Finally, Some Writing!

Wow, I never went back and wrote a blog post last week. Sorry about that. Not intended. It was just a crazy week, and Wednesday proved too full a day for me to write my post ahead of time, and Thursday I was at work all day. I had all intentions to write the post when I got home on Thursday, or while Hubby was out on Friday. As per usual, things didn't go as planned.

I guess it was for the best, though. I really would have hated to write "I didn't write anything" in yet ANOTHER long-winded, excuse-filled post. Which was one of the reasons I didn't go back to write a post last week. I ended up using that time to actually write some fiction! Egads!

Before my first game as the DM, I had created a bit of a backstory for the tavern the party met at, as well as the town it was associated with, even though it was on the outskirts. It kept me nearly a month to go back to it, but last weekend I finally took the time to sit my butt down and finish the darn thing. Due to the nature of how the story evolved - first tavern, then town, then surrounding area, etc - there is an unproportional amount of time spent talking about this one establishment. I still need more info on the other businesses, the people, the Assassin's Guild, the Thieve's Den, the baron and his family as well as their relationship to the count, etc. In the meantime, though, I feel it's a good start, without it being as overwhelming as my Sandikir culture write up last year.

Also, last year someone commented that not all the Sandikir words seemed to connect to each other in order to make a coherent language. I get that. I'm far from a linguist. I can barely master my native tongue, I can't seem to figure out any other languages - even though they are all comparatively much easier than English - and so knowing language enough to create a believable one is a bit out of my wheelhouse. At some point I'll have to figure out how people were able to come up with their own languages so that I can do the same. That's probably decades from now, though.

The reason I bring this up is that I'm sure I'm going to have a similar issue with this story. I took a variety of approaches to name multiple different things - from landscapes to gods to familial names to business names, etc - and it might seem a bit disjointed from each other. My defense? I took the American approach to things. We're a melting-pot of cultures and languages, and we steal from those cultures and languages all the time to create a diverse environment. You might drive down King's Street, turn left on Rodero Drive, pass Lopatcong Road, and finally park on Lafayette Boulevard. That's four different cultures smooshed together on one simple road trip. They may seem so disconnected, but it works for a diverse culture like America. So, I'm just going to assume the majority of the countries and cultures in Gyateara will be built "melting pot" style.

"Welcome to Ashitar"

On DeviantArt          On FictionPress

I had made sure to finish up this little story, edit it, and post it on DeviantArt as well as FictionPress all by Easter Sunday. Which reminds me. I missed last week's post, and so I also missed this:

I would normally also wish people a happy Passover at this time, but apparently that's still about a month away. Strange that the two celebrations can be so separate from each other when The Last Supper was a Passover meal.... Anyway....

After a bunch of confusion, it was brought to my attention that I unintentionally missed the last local writing group meeting. I had missed the one due to being sick. Then, the Tuesday after visiting my sister was supposed to be the next meeting. I thought that were the case, but I was so - is there a term for "jetlag" when you were just driving four hours away in the same timezone? - that I lost track as to whether it was one or two Tuesdays previous I was sick. Hubby was just as confused, I guess, because he also thought it was still an "off" week. So, last Tuesday I was all set to go to the meeting - although I didn't have anything to really read aside from the incomplete form of "Welcome to Ashitar" - only to get an email stating it wasn't the right day.

The local paper was apparently just as confused as I was, because they had also printed that the 22nd was the next meeting; exactly what I had thought. There was a big email debate as to whether or not the journalist was correct, how we all go the schedule confused, and whether or not we should have meetings three weeks in a row - in case some newbies showed up. Eventually it was decided that the librarians would inform any newcomers of the mix-up, but the meeting would still just wait until this past Tuesday.

The confusion did give us all a great writing prompt, though. So, after a month of no writing group - due to accidentally skipping a second one - I came back a bit triumphant. Not only did I have "Welcome to Ashitar" finished for a read-through, but I also had the writing prompt completed as well:

A newcomer to a writing group gets the dates wrong, and is invited to "another group" that is meeting that night at the library.

We had some very interesting responses to this prompt. Keaton wrote about two boys in a post-zombie-apocalypse traveling twelve miles to a neighboring community in order to join a writing group. They come across a cult-like community of segregation between the sexes. Men and women are never in the same room - aside from a mother caring for her son, or the process that leads to a woman becoming a mother in the first place.... - and the boys happened to have shown up on the WOMEN'S writing group night. Keaton didn't get to the point where the boys were officially invited to join another group, but the men of the village welcomed them into the community messhall for dinner.

DFL was having some computer frustrations over the past couple of weeks - after her computer was forced to upgrade to Windows 10 - and so her character had the same frustrations, only to have her day punctuated with the news that her group was cancelled for that night. She was then offered a knitting or computing group to join for the night since she was already at the library. The character opted for the computing group in hopes of learning how to better deal with her own computer. She discovers that the room was filled with middle-aged, blue-collar or retired citizens all just as frustrated with the Windows 10 upgrade, and so they were plotting to build a bomb in order to threaten Microsoft. The story was actually so amusing to picture. I almost wish this was in some sort of visual format for me to watch.

Red had continued a prompt from when I was sick: three randomly selected elements worked together. We had done similar prompts in the past. Her three elements were a parrot, Hurricane Irene, and "Something in the pocket". She hadn't made it to the pocket bit, but the rest of the story was intriguing. A young Au Pair is trying to persuade her young ward to make two large changes in his life. The first is to visit either his mother or father; both in different prisons after being caught as drug-runners during the chaos of Hurricane Irene's clean-up. The second would be to switch from homeschooling - which he had done his whole life - to joining the public high school now that his education surpassed what the Au Pair was qualified to teach him. The parrot element had the family pet mimic important background conversations in order to give both the audience and Au Pair the insight into the kid needed to help him with these transitions.

The final member of the group this past week was apparently a new member as of the meeting I accidentally skipped - if not the one I was sick for. The first "regular" man in our group. It's nice to have the new perspective, especially with us women trying to write males. It would be good for us to have an actual male opinion on whether or not we're writing men "correctly".

I'm under the assumption that he was the one that offered up the "writer on the wrong day" prompt, and he used it beautifully. The lead-in to the mix-up seemed a bit unnecessarily long, but his depiction of the main character was fantastic and humorous. He then gets to the miscommunication, and has his character come across an eccentrically gaudy woman of questionable sexual morality. I pictured the woman perfectly, and every line of description had me actually laughing out loud. Most of us were, actually. It must have really reassured him to hear the laughs he wrote in.

Me? Well, I got a couple of chuckles, but not nearly as many as I thought I wrote in. I don't know if it was a matter of my verbal delivery, the way I delivered it on paper, if it's only amusing to people of my demographic, if it was amusing but not laugh-out-loud so, or if it just wasn't as funny as I thought. Either way, the new gentleman in our group stated that he could picture everything well, and it got his attention. I guess that's something, right?

I think everyone was more focused on trying to learn alongside my main character. I had him stumble upon a group of people using the library as a staging location for their Boff group. For those who don't know, Boffing is Live-Action Role Play using foam weapons to act out fight scenes, and usually set in a High Fantasy setting; so people are generally in Medieval or Renaissance style clothing. No one in the room knew what Boffing was, and so as my secondary character Jenn quickly explained to my main character Ian, the room seemed just as interested to know. Keaton even asked a few follow-up questions on Boffing in general.

All-in-all, everyone seemed to want me to continue the story, which was also reassuring. I stopped it where it could be a nice one-off, but it was also open ended enough to lead into more chapters. I'm probably going to focus more on Gyateara for the near future; build up more of Ashitar so that my players have something semi-substantial to run around in. However, I will give continuing the Boff Group story some serious thought.

Until I get to the point of continuing the story, it will wait patiently in my Anthology. Although, I'll probably have to remove it as a chapter once I decide to make it a story of it's own. Oh well, crossing bridges once I get to them and all.

Like I said, in the meantime, you can find it here:

"Everything for a Reason"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

I also managed to finish "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" yesterday, giving me my second or third - depending on how you're counting - book completed for the reading challenge. Let's check out that list again, shall we?

Challenge created by Modern Mrs. Darcy

Alright, so I have a few "Schrodinger Books" right now, in which they are simultaneously two different categories until future information leads me to which category they're actually falling into.

Both "Life, the Universe, and Everything" and "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" can fill the "published before you were born" category. LU&E can also fill the "already read at least once" category while SL&TfAtF could also fill the "previously abandoned" category. If I read one more story that can fill the "published before you were born" category, and only that one, I'll shift the other two into the other categories. Otherwise, I'll have to shift either of those Hitchhiker's Guide sequels into that publication category if I read something else for a second time, or another book I gave up on; such as books I should have read in school. ALL THE SCHRODINGER BOOKS!!!!

Now to figure out what I'm going to read next. Also, tomorrow is April First. Not only does that make it April Fool's Day, but it also makes it the first day of the now disbanded Script Frenzy month. Considering Nickelodeon announced a few months back that they were FINALLY greenlighting The Jungle Movie - after the fans fought for it for nearly a decade - I feel like perhaps I should reach out to ChibiSunnie, and we should finally finish our own version of the movie plot before Nickelodeon releases the official one.

So, I must make a few decisions: what to read, what to write, and whether or not to try out Script Frenzy on top of my other fiction writing.

The Challenges Continue

Well, I'm doing moderately worse this week, but at least I have stuff to show you from the conclusion of last week.

The "writing for an hour and getting at least 500 words" daily goal seems to really be working for me. That is, when I get to writing.

Yup. Got a few Zero Days under my belt.

Still, as of right now I'm still holding on to my New Years Resolution of "no more than three in any given week". Well, holding on since I started the challenge. We're ignoring January existed.

Last week I did fantastically with the daily writing hour. Every day, 4pm to 5pm. Then I was stuck at work during my writing hour last Thursday. I managed to get two hours of writing in while working on the blog post, but I was too drained to write anything creative. One Zero Day. Friday I was just mentally shut down. I tried to write, but three hours later I still only had about 300 words. It wasn't a Zero Day because I accomplished SOMETHING; made the effort. Still, I was now behind about 700 words in my creative writing. Luckily, Wednesday's writing frenzy more-or-less covered those two days.

Saturday I was home alone most of the day, so I was able to finally finish the rest of the chapter I was working on for X-Future: The Second Generation Begins. I still had one more day left in the week, and so for Sunday's writing hour I cranked out the writing prompt story for this Tuesday's writing group. I honestly had no clue where I was going with that story. That was pure channeling. I just placed my fingers on the keyboard and let them do their thing. Still, I like what resulted from that.

If you were interested, you can see both new bits of writing I managed this week below.

"The Second Generation Begins:
Getting Into (Pseudo) Trouble"

On DeviantArt          On FanFiction

"Own Little City"

On DeviantArt          On FictionPress

After a mostly successful week, you'd think I'd be riding the momentum into another one, right? Yeah, me too.

Monday ended up being cleaning and errands day, followed by celebrating Shadow's birthday. I ended up not having the hour - or even fifteen minutes - to spare so I could work on the start of the next chapter. If you don't count last Thursday because I was at least writing this blog, Monday was my first official Zero Day since I started this challenge. Quickly followed by a second one.

Ironic that I ended up not doing any writing on the day I go to my writing group. I got home from work, had a few hours before Hubby needed to be home, had every intention of writing, and then Shadow asked me to call. Thinking it was a quick catch-up on what we were discussing the night before, I complied. Next thing I know, I only have a half-hour before Hubby would be done with work, and I was still in my own work clothes. I rushed around to get a quick shower, and then out the door I went.

Got home a few minutes after my daily writing hour started, but both Hubby and I - who neglected lunch due to the phone call - were starved. Once dinner was done and a few more neglected chores were taken care of, it was time for me to get to the writing group meeting. I honestly can't recall what kept me from writing when I got home, though. I know I hid in my room for the next hour in an attempt to still keep my daily writing. I'm pretty sure I spent the entire time instead chatting with Cyhyr online. I was trying to get her to poke her husband Ronoxym into doing one of three things:

1. Send me his prose. At the beginning of the year, when I was setting up my challenges with everyone, I sent Ron the challenge to complete one piece of prose per month. It could be a one-shot, a chapter, a scene, even a section of dialogue. I didn't care how large or small the prose was, I just wanted to see him complete SOMETHING every month. Last I chatted with him, Ron said he was ready to send me something by the end of January, and yet....
2. Send me his challenge. Since I sent him the above challenge, along with a few other writing stipulations to try to help him focus, Ron wanted to send me a year-long challenge in response. According to him, he has one already in mind for me, but it was too long and complex to try to send to me while on his phone. He was supposed to send it to me once he got to a computer, but it's a month later and still no challenge. Probably for the best considering how behind I am on my current challenges.
3. WORK ON PLEASE, LET ME EXPLAIN. Any form of "work." Write more, edit what I sent him, fix the outline, edit the middle section that has been waiting for almost a YEAR to be polished and published. I'd take anything....
   

Apparently, Ron wasn't really focused on writing at all last month; too busy trying to find alternative means of getting money - legally, I feel the need to add. It's a noble alternative to recreational writing, but the way he's going about attempting to get more money....

Knives from the Scott Pilgrim comics

Anyway, as Cy and I were talking, we decided that she would pick up the slack for her household. If Ron wasn't going to write, she would. She discussed how hard it was for her to have the mental energy to put anything down on paper nowadays. So I introduced her to the glories of "No Zero Days." She agreed that this was much more manageable - aside from her "Day of Rest" on Mondays, which are just utter chaos for her - and we decided on the simple challenge of "one sentence a day."

That's it. Just to say it wasn't a "Zero Day" and to help chip the story away a little bit at a time. Even one sentence will slowly get the story written. Much better than no sentences, and the story stays in your head forever. Who knows, these one-sentence-a-day writing briefs may lead to an exciting scene where she ends up spilling 2000 words onto the screen. The point is that she's writing.

Sure, losing 10lbs a week is exciting, but losing 1lb a week will still get you to a healthy weight. Maybe not as fast, but at a pace you can comfortably stick with, and that might lead you to maintaining that weight better than the fast-loser. Writing can be the same way. If you're frantically writing 1700 words a day, like you would during NaNo, you may get that novel done in a month. But who could keep up that pace and crank out a story every other month - one for writing, one for editing? More than likely, that kind of writing would burn you out, have you give up on writing for a while to recharge, and end up only getting one or two stories out a year anyway. So, why not spend the whole year writing that novel - still the NaNo 50,000 words - 137 words at a time? A simple 137 words, that's less than the number that's in this paragraph! Sure, it's a bit more than "one sentence a day", but not by much. And you can stick with this every day easily. End result will be roughly the same as that frantic NaNo-minded writer.

Now, that's not to say that people CAN'T write 2000 words a day. Some even knock out 10,000 words! It's all just a matter of how your brain is wired, and what your life situation is like. A person who sits in their ideal writing location for eight hours straight can most likely write 10,000 words easily. A person who barely has 15 minutes to sit down? Not as easy. Still, writing even that one sentence a day is important. It's telling yourself - and the world around you - that writing is important to you. You're not going to let it slip onto the back burner any longer. You are going to at least give it as much time and effort as you would brushing your teeth every day!

So, I say, if you're a writer as well, and are struggling to find time, even if you can't follow Ali Luke's advice to carve out 15minutes a day, you can follow Cyhyr's challenge and just write one sentence. Go ahead. Prove to yourself that writing is important enough that you won't let another day go by without doing SOMETHING writing related.

And now enough of that.
*Steps off soap box*

Back to my own writing; which I neglected for two days, even after that rousing speech above.

Yesterday I was determined. I took some time at work to go through my files, and organized what I wanted the next X-Future chapter to be. I hid away in my room for a little bit. Later in the day I did so again. I needed to get back on track. I needed more than 500 words. I needed the 1000 that I missed the first two days of the week. It kept me about three hours, off and on, but I did it. I got up to 1600 words. I have no clue how much of that I'll be keeping though.

The next chapter in TSGB is going to be focused on Lia watching footage of her mom's training in the X-Men War Room. It's an impressive room that will be brought up a few more times in the future. Thing is, I think it will only come up once or twice more before I break off for the 2yr time skip. In other words, the majority of the War Room use will be in the NEXT X-Future book I write. Which will also mean redescribing it for people who didn't read TSGB. Still, I wanted to paint the room. Painting the room is what took 1600 words.

I mean, I had Lia do some actions while she walked around the room in a self-guided tour of the sub-sub-basement she had never been in before. It's not ENTIRELY description of a room, but still, 1600 words seems like a LOT. I'll have to see what I can whittle it down to. In the meantime, it's there as establishment.

I can also relax a bit, knowing that I can comfortably go back to my daily writing hour from here on out, and still have my chapter done - in theory; we'll see how long it gets.

I can also relax a bit because I don't have writing group for two weeks, and Phfylburt has officially pulled my weekly challenges from him, at least until I'm done with the Writers’ Huddle challenge. It was a smart move. I thought I could conquer it all - the writing challenge, Phfyl's weekly challenges, and the bi-weekly writing group prompts - with the new daily writing regimen. I should have known better. Should have known that each TSGB chapter would take just about all 3500 words I aim for each week.

I tend to do this though. Spread myself too thin by taking on too much once I'm excited about a project. I mean, I do this ALL. THE. TIME. So, I'm thankful that Phfyl noticed my true ability, and pulled his challenge in the meantime.

Now, to get cracking on the actual, TRUE action of the next TSGB chapter....

New Year; Sick Me

Image is Leave The Past Behind And Welcome The New Year
by NaBHaN

Goodness, it's been a little while. Sorry about that. Not the best start to the new year, huh? In all fairness, however, the delay in my update is mostly due to the fact that I got hit with a wicked cold on the first. I barely had anything to drink, and I stopped at about 10pm, and so no snickering that it was a hangover.

I was battling a nasty head cold around Christmas, got over it around the 28th or so, and then got hit with an even worse one on the first. If I wasn't drugged up so I could get through work, I was fast asleep in bed. At least, that's how I spent the first three days of the new year. Monday was the first day I ventured out of bed for any decent amount of time outside work.

I had the intent to use the day off to work on my blog, which may get yet ANOTHER update day change given the frequency I've had to work on Thursdays vs the frequency that I've had Mondays off. However, I also had my bi-weekly writers group meeting on Tuesday, which I hadn't even started working on the writing prompt for.

I wanted to include the links to the prompt in this week's update, and so I tasked myself to finish that first. Problem was, I wasn't really sure where to go with the prompt.

We collectively pieced together a very vague character. Keaton likes our prompts to be as vague as possible so that she and DFL can each use the prompts to write another snippet for their overarching novels, which are fairly different from each other. I get it, but every once in a while I'd like for a very specific prompt and see how each of us tackle something that seems so black and white.

Anyway, the prompt this time had us tackle a character with two motivations, two conflicts, and a random extra element.

The extra element was that we had to include a dog somehow. Instantly, I knew I wanted to write the story through the dog's POV. I figured it would be fresh and unique. Then, I heard Keaton's story with a dog as the narrator. Hmmm. I guess that's yet another way the two of us are similar.

What were the other components needed for the story? Well, the two conflicts were a rival and the loss of something. The two pieces of motivation were recognition and money. Everything else worked fine with my idea of a dog POV, but money? Why would a dog want money? Keaton actually added that as part of the narration. "They say I'm supposed to want money, but I'm a dog. What would I do with money?"

Me? I had to go to my number one sounding board: Hubby. It was his suggestion that the dog is a show dog bringing in lots of winnings, and that his motivation for recognition and money is actually translated to him wanting to win more competitions. The rival could either be an up-and-coming younger dog that could take his titles away, or even a new pet at home that changes the family's focus to a more playful animal instead of the well-behaved and well-trained champion dog that is the narrator.

Great ideas. I loved it. Got the gears going. And then I thought of the Disney movie "Oliver & Company". Much like how "The Lion King" is Disney's animated animal version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", "Oliver & Company" is Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist"; for those who didn't know.

The reason my mind went to the Disney version of the tale was because the company turned the character Georgette into a pampered and prissy prize-winning poodle. She hates that Jenny Foxworth brought Oliver into Georgette's home; taking away the love and pampering that she felt she deserved. She had a rival: Oliver. She was feeling loss: Jenny's love, Winston's time, pampering, etc. She wanted recognition: all the family's attention, and the proclamation that she was all the family needed. She even was a dog that had a reason to want money: it was spent to lavish her with the finer things in life, plus, as a show-dog, she was bringing in the money.

I tried to write it so that the fact that Georgette and Dodger's gang were all dogs, and that Oliver was a cat, was hidden. However, I forgot one key thing. If you aren't in the mindset of "Oliver & Company" you may pick up on the original text of "Oliver Twist". Which means my crafty "you won't pick up on this right away" would shoot me in the foot as people picture the original classic and still be confused where the dog would come into play. Whoops.

That's sort of what happened at the group. The other three women that typically show all have children about my age, and so in their mind the story was the classic. Whereas the classic Dickens writing always bored me - I know, I know, shun me now - and so I appreciated Disney's take on the story as a way of introducing me to the classic tale. To me, Oliver is a orange cat, Dodger is a Jack Russell Terrier with a red bandanna, Fagin is Dodger's beloved homeless owner, and Georgette is a pampered poodle.

Anyway, if you wish to read my story, you can find it on DeviantArt - with some typos, sorry about that - and on FictionPress. Yes, it is a fanfic, but it's part of my writing prompts anthology, and so I kept it with the others on FP.

"The Queen of This Castle"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

Now I need to focus on the next prompt we put together. It was a generic setting we each threw one component into. Keaton was wondering why I said it was generic, and frankly, it's again what I said before, she tries to have something broad enough that both she and DFL can use it in their main manuscripts. It's not a bad thing, but she needs to understand how vague these prompts are because of that.

Our setting is Coming Back From A Funeral at Dusk on a Saturday during the Winter months. It's specific enough to be considered a prompt; most prompts on say LiveJournal are just one word like "Peace" or "Spring". However, she wouldn't allow me to throw in things more specific such as "snowy winter" or "rural vs city" or "unattended funeral." She felt it was too restricting. As it stands, DFL's story in the desert can still work. Winter doesn't have to mean cold or snow or even the winter holidays. It just means the three months where there is the least amount of natural light due to the Earth's location in relation to the sun. Also, she can have the funeral be as bustling or unattended or sorrowful or joyfilled as would be appropriate for such ceremonies in 10,000BC. Meanwhile, Keaton can use the same prompt with Buster Keaton in NYC or LA or writing his post-apocalyptic story-within-a-story of two boys in a semi-rural area during a zombie attack.

Me? I'm still seeing where this prompt takes me. Seeing as how I still don't have even an idea for a manuscript to work off of. X-Future definitely translates better into a more visual medium, and so a TV/Netflix/Hulu/webseries or a comic book series would work best for it. It still needs a manuscript, but not the prose/novel that I was aiming for. I'm also still attempting to work on my Gyateara world build, and so I'm nowhere near actually writing any stories in that world.

There has been some deaths on X-Future, although, I don't recall if we ever established a day of the week for any of them. The one I'm thinking of was definitely in the late summer/early fall months, so that might not work. Then again, we never did comment about the deaths that came just before the initial 2yr time jump. That happened just before winter break. Not quite winter, but with the rummaging through rubble, the actual funeral service(s) may not have taken place until late December/early January. I might be able to do that. This way I'm not the only one just writing random prose unrelated to each other.

Then again, I may just stick with what I've been doing. Who knows what stories may come to life with these prompts. Red, for instance, may go back to an earlier prompt with this setting one. She had a character who was going mad after her boyfriend left her, and now she's plotting to kill both him and two people in her past she felt wronged her. We were all talking about how much fun it would be for her to use this funeral prompt as a continuation. I said I wanted to see how the narrator kept her composure at the funeral so that people didn't realize how excited she was about the death.

Also, back when I did the daily prompt challenge for "Hey, Arnold!" fanfiction, I actually had a few related prompts. It just seemed perfect to have one continue the story left from a previous prompt.

Hopefully, it won't take the full two weeks to figure out what I'll write. Either way, if I don't have it ready by next week I will certainly have it done the following one.

In the meantime, I have another challenge. Phfylburt is in the picture again. With his new little one, although she's apparently very easy going, he hasn't had the time or inspiration to write lately. However, he's always wanted to learn how to draw, and he has just enough time to practice that daily. He's been a bit mad about slacking off, though. So I issued him a challenge.

He would give me a new writing prompt every Sunday, and I would give him a new drawing challenge. The following Sunday, we will exchange what we did, and issue another challenge for the week. Technically speaking, he's supposed to show me at least five different drawings he's done throughout the week, but as long as I get the drawing I requested, I can let the others slide.

Now, poor Phfyl thought he was easing me into this new challenge set-up. Thing is, he asked me to do one of the most challenging things for me: poetry.

I used to write poems a lot in middle school. Looking back at them, I've realized they're terrible. My college ones weren't much better. The ones I attempted to write for Helga in my "Hey, Arnold!" stories are just as bad. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's because I can't stand vague, thought-provoking writing. I don't want a pretty simile about your soul and the colors of the rainbow when you meet different people. I want to know the location of every battle scar on that 6' 2" Puerto Rican man with cocoa-bean brown eyes, brunette hair so deep it appears black, and a crooked smile due to his previously broken jaw.

Every time I attempt poetry it always seems like a pathetic forgery. Like someone telling you they'll make you a fabulous Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and then plops a Tofurky in the center of the table; worse yet, the tofurky is barely shaped to look like an actual bird.

If this isn't bad enough, the challenge is to write a 12-line poem that describes nothing. NOTHING! No description! WHA!? Hit the ground running, I guess. Sink or swim. Well, the point was to challenge each other in order to better them. So he swung hard without even knowing he did.

It may not be pretty. It may not be poetry. But by gum, I'll have a 12-line poem ready to post here next week! I just need to write it still....

Because of my illness-induced impromptu vacation, I actually have a lot more to talk about. However, this seems to be getting a bit long. I'll save it for next week, or perhaps an extra blog post to try to get me up to 52 this year!

Oh yeah! I never officially stated my resolutions for this year! Yup. Definitely need to work on another post. Now that football's regular season is over and the playoffs have started, I should have more of my evenings free. That should open up some more time for me to write and sneak in that extra post. However, Ronoxym and Cyhyr are supposed to visit on Saturday. And my nephew's baptism is Sunday. Still, I'll try to get something ready for Mondayish. So, keep an eye out.

I'm also going to use my first post of 2016 to yet again plug the fact that you can fave my blog and/or join a mailing list. The mailing list simply drops this blog right into your email for ease of access. Plus, you don't have to worry about maybe missing a post since my update days are never set in stone. I swear that's it. You won't get any promotional mail from me or Blogger. You won't get any spam. We don't send out your email address to anyone. Just a simple: "You've Got Mail: The Rogue's Scribe Updated; here it is!"

Sound good to you? Then just go to the right side bar; you'll have to scroll back up to the top. Do you see my "About Me"? Good. Right above it is the option to input your email address to join the mailing list. Simple as that. Then the blog will be delivered right to you like a faithful Sunday morning paper.

If you want to fave my blog and just check in on it via your Blogger dashboard, simply set up a Blogger account if you haven't yet. If you are on Google+ you have an account already. Simply go to Blogger and it will bring you to your dashboard. Scroll down a little bit and you'll see "Reading List." From there you can add new blogs. You simply click "Add" and then drop in the url of this blog. You can then choose whether or not to follow me anonymously before clicking "Follow." You're done! You can now just log back into your Blogger dashboard, go down to Reading List, and read the latest entry of this blog and any others you are following.

You can also include my blog in your RSS feed; basically the same thing as favoriting it on Blogger. For those of you who don't know what an RSS is, then don't worry, the other two options work fine. For those of you who do have one, just above the option to sign up for the email is a place where you can subscribe to my posts, the comments, or both via your RSS. You can subscribe via NetVibes or My Yahoo!

One last way to stay up to date with this blog. I post on Twitter. I don't really do much else on Twitter any more - I'm addicted enough to Facebook to add Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or Pinterest - but I do post when I update my blog. It's as simple as following @LycoRogue.

Alright, I really should get some work done, either on the funeral prompt, my poem, or some of the cleaning I need to do around here. Catch you guys next week, and have a happy new year!

Reflection On 2015

I didn't think I was going to be able to find time to work on this blog again next week. I might have to deal with the fact that yet another year passed that I wasn't able to get 52 updates in. I've done a lot better than the last two years. A lot closer with 50 posts; maybe 51, we'll see how this week goes. The last time I had 51 posts in a year was 2012, so there's that. Maybe 2016 will be the year of true weekly posting all year long.

As possibly the last post I make this year, I want to reflect on how 2015 treated me in the writing department. I don't want to think about how it treated me otherwise...

I won't go as in depth as I did last year, but I do want to do a reflective overview.

I had six resolutions that I wanted to follow this year in order to improve my writing and make it a much more serious part of my life. I started out real well with all of them, but none made it through the full year.

Resolution #1: No More Than Three (3) Zero Days In Any Given Week

I haven't talked about Zero Days in MONTHS. That in an of itself is a bit pathetic. What I need to do is what I've been suggesting to my fellow writers at my bi-weekly groups: get a small pocket calendar whose sole purpose is for me to mark what days I write. This way I can keep track of my Zero Days and try to eliminate them. As of now, I have no real recollection on how long I was able to keep up with this resolution. Heck, with help from my MasterClass in September and October, I even had a set writing hour. Still, I barely wrote anything this month, and I don't recall writing much more the previous month. So, at the very least, this resolution fell apart two months from the finish line. Most likely died months before that, though. I guess I'm trying to tackle this beast again this upcoming year. With the improvements I made this year, though, maybe I can actually follow through with this in 2016.

Resolution #2: Read At Least One Book A Month

Oh, this one died and died hard. I missed January. I read in February. And then I spent the rest of the year painfully slowly reading two different Rick Riordan books: "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods", and "Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire". Normally I tear through Riordan's books, but there's just something about these two. Hubby and I try, lord we try. We love Riordan's Percy Jackson books so much. Even when the first Heroes of Olympus book didn't include Percy at all, we still loved it. The Kane Chronicles though.... Out of all mythology, I was also the biggest into Egyptian, and so I thought I'd love this series the most. Nope. Something about how he wrote the two main characters Carter and Sadie just makes them seem whiny and spoiled. It kept a while to go though the first book in the series too. Still, I try. And here it is, like eight months later, and I'm only about half way through the book.

As for "Greek Gods"? Well, it has Percy's playful snarkiness, but there's something a lot more childish about the whole thing. Sure, the whole series of Percy Jackson and Kane stories - and now the newest, Magnus Chase - are written for middle graders. Basically, for 10 through 14 year olds. However, none of the other novels, even the Kane Chronicles, really READ as aimed towards kids, per se. "Greek Gods" just really hits home to me that I'm reading something aimed at a 12-yr old. It's still fun, but I ended up using it more as a reference book than one to read cover-to-cover. I'll give it another go, though.

All-in-all, my point is that I have struggled through two books, and even then, I barely set any time aside for reading. At least I read three books last year. This was just pathetic. Granted, the main reason why writers should read is to see how others have honed their skill to tell stories, therefore improving the reading-writer's skills as well. And me? I do that, just through analyzing TV show, movie, and video game writing instead. It's not an excuse for me to have such a pathetic reading record, but at least it's proof that I AM doing what reading is supposed to for writers, just, with other medias...

Resolution #3: Log On To Writers’ Huddle Forum At Least Once A Week

I was doing really well on this one too. After I caught up on my backlog of posts, I even did what I suggested at the beginning of the year: evolve the resolution to "be an active member of the Huddle at least once a week". I was doing soooooo well. Then November happened. Once again, during the last two months of the year I fell off the face of the planet in regards to that site. If any Huddlers still read this blog, know that I love you, I miss you, and I'm going to try this resolution again next year.

Resolution #4: Complete At Least One Writers' Huddle Module

Oh, yeah. Didn't even bother with this one. Not even the module where Ali Luke Skype interviewed me for part of the lesson on NaNo. I kept meaning to, but just didn't have the discipline to sit down and go "OK, This one. Now. Go."

I feel a little better that I at least did the MasterClass that my mom gifted me. It's the same basic principle as to why I wanted to do at least one module this year. However, I still feel like I'm wasting my WH's membership by not being more active on the forums, and by never doing any of Ali's modules. This is yet another resolution that is getting another go in 2016.

Resolution #5: Beta Read And Return Notes Within A Fortnight

Um, yeah, about this one.... Especially after the MasterClass, and hearing how quick James Patterson is with his notes for his co-writers, I really REALLY wanted to stick to this one. However, no one really gave me anything to Beta this year. I mean, I did hop on whenever Ronoxym had something new for me to read, but that was mostly because I was so excited about the story that I was ready to gobble up any advancement he made. Plus, I knew that if he was in the mood to write that I needed to jump on that and get notes back to him ASAP before his writing attention drifted to a new project.

The only true beta request I received was from poor DFL just before Thanksgiving, and I have yet to do more than open the document she sent. Considering it's a good 100pgs, it's a bit daunting, but I still should have read at least 15pgs by now to get back to her about things. Baby steps. Still, November and December have been a complete writing hole. I think THAT'S what I need to conquer next year. In the meantime, I REALLY need to start beta-reading DFL's story!

Resolution #6: Have At Least Six New Stories/Chapters And 52 Blog Posts Published Before The End Of 2015

You know what? Aside from missing two weeks this year, I think I actually accomplished this one. It didn't look good for most of the year since I was so laser focused on Please, Let Me Explain, and I haven't been able to update that since February. However, I did post a couple new chapters of X-Future: The Second Generation Begins after Ali's Summer Challenge on the forum. I also started posting those super-short one-shot writing prompts after joining the writing group a couple months ago. All of that bumped me up to my goal for this year; barely at eight total prose updates, and nearly all at the end of the year. Still, it's one resolution I didn't completely fail at, and so I'll take it!

For any of you that somehow missed the stories I posted this year, here's my complete list.

From "Please, Let Me Explain":

"Chapter 1: Devon's Cell"

On DeviantArt           On FanFiction

"Chapter 2: In the Kitchen"

On DeviantArt           On FanFiction

From "X-Future: The Second Generation Begins":

"Bro-Bonding"

On DeviantArt           On FanFiction

"You're In Trouble, Son!"

On DeviantArt           On FanFiction

And for my original writing, I have the newest anthology of my Writing Group writing prompts:

"Fashion Gone Bye"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

"Memory Tap"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

"The Power of Pink"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

"What a Crumby Day"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

Alright, so I at least have that. I have eight updates this year. Not the larger chapters or fresh new stories that I was originally planning, but it's something. So. Tada!

Even with all of my failings at these resolutions, I have grown a lot as a writer.

I may become busy and miss one or two, or post a few days late, but for the most part, I have learned to set aside time for me to update this blog regularly. That's the first improvement.

I've taken that MasterClass, and I joined that local writing group. Even if I don't feel up to going, or I'm too busy to take two hours out of my week, or I slacked off and don't have anything to read, I still force myself to go. It's a way to really demonstrate to myself that writing is important enough for me to make a priority in my life. Plus, I always feel weird NOT having something to read at the meetings, and so it forces me to sit and write out the writing prompt at the very least. It may not be much, but it keeps me writing even if I don't feel like I have the time to. It forces me to MAKE the time. Another improvement.

It only lasted about a month or so before life got chaotic, but for a brief point in time I spent an hour a day on my writing. I may have spent that hour researching. Or spent it plotting. Or spent it character/world building instead of actually sitting and writing prose. However, it was still more than I usually allotted myself, and so I am proud and going to try to get back to this again. I enjoyed making writing a priority, and seeing how Hubby really supports me vanishing for an hour a day doing so. Improvement number three for 2015.

I've become a bit more confident in my writing, and have picked up on what I need to really focus on in order to make my stories better. I've taken a few chances with writing decisions I've made - you'll see this when I post my next writing prompt - and while I may not be 100% on board with how the story turned out - such as with "What a Crumby Day"- others seem to enjoy it, so that's what I care about. I'm challenging myself to break from my comfort zone in writing. I'm also enjoying being a sort of writing mentor of my own with a few of my friends and the ladies at the writing group. I still feel like a teenager in a world filled with mature, accomplished writing adults, but at least I now feel like an 18 year old instead of 14. Small improvement, but improvement none-the-less.

While I am hoping for a drastic improvement in my overall life come 2016, I am content knowing that I can build on this year's writing success to improve on my craft even more next year.

Who's coming with to see how it turns out?

What Video Games Have Taught Me

Finally figured out that this is Knives from the graphic novel series
"Scott Pilgrim" by Bryan Lee O'Malley

I really am starting to hate December, and I hate that I'm hating December, because I should love December. December has my husband's birthday, Spink's birthday, Christmas, and a slew of other holidays that my mother had us celebrate while growing up. Aside from the cold, I used to LOVE December.

The family time together. The decorations. The music and movies. The traditions.

Yeah, all that went in the toilet as soon as I moved out.

Crazy retail work weeks due to hectic holiday shoppers. Exhaustion from running around work in order to pay the extra bills not included in living at home with Mommy. Football taking over nearly every evening. Lack of children negating the "need" to do all the normal holiday extra stuff - decorating, checking out the neighbors' lights, watching movies, listening to music, baking cookies, etc. With just the two of us, December becomes the last minute run to the end of the year. I routinely forget what day of the week it is, let alone what date it is.

Hence me missing last week's blog post. Didn't even notice that I missed it until today. All my focus is on finishing the crochet project for my nephew, cleaning the house, finishing gift shopping, wrapping said gifts, and kicking this head cold's butt.

Oh, and my faithful car that I've had since 2006 is on death's door - has been since July, truthfully - and so I finally pulled the trigger and bought a new car. Problem being, the one that we found within our price range is a standard five-speed. I don't know how to drive stick. The only other option was an automatic - that I did love, by the way - that was more than three times the price. I couldn't justify spending the extra coin on the automatic. So, standard it is, and now I need to learn how to drive the darn thing!

So, it's probably pretty clear that writing has fallen to the back burner this past month.

Oddly enough, though, it kind of hasn't.

The wheels have still been churning over the past month. I don't have one thing I'm focusing on, though. I keep trying. While I'm spending hours mindlessly shelving and dusting at work I keep telling myself "This is a great time to let your mind wander and for you to mentally write something. Anything!" In the end, though, because I'm not working on a particular project, I come up blank.

I keep trying, though. Always keep trying.

I finished up the writing prompt for the last 2015 writer's meeting tomorrow night. It's definitely not my best work, but the concept didn't really catch my interest enough for my full heart to be in it. Still, it's one of the only pieces of the anthology that I put up on DeviantArt that was favorited. Two different people within three days of me posting it. So, maybe what I think is good is vastly different than what others believe to be good. Who knows?

"What a Crumby Day"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

It's actually super short compared to my normal works. It only clocks in at like 1200 words or something. I'm not very good at slice-of-life stories, which is what that turned out to be. It didn't need to be, though. I could have gone in any genre I wanted. All I needed to do was include the following elements from each sense:

• Feels Satin
• Smells Musky Perfume
• Sees Ice Breaking
• Tastes Apple Pie
• Hears Bells

I don't know why I ended up writing slice-of-life when I'm so bad at it. I didn't even do so on purpose to try to practice and improve. I just went with the story that came to me. Part of the "Channeling Methodology" of writing, I guess.

Besides working on the writing prompt to read tomorrow, I've been brewing things in my head the past few days. Mostly taking note on what I need to do for further world building.

It's the holidays, and it's been crazy. Both Ronoxym and Cyhyr work retail as well, plus both have much larger families than Hubby and I do. So I figured their crazy must be a step up from ours, and so I halted on my playful harassment of Ron on the progress of Please, Let Me Explain. At least, until the new year. Come 2016, I'm going Life Coach on him about this story.

In the meantime, as I mentioned, I've been brainstorming more world building.

A friend lent Hubby his copy of Skyrim. Yes, we are slowpokes who haven't even attempted to play this game in the 4yrs since it came out. Our friend thought that was a travesty, and he's too fixated on Star Wars Battlefront right now to really care about playing Skyrim anyway. So, Hubby's been playing for the past few days.

Hubby's one best man Shadow - AKA The Bard, as he was previously referred to in this blog - has always stated that the best thing about the Elder Scrolls games was the lore and background they put into the open-world storytelling. You could become just about anything. You could do just about anything. You can wander just about anywhere. The game world was your oyster. So the thing that really ties it all together - since the actual game plot is very vague and buried under all the open-world fun you can have - is the depth, complexity, and realism of the world you run around in.

Everyone has their own problems that don't rely on you. You can help them solve the problems, or they can take care of themselves. Just like in the real world. Characters don't just sit around and wait to hand you another piece of the plot's puzzle. They are having their own arguments and conversations that you walk into. Just like in the real world. I love it. This is what role play games should be like. Granted, I am horrible with first-person game play, which is the default of these games, which is why - despite the genre - I haven't been much of a fan. However, if I can learn to drive a standard car, perhaps I can master dual-thumbstick maneuvering in First-Person games.

This is all besides the point.

The point is I'm watching the detail and complexity of the world that Bethesda Games created. I'm loving it! I really am. Hubby needed to finish a side quest that required him to bring booze to the town drunk. Is said drunk just sitting and waiting for Hubby's return like in most games? NO! He had to run around the town for about five minutes before he found the guy, who was off doing whatever it was that he was planning on doing that day anyway. Hubby also runs across open fields to stumble upon people being attacked by raid groups that completely ignore the "hero" that just appeared. Hubby's character is so insignificant to the world he's running around in. Fantastic!

So, I'm realizing that I need to work on doing the same thing while creating Gyateara. I need to think of it as a large web of stories all unfolding together. Building lives that would run without the main characters of my stories ever getting involved. If I do what I originally planned with Gyateara, and have it as my own D&D world for campaigns, I need to make sure that the parties that run through my campaigns are just as insignificant to the world around them. That is, until they do something major enough to affect it. Having the world sit and wait for the players or the main characters is just poor world building and boring writing.

Nothing has really come to mind quite yet, but I'm setting the gears in motion to come up with these other mini-stories and conflicts to have in Gyateara. At this rate, I might not run a single campaign or write a single story in that world until I'm 50, but by gum, they'll be fantastic when I do!

In theory....

So, in case the week gets the better of me and I don't get the chance to make up my missed update by posting on time this week, have a merry Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate it, still have a merry and blissful December 25th.

Too Many Bunnies

"Peace For France" by Jean Jullien

First and foremost, I want to say that my heart is with all of those in France. It was heartbreaking to hear the news of the terrorist attacks there. Still having vivid memories of the September 11th attacks here in the United States, I can only imagine the shock and fear the French are dealing with. However, I also know the strength that comes out of tragedies like this. So, stand proud and firm, France. We are with you in your time of need.

I'm also going to get a bit political here, so please bear with me. It is a shame that the Muslim community – a generally PEACEFUL people – has always had to face some sort of persecution and ridicule. It's also a shame that because of extremists – like Crusaders or Zionists – the whole Muslim community faced extreme hate, fear, and prejudice after the September 11 attacks. Even worse that they are just barely shaking off the stigma from that, only to yet again be blamed as a whole for the atrocities a small extreme committed. My heart and prayers are with you all as well.

May France and the Muslims weed out the evil that infects them, and may they find peace. In the meantime, may the world understand that a whole is not always the sum of its parts. Just as your whole body isn't a disease simply because you have cancer in a part of it, a whole community is not evil simply because a part – that the rest cast out, by the way – creates so much violence.

On a completely unrelated note. Today, the third Thursday in November, marks the Great American Smokeout. An event promoted by the American Cancer Society, where Americans are asked to give up their tobacco vice for the day in hopes of taking the first step towards quitting. If you're thinking of quitting, check for hotlines and other sources in your area for help.

In the US, the hotline is:

1-800-227-2345

Or go to the following sites: 

www.Quit.com

www.smokefree.gov

Alright, enough of that. Let's get to why you're here: my writing.

I was determined to have this post up on time this week. It's killing me to have to work Thursdays now that I determined they are my new update day. Happens every time. I watch to see when I regularly have a day off, change my updates to that day, only to then have to work it every following week.

Once again I used first thing Sunday morning for writing time. I updated on the X-Future boards, and then I finished up my writing prompt for the writing group. Thing is, DFL sent out an email reminding everyone about the meeting this upcoming Tuesday, while also including the writing prompt for those who weren't there last time. The writing prompt is different in the email. Maybe she came up with a random one to make up for the fact that there were people that weren't there to eat some Dove chocolates?

Well, actually there's two prompts to choose from. The first one is to use two Dove messages: Lend an ear, and a chocolate." as well as "Wing it!" The second prompt option is the quote "The difference is, I lie for a living." Since I am already done with the prompt I had, perhaps I'll again have two to read off. Maybe I'll work on one of these prompts so I have something new to post next week too. I'm not completely determined to do so, but it would be a fun practice. Keep your eyes open for those possible updates to Writing Prompts: An Anthology.

In the meantime, you can check out the current update based on the Dove chocolate prompt “Learn something new with an old friend, and rock a bad hair day.”

"The Power of Pink"

On DeviantArt           On FictionPress

My anthology updates are now one crime scene from the perspective of a possible suspect, one fanfiction about a crime lab show, and one semi-autobiographical story about a Murphy Day.

While I do like having the variety in order to test the waters with an assortment of narrators and styles, I hate that I've lost focus. I wrote a variety of things for the MasterClass too. Aside from Please, Let Me Explain, I haven't had any real focus on one story in a while. Honestly, that really bothers me.

The last writing group session, as I mentioned, was more socializing than actual discussion of writing. Myself included, no one really critiqued anything that the others read. Granted, it's a bit easier to critique something when you can see it and mull it over, and so it's a bit hard to critique based solely on listening to a passage, especially when it's just one listen. Add in that none of us are the greatest orators and tend to trip over what we're reading. So, yeah, it's a bit rough to pick up on things to critique, but still. How are any of us going to grow if the only point is to meet up, socialize, hand out a prompt so it's still writing focused in some regard, and then part ways for two weeks?

I figured, “Well, maybe if I bring something there specifically to talk about...” only to realize I have nothing. I don't have a spot where I'm blocked because that involves me actually being actively writing something in the first place. As I pointed out in the last update, I have an ever-growing Plot Bunny Farm, and I lost focus on which bunny to cultivate next.

I'm just too fixated on PLME still. I NEED this story to be completed. Or, at least have the massive middle section figured out so I can upload it. I haven't updated that story since March, or something like that.

But when I pretty much blew a shotgun-sized hole through the outline Ronoxym wrote, he had to go back to the drawing board, and I haven't heard from him since. The worst part is, now I'm obsessing over Devon.

I think I'm annoying my husband, because I see the potential for Devon, and so now nearly every male character we see IS him. Any time there's a male character whose well-intentioned actions are misinterpreted as villainy: Devon. Whenever a male character is trying to convince a female one that he's “not that bad”: Devon. The male character shows an interest in fire, or refers to himself as a pyro? Devon. Heck, ever since his heel turn, one of the characters from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reminds me so much of Devon, and Hubby doesn't see it at all. Granted, the character embraced his villainy eventually, and he can definitely kick way more butt than Devon could, but I still see so much character similarity. This guy is what Devon could be if he embraced his villainy, or, if the character remained as loose and fun but returned to being a hero – or at least anti-hero – it could be what Devon would eventually mature into. Hubby still sees the guy more of a Screwdriver; another of our original Brotherhood of Mutants character, similar to Trish. However, Screwdriver has a complete bloodlust that the Agents character doesn't seem to quite possess, so he lies somewhere between Screwdriver and Devon, I guess.

Point is, I'm seeing Devon everywhere. And anything brings me back to PLME. Even songs. There's one or two out on the radio right now that makes me think of Devon and his anguish while trying to show Willow he's not evil. I can't get the character or the story out of my head.

AND WE'RE AGAIN PAUSED!

Maybe that's what I'll do. Maybe I'll focus on my interpretation of the ending based on Ron's goal for the story. Send it to him. Maybe we can find a happy medium between the two, or it can at least inspire him to redo the ending his way. Something to get this back on track, so we know where we're headed. Once that's figured out we can go back and edit the middle section, and finally post that at least. Ya know, before spending another seven months working on the next part of the story.

As of right now, we have the two chapters I already posted. The third one could really be three in and of itself, but there's no natural stopping and starting point since it all happens as one really long scene. The fourth one is relatively small, but I can't get to it until we finalize the third chapter, obviously. Based on Ron's outline, I can see the end of the story having another three chapters or so. Which means the finished project SHOULD have about seven chapters, at the rate we're going. A possible sad ending as well, which could possibly spin off into a sequel story, but let's not go counting chickens before this story's hatched.

I just need to get Ron writing again! I wish we either lived closer to each other, or I had a reliable car. I'd be stopping by his place at least once a week for writing sessions; drag his wife Cyhyr in too, since I haven't heard mention of her doing any writing since she started her job. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda. Unfortunately, he still lives something like forty minutes away, and so I can't poke him into writing as much as I'd like.

It is what it is.

Still, I don't know if the physical group I go to is of the right audience for me to bring the outline of PLME to them to ask for advice. Which leaves me with the original conundrum of figuring out what I should bring to the meetings to get assistance on.

I could bring my list of plot bunnies and see what takes. Then again, I tried forcing myself to write something for MasterClass, and I STILL haven't even finished figuring out the names of my characters for that Percy Jackson fanfiction. There's that, I guess. Maybe try working on that story a bit more and bringing that? I did say last week that I've got an urge to go back and rework my NaNo project from a few years ago. Perhaps that? Or work more on the rebooting of X-Future into a comic? I also have the option of continuing X-Future: The Second Generation Begins. Or writing Devon/Trish's fight scene. Or working on Willow and Chayse in Japan for their summer vacation. Or Lia and Ripley in New York City for THEIR summer vacation. Lots of X-Future options. Then there's still world building for Gyateara. Lots of possibilities, but only one passion: Please Let Me Explain.

GAAAAAAAH!

I need to figure this out. I hope to have something more solid to focus on along with my writing prompts next week. Let's see how that goes.