Long Time, No See

Dear Travellers,

Time confuses me. It confuses us all. Time is a strane thing, and deserves confused respect. And I just wanted to say what the title already expresses: Long time no see!

What are you up to? I have so much to say, I can’t possibly fit it all in one post. I have new interests, a new blog, I am further on in my minimalist adventure, I am improving on things, I am getting new habits (good and bad) and so on. But a few things never change…

My room is still messy, I still get too much homework, I still love writing, I still love you guys, and… oh, I certainly miss typing here!

Anyway, I seem to  be drifting from my original point. The point being, well, I forgot. Rather embarassing; forgetting what I was to say in the first place. I suppose this is one of those “Write what you see” sort of things… And what I see is a recommended tag which drifts very far from our subject! Romance. Romance? What has this got to do with romance? You are all lovely people, but I do believe this is not a love letter.

No. Of course not. I will immediately stop thinking along these lines. I am going too deep.

Way too deep.

Okay. Now I’m scaring myself. Oh deary me…… Back to the subject at hand.

Which is nothing. I am being strange today, I suppose it’s a side effect from my excitement! But tiredness also seems to be a side effect.

I..must…..Sleeeeeep……. ZzZzZzZzzZZZZzzZzZzz…….

 

The Results.

Sorry to keep you waiting!

The Results Are In…

As you may know, (if not check out my earlier posts) I entered NaNoWriMo – it seems like a lifetime ago now! Well, anyway, I was partaking in this endeavour, or quest, or enterprise, or whatever else you may call it. And the results are in…

Well. They were actually in on November 30, I just wanted to add some suspense until now. So, what result did I get?

Since I am but a wee lass, and of course a complete novice to writing, I went over to the version for young people: Young Writers Program. Or YWP for short. There you are allowed to set your own word goal, something you can accomplish, yet pushing you further.

I went with something quite challenging for me, 8,000 words. The novel started off at a snail’s pace; only 100 words each day. But I didn’t give up. As long as I was writing something, I was heading towards my goal!

Wading Through Treacle

But the writing process – which was meant to be amazingly fun – felt like wading through treacle. I hurled stupid things at my characters, and they just didn’t know how to react! The result? They refused to co-operate with the boring situations I was putting them in. I knew why I was being so boring. I was just too terrified to do anything else.

But there is a cure for that fear. And here it is…

Throw Something Completely Ridiculous in

My characters had started to hate their creator. So I wanted to do something!

I didn’t write for half a day. I sat there, thinking, watching the world for something completely out of place. Then I got it.

Mty characters were completely cliche, right? For example, one of them, named Debby, was one of those people. She knew everything about everything. She was cool and tomboyish. Etcetera.

It was time to throw something really random in. I gave her a really weird hobby which was totally out of chracter. Of course, Debby got ashamed at best, and hid it. She only let her best friend see. And it was so fun writing about that ridiculous hobby!

I’m Digressing. Back to the Results

Yes, I am digressing. But that was the advice which got me through the month. I added weird and wonderful things to write about, and I had a blast thinking them up and writing about them.

So, in the end, I exceeded my word goal! Only a little, since I got 106%, but it was a major achievement for me.

But my novel isn’t actually finished. Not yet. So I shall be sharing some of it, piece by piece, on here. I sincerely hope you like it, and I am having five finished copies printed! It was a gidt from the wonderful NaNoWriMo staff. Maybe I could even have competitions to win a copy…

you would love that, wouldn’t you? 🙂

HTML????

I’ve stumbled across a simple but rather elegant website. It was quite beautiful, and they told me it was nearly free to create!

Whaaa?????

So I contacted the dude who owned it. Let’s just call him Dude. So I emailed Dude, asking a very simple question…”How do you DO that??” Then Dude answered. He told me, “With HTML, my friend.”

Even Bigger Whaaaaaa?????

Soo, umm, I’m (attempting to) learning HTML coding. The fancy website actually helps you do it, believe it or not, and that is awesome. You can use Notepad, and there’s this nifty little text to html converter, it’s really quite good. Dude can do this well – I plan to email him around 10 000 times asking for help. But Dude is ever so nice, he won’t mind.

Once my little website is complete, I’ll let you see it. It’s basically going to be a blog, but self-hosted.

Oh dear. She gets another blog. 😉

NaNoWriMo Has Landed!

Editor’s note: this post is very late and was meant to be published on Nov 1. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Well, it’s official. I’m participating in NaNoWriMo. A very daunting prospect. I can only hope and pray to the Word God to help me through this.

I have always wanted to write a novel. A wonderful tale that may even be seen on shelves at bookstores everywhere. But, unfortunately, I have been “unable” (Yeah, right) to squeeze writing into my busy schedule. Until I took a step back and just thought. And I came up with this.

I need a kick up the backside. Come on! Writing is my passion, and yet, I keep making excuses why I don’t do it? What kind of writer would that make me? A bad one, that’s what. I’ve been slacking off for far too long. It’s time to do something!

And that something is to take a challenge. So in a moment of reckless thought, I figured Yeah, why not? And signed up for NaNoWriMo.

For those of you who have absoloutely no idea what I’m going on about here, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month – I think that’s what it stands for, anyway. It’s sort of self-explanatory: with everyone else who’s participating (National) you write a novel (Novel Writing) in a month (Month).

But there’s quite a bit more to it. If you visit both the official website, and the Young Writers Program, you’ll see what I mean. This is more than just a few people getting together to write about a bunch of things; no, we’re talking about millions of people making a commitment to writing by making a fully-blown novel in a month. Yeah – 30 days. 30 days, people.

The first thing I thought after my mind had sobered up is WHAT?! I can’t write 50,000 words in a freaking MONTH!!! But I can. Ohhhh yes, I can. And if I can’t, I will wear the hat of shame.

You know I will.

So, after that moment of terror had crossed my mind, I smiled. This is just the kick up the backside I needed. Well done, reckless thoughts.

So, with that, I must get to my writing. Support and any feedback you wish to say on any other writing here, even negative feedback, will be much appreaciated.

Wish me luck! 😉

A Writing Project

I’ve been straying too far from this blog and my writing life. It’s time to do something about it. For ages now, I have been putting off practising my writing, and ridiculing the very idea of even starting to write a poem, let alone a full-blown novel!

The way I best snap myself back into order and reality is through a project. A fresh project cures everything. And so begins the project of Unis De Pink… through this wonderful name I shall reignite the fire that used to glow brightly within me – my creativity.

Let me give this some background: I have a companion. She has been here since I was two years old… I remember how we met too. My family and I were in Toys R Us, and my mum told me I could choose anything I liked to take home. Obviously this was a big decision; if I chose wrong, I would be stuck with a terrible toy for the rest of the time I owned it.

I am so glad I chose the right one, I think as I look back now. You see, I was looking around, and that was when I saw her. Her fur was a beautiful shade of pink, shining and dazzling to the eye, her well-groomed mane and tail soft and of the purest white. From the middle of her majestic head protruded a single, twirling horn.

This companion is a unicorn. There were plenty of others on the shelf, but she was the one for me. I named her Unis.

The full title (see above) was to come later. I have already given a quick thought and the word “De” that goes between the two names was only given to those in possesion of a kingdom.

Unis Pink – for that was her name back then – grew in my heart. I gave her ten universes over time, officially earning her the title Unis De Pink. Unis has ruled over them for well over a billion unicorn-years. She is now affectionately known as “President of Pink”.

Background over! I must go… the project awaits. I shall build and entire kingdom, purely on my imagination. With a little help from Unis. 🙂

Gadgets Galore!

I have always been fond of gadgets: those little mechanised, motorised bundles of joy. Just like a kitten… If I ever were to find a gadget kitten, my heart would sing!

Being a great fanatic of gadgets (You could call me a geek, but I don’t like that word if it’s said nastily.), the inevitable was to happen as soon as I read my first spy novel; how could you not expect it?

I am now a great lover of spy novels.

Have you ever read the Alex Rider series? I know it’s a bit of a kids’ book, but it is wonderful for adults too. I myself am working on the series, although I got the order a little bit jumbled up at first.

This post is indeed short. I have things to do, people to see… gadgets to try, spy books to buy. I suggest you follow my example. 🙂

Cornucopia – As Promised

As I walked through the forest, it was impossible to ignore the beautiful surroundings. Trees whispered to one another excitedly as they spotted a new visitor; the sun peeked through their swaying arms to splatter the forest floor with its rays. The shockingly red leaves that fell softly from the branches collected on the soft green carpet down below. Plants fought for the sun’s affection – dainty little wildflowers shied away from the squabble, tucked away in small corners. I treaded gingerly so as not to disturb the tranquility I found within this place.

But something seemed amiss. I had no idea what it was – at least at the time. There was almost no wildlife around, but still occasionally I heard rustling in the undergrowth. It was an unusual mystery to me. But still I pressed on: those strange little events had no meaning to me while I was enjoying the perfect calmness of the forest.

I had no clue what was to happen next, as I strolled through the trees into a clearing. The grass here was greener and more lush, it had been left alone to do what it liked. No-one had been around for at least several years – no humans at least. There were some strange tracks in the grass. On closer inspection they revealed themselves to belong to some sort of horse.That’s funny, I thought to myself. Surely I would have seen any horses. And these tracks are recent!

Suddenly there was a great rumbling in the earth beneath my feet. Before I could escape, a huge majestic creature stood before me. Its powerful legs were topped by a strong, regal body which thinned into a elegantly curved neck. The head… its head was held up high like a king’s, with distinct cheekbones and deep, intelligent eyes. From the middle of the forehead there protruded a single, beautiful horn.

Of course, I took in the long, silken mane and tail. But I still couldn’t believe what now stood before me. A unicorn. It seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see it!

After a long silence, it was not me who broke it. “…You’ve found my clearing.” The unicorn had a soft, female voice. She was less annoyed than shocked that I had interrupted the peace of her resting place. “And you’ve found me.” She was disappointed – if she had not sounded so downright upset, I might have rushed off and told everyone of my discovery. But the deep sadness in her voice discouraged me. This creature wanted to stay hidden. What will she be driven to do to stay this way?

…To be continued.

Cornucopia – I Knew Something Would Rise…

Try this writing exercise. Sit in front of your desk, or the kitchen table, or the picnic table outside. Whatever sparks creativity best. Don’t have any computer in front of you. Not just yet…For now – just a pen and paper.

Write a word down. Any word. Maybe the most interesting word you’ve learnt today, or just the first word that pops into your mind. Do not take longer than 30 seconds on this. Even that is a very generous time for me to give.

Write. You may get your laptop now, if you wish. But no internet or emails! Just uninterrupted writing. Write whatever you want based on that word. I am doing mine with the word cornucopia. How about you?

Whew!

Sorry guys. As I have found out, doing a post every single day is hard.

That is good in a way; but it also means I have been abandoning this blog!

So listen – I have an idea.

Oh no, I hear you say. No no… do not think that! This is a good idea. I have also found out that a lot of people like my writing. Wonderful. Which means, I am writing a bit more seriously on here now. For my various musings and antics, visit the other site which I was caught up in.

If you don’t like my writing altogether, I’m sorry. Maybe these sites aren’t for you, then.

So anyway… Enjoy the new stuff!

I Found It Out!

Yay! I found out what cornucopia means. Mind you, it was a coicidence since I wasn’t looking for it… I just saw it in a different context and realised what could possess such a strange word. 😀

Yes, well. Shall I enlighten you about cornucopias? I rather think I shall.

The Cornucopia (for there is only one) is part of a Roman legend, the Cornucopia is also known as the Horn of Plenty. It is a Unicorn horn. It’s pretty simple.

This is a giant coincidence. I love unicorns, I have also found out about the “Sea Unicorn”, the Narwhal, which I am also feeling a pull to since I love the sea. I also feel a strange pull to the Romans, and of course myths and legends are wonderful things in my eyes. Fascinating, too… I must find a little bit more about this. I will tell you of my findings!