#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/30

Posted on 2013/10/30 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

I got an email last night that allowed me to switch from the novella imprint to the suspense imprint for November’s Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. I appreciate how the editor gave me the option of switching imprints so I wouldn’t have to compromise the integrity of the story I want to write. I’m excited. 🙂

I’m also doubling up by entering this story for NaNoWriMo. The added accountability and online progress chart (that I’d be forced to enter each day before the cut-off) will help make November super productive.

READING:

Much of the same. My WIPs, writing reference, critiques, and beta reads. My TBR list is taking a back seat for the next few weeks, but that’s okay. It’s pretty much non stop.

NETWORKING:

Hopefully, I’ll be able to attend the in-person NaNo Write-Ins, weather and sniffles permitting. I hate drastic weather changes. I’ve got the online sprint partners via Twitter‘s #1k1hr. There’s also the online community at SavvyAuthors and the NaNo forums among many others. The world will be busy this November reaching those word counts.

LEARNING:

I’m tucking back into my treasure trove of already downloaded and purchased webinars to see what’s applicable for my WIP for November. That and my current fix of languages and genealogy should keep me busy.

=8=

It’s one thing to say that November is only two days away. But it’s crazy to think that November is already here. What are your big writing plans for November?

Week in Review – 2013/10/21 – 2013/10/27

Posted on 2013/10/27 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

So, I did a beat sheet for my upcoming WIP in this year’s Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. As I wrote in the forums, it seemed like I wrote out palpitations more than beats considering how much detail I put in. I’m not sure how the editors will view it considering my fellow writers wrote maybe a handful of lines for each beat. I think might turned into more of a synopsis, which is also okay because I need to practice doing those, as well.

On the upside of the brainstorms? Found a twist that even I didn’t see coming. My original baddie is no longer the baddie and I’m excited to get writing those scenes already. November’s just around the corner and yet my fingers are itching to get going.

READING:

Aside from the aforementioned reference and workshop lectures, I’ll definitely be reading my work for the next several weeks. However, as tempting as it might be, I’ll keep from editing as I write. That’s a big no-no.

NETWORKING:

The physical NaNo Write-Ins in the coming weeks will hopefully keep me motivated and should be good fun. The online teams for Entangled Smackdown will also have continuous support. I’m sure to look for online sprint partners via Twitter‘s #1k1hr. Should be fun.

LEARNING:

I’m eyeballs deep in languages and genealogy when not working on my WIPs. I’m thinking of contacting my grandmother–91 years young–whom I met up with in Toronto. We’d caught up on recent events in our respective lives, but I’d like to go back in time with her in hopes of learning more about my heritage. Yes, I’m still brimming with nostalgia. My love for genealogy is not going away any time soon.

How goes the last bit of October for you?

FRIDAY FORAGE – 2013/10/25

Posted on 2013/10/25 by Tonette dela Luna

5 ITEMS ON MY BUCKET LIST

( via sacchinpink )

One of the original purposes of this blog was for me to share my writing goals. Well, nostalgia’s hit me in a big way these past few weeks and I took a step back to think about those really big goals in life I want to accomplish. My bucket list is quite extensive, but here are five very important goals that stand out the most.

1) Have a happy and healthy family. I can hear the ticking of the ole’ biological clock. I still find it hard to grasp that my contemporaries, some whom I thought would never domesticate themselves, are heads of big families now. It really puts a timestamp on things when even the Sisterhood’s friends (and they’re twelve years my junior) are mothers and fathers. I love children, always had an affinity for them. Despite all my hopes and dreams, I believe that having children would be an immense accomplishment.

2) Share my stories with the world. I was chuffed when my short humor pieces were published earlier this year on the interwebs. Still counts and I’m running with it. 🙂 Be it flash fiction, novellas, books, or movies, I’ve got so many stories I want to tell. Since life itself is a WIP, I’m hoping this one comes to fruition.

3) Learn as many languages as possible and travel the world. I’m currently working on this one, as well. Having lived on three continents, I’ve always loved to travel. The Sisterhood has the travel bug, as well. We’re doing a smash up job so far in our travels, but wouldn’t it be amazing to be free to travel everywhere and be one with the people?

4) Oscar. Once upon a time, I held one in my hands. This is a big goal, but if we don’t dream big, aren’t we just limiting ourselves and stifling our creativity? Oh, I’ll also be content with an Emmy, Tony, Golden Globe, Pulitzer… I’m not picky.

5) Learn more about from whence we came. As with everything here, nostalgia comes into play. I’ve always wanted to learn more about my family’s history. When I hear the colorful past of some of my ancestors, it just makes me want to dig further into the past. That, and watching Who Do You Think You Are? and before that Canada’s Ancestors in the Attic, genealogy is definitely on my list.

=8=

What do you have on your bucket list? What are the things you really want to accomplish in this life?

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/23

Posted on 2013/10/23 by Tonette dela Luna

WRITING:

Prep work goes well for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. I already have an idea for the complementary shorter novella. We need to write 50K for the month and break that up accordingly. The previous idea I had will simmer for the time being because after this writing challenge, I’ve promised myself not to write anything new without getting through my revisions for the other stories I’ve written this year.

From my recent excursion to Ontario, I’ve come up with the following story prompts/ideas (that I’ll use at a later time. *ahem*):

1) Black tube (for holding blueprints, etc.) left in departure/ boarding area but no one claimed it when the crew brought it on the plane to inquire

– As a writer, you know how many story ideas zipped through my head and we hadn’t even left YVR yet! No one claimed it. I suppose they left it with personnel at the airport, but I really wanted to see what was inside!

2) The plane taxied down the runway and two of the flight attendants stop in the aisle right beside the Sisterhood. I look up and they’re talking about a sound that’s louder than normal coming from the bulkhead.

– Fantastic. I love when people start talking when they think you’re not paying attention. I also read lips so I found it interesting. We still took off and the flight was uneventful, but hey…

3) In Toronto, on our way to dinner at a yummy Korean BBQ place. I saw a man in a suit sitting on the sidewalk, back against the building, three piece suit, so it caught my eye. What else grabbed my attention? Something that looked like a small dog in the distance. It turned out to be two dolls. The large kind with fancy dresses and the eyes that close when you lay them down.

– CreepsVille much? I would like to think that those were gifts for his daughter(s). However, he was unkempt enough to make me believe, or at least wonder, if he those were his dolls just because.

4) Leaving Toronto was bittersweet. I’d just had my boarding pass scanned and went through to the walkway. I waited for the sisterhood and wondered what was taking so long. Turns out, right when she was about to get her pass scanned, the computer at which supposedly never breaks down does and they manually check people in

– What could go wrong? Well, considering how many news stories reveal children managing to get onboard flights they didn’t pay for or belong on, this could spark many story options.

5) In line with the previous, a member of the crew who did the manual check-in, came onboard. Remember, we were in the first row now thanks to the Sisterhood upgrading our seats. More lip reading came, though they spoke in not-so hushed whispers. He needed to check for two passenger’s IDs because–his words–mistaken identity, whether intentional or not, happened several times previously.

– Oh, come on. I was hoping for a U.S. Marshall to show up or something exciting while at the same time praying that nothing of the weird and sketchy sort would happen on our flight home.

Good stuff and those were just five of many.

READING:

I’m reading class lectures, writing reference, and blog posts aplenty in preparation for November’s writing challenge. Bring it!

NETWORKING:

I’m going to try super hard to go to the NaNo Write-Ins in the coming weeks. The online community’s been great, but seeing and supporting each other in person once in a while also helps.

LEARNING:

Duolingo‘s been great. I’ve recently found Internet Polyglot, an online language learning hub. Whoa nelly.

Last Friday I attended a cooking class with the Sisterhood (who also had a hand in the curriculum) and we made British pub food. Great learning experience and good fun. I also got nostalgic about growing up in the UK. Memo to the Sisterhood: SOON!!!

All of the culture and history I breathed in while in Ontario made me rekindle my passion for Genealogy and history, in general. I’ve been watching Who Do You Think You Are? on YouTube. Fascinating. It makes me want to dig into the archives of my own life, as well. That’s a project I’m looking forward to tackling sometime in the future.

So much stuff packed in the last couple of weeks. Busy, busy.

Week in Review – 2013/10/07 – 2013/10/20, Pt. 3

Posted on 2013/10/22 by Tonette dela Luna

THE FORTNIGHT EDITION, PART THREE

And just like that, we were on our way back to the West Coast.

But not so fast. Toronto, it seemed, wanted to make this trip extra memorable.

I woke up past 3am on the morning of our check-out and departure. Don’t know why. It wasn’t a bad dream or anything–that was yet to come.

I sat up and stretched. For the first time, the TV hadn’t been left on. Per our usual hotel viewing, we’d watch an HGTV marathon. Nothing like seeing Bryan Baeumler or Mike Holmes improving the lives of homeowners to send us peacefully off to SnoozeVille. They’re like our oversized cherubs. Hammers instead of harps. Tool belts instead of wings. Home Improvement lullabies are the best.

Anyhoo, no TV this time around and the remote was waaaaay over on the other bed. I flopped back down and kicked off the covers for the nth time thanks to the A/C and its moodiness. Just as my eyelids began to droop, they curled back in surprise, as did my toes, to the sound of the fire alarm blaring throughout the room.

Awesomesauce.

I got back up, went to check the window and to feel the door. Nada.

The Sisterhood came to and looked far less pleased than I already wasn’t to hear such noise. It was as though someone finally ran over the Road Runner again and again and again.

A man’s voice crackled over the PA system and informed us an alarm had been set off in our building. We kept hearing 3D, but it might have been thirty. Either way, being on the ninth floor already had me grabbing clothes to wear. Might be good to mention it was pouring outside because, really, how else should this story go?

The message ended with the guy telling us to stay in our rooms to await further instructions. I could already hear half a dozen doors on our floor open and shut as the harried and half-asleep dragged their feet towards the fire exit near our room.

Intermittent screechiness with the same droning of non-information resumed. I sighed and went to the bathroom. I figured if I was going to have to stand outside with the hundreds or thousands of other upset hotel guests and staff, it should be on an empty bladder.

And the song played on. For over thirty minutes.

Finally, the voice came back on the PA to inform us that the situation had been resolved, the system reset, and we didn’t have to do anything further.

That’s it. No explanation or “sorry for the inconvenience” of ripping us from slumber. I understand the fire alarms need to wail like banshees to get people up and outta there but, come on. We had more questions than answers. It was like topping off the perfect dessert of a vacation with sawdust and a ball bearing.

Well, on the TV went and at least we had Baeumler and Holmes to cheer us up. It took us another few hours to get ourselves back to sleep and that was only for a power nap because we had to do some last minute errands before checking out of the hotel.

=8=

So as not to repeat the subpar aeronautical experience at the start of our travels, the Sisterhood wisely booked us a couple of upgraded seats. Leg room, free food, and as a bonus, a functioning A/C system onboard the plane. I doubt she had anything to do with it, but she’s been known to work magic here and there.

Aside from some snags towards the end, it was a much anticipated and well-deserved vacation.

=8=

As promised, here are five things you can try (as I did) while on vacation that will help in your writing:

1) SETTING. Take advantage of studying your surroundings. You never know if you need to write about a particular store front. Or you might partake in a local custom or event that you can include in an WIP. When you experience something firsthand you add depth to your writing by using all the senses.

2) PEOPLE WATCH. I know this is an old favorite of writers, but especially when you can hide behind the anonymity of a wandering tourist, you can drink it all in at your leisure. Without them even uttering a sound, I can count off at least a dozen people that I could base entire characters on for my stories. There’s so much diversity out there waiting to be explored.

3) MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO. And I say this with caution. To borrow another phrase, “When in Rome…” or in this case, Toronto. Yes, I’d been there before. But it was a long time ago. Still, first time or twentieth, you needn’t always act like a tourist. It’s also nice to blend in with the locals. For one, they won’t treat you like a tourist (i.e. lure you into making touristy mistakes and/or impulse purchases). Also, if you’re one with the people, you’ll see them in their natural element which allows you to have all these authentic character studies at your disposal.

4) PHOTOGRAPHS. Or as the Sisterhood says, “Pics or it didn’t happen.” While this might sound counterintuitive after #3, there are so many shutterbugs around these days. You’d hardly come off as conspicuous or paparazzi-like in today’s technologically saturated world. Cameras, tablets, smartphones. The options of recording sound, picture, and motion are bountiful so you don’t have an excuse if you need to capture a moment that speaks to you. Plus, if you really want to, you can be a tourist of your own imagination where anything is an adventure. 🙂

5) SOUNDTRACKS. I love a good soundtrack while I write. I also like using certain tracks to accompany scenes in my writing, much like a movie. I’m an audio/visual storyteller. This process might not work for everyone, but it really gets the juices flowing. For instance, we were on the highway heading towards the city centre. The Sisterhood’s Bestie had music playing in the car. It was perfect. Just as I saw the CN Tower peek out from behind the tree line, the music swelled. It was like the end of a great movie. Camera pans out to show the stretch of road on which the car is traveling, fade to black, roll credits. Anything and everything can inspire you, if you let it.

The most important thing I learned was to open my mind and heart to maximize the experience. I think Lifehack says it best:

( via lifehack.org )

It’s good to be home, yes. Jet-lagged, exhausted, and emotionally drained–that was just from Les Mis! But also, seeing family and places from days gone by, there are so many stories to be told. I hope everyone gets to have such an intense and wonderful experience such as this on a regular basis. It’s a beautiful way to recharge your creative batteries.