G is for Gaming

Because why not, right? I love games. I grew up with a giant collection of board games and spent days with my grandparents playing card games. When I got a computer, I treasured my computer games and when my parents finally consented to let me get a Super Nintendo, I fell head over heels for video games.

It's what I'm doing when I'm not reading or writing. It's a chance to let my mind rest when I've overworked it. You can usually find me tapping away on my Xbox controller, running something on Steam, or prodding at my 3DS. I have far, far more games than I should based on how many I've actually played and beaten. I'm trying to get better about that. *Looks at still-growing list of Steam games, plus hard copy games* It, uh, it's not working out so well.

Anyway, my current game of choice is Stardew Valley. I've been curious about the Harvest Moon series and the Animal Crossings for a while, so when this cute-looking game that somewhat combined the two came out, I decided, "Why not?"

Two weeks and 65+ hours of gametime later, it's been days since I've written. My query goes un-updated after the last round of Hell crits. I took out a rejection on a mine full of slimes, then made my character eat, like, five ice cream cones.

I swear I'll get back to my writing soon. Just, you know, as soon as this crop season finishes. And maybe once I've found all the artifacts.

F is for... I Forget

I am so incredibly forgetful. Like, if I don't do something immediately for my dayjob, I'll hear about it a few days or weeks later when they say, "Hey, did you ever do [blank] for me?" And then I remember that I'd gotten distracted by another, smaller problem and never did a thing with it and have to scramble to throw whatever it is together. It's an aspect of myself that I am ashamed of, but I've come up with a few things to combat it.

1) I use Habitica to track daily tasks and things I intend to do long-term. It's a site that lets you turn your chores into a game. You gain experience, fight monsters, accept quests, earn weapons, armor, pets, and mounts, and, of course, get your shit done. It doesn't cost anything to sign up or play, but there are special things you can only earn by donating. None of it is required, though, and they give you plenty to do without opening your wallet. It's kept me honest and on time for a year or so now. I can highly recommend it if games and competition are your sort of motivator.

2) For writing, I keep an "ideas file" on Google Drive. I am most definitely the kind of person who'll get a fantastic idea while out and about and forget it by the time I get home. With the ideas file, as long as I can get to a computer, phone, or tablet, I can add whatever new thoughts slipped into my head and have it waiting for me to expand upon when I get home. Plus, I have a list of every idea (backed up, too) and all the notes so that I don't forget anything. Without it, I'd probably only have half a dozen story ideas I can remember instead of... well, an absurdly high number that'll keep me busy for a few...

decades.

I need to implement something like this for work, as well. And then, and this is the troublesome part, I need to remember I have it.

What do you do to help you remember things?

E is for English

English is a violent language.

I have a friend on social media who is an Italian going to school in Germany. Her English is excellent considering it's at least her third language. But it makes for some interesting conversations.

Her: I have my Italian exam still to take.
Me: I'm sure you'll destroy it.
Her: Destroy? I was always good in Italian. That's not very encouraging.

It's a strong word, destroy, and one we use so casually. "I'm going to destroy you at Mario Kart." "I got destroyed at the audition." So I had to explain to her no, in this case, "destroy" is good. It meant she was going to do so well, her exam would not be a semblance of a threat to her. And then I tried to think of other phrases she might not have been familiar with. It quickly became a downhill slide of violence.

- Wreck - "I wrecked that test."
- Annihilate - "Bob annihilated his speech."
- Murder - "I was so hungry, I murdered my cheeseburger."
- Hit - "Let's hit a Starbucks."

Ramen Empire (July 3rd, 2014, used with permission)

We express a lot with violence. Like, way too much. I, to my shame, do not know any other languages well enough to hold a conversation, much less know their slang, but I wonder if there are any others that embrace violence as casually as we do. And we wonder why there's so much violence in our country. People say it's our video games, our movies, our television. How rarely do we stop and realize it's in our language.

D is for Dammy!

I feel obligated to make this one, because Damoclian, a friend from Absolute Write, started up a blog recently, and it's kinda sorta mostly my fault.

You see, Dammy likes to share what he's finished reading in our regular chatty space. And he is... enthusiastic. Obscenely so, with posts filled with exclamation points and emoticons everywhere when he likes it. And it works. His excitement sells us books, makes you curious to read short stories. Imagine if you asked a fangirl to review her favorite book. The result is an average positive review from Dammy. He knows what he likes and he likes what he reads. So I kinda sorta prodded him to start a blog.

And he did.

He's still getting going, mostly reviewing short stories we wrote for the Secret Solstice Sci-Fi Fantasy Story Swap, but he's got books lined up, in that he's already done a few, and many of us are planning on giving him our own once available. So give his blog a look and follow for upcoming reviews.

This has been your shameless plug for the week.

C is for Critique

Just so you know, I had the HARDEST time coming up with a post topic that wasn't "Cookie". That fuzzy blue monster has ruined me for the letter C.

After making an absurdly long list that mostly didn't appeal to me because I didn't feel like I had anything to talk about (or were just silly. Like Cake, because screw you, cookies.*)

I can, however, talk about critiques, because I've been wading into the pool for the past, what, two years now? Yeah, it was two years ago that I joined my critique group, and you know, I'm still learning how to do it. Not right, there isn't really a right way to critique, but best, in ways that gives useful feedback to the person receiving critiques. I've gotten decent at query critiquing, but not quite good enough to come out with a perfect draft of my own. Plus side, the critiques I've received have been positive, but I'm not quite there yet. 

For larger crit, though, one thing I've noticed is everyone seems to notice different things while critiquing. Some people are more naturally editors while others are proofreaders. Many of my companions are excellent at finding the big picture problems. They can see the whole garden and tell you where you screwed up the feng shui. I am not one of these people. I'll notice the one sentence that's confusing, the red tulip in the bed of yellows. When someone else points out the bigger issues, I can see them, but finding them myself? Not happening. It's why, right now, I'm depending on beta readers for Business of Being Dead. Because no matter how much I study other people's feng shui analysis, I feel like I'm still just standing here looking at the red tulip.

*I didn't mean it, cookies. I love you.

B is for Best Friends

Every story could stand to have a good Best Friend character. They're the spice to the main character's main course. Sure, spaghetti in tomato sauce can taste good with just pasta and tomato sauce, but add in some garlic and salt and BAM. That's what your character's best friend is; they're the BAM.

(Don't sue me, Emeril.)

Just imagine Luke Skywalker without Han Solo. Harry without Ron. Steve without Bucky. They're the balance to the MC. Where Luke is a whiny but obedient nephew who doesn't really take risks, Han's the world-weary traveler who lives by his own rules. Where Harry's the famous kid who has no idea what's going on, Ron's the "just another Weasley" who knows everything about the magic world. They contradict each other and help each other survive through those contradictions. And usually, in my own opinion, the best friends are more fun. The hero has to save the world, the day, or whatever it is that needs saving. The best friend, though, they're not required to be the one with the weight on their shoulders, and as a result, they tend to be more vibrant, quirky characters. They're the comedy relief, the voice of reason, and the hero's motivation in one package.

In The Business of Being Dead, I've got Shelley. Where the MC, Hannah, doesn't have any idea what's going on and tends towards being a mature almost-adult, Shelley's an experienced, knowledgeable, permanent kid-at-heart. Hannah doesn't have time for frivolities. I don't really even know what her hobbies were when she was alive. She didn't have time for them, and she doesn't discuss them. Shelley, though, was a thrill-seeker, habitual storyteller, and is obsessed with glitter. She was the adventurer where Hannah's the homebody. She's the squealing giggles in the quiet, the shine in the darkness, the weirder in the already-weird, and I get the feeling she's going to be a lot of people's favorite character.

So what about you, dear readers? Do you have a best friend for your MC, and if so, who are they and what do they bring to the table?

A is for April

Folks, I've gone mad. And this is not an April Fools anything. Bear with me here.

I decided not to do Camp NaNo this April simply because the month is so insanely busy.

But I decided I'm going to try the annual A to Z blogging challenge. Because I've gone mad. If I can keep up with it, there'll be a new post here every day of the month except for Sundays. So check back in, and if I'm not updating, shame me.

So what does April hold that's got me so busy? Well for one thing, I turn 30. And on a Sunday too, so I'll get my birthday off! But I've also got jury duty. Blegh. That'll be a new experience. I just hope if I have to go and am selected, I don't get held up for longer than a few days. While my day job does pay me for the days I'll be out, I have concert tickets for that next Saturday and if I get sequestered, I shall be severely put upon.

Along with that, there's also my "little sister" coming all the way from Florida to see me for my birthday and a geek-themed craft fair, and maybe even a comic book convention. We've also got one more week of home renovations at least, then a deep clean to take care of the copious amounts of dust our house holds, spring cleaning to do...

It's gonna be a busy month. And I'm going to do twenty-six blog posts.

I must be mad.