Actually Blogging

Hello,

It's been a while, actually. I needed a reason to write, and this may be it. I'm working on a novel and I wanted to start documenting. I'm actually procrastinating a bit too, but I'm of the opinion that any writing is good writing. I'm just sitting here watching Harry Potter and was just separating what I have written into chapters in Scrivener. That's my first recommendation if you want to write a novel: Don't just leave it all in a mass in one MS Word file.

I started writing this novel for NaNoWriMo, so the one file thing was very useful at the time (for putting together my daily word count and such) but now that I'm actually messing with my timeline and playing around with POV, there's an easier way to do it, and thats with Scrivener. You can actually just move chapters around and see how it looks. No harm done. Thank you to my Creative Writing prof for recommending that one. She told me to come see her in the new year so she can show me how to use it, which might be helpful, since I feel like I only know about 5% of the program at the moment. Even with my limited knowledge I can see how much of a help it is, though.

The only real setback is that it is a little pricey, unless you can get everything done during the one month trial period (you can't). If you search hard enough you might be able to find it for free, but I know from experience that the free version is buggy and crashes often. Just invest, it does your ugly formatting work for you, too.

I'm trying to keep with my characters right now. I finished school almost a month ago now and I just stopped working on my novel as soon as classes let out because of the Christmas craziness at my work and I can see now how huge of a problem that is. Letting it go means you forget. You don't remember what is happening or what they're feeling or how they would feel it. If you're going to write, get on with it. Keep up. Write every day, even if it's only a little. That is my plan, at least.

I say this like I've been doing it all along. I haven't. I just know what I should be doing.

I'm not very far into my story, but I do have it all mapped out, even if it's only vaguely. This is useful for me because I now know where to go without making as many missteps. I might still end up with some useless writings, but hopefully a little less. Scrivener helps with this too. You can take things out, put them back in and most importantly, you won't LOSE IT. I didn't intend to make this an advertisement. You can do this if you set everything into separate files and arrange them in folders too. Word might even have a template you can use.

Anyway, this is where I am.

Maybe I'll reign in my focus on some particular things as I go.

Have a good night!

k

Terrariums!

Teeny tiny worlds! I was inspired by this old man to post my attempt at a terrarium here. I've been dabbling with terrariums for a while, making the little glass bubble ones for friends as gifts, but I hadn't tried a moss one before. I'm not sure yet if this was successful, but here is a run down.

Test Post - Self Portrait

A pop culture tattoo

graces her Achilles tendon

She cries when a good movie ends

or starts

or reaches a middle

She could wear a new scarf

around her face

every day for a month

and never have to repeat

She could be designated a historian

of Westeros

or Hogwarts

or Middle Earth

She has a penchant for long walks

in the dark

and can run for seven minutes straight

on flat land

She enjoys watching people’s faces fall

when they ask how she is

and she treats it like a real question

Have the pills and exercise helped?

they ask

a shrug is always her response.