Tag Archives: Duolingo

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

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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.

#ROW80 Mid-Week Check-In 2013/10/09

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WRITING:

I have not one but three possible ideas for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Going the novella route, one option is to write five to seven 10K novellas covering a day over the course of a week. I just need to keep in mind that each novella needs to be engaging and self-contained. To do this, I have story ideas that seemed disparate at first but now have the potential to link up in an overall story arc.

EDIT: Thought of a different idea while responding to comments. Perhaps I can tell the same story over the course of twenty-four hours (or a reasonable duration for a novella) but each novella is told from a different POVs. So excited. 🙂

READING:

As part of my Coursera class Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World, I have a boatload to read. Here’s an author list so you get an idea: Grimm, Carroll, Stoker, Shelley, Hawthorne, Poe, Wells, Burroughs, Gilman, Bradbury, LeGuin, and Doctorow.

If you know them just by their last names, you know it’s epic. A feast for the eyeballs, to be sure. That there is plenty of Fantasy and Science Fiction to fill my cranium for the next little while.

Dare I dream that one day you will know the name dela Luna, as well? 🙂

NETWORKING:

I like the forums within the workshops as it lends to peer-teaching and interaction which is pretty neat. I enjoy the discourse and healthy debate over plenty of subjects. That is, of course, when the forums cooperate.

LEARNING:

Three languages. One me. Duolingo offers a lot for a free app. Gotta love free good stuff.

Udemy is offering classes on learning how to learn. It might sound kooky but I’m finding it enlightening. We’re taught what to learn in school but not how to learn it. These classes help you approach new topics and pretty much takes the formation of new thoughts and ideas from a completely new and fresh perspective.

Yeah, I’m a nerd, but learning just got more fun. Bonus? No exam pressure. That was probably the worst thing about my tenure in the educational realm.

Tomorrow, I’m going on a sisterly excursion to Toronto. Haven’t been back in almost twenty years. Seeing places of old that become new again has given me an idea for my next FRIDAY FORAGE post. Stay tuned.

Week in Review – 2013/09/30 – 2013/10/06

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WRITING:

I’m storming the brain for possible contingency plans for Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Meanwhile I’ve come up with new ideas–too many–and have even distracted myself with some fangirl ideas. I came up with a fanfic story for a 13th Doctor, a girl!

Downside, I haven’t narrowed down my plethora of ideas. Upside, I have a plethora of ideas. haha

READING:

Finished a beta read and have to sink my teeth into book reviews and critiques. And also the many workshops I’m taking now and from before. Ugh. Any word on that speed reading course yet, people?

NETWORKING:

There’s a new check-in for #wipmadness and #ROW80 this week. Maybe I can tap other creative minds on upcoming project idea whittling.

LEARNING:

Thankfully, an area that is never lacking is my edification. Along with Spanish and French, I’ve now taken up German on Duolingo. Good thing, too, my sister’s joined up and is taking French and German, as well.

Udemy has taught me in the ways of time management, writing, and new ways of thinking. I love soaking in all the innovation.

At Savvy Authors I’m taking Character Development with Mary McCall and Putting the Suspense in Romantic Suspense with Dee Lloyd. They run through to the end of the month and I hope they’ll help sort out my current Entangled entanglement.

I have a class starting on Coursera tomorrow. It’s called Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. How awesome is it that universities all over the map offer free and intriguing courses? Score one for perpetual learning!

Busy week ahead including a little romp back east. It’s going to be weird returning to places I haven’t seen in half my life. Seriously.

Excited for the zaniness ahead. How goes it for you?

October Goals

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Last Quarter of 2013: Are you Ready?

long-road

( via freimaurer32 )

 

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite shows, here’s THE ROAD SO FAR:

 

WRITING:

This year, I came up with four new stories: Hamelin, The Curse of Briar Rose (a reframing of the story premise morphed it into Aaralyn’s Song), all YA Fantasy, A Love Less Ordinary, a contemporary (possibly Women’s Fiction), and a boatload of new story ideas.

I did the Blogging A to Z Challenge in April, along with Camp NaNoWriMo, SavvyAuthors Boot Camp.

I also participated in JuNoWriMo, July’s Camp NaNoWriMo,  JulNoWriMo, and AugNoWriMo. 

Just when I thought I was WriMo’d out, I spent September revising Imprint, a Spec Fiction Thriller.

All this writing was just for my WIP. I also had various workshop assignment, as well, as my blog posts along with my FRIDAY FORAGE series.

 

READING:

I think I’ve read close to thirty-five books this year. Lately, the focus has been on writing reference or anything to do with how the brain works.

Outside of actual books, I’ve been eyeballs-deep in critiques, beta reads, and book reviews. I suppose all the strain on the eyes was to make up for the exhaustion on the digits from the writing.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been dealing with a fractured thumb and seasonal allergies. The allergy shot regimen has made all the aforementioned tasks an interesting challenge.

 

NETWORKING:

The writing community continues to grow and now that I’m a mod at SavvyAuthors and the WFWA Forums, the reach seems to be boundless.

 

LEARNING:

I’ve expanded my horizons with Udemy, and Duolingo. More learning experiences are coming up this month with Coursera. Gotta keep the brain active. 🙂

All that plus some mad ukelele playing and I’m all set.

 

 

=8=

OCTOBER WRITING:

Major prep needed for my upcoming November challenge with Entangled Smackdown. It was supposed to be a Thriller but since that imprint isn’t included in the challenge, I think I’ll write for the novella imprint. Problem is, what word count will I focus on? The imprint requires 10K-15K words but the challenge is 50K. Do I write multiple novellas? Good thing I have a month to plan. This time, actually plan. No matter how many times I have the intent to plan for a WriMo, something happens and I end up outlining in a forty-eight hour window.

I’ll still work on my other WIPs, old and not-as-old. The writing never stops.

 

OCTOBER READING:

The reading tasks haven’t changed. In fact, they’ve increased. All good stuff, however. I’m keeping an open mind–and still looking for a speed reading course.

 

OCTOBER NETWORKING:

Modding and communicating with the writing world continues. Accountability keeps us moving forward and that’s what it’s all about.

 

OCTOBER LEARNING:

More brain boosts with Udemy, Coursera, Duolingo. I’m on Level 10 in Spanish and Level 7 in French. I’m adding German to the mix, just because. With the other learning opportunities, I’m learning about writing, time management, fitness, and everything in between. It’s an exciting time and fortuitous to have the internet. There’s no limit to attaining knowledge and bettering ourselves.

 

 

=8=

The last three months of this highly productive year are about to roll on. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Care to join me?

longroad

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Week in Review – 2013/09/23 – 2013/09/29

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WRITING:

Last Week in Review for September and I’m already thinking about November writing challenges. More info on Entangled Smackdown over at SavvyAuthors. Turns out if I’m signed up for that I can’t do the SavvyAuthors NaNo Bootcamp because that’s on a different forum. I suppose I can live with that. haha Less crazy for this crazy gal. My desired suspense imprint isn’t among those participating. The only one that would fit my potential story is their Flirt Imprint. Since the challenge is to write 50K in November and this imprint is for novellas of 10K-15K words in length, maybe I can write a series or episodes? More pondering in the next six weeks.

 

READING:

Aside from the classes, beta reads, critiques, and my WIPs, I’ll be reading craft books in preparation for November. This is a serious one. Woot.

 

 

NETWORKING:

I’m super embarrassed that I missed the chat last Wednesday. Not that this is a defence, but it was my birthday and the familiar wanted to cheer me up because of my fracture. It’s weird because I’m always an hour early to those things and that day, I completely spaced for the first time. Huh. I’ll get on the ball for the next one. Also looking forward to the teams for Entangled Smackdown. Should be fun.

 

LEARNING:

I’m on Level 10 in Spanish and Level 7 in French on Duolingo. I’m considering starting a third language next month–or rather, in two days. Portuguese, German, or Italian? I’d flip a coin if I had one with three sides.

Jamming with Bilbo aside, I can’t stop thinking about my WIP to be for November. I suppose that’s a good thing, right? Soooo excited!