Yup. I am currently in the process of overhauling the entire story, cleaning it all up, changing locations so that it’s mostly featured in Canada, and fine tuning plot points.

Partially why I’ve been so quiet. <3

Do plan on re-posting the chapters so that plot holes aren’t there, and working it so that the chapters on the right side appear in order. No idea how they got out of order.

I have good news! I finished chapter six the other night. And last night, I started chapter seven and continued writing on it this morning and into the afternoon. Then, I had to stop. There’s this thing called work that I do? I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it. But, they expect you to show up on time. I don’t even know what that’s about.

So, I will be continuing to work towards the end of the chapter. I give myself till Friday to finish it, after ninety percent of editing and working out the plot so that it runs relatively smoothly.

I plan on doing a chapter every week, and will work towards finishing the book by the end of the year. Let’s see how that goes, shall we?

It’s been over two months since I last posted? What happened to my promise of trying to write every day?

It went into the toilet. I’m so bad at keeping promises to myself. It really is upsetting.

But, the good news is that I’ve been making a lot of personal changes to improve myself. I’m eating more healthier, and less food is going into my mouth. I’m counting calories, even though I feel a bit hypocritical doing that. I used to scoff at the people who would count them and snort at them and think that it was just a big joke and that it never really worked. The first week I started counting, I lost TEN pounds. I’ve been doing it for a month now and I’ve not lost any more weight, but I know I’m losing inches, so that’s awesome too. I’m also walking more, and that’s helping with the muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat.

Taking into account that I’ve made some personality changes as well, and I’ve been sticking to it to help me improve myself in all aspects of life… I think I’m going to try to write again. I haven’t written since April and that is very, very sad.

I’ve been doing crafting. I’ve taken up beading. I’ve taken up using various colouring and painting methods, crayons, and oil pastels. I’m still interested in knitting, but it’s hard when you need your mentor there so she can undo all your mistakes. So, on top of all my creative energy lately, I figure that writing should be given another shot.

Writing is hard work. It can be harder for different people. I know Aaron writes every day during the week, or tries to. I know some of my friends write a few times a week. I know some people who only write during NaNo. And that’s okay.

Me? I am not to sure why I don’t write everyday. I enjoy it, despite it being hard for me. Is it because I have a hard time keeping myself focused, a bit of the ‘ooh.. shiny’ syndrome? Maybe it’s b/c of the fact that I had ADD? Or maybe it’s because I let myself get distracted?

Either way, I haven’t worked on the story for more than a handful of weeks. I feel guilty.

So, I sat down yesterday and finished chapter six. The sense of accomplishment I felt was good. It felt nice. I felt like I was finally getting somewhere. Though, I found chapter six less hard than the previous. Chapter five was seriously near-impossible to finish.

I went to my first NaNo meet this year, as I ended up missing the first one due to my going off to Winnipeg to go see my family for my birthday. It was nice seeing everybody again. I felt a bit awkward, as a lot of them really don’t know me. I’ve also changed since they last saw me. I’ve changed so much, even in the last two months alone! I tried to chat, but my social awkwardness made it difficult. I’ll have to work on that a bit more.

Despite that, I did have fun. I showed Xanateria my first two chapters. She said that she was hooked and that she wanted to read more. Unfortunately for her, I had to pack up and leave. I had a hot date with the snarky and sarcastic Proopdawg and the boys. The look on her face was priceless. Though, I did tell her it was up on my site.

I’m going to make it a point to write for at least one hour every day, from here on it. We’ll see how that goes…

I’m on facebook (who isn’t, really?). There’s a meme going around. For the first five people that sign up, you must create something handmade for them and send it by mail by the end of the year.

Which has got me thinking. It seems that people only do things like this when there’s a meme. I remember as a kid, we’d do stuff for each other all the time, when memes didn’t even exist. We’d do it because we wanted too, and didn’t expect a damn thing back.

In today’s society, it seems like everybody feels pressured to do something in return on someone’s good deed.

Also, when I personally try to do nice stuff for my loved ones, it is seriously irksome to have them refuse to your face. And yet, they can do whatever they please and buy me things. Makes things a bit one-sided. I understand, but still. Stop with the social obligations already.

I have wanted to send a bit of something to my friends for years now, but it seems like I’m too lazy and unmotivated to do it. Then when I actually get motivated to do it, I don’t have the money to send the package.

What’s a girl to do?

As I said before, I would be having guests appear on the blog. Anything and everything that falls under the creative category will be fitting. My dear friend Abner has wrote about Dungeons and Dragons.

Someone I know and respect greatly has asked me to write a little bit about Dungeons & Dragons. While the unnamed person is also a member of my D&D group I won’t inflate my head too much in the belief that my skills as Dungeon Master has somehow lead to the request to write this.

I’ll start with explaining that I play 3.5 Edition and am currently uninterested in moving to 4th Edition. For new players this won’t mean much but I felt it was necessary to say as it makes a difference in understanding my perspective. You see 4th Edition has been simplified and this bothers me a bit. I expect that 4th Edition will most likely bring in more players but it just won’t be the same for me.

While 3rd Edition causes most players to shriek in horror when they see the character sheets, I am a tolerant DM and encourage players to be patient before dismissing the game as too complex and hard to learn. So quickly here are the things that I think cause too many people to avoid my table.

1) Character Sheets. This isn’t Clue folks. While you can call your character Professor Plum if you want to, this game isn’t as simple as swinging the candlestick in the dining room. I know that the character sheet seems confusing and complex but like everything in this game, if you give it time you’ll realize that it’s easier than it looks and it’s well worth it.

2) Octo-die? It’s amazing to new players that this game doesn’t use dice that only contain 6 sides. I know, it’s weird, but like everything else that seems strange about this game, you’ll get use to it.

3) Players Hand Book. I know the rule book seems huge. Trust me, you don’t need all of it. I know it looks as interesting as the novelization of monopoly but this isn’t like any game you’ve played before. Find a good DM to show you what parts you need to know now and then enjoy the time with your friends. Don’t focus on the many chapters contained within your handbook.

4) Where’s Go? How do I collect my $200? This is the biggest obstacle I see amongst potential new players. When describing how I play at a table with pencil and paper I’m always asked how I move the players around and how do I win. When playing this game it’s like those ‘choose your own adventure’ books or it’s what it would be like if you were watching Lord of the Rings and you think, ‘You know if I was Frodo, I’d tell Boromir to sit down and shut up.’ You can! The person on your left is Boromir and you get to be Frodo!

So as I’m looking back I realize I basically wrote a list of why you shouldn’t play D&D. What I’ll have to write next is what’s so great about this game and why it’s well worth your time, energy and money.

It’s true that it is ‘a choose your own adventure’ rather than your typical board playing game. It’s also creative since you make up the story as you go along. It’s great. I really enjoy it. Look out for the next installment Abner Doon will write!

Today’s book review is the one that’s got everybody talking. Whether you love it or hate it as there is no in between, it’s done rather well.

This book is Twilight.

Four books are in the series, and with a quick Google search, there appears to be another book that will be in Edwards view.

I will admit, that I did buy it two years ago and tried to read it. I was bored. I really was bored. I really didn’t like Bella’s characterization at all. It was just a little too over the top for me. But people I knew were swearing up and down that it was the best book ever. One happened to be in my NaNo group, the other was a co-worker. So, I kept reading.

I literally threw the book across the room when I came to the part where Edward Cullen stepped out into the sun to sparkle like a thousand diamonds.

I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book after that for a long, long time.

In fact, it was three days ago that I was determined to finish the damn thing. That, and I really had nothing else better to do as I had called in sick for work (which in itself is its own story O.o). I started reading at the beginning but soon got bored, so I picked up where I left off. And finished it the next day.

It’s a book. It’s not one I would recommend but it was entertaining if you take away all the horrible things that go on in that book. I’ve actually borrowed the second book from my sister, Kolyndia, to read. It entertains me and that’s what books do, right?

So why do I feel as if my soul was sucked out? ;p

And just who the bloody hell is Lauren anyway?

Okay, as I stated before I thought I’d try something new and start reviewing movies, music and whatnot. Tonight’s first movie review is about Ponyo.

Now the creator of Ponyo is one of the most interesting animators out there. He’s done some of my favourites which include Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away. Ponyo is an interesting tale that was inspired by The Little Mermaid.

We first meet Ponyo when she’s swimming around her half-human father’s sub. Now, I fell in love with the father immediately. He’s a bit eccentric, but cares for the ocean and constantly mutters about the ‘disgusting humans’, and is generally a really sweet guy. It also helps that Liam Neeson does the voice acting for his role. Ponyo is seen swimming around with her littler tiny sisters. Her sisters are so cute and make cute ‘oooooyyoooo’ noises.

We find out that Ponyo, along with her sisters, are goldfish.

I won’t give the story away as I really urge people to watch it (that and I detest telling the entire story instead of people being able to enjoy it by watching it). The movie was deliciously cute for me, and I really enjoyed all the interactions each character had. I will also say that I adored the father when the mother appeared. Ponyo was adorable as a goldfish, but even more so when she was in human form.

I definitely recommend this movie to people who collect Disney movies, enjoy anime, and just like a good movie if they’re a child at heart. It really is a child friendly movie, and the animation in the opening credits were something I found very interesting and original.

HAM!!!!

Every piece of a written work tells a story. What that story is to us is entertainment. Whether it be a satire, a romance, a comedy, or even a tragedy. To have a novel that is good there are key elements.

First you need a build up. You need to have a beginning, a starting point where your beautiful little characters can run around and do stuff. You need to keep having stuff happen to them, bad things, good things, whatever things.

You can create a climax by keeping the main players involved. If you’ve crafted your work carefully, it will be exciting and unexpected yet still reasonable. The climax is what you’re characters have been striving for all along.

Then comes the third and final installment which is the denouement. The denouement is what happens after the climax. At this part you should be wrapping up any loose ends you have and tie it all up neatly.

Without these key parts, usually you would not have a proper story.

Also, I think it’s kind of neat that I just learned about denouement today

Also, I haven’t pushed myself lately to work on Push the Limits, which leaves me feeling a bit…. guilty. I know I keep telling myself that I need to do it, and keep telling myself I will do it…

How do you deal with such issues?

I went swimming last night.

It was a big event. I hadn’t been swimming for over three months. I had laser eye surgery and had to wait the appropriate time to go swimming again.

I was a bit nervous upon getting there. What if I splashed too much? What if I was too slow? What if I didn’t remember how to breath correctly? What if’s plagued me and soon I was more anxious about it.

However, once entering the water and I pushed off from the edge of the wall… I was very impressed with how easy it was. For one, I could see where I was going. (Yay for not needing glasses!!!) For another, the strokes that I had worked so hard to improve before the surgery came back. Yes, they were stiff and jerky, and my joints screamed at me while my muscles cramped up. I slowed down. Finding that I was going far to fast, I realized I’d been pushing myself too fast. I wasn’t used to it.

I need to relearn some of the strokes. I needed to concentrate on what my hands and feet were doing, and move them accordingly so I could glide through the water easily then just going hog willy and not really moving but making a lot of waves and maybe punch the cute guy with the really nice eyes and kick the pretty woman while she’s doing her aqua sizing.

After a few laps, I was still a bit rusty. I knew that I would need to keep coming back and practice the strokes in order to pick up again where I had left of several months ago.

In the middle of a wicked lap where I was doing a fine job of side stroking, I realized the same could be applied to writing. I almost swam into the wall, my realization was so profound. I stood up and grinned to myself, salt water dripping into my eyes.

Writing is exercising the mind. If you don’t do it all the time, your mind can’t hold it’s shape. I’m not saying your mind will turn to jelly, and you’ll have jelly for brains. (Okay, maybe I am.) But the similarities are there. When you swim, you build muscle. You body knows what to do. If you don’t go for months at a time and then you try to do a few laps, you’re out of breath, your body hurts, and you just can’t get very far.

It’s the same thing with writing. You need to write everyday to build up your muscle (your brain). After awhile, it’ll come easier to you. You won’t need to work at it as much, and you find yourself getting into the rhythm. It becomes fun, and you end up looking forward to it.

I went swimming last night.

Tonight, I’m going to write.