When I was younger, I never understood why people would make New Year resolutions. It just didn't make sense to me. But for the past few years I've started to think of it more as a challenge than a life-changing plan. Last year's resolution was to "be as social as I was in 2009 but read as many books as I did in 2008". I accomplished the social part, but failed on the book part. This year I want to give myself a set of challenges instead of just one resolution. What are my challenges? I'll get to that in a sec.
This year's NaNo was my most successful yet: I had a good novel that didn't stall out and wasn't too long (it was around 51k words), and I love my characters and the setting. I could see myself writing another book that takes place in that world. The only downside to this year's NaNo was that I really miss it now. So when I found out about WriYe, a writing challenge where you set your own word goal and work toward it over the year, I got excited. I've discovered I can only work with a deadline (otherwise I have to wait for that very flighty thing called "inspiration"), so this is a great chance to not only write my originally-planned-NaNo about a collective mind, but also finish NaNos 2008 and 2009, AND maybe even work on one of the many failed novels in my folders. So many options! I think my goal will be 200k words, but that's probably my excitement speaking for me. We shall see.
So WriYe (which, by the way, has to be the most awkward name ever. How do you pronounce it? "Rye-Yee"? "Rye-Yeh"?) is challenge number one for 2011. My other challenge is to do another "blog every day" week, to get back into the habit of blogging. I've recently started knitting, so expect more craft-related posts.
Challenge number three: read lots. I haven't read enough in 2010.
I think that's it for now. Since I've posted my challenges here, I'm less likely to ignore them now. So...I'll say bye now. I'll try not to disappear, but if I don't post anything else this month (which, let's admit it, is quite likely), see you in 2011!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Crazy-fast-novelling wisdom
Things I've learned from previous and current NaNovels:
1. Light is better than dramatic when you want to write fast.
2. Drama is good for word count, but don't depend on it too often.
3. Good Nano novel does not = good real novel. Don't fight your inner editor, but work with him/her.
4. Good real novel does not = good Nano novel. Waiting is the worst thing that can happen in your NaNovel.
5. Condense, don't stretch. This one is very me-specific, as I have a tendency to describe all the wandering around between exciting things happening, instead of writing "three days later". Does that make a nice, short, 50k novel? Nope.
6. Don't be afraid to do something fun even when you're writing a serious novel. Example: this year I'm writing an apocalyptic novel about miner/spelunker/treasure-hunter people, and about how the main character tries to stop a revolution. I switched perspectives to someone on the surface a few days before the craziness starts, and somehow having my character running around her boarding school trying to sneak after some teenagers going on a road trip is just as fun as end-of-the-world stuff. And I still have to use the line "It's the llama apocalypse! I knew it!" That should be fun.
7. If you have a nicely planned-out but light novel that you're losing interest in, and suddenly come up with a good idea to rewrite your Boulderdash fan-fiction from when you were ten but set it on a colony planet and include an apocalypse, go ahead.
Don't worry, story-about-a-forming-collective-mind, I will write you too after November.
That's all I can think of for now. I think the best thing about Nano for me is that it keeps me writing, and I find out a LOT about how I work under pressure. Since I might become an author, this is useful. 2010 will be my third year, and hopefully my most successful! I will finish Tunnel's End around 50k! I WILL!
1. Light is better than dramatic when you want to write fast.
2. Drama is good for word count, but don't depend on it too often.
3. Good Nano novel does not = good real novel. Don't fight your inner editor, but work with him/her.
4. Good real novel does not = good Nano novel. Waiting is the worst thing that can happen in your NaNovel.
5. Condense, don't stretch. This one is very me-specific, as I have a tendency to describe all the wandering around between exciting things happening, instead of writing "three days later". Does that make a nice, short, 50k novel? Nope.
6. Don't be afraid to do something fun even when you're writing a serious novel. Example: this year I'm writing an apocalyptic novel about miner/spelunker/treasure-hunter people, and about how the main character tries to stop a revolution. I switched perspectives to someone on the surface a few days before the craziness starts, and somehow having my character running around her boarding school trying to sneak after some teenagers going on a road trip is just as fun as end-of-the-world stuff. And I still have to use the line "It's the llama apocalypse! I knew it!" That should be fun.
7. If you have a nicely planned-out but light novel that you're losing interest in, and suddenly come up with a good idea to rewrite your Boulderdash fan-fiction from when you were ten but set it on a colony planet and include an apocalypse, go ahead.
Don't worry, story-about-a-forming-collective-mind, I will write you too after November.
That's all I can think of for now. I think the best thing about Nano for me is that it keeps me writing, and I find out a LOT about how I work under pressure. Since I might become an author, this is useful. 2010 will be my third year, and hopefully my most successful! I will finish Tunnel's End around 50k! I WILL!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Different knotting
I got a book on macrame recently, and it's given me the opportunity for one of my favorite things: comparing!
It's funny: friendship bracelets are basically a branch of macrame (a rebellious branch, but still), but the focus is pretty different. For one thing, in macrame the spaces between the knots are as important as the knots themselves (negative and positive space, you might call it). Also, each individual knot is key, while in FBs you almost want the knots to fade into the background. In FBs, pattern and color are key. You rarely see bright color in macrame. Maybe that's why I like FBs better.
One thing I noticed, though: in my aforementioned book, the author doesn't really give you any patterns. There are diagrams for the knots and suggestions on what to do with them, but the actual design is up to you. Now, I don't know enough about macrame to guess whether this is the general outlook, but I kind of like the idea of not being scared to experiment. I noticed a lot of knew FB knotters on forums and such are very nervous to try things: "I can't read patterns...I don't know what to do first", "How do you arrange the strings?", "How is this made?" ...and I can say this because I still am pretty hesitant to experiment. I think I've gotten more willing lately, though, and the macrame book helped. And this sounds really cheesy, but you could apply that to life in general. See? I made this post relevant to the rest of the world.
It's funny: friendship bracelets are basically a branch of macrame (a rebellious branch, but still), but the focus is pretty different. For one thing, in macrame the spaces between the knots are as important as the knots themselves (negative and positive space, you might call it). Also, each individual knot is key, while in FBs you almost want the knots to fade into the background. In FBs, pattern and color are key. You rarely see bright color in macrame. Maybe that's why I like FBs better.
One thing I noticed, though: in my aforementioned book, the author doesn't really give you any patterns. There are diagrams for the knots and suggestions on what to do with them, but the actual design is up to you. Now, I don't know enough about macrame to guess whether this is the general outlook, but I kind of like the idea of not being scared to experiment. I noticed a lot of knew FB knotters on forums and such are very nervous to try things: "I can't read patterns...I don't know what to do first", "How do you arrange the strings?", "How is this made?" ...and I can say this because I still am pretty hesitant to experiment. I think I've gotten more willing lately, though, and the macrame book helped. And this sounds really cheesy, but you could apply that to life in general. See? I made this post relevant to the rest of the world.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Nano 2009: there is hope!
Two years ago, after NaNoWriMo (we're talking about 2008 here), I had reached the word count goal in my novel "Two", but I hadn't actually finished the darn thing. I promised myself that I would soon, as well as edit it. "December," I told myself. "Well, maybe January...or February..." It's two years later, and I still haven't finished it.
So last Nano I told myself that I would _definitely_ finish "Jigsaw Cloud", and I would not procrastinate.
Then my Nano took a turn for the worst.
Long story short, while I did reach the word count goal (according to my laptop. My desk top's word count says differently), I was not happy with my novel at all and declared it, to use the scientific term, "epic fail".
Fast forward a couple of months. I was starting to think about Jigsaw again. And I was starting to realize something: I wanted to edit it. While "Two" was a fun Nano novel, it didn't have much potential as a "real" novel. However, with Jigsaw I had had a great idea, and I could think of a lot of interesting ways it could go when I actually put time into it. Sooo...I started editing it a couple of days ago! I started by removing the really bad parts, and now I've rewritten some scenes. Hopefully when I'm done I'll move onto actually continuing the story, and eventually finishing it.
I wanted to post excerpts with comparisons, but this post has turned out longer than I planned. So instead I'll just leave you with "It's not an epic fail! WOOHOO!" and do the comparisons later.
Wish me luck!
So last Nano I told myself that I would _definitely_ finish "Jigsaw Cloud", and I would not procrastinate.
Then my Nano took a turn for the worst.
Long story short, while I did reach the word count goal (according to my laptop. My desk top's word count says differently), I was not happy with my novel at all and declared it, to use the scientific term, "epic fail".
Fast forward a couple of months. I was starting to think about Jigsaw again. And I was starting to realize something: I wanted to edit it. While "Two" was a fun Nano novel, it didn't have much potential as a "real" novel. However, with Jigsaw I had had a great idea, and I could think of a lot of interesting ways it could go when I actually put time into it. Sooo...I started editing it a couple of days ago! I started by removing the really bad parts, and now I've rewritten some scenes. Hopefully when I'm done I'll move onto actually continuing the story, and eventually finishing it.
I wanted to post excerpts with comparisons, but this post has turned out longer than I planned. So instead I'll just leave you with "It's not an epic fail! WOOHOO!" and do the comparisons later.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
2010 updates
Hey everyone! I'm really sorry there haven't been updates in a long time - I was planning on writing a post summarizing my latest NaNoWriMo experience, but I had to force myself and ended up not posting anything at all. Whoops.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm not going to vanish like I did in 2006, and I'll continue making posts soon. For now, have some bracelet photos:
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm not going to vanish like I did in 2006, and I'll continue making posts soon. For now, have some bracelet photos:
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Week three fixes everything
Last week I was stuck in my Nano novel. I felt like it wasn't going anywhere: I still had to wait through a few days (in my book) before my main character started actually doing stuff, I didn't know what do in the meantime, and in the long run I wasn't sure how the story was going to continue. I got my character stuck in an attic and had no clue what to do with that afterward. I resorted to writing complaints in my document to keep up the word count*.
But then...I got my character out of the attic (non-too-smoothly, but it's Nano so what do you expect?), went to a write-in, got through a few dream sequences, and finally revealed The Big Revelation (which is only a revelation to the readers, not the characters). I switched perspectives, and when I came back to Davis I was no longer annoyed with him. He has a lot to go through, poor guy. I like torturing him.
So now...it's going much better. I think it's going to turn out longer than 50,000 words, but that's okay...I'll work on it after November. It was supposed to be slightly post-apocalyptic, and I'm thinking of making it a post-apocalyptic-apocalypse. We'll see how that goes, but I just wanted to post this to say that I'm doing way better, and I'm more determined than ever to reach 50k! What's Nano without a little drama? It makes it more fun (I think 2009 is more fun than 2008 just because of the drama).
So...thanks for reading. Wish me luck!
*Although I would like to add that I was never actually behind in the word goal...I just like complaining.
But then...I got my character out of the attic (non-too-smoothly, but it's Nano so what do you expect?), went to a write-in, got through a few dream sequences, and finally revealed The Big Revelation (which is only a revelation to the readers, not the characters). I switched perspectives, and when I came back to Davis I was no longer annoyed with him. He has a lot to go through, poor guy. I like torturing him.
So now...it's going much better. I think it's going to turn out longer than 50,000 words, but that's okay...I'll work on it after November. It was supposed to be slightly post-apocalyptic, and I'm thinking of making it a post-apocalyptic-apocalypse. We'll see how that goes, but I just wanted to post this to say that I'm doing way better, and I'm more determined than ever to reach 50k! What's Nano without a little drama? It makes it more fun (I think 2009 is more fun than 2008 just because of the drama).
So...thanks for reading. Wish me luck!
*Although I would like to add that I was never actually behind in the word goal...I just like complaining.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I'm a fortune teller (Nanowrimo from a week 2 perspective)
My novel this year is totally different from last year's in structure. Last year's novel ("Two"...yes, that's its name) was basically a series of events that were related to each other, that eventually formed a cohesive whole (sort of. I haven't actually finished it yet). It was fun because I liked my characters and if it was getting boring, hey, I could just add another event.
This year's novel ("Jigsaw Cloud") is completely different. One of my characters (Mira) goes on an adventure, but I'm actually writing about her younger brother (Davis), who stays behind but ends up going on an adventure of his own. It sounds kind of cheesy, and the Mira-going-on-adventure thing is supposed to be a little that way, but after she leaves for her adventure Davis is supposed to realize something important and the adventure is supposed to really begin.
I say "supposed" because I'm totally stuck leading up to that.
See, Davis is going to have several strange dreams, the last of which will bring on the "realization". I can't find a way to fill in the rest of the time. I got him arrested (sort of), and then trapped in an attic (which is related to the former), which was fun at the time, but now it's gotten me even more stuck.
Basically, I really need to rethink my options.
Instead of working on the story, I have one "letters between the main character and the author" segment, and one essay that basically explains what I've talked about here. It's pretty funny, actually.
But I want to work on the story. And the structure I've invented is not a Nano-speed structure, it's a work-on-it-for-half-a-year structure.
So, basically: waaahhh, Nano is too hard this year.
Aren't I just the amazing fortune-teller?
P.S. I might post my "letters" segment later on my blog, because it's kind of funny and sad at the same time.
This year's novel ("Jigsaw Cloud") is completely different. One of my characters (Mira) goes on an adventure, but I'm actually writing about her younger brother (Davis), who stays behind but ends up going on an adventure of his own. It sounds kind of cheesy, and the Mira-going-on-adventure thing is supposed to be a little that way, but after she leaves for her adventure Davis is supposed to realize something important and the adventure is supposed to really begin.
I say "supposed" because I'm totally stuck leading up to that.
See, Davis is going to have several strange dreams, the last of which will bring on the "realization". I can't find a way to fill in the rest of the time. I got him arrested (sort of), and then trapped in an attic (which is related to the former), which was fun at the time, but now it's gotten me even more stuck.
Basically, I really need to rethink my options.
Instead of working on the story, I have one "letters between the main character and the author" segment, and one essay that basically explains what I've talked about here. It's pretty funny, actually.
But I want to work on the story. And the structure I've invented is not a Nano-speed structure, it's a work-on-it-for-half-a-year structure.
So, basically: waaahhh, Nano is too hard this year.
Aren't I just the amazing fortune-teller?
P.S. I might post my "letters" segment later on my blog, because it's kind of funny and sad at the same time.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
November approaches...
It's almost November, and you know what that means! No? It means NaNoWriMo is coming up very soon! And as you can tell I'm super excited about it.
For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a challenge to aspiring writers (and experienced ones too, of course) to throw caution (and perfection) to the wind and write a novel of 50,000 words or more by the end of November. That sounds hard, but it's actually a good amount: it's doable even if you're busy, but it's not so easy you end up procrastinating because "Oh, I can work on it at any time" (Like I did with Script Frenzy). Plus it's a lot of fun. I think I might try for 60k words this year.
This is my second year doing Nano. Last year I wrote a light SF-ish story about a girl and some...strange occurrences in her family. It turned out really well...I had a lot of fun with it (mostly because of the characters, I think), and I reached the word goal. I have a cool idea for this year's novel, and I hope it'll be as fun as last year's (Well, I guess if it isn't I can just make a big plot twist and change the story completely. Heh heh).
So good luck and have fun to all the participants! It's gonna be fun.
(I can just imagine my next post being "Waaaahhh, I hate Nano...it's so hard this year..." ;) )
For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a challenge to aspiring writers (and experienced ones too, of course) to throw caution (and perfection) to the wind and write a novel of 50,000 words or more by the end of November. That sounds hard, but it's actually a good amount: it's doable even if you're busy, but it's not so easy you end up procrastinating because "Oh, I can work on it at any time" (Like I did with Script Frenzy). Plus it's a lot of fun. I think I might try for 60k words this year.
This is my second year doing Nano. Last year I wrote a light SF-ish story about a girl and some...strange occurrences in her family. It turned out really well...I had a lot of fun with it (mostly because of the characters, I think), and I reached the word goal. I have a cool idea for this year's novel, and I hope it'll be as fun as last year's (Well, I guess if it isn't I can just make a big plot twist and change the story completely. Heh heh).
So good luck and have fun to all the participants! It's gonna be fun.
(I can just imagine my next post being "Waaaahhh, I hate Nano...it's so hard this year..." ;) )
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
100 posts and a first sentence
Two things today.
One, I've reached 100 posts! Thanks so much to everyone for reading, and for sticking with me while I try to figure out this whole blogging thing. Here's hoping I reach 100 more! :)
Two, as you know I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I have no ideas what my novel (or "NaNovel"...just made that up) will be about. And while some people have outlines, or character ideas, or just vague plots, I have a first sentence: "It happened the day I got sick. Figures." It just popped into my head today. Now...I just have to figure out who's talking, what happened, and how I can turn that into a novel. By November. Wish me luck!
One, I've reached 100 posts! Thanks so much to everyone for reading, and for sticking with me while I try to figure out this whole blogging thing. Here's hoping I reach 100 more! :)
Two, as you know I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. I have no ideas what my novel (or "NaNovel"...just made that up) will be about. And while some people have outlines, or character ideas, or just vague plots, I have a first sentence: "It happened the day I got sick. Figures." It just popped into my head today. Now...I just have to figure out who's talking, what happened, and how I can turn that into a novel. By November. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Perspective
What's your favorite perspective in books?
There's 3rd-person perspective ("he said", "she thought"). Some books focus on a large amount of characters and don't really talk much about their thoughts, which makes me feel disconnected. The more specialized "limited 3rd-person", where the narrator only focuses on a few characters (or just one) but goes deeper, are more my thing.
There's 1st-person perspective ("I went"), which can be very interesting if the main character feels real. My mom said once that she generally didn't like 1st person as much as 3rd, maybe because it feels too intimate?
And there's the rarest one, 2nd-person perspective ("you said"...or usually, "you say", since 2nd-person is almost always in the present tense). I don't care for it much in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" kids books, because they try to make the main character as neutral as possible so you can implant your own thoughts into the book. There are a couple of short stories (and books too?) out there, though, that are in 2nd-person. I only read one (something by Ray Bradbury), but it's different because the main character isn't actually you, but by reading it you sort of pretend to be him. And I love this kind of "ultimate-being-in-someone's-shoes"/roleplay. When I write my own "Choose your own..." games (I actually call them "Pick Your Own Path Adventures"...or, PYOPAs) I try to create a character for the reader to become. This character is obviously not as detailed as 1st or 3rd person perspective (maybe it can be, though...I should read more books like that), but it's vague enough that you can put a bit of yourself in it.
Next time: present tense, past tense, or future tense? Heh heh.
There's 3rd-person perspective ("he said", "she thought"). Some books focus on a large amount of characters and don't really talk much about their thoughts, which makes me feel disconnected. The more specialized "limited 3rd-person", where the narrator only focuses on a few characters (or just one) but goes deeper, are more my thing.
There's 1st-person perspective ("I went"), which can be very interesting if the main character feels real. My mom said once that she generally didn't like 1st person as much as 3rd, maybe because it feels too intimate?
And there's the rarest one, 2nd-person perspective ("you said"...or usually, "you say", since 2nd-person is almost always in the present tense). I don't care for it much in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" kids books, because they try to make the main character as neutral as possible so you can implant your own thoughts into the book. There are a couple of short stories (and books too?) out there, though, that are in 2nd-person. I only read one (something by Ray Bradbury), but it's different because the main character isn't actually you, but by reading it you sort of pretend to be him. And I love this kind of "ultimate-being-in-someone's-shoes"/roleplay. When I write my own "Choose your own..." games (I actually call them "Pick Your Own Path Adventures"...or, PYOPAs) I try to create a character for the reader to become. This character is obviously not as detailed as 1st or 3rd person perspective (maybe it can be, though...I should read more books like that), but it's vague enough that you can put a bit of yourself in it.
Next time: present tense, past tense, or future tense? Heh heh.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Words
Do you have any favorite words? I'm not really a word-collector, but there are some that I think have an awesome sound: spontaneity, cacophony, crystalline.
I'm not sure why I like them...they just sound cool. Too hard to spell, though!
How about you?
I'm not sure why I like them...they just sound cool. Too hard to spell, though!
How about you?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Photos from vacation
Yeah, I know. I'm a procrastinator. Moving on...
So, our vacation was totally awesome. We went to the Gulf Islands, which are these little islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland. A picture is worth a thousand words, apparently, so here are some photos from our trip:
So, our vacation was totally awesome. We went to the Gulf Islands, which are these little islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland. A picture is worth a thousand words, apparently, so here are some photos from our trip:
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Vacation interlude
Hey everyone! I'm going on vacation to BC tomorrow, to one of the Gulf Islands. If we're in an internet cafe and I'm not lazy I'll make a post, otherwise see you in about a week! I'll make sure to post some photos when I get back.
*goes to pack*
*goes to pack*
Saturday, August 15, 2009
New one
I made this slightly psychedelic freestyle bracelet yesterday. It was originally going to just be chevrons, but I decided to make it more exciting. What do you think...colorful enough? ;)
Monday, August 10, 2009
100 words
I was looking at this list of "150 things to do when you're bored" and one of the things was, "write a story in 100 words". Sooo...I tried it. This micro-story is based on a plotline that was floating around in my head. This is the most minimalistic version of what I was imagining, and I might expand it (maybe for NaNoWriMo?), but I thought I'd post it here first.
If you could dream about anything you want, every night, what would you pick? My mom said we didn’t always have this choice, and that we shouldn’t really have that choice. I wonder why?
Last night I decided to have a dream about being a goldfish. I couldn’t see past my bowl: just these weird blurs moving around. I wonder if that’s how my goldfish sees.
Books you read in your dreams are the most amazing books ever. Shame you can’t remember them.
I think I know what Mom meant last year. With perfect dreams, we forget to live real life.
...And that's it. Feel free to interpret, or whatever. Leave a comment! Maybe I'll post more about this story if I get feedback.
If you could dream about anything you want, every night, what would you pick? My mom said we didn’t always have this choice, and that we shouldn’t really have that choice. I wonder why?
Last night I decided to have a dream about being a goldfish. I couldn’t see past my bowl: just these weird blurs moving around. I wonder if that’s how my goldfish sees.
Books you read in your dreams are the most amazing books ever. Shame you can’t remember them.
I think I know what Mom meant last year. With perfect dreams, we forget to live real life.
...And that's it. Feel free to interpret, or whatever. Leave a comment! Maybe I'll post more about this story if I get feedback.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
To vlog or not to vlog...
I've been thinking of getting a Youtube account lately, and starting a vlog (or maybe even a collaborative vlog with several people. Anyone interested?). For the uninitiated, a vlog is the same as a blog, but in video form. Anyway, I've been a bit unsure about it because A) I'm shy to have my face on the internet (read: paranoid), B)I'm lazy to do video editing and the like, and C) I know it'll make me blog less. Ignoring A and B, let's focus on C.
Would I blog less? I'm not sure what's more work: editing and posting a video or typing an entry. That'll be an important factor for me. But what about the content?
There's actually a difference between vlogging and blogging. For one thing, rambling is usually a no-no on a vlog, but it's that kind of thought process that makes for an interesting blog entry. So I guess I'd talk about serious rambly things on Every Colour, and more regular life stuff on my vlog? I dunno.
So...would you guys think? Should I start a vlog? Would you watch it?
Would I blog less? I'm not sure what's more work: editing and posting a video or typing an entry. That'll be an important factor for me. But what about the content?
There's actually a difference between vlogging and blogging. For one thing, rambling is usually a no-no on a vlog, but it's that kind of thought process that makes for an interesting blog entry. So I guess I'd talk about serious rambly things on Every Colour, and more regular life stuff on my vlog? I dunno.
So...would you guys think? Should I start a vlog? Would you watch it?
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
"Um...bless you?"
So, yesterday I was just sitting at this desk in the library and reading, when this girl sits down at the desk behind me. She was only a foot or two away, but the way the desks are turned we were facing opposite directions, I just ignored her.
I had gotten to an interesting part, when the girl sneezed really loudly.
And then came the mental conflict.
Oh crap...what do I do now? Do I say "bless you"? I dunno...I would get embarrassed if someone did that, but some people are annoyed if you don't say anything. Ack, now the moment's passing...I shouldn't say anything. But she's right behind me! Oh well, it's way too late to say it now. I hope she didn't think find that awkward...what if she thinks I'm weird for ignoring the sneeze?
So three seconds passed, and I'm just getting over it, when...she sneezes again. And it started all over:
Ohgod, not again! I can't say anything now since I didn't say bless you the first time...aghhh...
And the moment passed. Again. As you can see, I'm kind of oversensitive to social situations (which makes me good at interacting with people, but can lead to stuff like this). How about you? Do you ever get similar problems? Would you rather someone ignored you if you sneezed, or if they acknowledged it somehow?
I had gotten to an interesting part, when the girl sneezed really loudly.
And then came the mental conflict.
Oh crap...what do I do now? Do I say "bless you"? I dunno...I would get embarrassed if someone did that, but some people are annoyed if you don't say anything. Ack, now the moment's passing...I shouldn't say anything. But she's right behind me! Oh well, it's way too late to say it now. I hope she didn't think find that awkward...what if she thinks I'm weird for ignoring the sneeze?
So three seconds passed, and I'm just getting over it, when...she sneezes again. And it started all over:
Ohgod, not again! I can't say anything now since I didn't say bless you the first time...aghhh...
And the moment passed. Again. As you can see, I'm kind of oversensitive to social situations (which makes me good at interacting with people, but can lead to stuff like this). How about you? Do you ever get similar problems? Would you rather someone ignored you if you sneezed, or if they acknowledged it somehow?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Memory lane (again)
I've officially beaten my record for most posts in a year! The previous record was 34, in 2006. 2006 was my the last year of my first blogging phase, and since it's been a while, I decided to go take a look at what Every Colour was like back then.
2006 was a weird combination of enthusiasm and discouragement (is that even a word? It doesn't feel like one today). On one hand, I was getting better at writing thoughtful things (mostly about the Myst series*). On the other hand, you could tell the novelty of having a blog was wearing off fast (there were lots of posts that started/ended, "I know, I know, I haven't written much. Must write more!"). 2006 was also when I started making lots of lists...like the fan-made Ages I loved to find, and internet "adoptables". What can I say? I like lists.
I think my main problem was (and still is) thinking of something to say. You don't really know what will make a good post and what won't. Plus, since I didn't have any commenters back then, I didn't feel encouraged to write anything because I felt like it didn't matter (like talking to an empty room). Plusx2, I ran out of ideas after my fan Age list was done. However, near the end of the year you can see the blog picking up a bit...not much, but it was the start of hope. (Ironically, the last post before my second blogging phase ended with "must post more! Gah!").
And here we are, three years later. I'd say I've gotten better. I ramble more, but that's what blogging is about, isn't it? ;)
*Speaking of which, I'm planning to write a post about that soon. [Narrator voice] Watch this space.
2006 was a weird combination of enthusiasm and discouragement (is that even a word? It doesn't feel like one today). On one hand, I was getting better at writing thoughtful things (mostly about the Myst series*). On the other hand, you could tell the novelty of having a blog was wearing off fast (there were lots of posts that started/ended, "I know, I know, I haven't written much. Must write more!"). 2006 was also when I started making lots of lists...like the fan-made Ages I loved to find, and internet "adoptables". What can I say? I like lists.
I think my main problem was (and still is) thinking of something to say. You don't really know what will make a good post and what won't. Plus, since I didn't have any commenters back then, I didn't feel encouraged to write anything because I felt like it didn't matter (like talking to an empty room). Plusx2, I ran out of ideas after my fan Age list was done. However, near the end of the year you can see the blog picking up a bit...not much, but it was the start of hope. (Ironically, the last post before my second blogging phase ended with "must post more! Gah!").
And here we are, three years later. I'd say I've gotten better. I ramble more, but that's what blogging is about, isn't it? ;)
*Speaking of which, I'm planning to write a post about that soon. [Narrator voice] Watch this space.
Background-y goodness
I finally figured out how to change my background! Yay! So...what do you think of the new one? It's similar to the old background, and it's not hard to read anymore. I'm keeping it for now...I might change it again if I find something better.
Longer post coming up soon.
Longer post coming up soon.
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