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.