Getting to the Point

As I approach my final semester of college, I find myself wondering about stress. How much of it will I be facing? What sort of jobs will I be given in the two theatrical productions remaining in my collegiate career? What extra work will be required of me as I face an advanced directing class, a theater management class, a spanish class, and a speech class? How much free time can I find for my own writing? Will I ever find my textbook for spanish or will I be forced to purchase a new copy? That would suck. Stay tuned to learn the results of my search.

There's not much that can stop all these questions and concerns, but I'm working on keeping myself calm. All in all, the things that best calm me down are reading and writing. I just finished reading a remarkable book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and his stream of consciousness narrative style is helping me to explore that idea more in my own writing. You remember my previous post on writing routines? As a writer, a reader, a technician, and a college student, I have trouble functioning without my coffee. I'm sure other people have this problem. Well, if you do, never fear! Just try for my give away.

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Yes, I am doing my first give away. The prize, now that you've sloughed through my above rambling and round about way of thinking (welcome to the ADD mind!) is a $10 pre registered gift card to Starbucks. Instructions to enter the giveaway can be found below. The drawing will be on Jan. 21, 2011. Good luck! I'm off to get more coffee. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Home again!

Well, as the title of this entry implies, I've made it home. I missed my little apartment and I'm going to miss it even more when I graduate and they make me leave. There was an unexpected shock when I arrived and learned that my roommate from last semester left. Living room walls empty, her room totally bare, and all her belongings gone. I think she's still in the complex because her car is parked next to mine. I guess she moved in with her friend, who lives next door. I'm not really complaining, but a little heads up would have given me a clue as to what to expect.

Shortly after this shock, I checked my email and learned that I'd be getting a new roommate. Today, therefore, will be spent cleaning and trying to find out where to put everything I came home with. I know I didn't bring enough hangars for all these new clothes. I may not have enough for the ones I took to be washed. Time to get to cleaning and take some sinus meds. This weather is giving me a really bad toothache.

Responsibility

I love my family, those I'm blood related to and those I'm not. However, I sometimes have to wonder about a few of my relations. We've been having some minor issues at home because my dog Chip, a lab-chow mix, has taken to escaping our fenced in yard. She climbs it. Because I don't want my girl picked up by the pound, we've had to put her on the chain in front of the house. She can reach our shaded porch as well as food and water, so it's no torment for her to be out on the chain if the weather's nice. Chip likes being outside.

I was less than thrilled this morning when I saw my girl limping across the yard with a grass burr in her paw. The fact that she was in the yard meant she'd been put in the fence instead of on her chain and had, of course, gotten out. The entire family was informed of this arrangement yesterday and told that Chip's on the chain punishment would last at least a week. My girl is smart and I know that she knows she's being punished. The theory is that enough time restricted to the chain will make her want to go back to the yard, where she can stretch out and walk around. However, the punishment won't work if there's no follow through from my family members. If she's caught in the front yard without the chain, the dog catcher can come pick her up and we'd have to pay money we don't have to get her out of the pound again.

Dear family, almost everyone in the house owns at least one dog. Let's all work together to keep them taken care of and safe. I don't want to lose my baby any more than you would want to lose yours. Of course, with that thought I can't help but wonder if you really care about your pets at all, never mind mine.

A Bookworm on Books

E-readers seem to be the new "thing." I'll admit, I've been in on my fair share of fads in my life and I do own an e-reader - albeit an out of date one that I was given for free. I do appreciate my e-reader and I love having it, don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not going to get rid of it or anything foolish like that. However, a neighbor recently got an e-reader (new, brand name) for Christmas. Because she has the e-reader, she seems to have given up on the idea of paper-and-glue books. This baffles me.

Yes, an e-reader is light, but unless you're reading a biology textbook for fun, a book can't be all that heavy. Yes, e-readers are well lit and portable, but that big ball of fire in the sky can illuminate paper as well as it illuminates electrical devices. Call me a purist, if you like. I prefer the term bookworm. I have books on my e-reader that I do not own in print. This does save me money, but looking at my personal library, I know I'm not ready to add much. I'm already taking home a trash bag full of books (also free gifts; can't wait to get into them!) and, as such, can see where the e-reader will be taking up a lot less space in my car and on my crowded bookshelves. Those are two benefits of e-readers I can't deny - they do save money and take up less space.

Still, there are times when I want to really live the story with the characters and you can't always do that with an e-reader. A prime example is my e-reader copy vs. my printed copy of Watership Down. There are footnotes in the book, designed to explain aspects of Lapine life as the author has developed them. In the e-reader copy, these footnotes are contained where the page ends in the hard copy. What does this mean? You're reading and you come across an unfamiliar phrase, but in the e-book copy you can't find an explanation of the phrase until you hit the end of the printed page, which may not happen for another screen. The footnotes appear in the middle of the narrative, in some cases. This just makes for awkward reading.

Another example of awkward e-reader reading is when I'll run across a typo. Well, not a typo. It's more like two words were accidentally jammed together. I have to go back and re-read to figure out which words I'm supposed to be reading. This breaks the narrative and interrupts my reading - do not want!

As I said at the beginning of this blog entry, I do like my e-reader. I enjoy the ease of reading - when I don't run across an amalgamated typo - and I like that I can read multiple books at once. I like having the e-reader, but it has its place. I don't see an electronic device ever replacing my books. I mean, when's the last time you had to plug a book in to charge it before you could continue reading?

Thoughts and Feelings

Wordless Wednesday - Almost

Writing Routines

It's said that a lot of writers have routines, behaviors they repeat every time they sit down to practice their craft. Stephen King shuts himself in his writing room from 9-5, viewing it as his job. Some writers have special emblems or totems or "lucky" clothing. Some only hand-write while others only type. If you think about it, we can be just as superstitious a group as actors. (Some of the actor superstitions I've encountered include an actor who repeated the same pre-show routine from the first tech run to the final curtain to the point he arrived at the same time each evening, left at the same time, and did the same things in the same order. I knew a pair of actresses who would only let one technician tape their mics in place because that was the tech who did it during the first dress rehearsal.) Enough about actors. On to some of my writing habits/routines.

Hot Beverages This habit, I believe, is a throwback of learned behaviors from NaNoWriMo. When I sit down to write and it's not school related, I have to have some hot caffeinated beverage within reach. Even if I completely ignore it til it's ice cold, it has to be there from the start. I end up drinking it cold 90% of the time. Lol.

Energy Drinks If I don't have coffee, I'll reach for my energy drink of choice - Monster. There's not much like the feel of wanting to get up and not letting myself do it. When the only way I can burn excess energy is through my fingers moving across the keyboard, man do I get a lot written!

Change Scenery There are times, I just need a change of scenery - for myself, not my characters. One of my best writing days was in a coffee shop during NaNoWriMo. I wrote over 6k words that day. It's amazing what a simple change of scene can do for your mind.

Handwriting When I'm handwriting, it has to be lined paper and it has to be black ink. That is all.

Talk it Out Proof that most writers are a little nuts. I'll sit and discuss dialogue with myself, talking it all out and visualizing the entire scene.

Dare to Write Badly or The What If Universe When I talk things out, I often come up with a lot of things that, while entertaining to write, I know will never fit the story or the characters. So what do I do? I write it anyway and get rid of it later. Sometimes, it's one small moment in the impossible scenario I've dreamed up that will spark the next legit scene in the story.

Write or Die An amazing online program, a lot of my friends think I'm sadistic because I use Write or Die on kamikaze mode - this means that if I sit with the program open for too long without typing, the program will start to automatically delete words. Talk about incentive.

BICFOK The best advice I've ever received - tied, of course, to NaNoWriMo. BICFOK isn't the newest swear word; it's an initialism. Butt In Chair, Fingers On Keyboard. Sometimes, that's the only way to get things done - sheer force of willpower.

"One hasn't become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological, and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating." -Niyi Osundare

Salmon Patties - a fantastic recipe

I thought I'd put together a nice quick blog post today, so I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes. It's kind of my signature meal at home and I love making it. What is it, you ask? Salmon patties. They're super super easy to make and they taste delicious. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients: 4 cans alaskan salmon (any brand)
2 eggs
1 sleeve of crackers
salt & pepper to taste

Makes 2 dozen patties, depending on size

First step: open and drain the salmon (if you own cats, put the juice in a bowl or over their food - they'll love you!) then prepare to debone

Deboning takes a lot of time, but I always make a point to do this. To be fair, if you don't debone, it won't be a huge deal. The bones get soft and kind of powdery if they cook in, so it's not like anybody's gonna choke. Still, I suggest getting your hands in there and picking out all the bones. I also remove all the bits of skin. and, yes, I said use your hands. It's the only way to be sure you've got everything out.

Second step: make sure all bones/skin have been removed from all salmon

Third step: crack eggs into bowl

Fourth step: crumble crackers in sleeve, then add the crackers to the bowl

Fifth step: Mix it in! Again, I suggest using your hands. It won't kill you, I promise. ;)

Sixth step (optional) add salt and pepper to taste

Let the mix sit in the fridge at least half an hour

While the mix is sitting, pour no more than 1/2 inch of oil in a pan and put it on the stove to heat. Once it's popping, start forming patties with the salmon and fry them up. No breading or anything is needed. This recipe is so easy and a sure hit if you're a fan of salmon. Try it out!

Updates from 2011

Well, here I sit at the kitchen table with a glass of wine in my hand. I'm typing this blog entry up on my iPhone 3GS and liking the convenience. This November, I secured another NaNoWriMo win with a final word count of 58,912 words. I'm going to try to get more writing done this year, as well as more writing in general, and more vlogging. I got a set of workout DVDs for Christmas. Between those, my running, and my swimming, I can't imagine how many calories I'll be burning. I need to watch what I'm eating so that I don't lose weight in my attempts to get in shape. These are a few of my goals for 2012. I'm also facing my last semester of college and that, frankly, scares the hell out of me. I've got to get through the semester intact. Wish me luck.

A Taste of Insanity

It's October 31st, which means tomorrow is the beginning of NaNoWriMo! I've written about NaNoWriMo here before, a challenge in November where participants attempt to each write a 50k word novel manuscript in 30 days. Well, this year, in true NaNo spirit, I've decided to take leave of my senses.

My personal goal will be 2 50k manuscripts in 30 days. Two different ideas and a total goal word count of 100k. I'm sure this is going to be an interesting month. Best of luck to any other participants out there.