I slacked off this week and didn't really write anything down in my daily planner, where I audit my time to make sure I'm not slacking off. Yes. I know the irony....
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| Did I meme correctly? Characters from the anime Ouran High School Host Club |
Meh. Could be worse. Could be this....
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| Technically, it's more my coworker's daughter that drama loves... The worst part is neither of those poor women ever start it. Characters from the anime Fairy Tail |
My point is that I don't really know WHAT happened this week, because, like I said, I feel like I did a lot and yet nothing at the same time.
Well, to start, I cleaned my apartment a bit, ran around to do my normal errands, and did both days of Zumba, which is something I don't think I've done since before Christmas. Boy did my legs remind me of that. I also wrote more of my one-shot inspired by the "Miraculous Ladybug" episode Backwarder, while somehow simultaneously not finishing it due to procrastination.
Friday and Saturday the store was SLAMMED, so I didn't have any time to write while at work. Friday I had Wolfhearted over to watch Backwarder and Stormy Weather 2, and we also briefly discussed characters for a campaign he wants to run in the near future. No post-work writing there. Then, Saturday, I was NOT feeling well. I hid in my room after work. Originally it was because my lower back had been throbbing all day and I wanted to lie down. However, as the day progressed, my stomach started to act up, so my lie down to write after work turned into lie down and watch hours worth of YouTube videos because I couldn't find the energy to write.
In truth, I should have spent the time at least reading more of "Armada" since I only finished up the first act of the story yesterday afternoon. I still have about 300 pages to read! I don't think I'm finishing by the end of the month.....
Ernest Cline, based only on the first act of the book, definitely did not have lightning strike twice. The book is entertaining, but doesn't seem to be as gripping and page-turning as "Ready Player One" was. I guess I'm more into 80s nostalgia with a side of gaming than I am into alien invasion First Person Shooter gaming with a side of 80s and early 90s nostalgia. We'll see if the story picks up steam now that I'm in the main bulk of the tale...
But back to my own writing.
Sunday I was able to do some editing and add in a few more paragraphs, but I was still nursing my back and stomach, while also prepping myself to go see "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World."
We had a whole crew of us hitting up the local theater: six in all.
The movie was gorgeous to watch, and while there are some tweaks I would have done with the story, all-in-all, it was the perfect close to the franchise. It also gave the six of us a nice running gag for the next few weeks at least:
It was such an enjoyable movie, and one we were so excited to watch, that not only didn't I neglect to do more writing after Hubby and I got home, but I also neglected to watch The Oscars as well.... I think this is the first one I've missed since I started learning about video production in college."CRY INTO MY MANLY BEARD!"
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| Again, Irony seems to really love me... PAINFULLY so.... Characters from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist |
Whoops!
Meh, it was worth it though. Omni was in a funk for a while, and decided to just start his whole novel from scratch to try to build a better foundation. Especially since the novel he's been working on for the past few years is actually the precursor to the original novel he wanted to tell. So he has to make sure he's happy with the groundwork he's laying with this tale.
I want to encourage that, and help it grow.
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| Last one of these memes, I swear Characters from the movie FernGully: The Last Rainforest |
Alright, so that was my weekend, but what about before that? Or after it?
Well... I did write a LITTLE at work on Thursday, but then my brain died on me, so Thursday night was spent editing, a little extra writing, and screen captures so I could design cover art for my story. A task I never actually completed.... I then researched potential name ideas to see if I had a unique one to use.
Okay, so the title I'm going with is fine. No hits on either AO3 or FFN. However, the first title I was going to go with? "For You"? Yeah... there's like 30 fanfics in the Miraculous fandom alone that has that title....
And this is why I check.
Wednesday though! Wednesday I wrote while doing laundry. I was then going to write some more while waiting for my car to be inspected and get an oil change. I was doing well.
And then I wasn't.
Turns out that, while I knew the problem with my high beams, and had a creative way to work around it, I had more issues with my car than I thought. For one, even with my MacGyvering, the high beams not properly working is enough to not pass inspection. Two: my back-up lights weren't working either. The biggen, though, is that my axles were all rusting through. The mechanic even warned me that I'm "one good pothole away from losing a tire."
YAY!
So, while the car is still driveable, there is no hope of it passing inspection, which expires on March 1st. Which means, it's time to say goodbye to another car.
Farewell, Geodude, you served me decently for three years.
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| It is actually MUCH smaller than it probably looks in this picture. I also love that every car I've owned has that pin-stripe along the sides. |
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| Rozsavaria got me that sticker to turn my Geo Metro into a GEODUDE Metro. |
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| Fainted Geodude from Pokemon Basically my car as of March.... |
Which also means that, yes, the rest of the week did have me periodically checking out cars online in my downtime as well. Today is my first day off since I found out about my Geodude, so it's being largely spent checking out cars. Hopefully I can find one before tonight's writer's group meeting so I don't have to miss YET. ANOTHER. ONE.
If I can't find a car today, Friday is my next chance. Thankfully, Hubby's one friend offered us a loaner car, should we strike out today.
......
Soooooo, uh.... yeah.
There you have it.
My week largely consisted of me procrastinating, nursing myself back to health - which I'm still kinda, sorta doing - and looking for a new car.
Whooo!
I DID manage to do three things yesterday though.
One: Realize the story I've been working on could be a chaptered novelette. I was originally using line breaks to jump from Adrien's POV to Kagami's and back. However, each scene is at least 1000 words long, so why not make short chapters instead?
Two: Managed to finish up my first 2000+ word section - now chapter - of the story, as well as start up the penultimate chapter.
Three: Post the first chapter online, and set it up that I'll post the second one Thursday evening. I figured, an "every 3 days" schedule will be fairly fast of a turn-around, but still afford me enough time to finish the story and polish it while still dealing with the mess my life fell into this week.
Unlike my other stories, my newest one is basically embedded within an episode of Miraculous Ladybug. It is very spoilerific for the episode, so if you haven't watched Backwarder and don't want spoilers, I'd skip over this story.
Otherwise, you probably don't really NEED to know more about the show than what I talk about in this blog, so feel free to check it out, even if you don't watch the show. Each chapter should be between 1000 and 1600 words, except for the fifth one, which will be pushing closer to 2500 words. Still, super short considering my normal chapters, right?
Without further ado, I present you with:
"Prescription for Love"
I posted "Prescription for Love" - a story that was timely two weeks ago... - at 8:30 last night, and already had one review, 3 follows/bookmarks, 14 faves/kudos, and 198 hits by the time I went to bed at 11:30. I didn't even remember to promote the story! Short and sweet, and dealing with one of the most talked about episodes still, was a good way to go apparently. We'll see how people feel about that once I get to Kagami's side of the story....SUMMARY:
This was not the weekend away Kagami was expecting, but then again, what was written on Marinette's letter wasn't what Adrien as expecting either. As Kagami tries to understand Adrien's confusion, and find time to try to woo him from Marinette, Adrien is busy trying to understand Marinette's train-side send-off, and finding a pharmacy.
It's going to be hard for me to wait until Thursday to post the next part.
I also don't know what to read at group tonight. Do I continue with reading "Woven Heartstrings" even though that story is long done, Christmas is far enough past that my tree is actually down, and they haven't heard more than the first chapter in months? Do I start them on "Prescription for Love" even though I need to basically explain the whole subplot of Backwarder before starting? Or do I go back to reading bits of "One and the Same"?
I guess I could offer all three up for them to decide? This is the only real problem with quickly turning out smaller works. And having meetings continuously cancelled due to snow...
Anyway, I have until I go to bed on Thursday to accomplish two of three things:
- Find myself a new car
- Complete PfL so I can hit my goal, even if the whole thing isn't POSTED by the close of the month.
- Use one of two new plot bunny ideas to write a legit SHORT, SHOOOOOORT, SNIIIIIIIPPET of a story so a completed new story is fully posted online by the end of the month.
Preferably, I'd like the new car to be one of the two things I accomplish....
One final note before I go car hunting. My writing group co-member has done his soft-launches the past month or so, but this Saturday, March 2nd, is his official book launch for "Parabellum."
You can find the novel in both paperback and ebook on Amazon. I already shared the link just above the picture, but here's another one just to be sure you see it.Summary:
How does a POW become a spy? And why? And what the hell is a GALCO? These are only a few of the questions Carson Nowak needs answers to. Carson Nowak is a CIA contractor like none you’ve ever met before. Carson is tasked with retrieving a trunk full of documents. The order comes not from the Agency or even the President, but a higher authority: his nana. In addition to the documents, the trunk also contains a war relic tied to a mysterious death just before D-Day. Tracing the provenance of this relic triggers a chain of events that not only unlocks Carson’s family history but garners the interest of a South American hit squad. Carson must navigate the challenges of protecting his family, maintaining his business, ensuring the safety of a young refugee developing a revolutionary weapons system, and deal with an infuriating curmudgeon. Along the way he falls in love. To navigate these challenges, he enlists the help of a pencil-thin code breaker, a claustrophobic corpsman and a Haitian nurse.
PARABELLUM, the novel, is spy/mystery/thriller novel set in Upstate NY, with flashbacks to both World War I and World War II.
PARABELLUM, the word, is a Latin term which loosely translates to “When you live in peace, Prepare for war”.
The writing style is a mash-up of C.J. Box meets Daniel Silva, meets John le Carre.
If you're into modern-historical - as in, the summer of 2001 - stories, and/or spy thriller novels, then go check this one out. If you personally don't want to shell out the few bucks, then ask your library to order a copy that you could then borrow. Let's get the word out there!
Man, between "Parabellum" and "Leather and Lies," my friends will convert me to a spy-thriller reader in no time.
Seems only fair, considering how many I'm converting to fanfiction enthusiasts....
Speaking of which, there will be no fanfic to be enthused about if I don't find a car with enough time left for me to write! So I better get going.
Awww, I'm sorry to hear about your car. I hope that you manage to find a new one to use soon, and that hopefully it's in a better condition that will mean it won't be destroyed by one pothole. Those things are a menace.
ReplyDeleteDon't beat yourself up over 'procrastinating' as I didn't really get the impression that that's what you were doing this week. You had a lot to deal with and recovering from an illness is always important. There's nothing more arduous than writing when you're ill in my opinion. And there's nothing wrong with just generally taking some time to relax. Our brains need to refresh themselves. Though I beat myself up over this as well. I really need to practice what I preach.
But hey, you managed to write a brand new story! I'm so glad that you decided to publish it on FanFiction and AO3, as if it had been just posted on Tumblr, I probably would not have spotted it and ended up forgetting it was there. As I said in my review, you always manage to think and write about the most interesting things, things that most people often don't think of. I really felt like I was reading a deleted scene from the show.
Good luck with everything!