Hi!

*blows the dust off the mic*

Is this thing on?

So, it's been a while. *blushes*

Sorry about that. I have no excuse other than I have been studying. And that is not a good one. 

I can tell you this about me. I have an addictive personality. By that, I don't mean that people become addicted to my sparkling self, I mean that I become addicted to things very easily. Obsessively so. And because there are not enough hours in the day, something has to suffer in order for me to spend the time with my obsession. Somehow, writing found itself suffering. Writing. How did that happen?

I still haven't figured that one out. 

And I find this didn't help. 

Or this...

If Loki can't make me write... 

But, I am getting better day by day. I have had two over 2K days and actually gotten to where I had to merge a scene. AND BEYOND! 

*fireworks explosions*

And it felt good. Real good. 

Maybe it's the idea that NaNoWriMo is right around the corner. Maybe it's because I had a few months break after the SLOW DOWN speed I was writing throughout the rest of the year. But I think I am getting back into it. 

I have to get this book finished. I must in order to write for NaNo.

I know the internet is a very distracting place for writers, but it has never gotten to me the way this language thing has.

Anyone else suffer from this? If so, what are some things you have done to successfully pull yourself back into the land of words?

Hello!

I am stuck in a car scene from hell.

I hate driving scenes. With a passion. You want to get me to stop writing? Give me a car scene.

I know, in this day and age, car scenes kinda need to happen, right? I mean everyone drives. But I hate them. My flowing dialogue become this twisted, stilted thing. And the action comes to a screeching halt. And my brain goes into meltdown trying to get through this, small but necessary for realism, torturous... thing... See? I can't even come up with a word to describe the... Oh, I give up.

Okay, my little rant is over.

I will get through it. I know I will. I have in the past. I just need some driving (see what I did there), heavy rock to get me through.  I will find the song, I will get my characters out of the car. I WILL get back to sexy and back to violence. Those I think I write well. But with the good, comes the bad.

What scenes do you not like writing? What devices do you employ to get through the mud?

Hey, look! I remembered!

Hey!

So, I think I am back in the swing of things.

I have reset me some realistic goals and so far have been following though on them.

One: Write 500 a day. That may not sound like much, but with my burning desire to learn Japanese, it has been a struggle to write anything at all. Given the right circumstances, I can write 500 words in less then 30 minutes. That leaves me much of the day when I am not working to edit and study.

Two: To post in the Life after Nano Forums on the Nanowrimo message board. It is full of friendly people to help motivate and inspire. I love the place!

Three: I will be updating this blog twice at week, at the VERY least. Maybe more. But no less than twice.

Four: I WILL edit for one hour every day. I have many books that need it, so, I have to find the time to do it. Writing is one thing. Being able to bring the books to light in another. Editing is part of writing and I have to be able to do it. I have make the time for it.

Five: Study! Yes! Right now, my most favorite thing in the world. But it will not pay my bills. I want to be a writer. I AM a writer. So, that HAS to come first.

Okay, on to the fun stuff. Pictures!

And again with the standard stuff. I found these on Pinterest. I have no idea where they came from. If they belong to you, let me know and I will credit you. If you want them taken down, again, let me know and I will take them down. I am easy to get along with!

These are the Character inspiration pics for Forbidden: Addicted. I am currently writing this book.

Andras
(Except his eyes are green)

And Sofiel

I have no idea who will star in the last book of the series. You will know when I do!

Bye everyone!

I keep forgetting about the title bar.

Hello!

So, I have realized something about myself that needs addressing. I have absolutely no time management skills. None. Zip. Zero.

I really need to fix that.

This is how my days have gone... for a while now, actually. Starting with work, because that is easier.

Work. Go home. IF I get on the computer right away, then I will write. Most of the time. If I can't, then I will go to the back bedroom and study. And once I start that, it's almost impossible to get me to stop. If I write, I will eventually drift off into studying. Yes, I am that passionate about this Japanese business. Write/study until the sun comes up. (I work evenings, so it's fine and I am at my most creative at night.) Sleep. wake up and either study, or make jewelry, or paint. Then work.

It's a toss up on what I am going to do on any given day. I have too many things that I enjoy doing. And am discovering more. *sigh* I love being a creative person. I love making something from nothing, or learning something from scratch.

There are simply not enough hours in the day.

So, I think what I am going to do is designate the hours before work to the hobbies. The painting, or jewelry making or crocheting. (just wait till I take up candle making... ) One hobby a day for those hours. Instead of flitting about trying to get time in for them all, set a day for one specific thing.

As for my night hours, I will make a deal with myself. Write 1K words then study all I want. That way, the writing get done for my self imposed deadlines and I get my reward. Yes, I consider studying a language a reward.

Maybe then I can get some much needed organization in my life. I need self-discipline. And while I can stand on a roof top and shout "I am creative! I don't need no stinking schedules!", in order to actually BE creative, I need time management.

Anyone else suffer from this problem? I know someone does.

Hello!

Okay, let me get this little bit out of the way first.

In order to NOT fill up this writing blog with things about my studies, I have created a Stephanie Learns Japanese blog, which, if anyone is interested in, can be found here. My Newest Obsession

Now, on the writing front.

Where I left off before my hiatus, I was posting character inspiration pics. Well, let me continue that one.

These are for Forbidden: Redemption.

While probably the most disturbing thing my mind has produced, it was also by far the most enjoyable. There is something freeing about writing a character that can do and say what ever in the hell he feels like, with no worry of consequences. I do love me some Valafar.

And without further ado, here is Valafar. These pictures came from Pinterest and I have no clue who to credit. If they belong to you, please let me know and I will give said credit. Or, if you want it/them taken down, I will make that happen as well. I do not wish to step on toes.

Okay, NOW, without further ado, Valafar

And his savior, Eloa

Psychotic Demon and the Angel of Compassion and Sorrow. 

That's all I have to say about them for now. 

And in other news, Forbidden: Broken Tradeback. I am THRILLED with this. 

My new shiny!

And I will return tomorrow for some actual writing talk. 

Have a great day!

Hey!

I find that again I must extend my apologies. It has been a while since my last post.

I fell into my newest obsession to learn Japanese and was swept away. I have to say, learning this has been one of the greatest joy's in my life. It has been a couple of months and my progress has, to be honest, astounded me.

I had always considered learning another language to be one of the hardest things to do in life. But to my complete and utter surprise, I find it to be, while yes, it IS hard, it is also fun, and I am kicking myself for only now taking the time to do it.

I know the Hiragana, or ひらがな。Also the カタカナ。Or Katakana.
I know about 120 Kanji on sight and about 50 of their Kunyomi and Onyomi readings. And let me tell you, when I finally figured out how to put two Kanji together and the reading was the word I already knew for the word, well, the light-bulb almost blew up, it burned so bright. And I know that last sentence didn't make much sense, so, I will give a brief demonstration.

The word for train, in Japanese, is densha.
Densha = でんしゃ
The Kanji for train is 電車. Okay, the TWO Kanji for train are those.
The reading for 電 is den or　でん。
The reading (in this case) for 車 is Sha or しゃ。
Hence, densha!
I saw the light. It was amazing.

Okay, now that that impromptu lesson is done, on to writing stuff.

I am participating in CampNano July this year.
It is almost over and has been the hardest struggle. I wouldn't say that I was burnt out. Bot at all. But having written almost 4 novels in less than 6 months, well, it wasn't as easy was it once was.

But I am getting there. I have 4K left for my modest goal. and I will have those finished in two days.
I HOPE to have Forbidden: Addicted complete by the end of August.

In my new goals for accountability, I will be trying to make bi-weekly posts. In my next one, I will post the character inspiration pics for Forbidden: Redemption.

See you in a few days!

As I said, today I will be posting character inspiration photo's for Lost.

Again, I have no idea who to credit for these images. If they are your creation, please let me know, and I will credit you. If you would like for me to take them down, again, I will. Just let me know!

And here we go.

Vangelis

Batibat

There we go!

I am going to try to edit the first three chapters of Forbidden: Lost and have them posted on my site tonight. 

I do have to admit to a slight obsession that has been keeping me from writing.

These boys have ruined my world...

Such timing, such FUN! 

Anyway, this is the first of a long list of to-do's today. Will post again if I get the chapters up!

Have a great day!