Liz's Looming Lunacy


An author trying to find her place in the world.

My Photo
Name:
Location: Bayport, New York, United States

Swain's world (The Cosmic Unicorn #1); A Day in the Life (Alternate Hilarities #3); The Lawnmower that Ate Manhattan (NIEKAS, I forget the issue); Spring Cleaning (Sound Waves); Shadow Play (The Parasitorium II: Parasitic Sands, 2007); Crow's Feat (Free Fall (February, 2007) Oh, and Obligatory Holly Lisle Affiliate Link for writing workshops and stuff.

30.10.05

Cybernetic Requiem Again

   NaNo lost all my bookmarks and even my registration so I had ot go and sign upp all over again. *sigh*
   THe computer is also, if not quite dead, then undead. I have na alternate, but it's not online and the wpp on it sucks. It insists on being on the internet before it will work. Bill Gates, why did you have ot create such a quirk=ridden system? *sigh* XP stands for "Extra-Peculiar".

28.10.05

National Novel Writing Angst

     Well, Samhain's around the bend. Hallowe'en (or Halloween, depending on your geographical location) is Monday, and at the witching hour... I don't know if I'll be awake to start to write, but you never know.
     We Have Candy; We Have Candy. We're prepared this year. I hope that we don't run out of candy again before the day is done. I felt so bad last year, having to post that note on the door before nightfall. With luck the two meager (large) bags I managed to buy will be suffucuent. I should have bought a third, though, jsut in case.
     I also managed to get a 26 oz. can of Chock Full O Nuts coffee. With the 13 ounce Maxwell Huose can, perhaps that will see me though November. That, and the very, very large box of powdered milk. My story changed again on me earlier today, so it now looks as if the prequel will also be a trilogy. Why can I not think of a simple story, rather than long and involved ones? I wonder if I should put this aside and work on Swain's World again instead? At least I have that story organized enough, that I know what the first book will be about without having it grow backwards on me (a lot of my story ideas tend to do that, you see). It's finished maturing so at least it will be wasier to begin writing without mutating on me.
     Why can't life be simple? See Spot run. See Spot run to the dragon. See Spot bite the dragon. Does the dragon bite back? The dragon does not bite back. Does the dragon shoot fire? No ,the dragon does not shoot fire. What does the dragon do? The dragon runs away. The dragon is hiding. The dragon hides from Spot. The dragon is scared of Spot. Why is the dragon scared of Spot? Spot bit the dragon.
     Grr... Brain rot. XD
     Alan Rickman, I do hope you're oaky. I don't know if you intentionally lost a spot of weight for the role of Severus Snape this year or not, but you are quite noticeably thinner. We do need you for the movies, you know (not jsut for the Harry Potter ones [I despise changing actors in the middle of a series if it can be avoided] but you're also quite funny. Yes, I've seen Galazy Quest and Dogma [and every time I think of the latter, I want to say "I'm Sorry My Karma Ran Over Your Dogma--tooo used to the button at the cons lol]).
     Well, that's all for this update, my droods. O My Brothers. It's been Horrorshow.

24.10.05

Seven Days and Counting

          Seven days, approximate, until the start of National Novel writing Month.
          Seven more  days until the insanity begins.
          Six more days to try to stock up on Hallowe'en candy.
          I should go offline soon. I managed to write approximately 2.5k yesterday and I want to do the same today.
          I don't want to see GoF in the movie theater. I am pampered by the books, which have richer detail then the theatrical releases, and this movie looks to be the worst offender yet. This is nothing against Alan Rickman, or against  Dan Radcliffe or Rupert Grint or Emma Watson or any other actor in the movies. This is a matter of personal preference. Give me a few years to get used to the idea of Severus Snape not showing off his Dark Mark like he does in the book first, then I might be able to watch it on the telly (the one with the non-exploding ceramic penguin atop it) without flinching.
          Have a pleasant day.
--
LiveJournal: http://tinyurl.com/aa9jh
Liz's Looming Lunacy: http://tinyurl.com/8wh8w
My Yahoo 360 degrees thing: http://tinyurl.com/a6l7l

20.10.05

Ah, yes...11 days and counting

               Or is it twelve days? National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, will begin at midnight, November 1, 2005. I think this is supposed to be year five. I could have sworn that it was older than that, but... I plan to write a fantasy. In fact, it's part of the same story that I wrote last year for National Novel Writing Month, only it's gone five hundred years before that story. I plan to write the genesis of the antagonist. What I had thought would be a back story to the genesis of the antagonist, as it turns out, will be book one of two books concerning the origin of the antagonist.
               The epiphany that I had the other day? I actually wrote a first draft of TLGM in 1083, in outline form. Strange to say that I think the outline was just over 50k, but there's no way to tell for sure because the original outline/manuscript scattered with the winds. (Yes, in other words, I lost it--probably when moving to Long Island from Philadelphia). The story has remained in my unovened little mind and has grown to epic proportions. It just grew a bit more, too. This makes two series that I have in my brain that are driving me insane that I have to light to set things "write".....
               This is my second year of participation in National Novel Writing Month. I won last year (one of many winners), scraping by with 50,106 words approximate. Second NaNo, second computer death. Growl, snarl, grr... At least the system had the courtesy to expire before NaNo, so I actually had a bit of time to come up with an alternative before the Month of Madness actually begins.
               Ta for now! I need to get writing (again). I still have to do a pre-story to the novel that was supposed to be a pre-story to the novel that was supposed to be a pre-story to last year's NaNoWriMo task.

16.10.05

Thirty Reasons for Thirty Days: Why you [yes, you!] should participate in National Novel Writing Month, Version 1.2005 By sushimustwrite

[la liste]

Thirty Reasons for Thirty Days: Why you [yes, you!] should participate in National Novel Writing Month, Version 1.2005 By sushimustwrite

1. Completing a novel (or for some, even starting a novel) is one more thing to cross off the life goals list.

2. Nanowrimo offers camaraderie with fellow novelists via the forums.

3. It's another excuse to sit in front of the computer (or notebook) and gulp mass quantities of caffeine.

4. Nanowrimo offers the realization that, contrary to popular belief, you are not the busiest person in the world, even with Nanowrimo.

5. If you've never written a paper in one night (or two, or three) before, you eventually will. Nanowrimo is good practice.

6. If you're still in school, you can procrastinate writing by doing homework. The opposite procrastination technique works equally well. If you're not in school, you can procrastinate in this way by doing something that you should actually be doing, such as laundry or taking out the trash.

7. You can buy Nanowrimo t-shirts to declare your insanity to the world.

8. If you break 50,000 words before 30 November and get it verified, you get a super-cool certificate and winner's icon.

9. Even if you don't finish, you can still brag by saying, "I'm writing a novel this month. What are you doing?"

10. Haven't you ever wanted to answer "How are you?" with a number? Now you can.

11. Most people [cough...teachers] say, "Write about this topic." With Nanowrimo, any imaginable topic can be your novel, even butt-kicking pirates from Jupiter. [Hey, there's an idea...]

12. It's a chance to let your inner critic loose for thirty days. Let a typo become a part of your novel. Invent swear words for your characters to use. Watch what comes out when you don't have an inner critic to stop you.

13. It costs only time, sanity, and social life.

14. How long does cyanide take to kill someone? What kind of knives did the Greeks use? Get the answers from fellow Wrimos.

15. The number one reason that people don't pass 50,000 words is because [surprise!] they don't begin. If you write just one measly word, you're already ahead.

16. Thousands of people around the world--different everything--participate. They share a love of writing...and their ideas with you.

17. Just because your character is stuck doesn't mean that you have to be. Use a deus ex machina or a snide reference to whatever you want. Kill your main character if you want to. Just get your novel out of that block!

18. Your participation will mock those authors who take a lot more time writing novels. Those novels are typically much better novels, but it really is possible to write a draft in a month.

19. Allow others around you to question your sanity [assuming they don't already question it, that is.]

20. You can become a hermit for thirty days...or at least while you're writing. This excuse will work only for a month at a time, though.

21. You can threaten someone with, "If you don't [annoying action], I'll write you into my novel and kill you there!"

22. Nanowrimo helps you to realize the value of sleep.

23. Writing a novel is an excuse not to go out with friends or to that annoying event that you just can't stand going to.

24. The adrenaline rush that comes along when you've just written 1500 words in an hour is wonderful. Nanowrimo should be a drug.

25. Nanowrimo gives you an opportunity to improve your typing or scribbling skills without those boring lessons.

26. Even though you're procrastinating on something, you're also learning the art of time management.

27. There's a story in your head that must come to life. If it doesn't, those characters will hate you forever.

28. After writing a book in a month, nothing will intimidate you.

29. It's fun!

30. It really is possible.

Are you convinced yet? Good. Go to www.nanowrimo.org and sign up today. Actual novel-writing begins 1 November 2005, local time. Good luck!

[/la liste]

3.10.05

Fwd: Keep Her Going



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Anne Ensley
Date: Oct 3, 2005 7:48 AM
Subject: Keep Her Going
To: Starr Saffron Fyre

 

       
 
 
KEEP HER  GOING

This   woman  is  walking the World for   Breast  Cancer .  Please pass  her on so that she can reach her destination. Say a prayer for  all  those who  are affected by this terrible disease. She's walking around the world -  via e-mail!! Pass it on so she can get there



2.10.05

Severus Snape Revealed?

     If I enter the realm of speculation... All the Wizarding families (except, apparently, the Gaunts) appear to be interrelated. I think that the argument might have been the same as Vernon was using, that he would not pay for Severus (as Vernon argued against Harry) to go to a school to learn parlour tricks, or something to that effect. I think that the Malfoys are cousin to Eileen, and that she approached them for help. Severus might have spent a bit of time with them when he was younger (and of course his father would to have approved) and that Lucius taught Severus much of what he had learned of the Dark arts.
     I also think that the restriction against underage wizardry must be a relatively recent thing/ Petunia's comments to Harry about coming home with frogspawn in her pocket and turning teacups into mice--the latter would have had her thrown out from school, had the restriction been in place. Now, why do you think they enacted that restriction? Is it because many of Lord Voldemort's supporters were taught the Dark Arts by him from a very early (pre-Hogwarts) age?

Playwitch Magazine

Warning: you need to be 18 years or older (in other words, a legal adult) to access this site. (I want to be sure that I do not misplace the link again).

1.10.05

Your Sexy Halloween Costume Is
Bellatrix Lestrange