Wednesday Words: "How Do You Think It Feels?"

Welcome back to Wednesday Words! Happy Hump Day. :)

This is the day I use Random.org to help me throw you all a few lines of what I'm currently reading. I'm still on these short stories, and I don't normally read on days off, but I should be done before the 2nd Wednesday of December (next week is IWSG).

I chose the next few chunk of chapters for Random to choose from: pages 159-231. Random chose...........page 198.

There are about 28 lines on this page, so Random has chosen...................line 24...a long sentence that goes into the next page.

I have never been a sculptor, but something took shape beneath my fingers that night: block hands and grinning head, stumpy wings and twisted legs: I made it of my lust and self-pity and hatred, then I baptized it with the last drops of Johnnie Walker Black Label and placed it over my heart, my own little gargoyle, to protect me from beautiful women with blue-green eyes and from ever feeling anything again.

Everyone have a wonderful Turkey Day! Eat lots of cranberry sauce. :)

Express Yourself Weekly: Cranberries

Good morning!

Welcome back to Express Yourself Weekly, brought to us by Dani @ Entertaining Interests and Jackie @ Bouquet of Books.

This week, they ask us: What is your favorite family recipe/meal?

I LOVE cranberry sauce. I can eat a whole can by myself, and I love fresh cranberry sauce, too. Last year, I was disappointed and got none, because my cousin made it and put NUTMEG in it. You don't have to do anything to cranberry sauce but crush the cranberries and put in a bowl, so I don't understand why nutmeg was used. I couldn't eat it (I hate nutmeg).

So hopefully, this year I'm not disappointed. Or maybe I'll bring my own. lol

Friday Freeday: Revision update

Good morning!

So, I'm on revision 1,049.2 (lol), and this time around, I'm focusing on giving Ghuli a little more personality (she fell a little flat according to my last beta partner, and she was right) and making her a little more active in her own destiny before she actually needs to. Doing the latter actually helped the former because one of the issues that comes up later but that has always been there, according to supporting charry Cyan, is that Ghuli hardly listens to him. So, there are more moments of them bumping heads, and actually just more of them interacting altogether.

Even adding these moments, I've lost about 1,500 words, so I'd like to see if I can lose a few more. It's pretty nice. :)

That is where I am. I hope you all have a good weekend! I'll see you just before Turkey Day. ;)

Wednesday Words: "Other People"

Happy Wednesday!

This has been a fairly long week. Hallelujah for Hump Day. On a good note, I've been revising up a storm!

On Wednesdays, I share with you all a piece of what I'm reading using Random.org to choose a page and line for you.

I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things (blame the Sherlock Holmesian/H.P. Lovecraftian piece that it started with. I hate Sherlock Holmes.), but I've read some really cool things so far. The story I've started is only two pages, which I imagine I'll be done with in the next hour, so let's move a little further down.

I'll be using the next few shorts, Page 65 - 164. Random.org has chosen........................Page 109.

That actually is the beginning of a short story called "Other People." Sounds interesting. There are about 20 lines on that page, so Random has chosen..........................Line 15.

"Now," said the demon, in a voice that carried with it no sorrow, no relish, only a dreadful flat resignation, "you will be tortured."

As my old classmate Aubrey used to say, "Damn." Can't wait to see where that story takes me. Might have to pray afterwards. ;)

Express Yourself: The Five Amigos?

Happy Tuesday!

Welcome back to Express Yourself, created by Dani @ Entertaining Interests and Jackie @ Bouquet of Books. This week they ask us to name 5 fictional characters you would like to have in your life.

This is a hard one.

I'm going to count the fictional town of Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls) as a character because I would love to live there. Everybody knows your name, but that's kind of okay. They'd know me as Deborah the Hermit. lol I'd hang out at Luke's every morning to wake up and probably every afternoon for lunch, and I guess I'd have to work at the Independence Inn and Doose's Market to compensate for that.

Kaywinnet Lee Frye (Firefly) would be my bestie! Kaylee's such a sweetheart, and I love her Western drawl. She's so optimistic, and I'd probably need that at times. If our spaceship also happened to crash, she could make everything shiny again.

Next, I'd like good ol' Gatsby (Redford or DiCaprio, I don't care) in my life. I read this (like everyone) in high school, and I was enamored by him. As it's been so long, I don't quite remember if it was an unrequited love story or not, but I would've chosen him if I were Daisy.

I would love to meet Desi from Robert Olen Butler's Mr. Spaceman. He seemed like such a sweet alien with the world's hardest mission: make it public that aliens exist in the biggest way imaginable. Sheesh! No pressure.

(This is Kif from Futurama, but I imagine Desi looked and sounded like him.)

And for #5, I'm not going to pretend like Tyrion (Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire) couldn't get it. Peter Dinklage masters this character and makes him that much more sexy. Tyrion is so misunderstood just for being a dwarf (rude), but he's so brilliant. Even Charles Dance (Tywin) said he thinks Tyrion will take the Iron Throne. lol I'd never betray you, Tyrion. T_T

Friday Freeday Express Yourself: MBTI

Happy Friday!

And welcome back to Express Yourself, created by Dani @ Entertaining Interests and Jackie @ Bouquet of Books. They ask us questions each week to get to know us, and this week they asked us to take the MBTI Personality Test to see where we are on the spectrum.

My results are:

ISFJ

Introvert(89%)  Sensing(25%)  Feeling(12%)  Judging(22%)

• You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (89%)
• You have moderate preference of Sensing over Intuition (25%)
• You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (22%)

I tried to go with my gut answers, so I think that's pretty accurate. I'm reading the description now, and WHOA, extremely accurate, especially this little tidbit:

ISFJs are often unappreciated, at work, home, and play. Ironically, because they prove over and over that they can be relied on for their loyalty and unstinting, high-quality work, those around them often take them for granted--even take advantage of them. Admittedly, the problem is sometimes aggravated by the ISFJs themselves; for instance, they are notoriously bad at delegating ("If you want it done right, do it yourself"). And although they're hurt by being treated like doormats, they are often unwilling to toot their own horns about their accomplishments because they feel that although they deserve more credit than they're getting, it's somehow wrong to want any sort of reward for doing work (which is supposed to be a virtue in itself). (And as low-profile Is, their actions don't call attention to themselves as with charismatic Es.) Because of all of this, ISFJs are often overworked, and as a result may suffer from psychosomatic illnesses.

And also:

Like most Is, ISFJs have a few, close friends. They are extremely loyal to these, and are ready to provide emotional and practical support at a moment's notice. (However, like most Fs they hate confrontation; if you get into a fight, don't expect them to jump in after you. You can count on them, however, to run and get the nearest authority figure.) Unlike with EPs, the older the friendship is, the more an ISFJ will value it. One ISFJ trait that is easily misunderstood by those who haven't known them long is that they are often unable to either hide or articulate any distress they may be feeling. For instance, an ISFJ child may be reproved for "sulking," the actual cause of which is a combination of physical illness plus misguided "good manners." An adult ISFJ may drive a (later ashamed) friend or SO into a fit of temper over the ISFJ's unexplained moodiness, only afterwards to explain about a death in the family they "didn't want to burden anyone with." Those close to ISFJs should learn to watch for the warning signs in these situations and take the initiative themselves to uncover the problem.

That one, especially, gets to me, as a Cancerian. The Cancer Zodiacs I follow on Twitter always pinpoint us as being moody, but they never say there's a reason, and there's ALWAYS a reason.  Grr.

Anyway, thanks for asking us to do this quiz, ladies!

Liebster Award Recipients

So I have chosen my people! I am going with newbies in the blogosphere or IWSG-o-sphere, so we can show them all some love and affection. :)

Angela Weight @ Sanity Waiting to Happen

Kara Trotter

Michelle Tran Writes

Tui Snider

The Across The Board Writers

...Technically that's 13 people right there...SO I might leave it at that. lol

Wednesday Words: Fragile Things

Good morning!

Welcome back to Wednesday Words, where I use Random.org to help me show you all what I am currently reading. Today (or tomorrow, because I left my book at home and usually read at work) I will begin Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things. It is a series of short stories, so this week, in case I'm still reading it next week, I will be choosing a line to read from the first story in the set, "A Study in Emerald." It sounds interesting.

There are 26 pages in "ASiE." Random.org has chosen.......(In my Monica Gellar voice) 7!

There are about 30 lines on Page 7 (I don't know why I always count the lines, because I'm almost sure there are always about 30 lines), and Random has given me........(I had a feeling it would do this) line 2, which starts in the middle of some type of article or something, so up one line I go.

BRINGING LIFE TO THE DEAD: FROM AN OLD FAMILY RECIPE AND THE BEST OF MODERN SCIENCE.

Hm....Can't wait to see what's happening there.

Friday Freeday: Liebster Award

Happy Friday!

I hardly look at my Twitter (oops), but when I did last week, I noticed I was given the Liebster Award by Sarah Foster at The Faux Fountain Pen!

Thank you, Sarah! Now, what do I do? lol

The Rules:

• Post 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions provided by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 more bloggers who have less than 200 followers and let them know they’ve been nominated.
• Provide 11 questions for those bloggers to answer.

All right, here goes nothing!

11 Facts:

1. I'm left-handed.

2. I have random red strands of hair in my head (does that up my chances of having red-headed children? I hope so).

3. I love Vanessa Carlton.

4. I'm a singer/songwriter.

5. I pretend to know how to play the piano.

6. I'm a certified Zumba instructor.

7. I love cats but am allergic to them.

8. My favorite color is pink (though you must know that).

9. I don't finish a lot of things I start.

10. I daydream a lot.

11. I almost never finish lists with set numbers (yay!).

Sarah's Questions:

1. If you could dress up as anyone/anything for Halloween, what would it be? I actually don't care for dressing up on Halloween anymore, but I did go to The Greene Turtle as Olivia Pope this year. lol

2. If you could only write one genre of books for the rest of your life, what would it be? I think for the rest of my life...fantasy was my instinctive answer. I love contemporary short stories, and that's what I spent my teen years doing, but fantasy is a better escape plan.

3. Where were you when you were struck with the idea for your current WIP? Did something trigger the idea or did you pull it out of thin air? It literally came to me in a dream. It's no longer my first scene, but I had the most vivid dream, and I wrote it down as the beginning of my story...way back in Draft 1, 10 years ago.

4. Who is your celebrity crush? I'm in love with WWE's Sheamus. I'm not joking.

5. What literary character would you want to be best friends with? BONUS: Which one of YOUR characters would you want to be best friends with? Describe him or her. Maybe Beatrix from Transparent. I'm a sucker for people who immediately adopt you into their families. Bonus answer: Andyrsn is probably the one who would be my best friend. He's witty, kind-hearted, and he loves to take care of his nieces.

6. You have to pull off a huge heist (such as robbing a casino like in Ocean's Eleven). Who do you want on your team? You can pick people you know, celebrities, or any fictional characters (but no magical powers!). Definitely my sister. She has a poker face and will probably be able to do all the lying haha. 

7. What is your least favorite household chore? I hate cleaning period. I try my best to maintain.

8. Has there ever been a book/movie/TV show that made you sob uncontrollably? Just one? The Notebook; Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring; The Best Man Holiday

9. Has one of your favorite books ever been made into a movie and you hated it? If not, did you love it? Why? Everyone raves about A Clockwork Orange, and the movie is HORRIBLE. They changed so much from the book!

10. How do you take your coffee? Do you like flavored coffee? (Or what is your favorite tea if you’re a tea person?) I take it with cream, preferably flavored cream. I love flavored coffee.

11. What would your demise be that gets you kicked out of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory? (You can pick one from the book/movies or come up with your own!) Screw that, I'm getting out like Charlie. lol I want to win!

Oh God, now I have to come up with questions.

1. If you met your favorite author and could only say the first thought that came to your mind, what would that be?
2. Throw up a number on your fingers. What is it?
3. What is your favorite book of all time and why?
4. Who is your favorite musical artist, and don't be ashamed.
5. What was your dream school growing up? Did you go, or did your dreams change?
6. If you couldn't be a writer, what would you do? (Die is an acceptable answer.)
7. What do you like doing better: writing or editing?
8. What's your favorite "guilty" pleasure?
9. Besides writing, because sometimes it IS the stressor, what activity helps you feel the most at peace and helps you relieve your stress?
10. Look to your LEFT! What's there? 
11. What or who is your spirit animal?

Finding 11 others who have less than 200 people will be a matter of finding them, so I'm going to look through my subscribers and the IWSG list to find some who've never been nominated and (if I forget to do it before this auto-posts) nominate them in a new post.

Thanks again SO much, Sarah! <3

Express Yourself Weekly: WARNING

Ironically, I was home all day Tuesday. Definitely forgot to post.

Hi! Welcome back to Express Yourself, brought to us by Dani @ Entertaining Interests and Jackie @ Bouquet of Books. Each week, they ask us all questions, and we hop around the blogosphere to see what everyone has to say.

This week, they ask a fun one: If you came with a warning label, what would yours say about you?

Hm...I probably have a few, but this is the important one:

I probably have a disorder, but...ah well.

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Happy Wednesday, and Happy November! I hope you went out to vote yesterday. I did!

It is also the first of the month, so that means, INSECURE WRITERS, UNITE! This mammoth of a bloghop was created by the legend, the ninja, the guitar hero, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Visit both links for IWSG posts, hosts, and participants.

National Novel Writing Month has once again started! I was thinking about trying it again this year (I tried 2 years ago and failed miserably). I even had thoughts on what to write, but I'm helping my friend revise her first novel--an adult women's sci-fi--and am working on revising my own fantasy WIP, so I have to not bog my brain down with anything else.

For you all here, I want to post some inspirational quotes or memes. SOMETHING. lol (I just Googled "inspiration for writiers." Yes, Google, I did mean writers, thanks. lol SMH. It's too early.)

Buzzfeed has a great list but terrifying pictures of the people who said them, so I'm going to put the link here with some of my favorites from the list and let you stare at the people if you want. lol

"If something isn't working, if you have a story that you've built and it's blocked and you can't figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece, and cut it. It's brutal, but sometimes inevitable."

--Joss (O Cap'n, My Cap'n) Whedon

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

--Maya Angelou

"Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players...I have 10 or so, and that's a lot.  As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them."

--Gore Vidal

"No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader."

--Robert Frost

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

--Toni Morrison

"I know I was writing stories when I was five. I don't know what I did before that. Just loafed, I suppose."

--(teehee) P.G. Wodehouse

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."

--(Say that!) Thomas Mann

"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

--(HA!) W. Somerset Maugham

And finally:

"I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn."

--Anne Frank

Good luck this month, NaNobites! hehe