Can you believe I already have ten (eleven if you count this one) posts? I hope I can keep it up since I'd like to think blogging every day is something I can accomplish (with perhaps weekends off) but I'm just not sure. I guess I'll just keep at it and see what happens.
Also i'm excited about my followers - eleven in less than a week. Awesomeness.
One of my bestest pals in the whole world started a blog.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Palindrome started up Musings of a Palindrome where she will discuss things such as books, TV, movies and other awesome things. Check it out.
Palindrome is a member of my writing group along with Teebore over at Gentlemen of Leisure blog. We've been in our writing group (dubbed UMWADS (for United Midwestern Writing And Drinking Society)) for over 5 years now. Fun!
Also, since there have been a few questions (OK it was one question, but still...) here is a pronunciation guide to some of the things on my blog.
Falen - The first half (Fal) should rhyme with 'pal'.
Yvie - her name is pronounced like the letters EV. Though you can always just call her Miss B.
Ahiers - this is my real last name - it's pronounced 'Airs'.
And that's it for today class!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Blog Makeover (So Soon?)
As you can see the blog has gotten a bit of a makeover (a bit...)
I was never fully pleased with the first version. And then when I saw a friend's newly minted blog I was became filled with jealousy at her awesome blogger template. So I went on a quest to find a new one.
And here it is. I would say I'm 98% happy with this one (the 2% is due to a loss of a few behind the scenes stuff that made blogging for me easier, but not the end of the world.)
Let me know what you think.
I saved the first template in case of emergencies.
I was never fully pleased with the first version. And then when I saw a friend's newly minted blog I was became filled with jealousy at her awesome blogger template. So I went on a quest to find a new one.
And here it is. I would say I'm 98% happy with this one (the 2% is due to a loss of a few behind the scenes stuff that made blogging for me easier, but not the end of the world.)
Let me know what you think.
I saved the first template in case of emergencies.
My Contest Entry
Natalie Whipple had a contest this week which involved writing a scene for a picture she drew. It was fun and I hope there are more contests like that in the future.
Here's the picture she drew:
I really liked my entry and I hoped I would pull in a prize, but I wasn't a judge (though I will be when I have my own contests... (insert forboding music here))
Anyway I've decided to post my contest entry because I enjoyed writing it quite a bit and I hope some of you will enjoy reading it (though a few of you have already seen it and assisted in cutting my words down from 650 to 498)
So without further ado, here it is! (hmm I should probably come up with a title for it...)
Groggy, Elisa rolled over in bed and stared through sleep-heavy eyes at the glowing clock display.
3:13 am? What the hell…? But she heard them again, the quiet, yet insistent, taps from her window which forced her out of bed.
She leaned over to peer at the glass but it was too dark to make anything out and she’d be dammed before she turned the lights on at this hour.
Elisa cursed as she opened the window, jerking it past the middle where it always stuck.
Immediately a light zoomed inside, bright and painful against her eyes.
Elisa gave a shriek and swatted at the light, sure it was a bug, but bugs don’t swat back and this one slapped her across the bridge of her nose.
Even though it was a tiny slap, it still stung painfully.
“Ow! What was that for?” Elisa asked as she rubbed her nose with her palm.
“For swatting at me,” the light answered. It had landed on her shoulder and Elisa offered it a hand to rest upon.
Now that the light had calmed and ceased slapping, Elisa could see it was a fairy, and an angry one too, judging by the red color of her skin.
Great. Just what I need.
“What do you want?” Elisa asked.
“You’re the elf that kissed Brendan, right?” the fairy asked. Her hands rested on her hips and her tiny elbows pointed sharply against her wings which gave an occasional flicker.
Of course, all this went out of Elisa’s head at the thought of Brendan and the kiss. And how he had looked down into her eyes and how he smelled of horses but tasted of the chocolate ice cream they had just shared.
It was probably Elisa’s smile that told the fairy she had found her culprit. The fairy gave a very sharp, very high pitched shriek and flew at Elisa’s face. She grabbed Elisa’s hair and tugged it severely.
“Ow! Why do you care?”
“Because I’m his ex-girlfriend that’s why!”
Elisa stared, shocked. “But you’re a fairy!”
“You’re a quick one.” The fairy tugged her hair again and Elisa winced. “I don’t want you messing around with Brendan, or else.”
Angry, Elisa swatted the fairy away from her face. “Or else what?”
“Or else you’ll get more than just hair tugs and slugs to the nose!” The fairy turned, lifted up her skirts and bared her tiny, naked ass. Elisa couldn’t help but notice how each cheek looked like a pomegranate seed.
“Oh that is it!” Elisa shrieked. And before she knew it she had slammed her hands together, the fairy between them.
Brendan’s ex-girlfriend exploded in a shower of sparkles, light and a curious smell of Fritos.
Elisa thought perhaps she should feel something, shock at least. But instead she returned to bed and burrowed under her blankets.
No one likes fairies anyway, she thought as she drifted back to sleep, sighing at the reminiscent taste of chocolate on soft lips.
Here's the picture she drew:
I really liked my entry and I hoped I would pull in a prize, but I wasn't a judge (though I will be when I have my own contests... (insert forboding music here))
Anyway I've decided to post my contest entry because I enjoyed writing it quite a bit and I hope some of you will enjoy reading it (though a few of you have already seen it and assisted in cutting my words down from 650 to 498)
So without further ado, here it is! (hmm I should probably come up with a title for it...)
Groggy, Elisa rolled over in bed and stared through sleep-heavy eyes at the glowing clock display.
3:13 am? What the hell…? But she heard them again, the quiet, yet insistent, taps from her window which forced her out of bed.
She leaned over to peer at the glass but it was too dark to make anything out and she’d be dammed before she turned the lights on at this hour.
Elisa cursed as she opened the window, jerking it past the middle where it always stuck.
Immediately a light zoomed inside, bright and painful against her eyes.
Elisa gave a shriek and swatted at the light, sure it was a bug, but bugs don’t swat back and this one slapped her across the bridge of her nose.
Even though it was a tiny slap, it still stung painfully.
“Ow! What was that for?” Elisa asked as she rubbed her nose with her palm.
“For swatting at me,” the light answered. It had landed on her shoulder and Elisa offered it a hand to rest upon.
Now that the light had calmed and ceased slapping, Elisa could see it was a fairy, and an angry one too, judging by the red color of her skin.
Great. Just what I need.
“What do you want?” Elisa asked.
“You’re the elf that kissed Brendan, right?” the fairy asked. Her hands rested on her hips and her tiny elbows pointed sharply against her wings which gave an occasional flicker.
Of course, all this went out of Elisa’s head at the thought of Brendan and the kiss. And how he had looked down into her eyes and how he smelled of horses but tasted of the chocolate ice cream they had just shared.
It was probably Elisa’s smile that told the fairy she had found her culprit. The fairy gave a very sharp, very high pitched shriek and flew at Elisa’s face. She grabbed Elisa’s hair and tugged it severely.
“Ow! Why do you care?”
“Because I’m his ex-girlfriend that’s why!”
Elisa stared, shocked. “But you’re a fairy!”
“You’re a quick one.” The fairy tugged her hair again and Elisa winced. “I don’t want you messing around with Brendan, or else.”
Angry, Elisa swatted the fairy away from her face. “Or else what?”
“Or else you’ll get more than just hair tugs and slugs to the nose!” The fairy turned, lifted up her skirts and bared her tiny, naked ass. Elisa couldn’t help but notice how each cheek looked like a pomegranate seed.
“Oh that is it!” Elisa shrieked. And before she knew it she had slammed her hands together, the fairy between them.
Brendan’s ex-girlfriend exploded in a shower of sparkles, light and a curious smell of Fritos.
Elisa thought perhaps she should feel something, shock at least. But instead she returned to bed and burrowed under her blankets.
No one likes fairies anyway, she thought as she drifted back to sleep, sighing at the reminiscent taste of chocolate on soft lips.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Friday Fun Words
Yvie here. I told Mom I expected to be part of this blog endeavor of hers, especially since she stopped updating my diary. So instead of listening to me harp on her (because even though she says Twin harps on her, the truth is, I'm the Harping Queen in this house) she just folded like her creepy opposable thumbs.
*shudder*
So I was reading computer stuff over mom's shoulder the other day (sigh. Yes I had to use a chair. I'm only like 1 foot tall) when I saw this word I had never seen before.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" I commanded her.
"Ow. Did you have to bark right in my ear and then bite it?" she asked me.
"Yes. Yes I did Mommy. What is that word right there?" I asked. I pointed with my paw and not some creepy ape hand.
"What, that? That's just a word verification system. It's to prevent Spam."
"Why? Who would want to prevent SPAM? It's damn delicious."
"Not SPAM. Spam. It's a computer term."
"Does it come in a can?"
At this point she stopped answering. She must have been disgusted by her human lack of knowledge. She clearly didn't understand the finer points of SPAM.
"But it wasn't a real word," I continued.
"I know it wasn't. They're almost all fake."
I pondered this idea for awhile. It took a long time because I fell asleep and then chewed on a bone. When I cornered Mom about it again she was in bed.
"I'm going to make them real words," I said as I arranged my bed just how I like it.
"What are you going on about?"
"The spiced pig words. I'm going to make them real words by giving them definitions. Then you are going to put them on your dlog."
"You mean blog?"
"That's what I said. You'll put them on the blog and they will be real words. And the world can thank me for creating brand new words for them to use."
She then tried to go on about how not all humans "speak" English and I agreed with her since everyone knows that the human ape-barking isn't speaking at all. Wood knocking makes more sense.
I then farted and went to sleep.
So that's where we're at. Please use these new words and help make me a world power.
Icanit - This is the term for how people store SPAM once they have it freshly picked from the SPAM fields
Patess - This is woman's name. The female version of Patrick. You do know that there already are female versions of Patrick, right? Patrice, Patricia... Shut UP Mommy. Get out of my post!
Bathshe - a terrible creature that flies in the air, shrieking and screaming whenever a bath is about to be thrust upon some poor, helpless dog.
Moutcher - a mouse mustache
Nonsed - this is what people do when they're so taken aback by the genius of dogs that they have nothing to say. Example - see Mommy above regarding SPAM
Eterpoo - when you eat so much food (such as SPAM) and the subsequent poop is so great you think the pooping will never end
Forsa - What the people have to do to get a dog into a bathtub
Thank you all, ape-friends. I will see you next Friday
Thursday, January 7, 2010
In Which I Become A Writer
I'm often amazed at people who state they always wanted to be a writer - like they popped out of the womb with a pencil in hand and a story to tell.
That's not how it happened with me.
I didn't want to be a writer. I remember Twin reading Dear Mr. Henshaw in elementary school (I think she read it multiple times) and I always thought it was kind of dumb. A kid who wants to be a writer and so he becomes pen pals with an author? Boooooring.
No, not for me. I wanted to be a veterinarian.
And when I was even younger I wanted to be a veterinarian and a singer. Of course my parents then teased me, asking me if I would sing to the sick animals which, naturally, drove me crazy.
Now when I think about it, that's actually kind of a clever idea. It would be awesome if there was such a job, where all you had to do was sing to the sick (animals or people) and they would be healed. Though stuff like that has pretty much been done to death
But then I hit high school and the aforementioned fan-fiction. When I did NaNoWriMo for the first time in 2009 I noticed that on the website and in the book they constantly talk about how, when you've become a winner, it could possibly the most you've ever written! Well, barring the fact that my previous WIP was stalled at over 70K word, I spent high school writing elaborate fan-fiction stories with my friends, the longest one over 40K, though there were at least three others that capped in the 30K range. So you can see I spent much of high school writing a lot of fan-fiction. Word count was not an issue for me.
Fan-fiction was fun. Of course, the majority of it was that it allowed you to fantasize about fun and exciting things with your best friends who were also involved in the fan-fiction. But the writing was fun too. I began my very first writing notebook where I stored ideas for fan-fiction and other stories - my Puppy in the Pot Book.
That's not how it happened with me.
I didn't want to be a writer. I remember Twin reading Dear Mr. Henshaw in elementary school (I think she read it multiple times) and I always thought it was kind of dumb. A kid who wants to be a writer and so he becomes pen pals with an author? Boooooring.
No, not for me. I wanted to be a veterinarian.
And when I was even younger I wanted to be a veterinarian and a singer. Of course my parents then teased me, asking me if I would sing to the sick animals which, naturally, drove me crazy.
Now when I think about it, that's actually kind of a clever idea. It would be awesome if there was such a job, where all you had to do was sing to the sick (animals or people) and they would be healed. Though stuff like that has pretty much been done to death
But then I hit high school and the aforementioned fan-fiction. When I did NaNoWriMo for the first time in 2009 I noticed that on the website and in the book they constantly talk about how, when you've become a winner, it could possibly the most you've ever written! Well, barring the fact that my previous WIP was stalled at over 70K word, I spent high school writing elaborate fan-fiction stories with my friends, the longest one over 40K, though there were at least three others that capped in the 30K range. So you can see I spent much of high school writing a lot of fan-fiction. Word count was not an issue for me.
Fan-fiction was fun. Of course, the majority of it was that it allowed you to fantasize about fun and exciting things with your best friends who were also involved in the fan-fiction. But the writing was fun too. I began my very first writing notebook where I stored ideas for fan-fiction and other stories - my Puppy in the Pot Book.
so named because of this picture on the cover
Also, I began to do very well in English class. I mean, I guess I had always done well in English, I never got bad grades in anything, but in high-school I began to enjoy doing well in English. I still loved science (especially biology), but a few great English teachers began to steer me away.
When Twin and I went to our orientation for the University of MN, one of the first things they ask is what you want to major in, so they know where to send you during the orientation. I was all prepared to say "pre-vet" like Twin, but instead what came out of my mouth was "English".
It was then that it was finalized, well at least the English degree idea. I still didn't have any plans of wanting to be a "real" writer. My original idea was to become a high school English teacher (something I still kind of wish I had followed through on).
But then, around my sophomore or junior year, I realized with an English major I could have an emphasis in creative writing, and well, that was it. My senior project wasn't a big paper on an author, instead it was a lengthy short story. All my electives were fiction classes and solidified my desire to be a writer.
So there you have it. Had you asked me when I was eight if I wanted to be a writer, I would have laughed in your face (Twin would have helped). If asked when I was 18, I might have hesitated and then said no. But here, when I'm approaching 29 (omg 30 is on the horizon...), well I've been saying it for almost a decade. It's kind of a weird little path I wandered.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Alphabet Of Awesomeness
H/T to Teebore over at Gentlemen of Leisure Blog for passing on this great idea.
What idea, you ask? Why the idea of the ABCs OF AWESOME that's what! (and yes, it needs to be all caps...)
I tried to keep mine writing or book related, but you'll see I was only semi-successful (though I can make an argument about a lot of them that they're what I like to write about... )
A is for Assassins
There were some hard letters and letters that had just too many great ones (it nearly broke my heart to leave out apocalypse) but overall I'm mostly pleased with my list.
What idea, you ask? Why the idea of the ABCs OF AWESOME that's what! (and yes, it needs to be all caps...)
I tried to keep mine writing or book related, but you'll see I was only semi-successful (though I can make an argument about a lot of them that they're what I like to write about... )
A is for Assassins
B is for Books
C is for Cartoons
D is for Daydreaming
E is for Editing
F is for Falen! Nah I'm just kidding - can you imagine?! F is for Foodstuff
G is for Games
H is for Horror
I is for illustrations
J is for Journals
K is for Karin Lowachee
L is for Lolcats
M is for Mists of Avalon
N is for Ninjas!
O is for Onomatopoeia
P is for Pens
Q is for Queries
R is for Reading
S is for Sirius Black
T is for Trees
U is for Undead
V is for Vampires
W is for Writing (dur!)
X is for XBox 360
Y is for Yarn (as in telling one)
Z is for Zeppelins
There were some hard letters and letters that had just too many great ones (it nearly broke my heart to leave out apocalypse) but overall I'm mostly pleased with my list.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
