a whopping 98 years old) made me jump.

And yes, I have been home alone before. Quite a lot actually. And normally I'm fine with it. But I think this time around I just really miss social interactions of the face-to-face kind.

My poor parents. The second they get home I will be stuck to them like glue wanting to talk about everything. Lucky them.

Anyway, with nothing to do all day, I found that it feels like I'm eating all the time. However, at the end of the day when I look back at what I've consumed, it makes no sense. I'm not eating more than normal. Perhaps it just feels like I'm eating a lot because my mind is not occupied with other things.

Hm.

So what were you up to today?

*For the record, The Big Bang Theory that I am speaking off in my title, is not the scientific theory about how the universe began, but in fact the best show on the planet. If you have not seen it, what are you waiting for?

Okay, I feel like I must correct the above statement. Though the show is currently my favourite, I should not be so bold as to state that it is the best show on the planet. However, it is certainly in my top 5. If you'd like to hear my list of favourite shows, feel free to ask. I've nothing better to do then to assuage your curiosity. No sarcasm intended.*

Warning: Post May Include Whining & Overall Despondency

Sighs. I've fallen off the wagon. No, not the literal wagon, though I'm sure if you give me a few weeks I will probably tumble from something similar to a wagon. I'm renowned for my clumsiness. I could probably make an entire blog with posts solely about my clumsy acts. I know that would amuse a great many of my family and friends. In fact, I can almost hear the heads nodding and the cheers of encouragement; but, sadly, I'm going to refrain. I'd like to have some dignity left.

Okay, got off topic. Also a common trait of mine.

Actually, I was talking about my writing. I was doing so well with meeting my quota and everything was going splendidly, but last week and now this week it's been one thing after another preventing me from getting to work. I know everyone says to write whenever you have the time... but I am just not feeling like it. I also know that everyone says to take a break if you're feeling that way... but I can't seem to let myself take that break. I wanted to have this rough copy done before school, but that's not going to happen now. And it sucks. I really don't know how much time I'm going to get to write creatively during school, so it worries me that my only writing time will be weekends and holidays.

It's a depressing thought.

But back to why I haven't been writing... Last week I had a ton of headaches from the seemingly constant weather changes. After that I think I came down with the mild case of the stomach flu. And this week? This week I've been so moody I snap at the littlest of things - and Midol isn't helping. Not exactly conducive to writing a steamy, romantic story.

Not at all.

Ergo, nothing is getting done. And it's stressing me out. Big time. I move into residence September 6th. I'd give you the number of days, but I'd rather not know. It's not that I don't like living in residence. I do. I mean, I miss my parents BIG time, but I'm one of those nerdy people that goes home every weekend anyway, so I generally manage to survive from Sunday until Thursday. Generally.

It's just... I'm tired of school. I've been in the educational system now for about 16 years. Day care, Kindergarten then grades 1-12 and then 2 years of college. Woohoo!

Yeah, no.

I know it's only two more years until I'm done, and I know it'll be worth it in the end. But I'm just tired. I don't think a 19 year old is supposed to be this tired. But alas, I am.

So that's where I am right now. Not quite sure what to do about life or writing. And yes, I am aware that my depressed state about school is likely -probably- a huge factor in my lack of writing. Which just sucks.

Any suggestions about what to do or how to deal with it all?

Why I Love Animals

Because I don't feel like coming up with an actual post, here you go. Hope you enjoy.



How's everyone doing? What are your plans for the weekend?

Pardon My French...

I thought everyone could use a smile...

*I'm sorry about the language! I promise I won't post things with profanity often*

Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!

Okay, okay, so I lied. This post is not near as exciting as watching Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd run around in coveralls shooting things with their proton guns. Or seeing Sigourney Weaver hover barely clad over her bed before later turning into a giant dog.

Sorry to disappoint.

I am however, talking about another type of ghost. In a recent addition of RWA eNOTES there was an article discussing the positives and negatives of ghostwriting.*

In the words of wikipedia (which in this case is actually correct in its definition...) "A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person."

My initial instinct was to balk at such a practice. Not take credit for work I did? Hah! That's the biggest load of... well, you get the picture. I'm not generally considered arrogant, but I'm certainly not a humble person either. And giving someone else the credit for work I did seems sort of high school, nerd vs jock to me. But that's just my opinion.

Here's a link to the article so you can read for yourself.

-elevator music-

Okay, now that you've had a chance to read the article, what are your thoughts? Do you think the practice of ghostwriting is perfectly acceptable and is simply given a bad rap?

What about the readers? Do you feel that you owe it to them to be as honest as possible? Do they deserve to know who the real author is?

Would you ever consider ghostwriting? Why or why not?

So as it turns out, my initial instincts on the subject ended up being my only instincts. I don't look down on writers who do ghost, especially since it's mostly for money, but it's just not something I'd ever be able to do. I get squirmy at the idea of a reader being purposefully misled on something so simple as the name of the author. I know as a reader I would be offended to learn that I was "lied" to.

Peek-a-boo!

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

Though, I don't think your intention was to hide...

My "helper" hard at work staring at me.

She's quite distracting actually, especially when she nudges the laptop

with her nose. Or flops onto her back demanding a belly rub.

Apparently staring at me while I work has become a favourite pastime of

the animals in my house. Unfortunately, the picture of my cat sprawled across

the keyboard later the same night is too blurry to share with you.

Clearly she believed she deserved more attention than my history textbook.
I'm not sure my history professor would agree.
Nor my parents.



It's a wonder I get anything done at all...

How To Ditch Creepy Twitter Followers...

The other day I got an email informing me that this guy... who from this point on shall be referred to as Creepster... was now following me on Twitter.

I was alright with it...even though Creepster's name was rather...well, creepy. That is, until I got a personal message that was overly flirtatious and more than a little suggestive. I won't go into details (especially because I deleted it and can't recall) but he ended it with "Is writing all you do for fun?" With several winks and spelling mistakes thrown in.

To which I responded "No, of course not. I read as well."

Funny enough, he's no longer following me.

They Should Have A Warning

So today my family and I went to see a movie. We decided to see District 9 because it looked neat and it's a film by Peter Jackson and we are devout Jackson fans.

I wish I could give you an overview of the movie and tell you whether or not I liked it, but unfortunately... I can't. You see, I can't stand movies that have shaky camera work. In fact, I can't stand it so much I go into a dizzy-state where the slightest move could make me throw up.

Well, this movie's camera work was so atrocious I blacked out in my seat from being dizzy. I can tell you what happened in the first ten minutes, but after that... nadda. I can't even tell you what was said in the movie because I was so focused on trying to calm my senses down that it went by in a blur. Not to mention the whole blacking out bit.

Now, why didn't I simply leave the movie theatre? I would have if I'd been able. You see, we were seated in the middle of a row and my dizziness was such that I couldn't leave without an extreme amount of help. And since the movie was still playing, I didn't want to ruin it for everyone else.

Anyway, my Dad liked it though. Lots of gore apparently.

This isn't the first time it's happened and it probably won't be the last. Children of Men was so shaky I had to "watch" the entire film by listening to it; Cloverfield and one of the Laura Croft movies (where it starts by moving over the water) made me so sick I had to leave.

Personally, I think they should put warnings on movies with shaky camera work for people like me.

In other news... I found out that when I blocked my IP address from counting on my statcounter, that it also blocked my Dad's computer and my Mum's laptop, LOL. So I know it's not my parents boosting up my blog numbers ;) !

I really want to write today but unfortunately my head still aches and I'm exhausted from the strain. This afternoon was supposed to be relaxing; instead, I'm wound even tighter than I was before. Sighs. At least I got about 1000 written late last night after Mum helped me work through a huge issue I was having with a scene. I just couldn't get it to work. So that, combined with my headaches this past week messed up quota BIG time, but hopefully I'll be able to make it up next week.

You NEED To Watch This

I am "borrowing" this post from Janet Reid because truly, you need to see this...




For more information: Click Here

Roommates

Ah hah! It is in the 9am's still! True it is closer to 10 but trust me, you REALLY didn't want me writing a post when I woke up.

Anywho, I'm currently waiting for an email to arrive. To be more specific, my college email telling me who I get to live with for the next eight months. Yipee! I got an email notification a few weeks back saying that I'd get an email before August 15th telling me who. Well guys, that's tomorrow so I guess that leaves today to be finding out, LOL.

Unlike the States (and even some of the big-lick colleges here) my college does NOT have the long hallway of rooms where you cram two people into one room. Nope. My residence is grand and splendid. I live in an apartment. I have three roommates and we each get our own room. We have a big living room with a TV, a big kitchen and two bathrooms. (I'll take pictures in September).

Now, after two years of living in residence, I'm honestly not that worried about who I'll end up living with. My only concern is that I don't end up with some of the people I ended up in the past two years (except you Megan, you're amazing). Let me give you a small overview of my roommate experiences. And then after, you can pat me on the back and grant me Sainthood.

...

I've had two of the extreme party-types who showed me that apparently yes, you can drink an entire litre of vodka by yourself in under half an hour and still stand to go out drinking some more. Not only that, but you can do it every night. Not that I ever wanted to know. I've had the crazy roommate who threw forks and big TV remotes for fun and refused to bathe. I've had the amusing but mildly disturbing hippy-type that tried to smoke pot in her rooms (really? you thought you could get away with that?) I've had the truly insane who lived like a hermit and only ate microwave popcorn and Captain Crunch and refused to enter a public area without the biggest headphones EVER clapped on her ears. Oh, and she liked to leave said food in a trail back to her room. I've also had the giggle twins who in comparison to everyone else, were quite fabulous. Then, last but not least. I've had the sweethearts. You two know who you are.

Now, you must be wondering, how many roommates have I had over the past two years? Far too many. In my first year there were just three of us. In my second year I had six. So yep, nine roommates in two years. I swear I wasn't killing them off, LOL. Most of them dropped out of school actually. Since I know you were wondering.

By the way, if I told you all of the stuff they've pulled when we lived together... But I won't. Because truly, they did some nasty things and I really don't feel like chatting about them on my blog, LOL.

Anyway, so today I should be finding out my fate. I'll let you all know when I do.

*I got the email! Finally. I didn't really think about how close school was until I realized I didn't know who I was living with yet. I keep having packing dreams. Yeah, fun right? Not.

So, move in is September 6th, and first day is the 10th- which by the way, makes no sense to me. Yeah, let's start school on a Thursday. Thankfully, I don't have school on Friday's... so I only go for one day that first week. Muah hahaha!

Okay back to business. Megan is my roomie again... YAY!!!!!!!!! I knew Megs in high school (she was a year younger than me). So when she went to college last year I asked her to be my roommate. Best decision EVER. I love living with her... even when she decides to sing "Yellow Submarine" over and over and over again until you want to find some duct tape.

ANYWAY, I emailed the other two... so we'll see about that.*

FYI

Oreo Cheesequake Blizzards are amazing.

...

Talk to you tomorrow. Or later today I suppose, since it has hit the midnight mark.

DQ MIRACLE TREAT DAY

Alright, so I don't like to push organizations on anyone because a lot of people simply can't donate money, but I decided that this one is worth pestering about.

DQ's Miracle Treat Day. Buy a DQ Blizzard August 13th (today) and help support your local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. You'll be helping to improve the lives of children in your community, and you get to eat ice cream to do it. What could be better?

For more information visit: http://www.miracletreatday.com/

You CAN Comment

Man oh man. I should start getting up earlier. I fell under a very bad sleeping schedule Sunday and I haven't been able to shake it since. Stay up till 4 or 5am and then wake up at noon. It's really annoying. I don't like being lazy. I'm going to have to force myself to go to sleep earlier tonight and set my alarm or something to get me up at 9am. The only problem is... when I get into a roll writing or reading, I refuse to put it down, LOL.

Anyway, so I thought I'd update you all on visitors to this blog! Alright, maybe I should explain. I have two "counters" on my blog. One is the little map with red dots on the right hand side - which, although neat, is not always very accurate. The second is at the bottom of my page and its specifically for me. Well it's this second one I'm going to tell you about. Since I added it about 2 weeks ago (I think) I've had visitors from 4 countries. Can you guess what they are? No? Okay I'll just tell you.

1. USA- 105
2. Canada- 24
3. Vietnam- 14
4. India- 3

The first two make sense to me, but the last two? Now that's just NEAT! And it's not just random visits, a lot of people have come back for 5 or 6 visits!

So, for you people out there who keep coming back here (and there are actually a TON of you) you CAN COMMENT! I won't bite, nor will I roll my eyes and snort in derision, LOL. I like meeting new people! OH, and if you do not have a blogger account, or google or what not, YOU CAN STILL COMMENT. In the comment area there is a choice that is name/ URL (I believe that's how it looks) and you can comment that way. Okay?

Anywho, I'm going to go get ready for the day, close some darn windows (my GOD it's cold outside, it's like 12c which is 53f) and write! I shall update you all later! Hope everyone has a good day!

Been A Few Days

Huh. It's been a few days since I posted on here last. Ah well, I've been preoccupied. I hope everyones week has been good so far =]

Alright, down to business. Okay so J.R. Ward's books are fantastic. Sighs. I started her series Sunday and have read the first three. You do the math, LOL. I can't read the fourth yet because my Mum's reading it! Normally I wouldn't have whipped through them that quickly but I've been feeling pretty yucky recently. So I had time on my hands, LOL. Anyway, I suggest reading them. I really do.

Okay on to other news. I'm going to get back to writing now. I still feel sick but hopefully I can still work a little. Unfortunately headaches and stomach pains aren't helpful when you're trying to focus - especially on a computer screen.
But I shall try my hardest.

Have you read any good books / series recently??

Feelin' Guilty

Like my title says, I feel guilty. Why, you ask?

I didn't write yesterday.

I planned and plotted a little bit, and did some of those sorts of things, but when it came time for me to write I just couldn't. I had such a bad headache that looking at the computer screen was akin to torture. And since my wrists are just awful, writing with pen and paper was out of the question.

I know it wasn't my fault, but I felt bad. Shrugs.

So what did I do instead? I read J.R. Ward's Dark Lover. I loved it. I've heard from soooo many people that her books are worth reading, but I just wasn't very interested in them. Until the conference. That's when I decided to pick up her first book. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to start the series until yesterday. At first Mum was reading it, and then after that I was so caught up in my writing I didn't want to read anything else. However, since reading it I now understand what all the hype is about.

Although she is not my favourite paranormal writer (-waves at Kresley Cole with adoration-) she is now my second favourite. The world she has created is very well thought out and very interesting. I found her multiple POV's fascinating (she has at least six in the book) and her writing style is very fresh and entertaining. But most of all? I loved her guys. She is very good at capturing how guys move, how they think and how they talk - especially around each other. She is also very good at giving the reader just enough information about the other characters to get them fascinated enough to buy the next book -glances at the four other Ward books now on my shelf-

All in all, I'd recommend it.

In other news, I hopped back onto the writing wagon and banged out 2000 words today. Surprising since I had another headache and the day was just dragging by slowly. Perhaps more tomorrow?

Anyway, I'm going to go relax with the next in Ward's series Lover Eternal. Hey, I think as long as I'm not skimping on my own story I'm fine. Besides, you need to rest every so often so you don't get creatively drained.

Facebook.Is.Pure.Evil.

Alright, so sit back as I tell you my tale of woe.

Here I was sitting all comfy-cozy on my bed, with my fan on, blue fuzzy socks snug on my feet and my laptop hot on my lap when BAM Facebook got me. Like my bed after an exam, it snuck up and captured my entire attention, diverting my focus away from my story and instead on random peoples pictures.

I tell you, it's a silent but extremely deadly killer. Deadly I say. At least... it is to whatever you were doing before said Facebook attack.

It starts slowly enough, almost innocently. You get an email informing you that someone has written on your wall. Curious (and let's face it, excited), you click on the link and BAM there goes an hour. It's like a toll booth.

Facebook tapped their chin thoughtfully. "Oh, I see...So you'd like to find out what was written on your wall? Hmm. Well, that'll be an hour of your time please. Thank you very much."

Alright, I may POSSIBLY require sleep. Shrugs. Either that or I've finally gotten comfortable writing my thoughts online for the world to see. Huh. Sadly it's probably the latter. Lucky you!

Anyway, I will get back to writing very shortly. I promise. No, really I do. I'll even come back and update you all on how much I managed to write this week! Yay!

*Drum roll please*

The past week I not only met my quota of 10695 words but I surpassed it. I wrote 13 065. Woohoo! Hopefully I can keep up this momentum! It's just rollin' and I'm LOVING it!

I hope everyone else is doing well!

Let's Talk About Sex

So I'm sitting here taking a break from writing to munch on some popcorn and think about sex. Yep, that's right, you heard me correctly. Sex.

Get your head out of the gutter people, I don't mean it that way... Well, not entirely at least. I'm talking about sex in romance novels. It was a huge topic in Washington and I can easily see why. We've all read that novel where you reach the all important Scene and you're left saying "What the Hell was that?" It can turn you off the entire novel if it isn't done well.

Personally I love H-O-T novels that get you all flustered. Some of the authors that I think do this best are Kresley Cole, Gaelan Foley, Delilah Marvelle, Karen Marie Moning, Monica McCarty, Bella Andre... the list could really go on for a really long time, so I'll stop myself there. You get the picture.

But on the flip side of this, I also like Julia Quinn's books, which have very little detail (in comparison to the above authors).

Well, while editing a friends story earlier today I stumbled (okay, okay, I flipped some pages ahead out of plain curiosity) and found a sex scene. It was quite like Quinn's. Very little detail etc... Which is fine, she did it well. But it just made me realize how different my own writing is. I write pretty graphically, in everything I write. Shrugs. Just how I do it.

My rule, which also tends to be the general consensus, is that if you don't feel comfortable writing it. Don't. Because if you force yourself your readers will know. Trust me. We always do.

So what are your opinions on sex in romance novels? How much heat do you put in your own stories?

Writing = Lazy Me

Today I've come to the conclusion that I've become quite lazy, at least when it comes to my appearance. I thought about it for a little while and came up with only one reason why (besides the fact that my boyfriend is in another country). Writing.

I mean, think about it. When all I'm doing for the day is sitting on my rear typing away it seems rather pointless to be putting in the time and effort to look perfect when the only people that are going to see it are my parents. And trust me, they don't care how I look as long as I don't leave the property, LOL.

To be honest I'm perfectly okay with my sweat pants, baggy shirt and curly crazy-woman hair. What I am worried about however, is my transition back into college life. Jeans, blouses and straight hair? Ugh. That seems like a lot of effort just to attend class.

Oh, well nothing I can do about it. Guess I'd better start looking human to prepare for my dunk back into the preppy land of short skirts, overwhelming perfume/cologne and popped collars.

Gee, I absolutely cannot wait!


*Just for the record, I do look human when I leave the house, LOL. I tame the hair and put on some jeans. Most of the time.*

**I am on fire! For the past few days my story has just been flowing! I LOVE it. I'm writing so quickly I don't even notice when I meet quota! Since Sunday I've written 6001 words out of 10695 . I should have no troubles meeting my goal this week!**

Today's Agenda

1. Tidy up house
2. Do some laundry
3. Read some of Jamie's story and edit for her
4. Write my own story

I'll update you all later! Hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!

Monday Post

Today I wrote 3028 words, effectively catching me up on what I was unable to write last week, while still staying up to date for this week! Yay! It was surprisingly easy once I got started. All in all it didn't take me that long either, especially if you consider facebook stops, twitter updates and msn, LOL. Darn the Internet!

The only problem I had today was dealing with something I wrote yesterday, LOL. Although, I have a general idea of where my story is going, I don't always know how I'm going to get from point A to point B, which leaves my characters with a lot of power to do whatever they want. Well, one thing led to another and suddenly I'm staring at dialogue I hadn't expected, but that completely suited my characters. I will admit, I tried to fiddle with it and change it to how I wanted it originally, but in the end, I gave my characters what they wanted. After all, it is their story, I'm just the instrument with which they tell it.

What about you? Do your characters ever do something you didn't foresee?

Goals

Today's goal: 2981 words.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

I know I can, I know I can, I know I can

Greasy Pancakes, Horse Poop & Fire Trucks

Okay so I'm just about ready to start writing. Ugh. Yes I know it's a little late to start but it's honestly the first time all day that I've been able to. Once everyone left at about 4:30pm I went upstairs and promptly passed out until 8pm. Then my parents and I talked about the whole day and had left overs while watching The Big Bang Theory, which by the way, is an amazing show.

My day was... alright. Well, alright sounds a bit too promising. Okay? Okay is better.

6:30 am sucked. I made the mistake of having an 8am class my first semester of college and let me tell you, the only reason I got an A+ in it was because it was interesting, NOT because I attended every class. On a side note, we actually do have A+ in Canada. In English and History it is 98-100%

Anyway, so after that first semester I try very hard to not get up that early. Flights or weddings etc... are different, but to go to a crappy pancake breakfast with static-y country music does not count as a good reason. And let's face it, who wants to experience all of the above, with family (my parents being the exception)?

Then it's time for the parade. Now, I do actually like parades. I like seeing the floats and the cute little kids all dressed up and all of the bands and the horses. However, it's not as much fun seeing everything when you sit with people who complain incessantly about every little thing (once again, parents are excluded from this... are you sensing I get along with my parents? It's a grand thing =)

But back to the story at hand... YES horse poop smells bad, but we live in the country for Pete's sake. All around us is farmland, with horses, who happen to poop. And then the sirens on the fire truck. Lord, I thought (name will go unmentioned) was going to kill us all with complaints. I happen to also like firetrucks (my father used to be a firefighter) so hearing all the sirens and seeing the firefighters all geared up is really neat.

Oh, and then the fact that I was perfectly comfortable sitting on the grass along the side of the road instead of a chair -gasps- how unconventional of a 19 year old to be so thoughtful of the people sitting behind her -rolling eyes- Here are some of the reasons why I unintentionally evoked the wrath of a certain person. 1) My dog daisy is 14 years old, and though she's still doing great, we like to watch out for her more, and since we brought her to the parade with us with lots of animals and children, I thought it would be good if I sat with her. 2) There were people sitting behind me (family) so I thought that it would be nice if they could see the parade too. 3) I LIKE sitting on the ground. I like sitting cross legged -shrugs-

And for the record, it's not like it was far to carry chairs to the parade site. It's literally at the end of our street 4 houses down.

I think the only reason I made it through the whole thing without having my right eye twitch was the cute little girl and her father sitting next to me. Bright blue eyes and the sort of white wispy angel hair that just makes you sigh in content. She was absolutely adorable.

Now, at the town parade the kids come prepared with giant plastic bags in hand. Why you ask? Because the kids get candy. Lots and lots of candy. If your float does not throw candy, your float is not successful, nor will it garner any attention other than glares of pure evil from the awaiting children. Hence the handfuls of candy the children get. Hence the bags.
Well, this little girl (Allison) was so cute running out and grabbing the candy. Half way through the parade she was much more interested in eating the candy she had already grabbed, but it was fun to see.

Anyway, the BBQ went okay. It was quite hot today, reaching over 30 Celsius. But yes, I suppose I've complained (and procrastinated) enough. I should get on to writing. I hope everyone had a good day today =]


*Update*

I didn't meet quota for this week -sighs- I am 1500 words off, which isn't too bad considering I didn't write Friday and I got a late start today. I'll just have to write 2700 ish tomorrow to make up for it. Hopefully I can do that. We might be going to see The Ugly Truth, but I don't know what day. So if we go tomorrow I probably won't meet quota, but if we go Monday I will.

Green Polish

So I'm sitting here, in my parents office waiting for my emerald green toe nail polish to dry so that I can go to bed. I know it's still early, but I'm just too tired to stay up any longer. I wrote maybe 10 words before I fell asleep at my laptop in a very uncomfortable position. My Mum woke me up suggesting I go to bed, LOL. But of course, I had a few things left to do before I went to sleep, one of them being the aforementioned nail polish.

This means, that tomorrow I must write about 3000 words to meet quota. Yippee! I know I can do it, but whether or not I can do it tomorrow is the real question. You see, I have to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30am to get ready to go to a Heritage Days breakfast at the Holiday Inn. Are you sensing my excitement? It's fairly bursting out of me.

Normally I wouldn't go to these things. When I was younger we did go to the co-op breakfast and the Legion breakfast, but that was because I was young and yadda, yadda, yadda. Now? Now I'd much rather sleep in. As would my parents. I think my love of sleep and staying up late is the only real connection I have to people my age.

Anyway, my grandmother is living in town now, so she wants the whole family to go. I don't know how fun she thinks it's going to be. Everyone is going to be blurry eyed and cranky. And on top of that, I'll be lost in my own little writing world, lamenting the fact that I didn't get to stay up the night before (tonight) to write. Yes I'm tired, but I'm generally tired at this time, LOL. But I can stay up to write because I know I'll get to sleep in till 9 or 10. Not so tomorrow. Which means, no writing tonight.

Oh and to make matters worse, rather than getting to crawl back into bed after the breakfast, we must go sit at the town's parade for 2 hours. AND THEN my parents are having a BBQ. Ugh.

Yes, apparently I'm in a whiny mood. Sorry about that everyone. Tomorrow's might be the same way, especially if I get no time to write. But I'll try to post something happy. Maybe I'll even have pictures to show you all (I'll be the pasty white kid with dark circles under her eyes and a look that clearly states I'm pissed).

=]

What are your plans for the weekend?