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October and the Wonders of Fall

This year has been marked by several outstanding events. From weddings to engagements, to conventions, Broadway shows and milestones. On a personal level, it is a year to remember. Entering October, with three months still in the balance, it’s a good time to go through a little reflection. Not to mention, I’m also gearing up for NaNoWriMo, which I’ve done the past three years (and won).

Fall is my favorite season. It really boils down to the coziness of the entire time. Also, the best things happen in fall. New York Comic Con, Halloween, Thanksgiving… basically nerdy stuff and food. I will be at NYCC this year as an attendee, which is nice considering last year I worked at the event. Looking toward next year, I hope to return as a guest. It will be another great year at the event as I am already booked to meet the great Stan Lee.

On Sept. 21, I had the opportunity to see Hamilton on Broadway. The musical created by the genius Lin-Manuel Miranda went above expectations for me. It was humorous and honest, self-depreciating and intelligent. I have been listening to the soundtrack on a daily basis since November of last year and it has truly been gift to me throughout the entire year. I mention it because I want to get to my point.

My life is filled with so much art. And fall is always that season where art is incessantly there. I curl up with books more, watch more movies and television shows. Even video games fit into this section. I am my best self when I am surrounded by it, and people who feel as strongly and passionate about art.

With a chill in the air and leaves returning to warming hues of autumn, I am most excited for all the art that I will get to experience.

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It seems I fell asleep for a bit.

Yes, look at this large gap in activity.

I let life get in the way, and now I’m busier now than ever. Which isn’t a total bad thing, but, I wish I had more hours in the day.

A lot has happened since November

  • I won NaNoWriMo, I never posted a celebratory message, but I did. It was insanely difficult this year, given my work schedule. Yet, it was so relieving to know that I can set my mind to an intense goal and accomplish it.
  • December was quieter, post-NaNo is pretty much catch-up-on-sleep-month. Christmas was 70 degrees here in New York and we barbecued. My dad also stood outside our house in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and an alcoholic beverage in a pineapple.
  • January was a mic of work and more work. We’re gunning down to the last few months before my brothers wedding, so it’s been crazier. Even crazier, my sister got engaged. So, now preparing for two weddings. If you would like to go to a zoo, just come over.

So that leaves us in February, which is really just filled with wedding planning and personal training. Winters are usually quite quiet for me, but it’s been the opposite. I wouldn’t say that I fell asleep, but rather just got so caught up in life ~outside~ the internet that I took a little break.

But I’m back.

Hello.

P.S. – I desperately want to see Hamilton the Musical. Help?!

 

 

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NaNoWriMo 2015 Edition

In the past, I had spent the beginning weeks of fall blogging about my ventures into NaNoWriMo. If you asked me a week ago if I was doing NaNoWriMo (the National Novel Writing Month), I would have shrugged and leaned on a ‘no’ answer.

But here I am, November 1st, in a local cafe with other local writers churning out words like many people woke up today spewing post-Halloween party vomit. This is my third year undertaking NaNo, and will most certainly be the most difficult.

My first year, I had carefully mapped out and concocted a well thought out story weeks, and months in advance. Last year, I had the idea, but didn’t construct it before, and still won.

This year, having no story idea and no prior preparation, will be tough as hell. I am doing it though. The past two years I had primarily been doing freelance work, but now I am full-time working, so I feel that pressure. I guess I will be penning things on my break time to make up. Weekends will also be used as a tour de force. I asked a bunch of friends to send me writing prompts, so I’m just working on writing a bunch of short novellas and piecing it together as one entity. They aren’t continuous, but that simplifies the process.

So, as I’ve wasted a good five minutes getting this blog post together, I won’t relent another moment to distraction.

Back to writing!

And Happy NaNoWriMo!

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Updates

As you see below I have posted a picture of my bio. This bio is taken from the Geek Chic Elite, where I have been contributing articles to for a few weeks now. Since NaNo has been over my mind has been teeming with article and story ideas. I look forward to writing and have been getting really grumpy when I am pulled away from it.

This isn’t the only thing I have been working on. I attended NY Winter Con a week ago and made a really awesome contact there. You will be seeing updates from me soon on that front but for now I will keep it as a secret!

Hope you are all doing well during this crazy holiday season!

My GCE Bio
My GCE Bio
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NaNo is over!

NaNoWriMo concluded a few days ago and I have been sullying around my house with the equivalency to a hangover. A writing hangover.

Those kinds of hangovers are not easily cured, and time doesn’t necessarily erase the mushy feeling. When you do something like NaNo or take on any big writing project, there is an emotional bond that forms between you and your writing. You drag your soul out onto paper. And in the end you are left emotional drained, physically fatigued, and mentally a bit jumbled up.

I’m starting to get back into the swing of things. I’ve decorated the house for Christmas, baked cookies, and have only begun compiling my thoughts on the direction of my story. You see, 50,000 words is a lot, but typically it is considered a novella, not full on novel length.

It is almost time to crack open the Word document and dive back into my art. But for today at least, I will enjoy the tranquil solace of living outside of the bubble.

 

Oh, and P.S. – LOOK WHO FIXED HER LAYOUT, PICTURES ARE WORKING AGAIN!

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New content!

Take a gander at my new sidebar for my current writing projects. I should be adding more links to it in the coming weeks.

Featured Publications 2014

I just added my review for Disney/Marvel’s Big Hero 6!

And a brief update on my NaNo: I’m 7k in so far. I’m slightly under pace right now but I’ve been working through some tough plot points and now have a clearer direction on where my story is headed.

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Happy NaNo!

It is November 1st which means it is NaNoWriMo season. I wrote a little over 300 words in the first hour and then went to bed. I just fired up my Word document to get started again. My personal goal is to reach 3,000 words today.

I’m also pantsing it. Pantsing is a term NaNoers use to describe when you didn’t pre-plan your novel. Last year I did extensive planning, and I won. This year I haven’t and I still hope to win. It looks like I will be going through a lot of coffee this month. If anyone has stocks in coffee you should look into a big payout at the end of the month.

 

So to my fellow NaNoers- Good luck!

And to all my readers – please wish me luck!

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Heads Up! It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!

Participant-2014-Web-Banner

 

So, last year you may remember me talking about participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). To recap, NaNoWriMo is a month where you sit down and squeeze out a minimum 50,000 words. It’s grueling but the end is so rewarding. Last year I ‘won’ NaNo. But, I haven’t touched what I wrote since then. So this time around I am rewriting what I wrote and hoping to add on to it. I’m changing the point of view on my story.

 

I am also going to start writing my graphic novel. I better not run out of coffee for that month.

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AUTUMN!

We are now entering arguably the best season of the year – autumn. And to celebrate the season of never-ending pumpkin spice and TV show premieres, how about a little a poem to warm up to the cozy chilly winds coming our way? Here is an excerpt from a poem called September Midnight by Sara Teasdale:

 

Over my soul murmur your mute benediction,
While I gaze, O fields that rest after harvest,
As those who part look long in the eyes they lean to,
Lest they forget them.

– September Midnight by Sara Teasdale

As aforementioned it is also television premiere season! One of my favorite shows is returning for its second season. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on the 23rd. The first season started off slow but it skyrocketed to the amazing stratosphere after covering the Marvel Cinematic Events that took place in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Doctor Who also just started back up with the new season and Peter Capaldi taking over the mantle. I like him so far, but I still mourn Matt Smith in the role. Guess it’s like putting on a new pair of shoes, uncomfortable at first but you like them so you keep wearing them until they’re a perfect fit.

I miss writing about entertainment and movies and music so I want to start doing that again. Dust off the old keys and fine tune my craft.

NaNoWriMo also takes places in the fall, if you remember all my posts from last November pretty much correlated with that. I’m planning on doing it again, but I may just work on finishing the book I started last year and also start the graphic novel I’ve been tinkering around with.

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I won NaNo!

All November I had been blathering on about NaNoWriMo, so if you’re reading this you’re likely to know the gist of it as well.

I validated my novel around 6 p.m. local time on November 30, 2013. NaNo was one of the most thrilling, stressful, and fulfilling ventures I have ever undertaken.

Some further obstacles I faced while writing to reach the 50,000 minimum were going away for a week in November to Phoenix. It was a whole week of not writing, not thinking about the story, and alas, when I came back home just a few days shy of Thanksgiving I had no motivation to write/ ideas to propel my story. I was at about 35k for the word amount around Thanksgiving, and there was such a crunch to reach the deadline. It was exhilarating.

Since it has been almost a month since the end of NaNo, I have been quite busy. I started a new job and have been training and trying to balance everything else in my life with it, so I haven’t spent any time writing or editing. I hope to give myself some extra time and come January pick it up again. I would love to start trying to get a book deal or self-publish in the spring time.

This past month has also been exhausting for the major fan in me. My beloved Doctor Who series had their 50th Anniversary special last month, and last night, on Christmas, I saw my Eleventh doctor depart from the show to welcome in the new Doctor played by Peter Capaldi. I will not get too into it but Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor, so it was very hard for me to watch him go. The sadness in his eyes as he said his last lines were incredibly tough and I definitely spent my Christmas night sobbing into my pillow and squeezing my cat. I will miss you incredibly so, Matt Smith.

Also, the new Sherlock season starts next month and we were graced with a mini episode. It definitely has me excited. I’m talking about the Sherlock series on the BBC. Gosh, I’m such an anglophile.

In addition I saw the movie Frozen last month and thought it was truly magical. I love the direction Disney went with it. The music was a glorious mix of classic Disney tunes and Broadway ballads.

I also went to an advanced screening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a few weeks ago. It was PHENOMENAL. Yes, the book purist will definitely have problems with it, but I love the story Peter Jackson has added to the classic book. I do not believe he tainted it.

So there we go, a big write-up right before the New Year.

I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and will have a joyous, prosperous, and most importantly healthy New Year!!