Sunday Background and World Building 1/31/10

So this Sunday's World Building and Background is going to be just a generic introduction into my world.

The world that my stories revolve around is called Torrest Reyenne. It was created by some very bored gods who were bugging their parents. Mommy and Daddy dearest (more about these two on a later date) decided to make a contest for their children. They would join together and create a world. They would then have to populate the world with their children. Basically what the contest does is get the whiny bored gods out of Mommy and Daddy's hair.

Torrest Reyenne is a world of magic, there are magical powers, the ability to switch shapes.

Its a world very similar to our own.  Their technology is as advanced as our as well as in some places being slightly more advanced (working on the specifics of that)

There is a lot that I am trying to work out right now, but that is the gist of it for now.

Cara Mia Amore

Saturday Plans, Rants and Reflections 1/30/10

Plans

So this week my plans are relatively simply. This week I want to really push at actually writing and not just planning on the writing. I've been distracting myself a lot with the outlining and background building lately and not actually getting any where on any on my stories. So, here is my goal: I want to try and get 100 words a day on each of the three main stories. This is relatively simple way to start, because I can't guarantee when and how much I get to write a day, so I figure 100 X 3 = 300 words a day. Not hard at all.

I also want to finish a few of the planning items that I have been working on for awhile to get nailed down and finished up. Mostly the outlines right now. I have them pretty much done for now besides Aislynn's. Then I want to move on to the generic outlines for the three shorter stories.

Rants

This weeks rant is brought to you by the Rocky Mountain Bridal Show. I went to one today, and I need to stop going to them. I have pretty much everything I need nailed down besides a baker. But finding a baker is becoming increasingly difficult because we don't want a traditional cake because neither the groom to be or myself really like cake. I really like the idea of doing a desert bar type situation with a collection of deserts, but we'll have to see how that goes. My mom really wants us to do the "cutting the cake" situation so we'll have to see what we can do with that. Maybe we'll do a "cutting the cheesecake".

Along the same lines, since I decided to go to one that was quite a bit of ways out from where I actually live, I decided to stay for the majority of the show. Including the fashion show at the end. I usually don't like to stay for those because I've already got my dress and the dresses for a majority of the party, but I wanted to see what kind of things have come into popularity (not that I go by popular standards) since the last time I checked. So I go into the conference room where they were holding the fashion show and sat next to a mother and her daughter. We waited until the lame music started, then we heard a sad story about a woman who won this competition to plan and have a wedding in one week  -- it was sad because apparently this woman met the man of her dreams a few weeks after her daughter died, dude, I wanted to cry -- then they started filing out. First off, I've seen better fashion shows put on by middle school children who have never see a fashion magazine in their life. The models they got had obviously never done a show before (which would have been fine) and had no emotions or expressions in the show  (which was lame beyond belief).

God, it was nearly unbearable. Not to mention the outfits sucked major cookies. And then choked on them. Then tried to eat them again.

Reflections

I don't really have any major reflections besides to say that I love that my lovely fiance is bearing with me through all of the craziness of this wedding planning and would stick beside me through anything. I love him completely.

Cara Mia Amore

So, I've already been slacking...

So I just wanted to come here and get this updated. I am going to start up a post schedule for different things I plan to do on each day of the week. This way I'm hoping if I get something scheduled then I'll be able to push myself to writing daily on the topic of that given day. I'm going to do the schedule as a backbone to random-every day postings as well. Oh, and since I am trying to focus this blog on my writing, a lot of the daily themes are going to be focused around my writing and trying to make it better. Here is rough draft number one for the weekly schedule:

• Sundays: Background and world building.


• Mondays: Character development.


• Tuesdays: Random.
  


• Wednesdays: Review days.


• Thursdays: Free writing


• Fridays: Random.


• Saturdays: Weekly rant, next weeks goals, reflections.

So that's where I'm at now. I'll try and get this schedule going as soon as I can.

Cara Mia Amore

A brand new home

So, my lovely world press world, I have come to join your numbers. I have come to enjoy this world. I have a blogger blog out there that I use as well, and depending on which one of these sites I like more will decide how I was to proceed and who I will continue to post to. For now, this is me saying welcome. Expect an actual post before too long.

Cara Mia Amore

Ooo A meme

Your genre(s): Depends on how you really classify things, I tend to think mine as a mix of modern fantasy and horror.

How many books are you working on now: I guess you could technically say three. At least three that have a majority of my attention. But those would be novels, then three more shorter novella type stories. Not to mention write ups on different things regarding my world. Laws, history, geography, and the such.

Are you a linear or chunk writer: Chunk definitely. Or a majority of the time I write its in chunks, especially since I don't just focus on one of the stories I am working on at a time. Though lately its been pretty linear because I've been focusing on only one of my writings. So really again, depends on when you ask me.

The POV you’re partial to: Really depends on which story, a lot of things happen by third person omniscient.

The Tense you use: Present unless there is a flashback, but with the way my books are outlined now, they are pretty much spanned over a bit of time that basically goes from past to present.

The theme that keeps cropping up in your books: Pain, sacrifice, family and love.

How many days a week do you write: Well I try to write as much as I can every day. Whether its new stuff or editing, I try to give a little time to my writing every day.

What time of day do you get your best writing done: Morning and afternoon and night. I try to write whenever I get a spare moment and or the inclination. I've been either a full time student or employee or both my entire writing career, so there hasn't been set aside times to be able to work. Though now that I am working a rather steady schedule, I hope to be able to set some specific time aside in the afternoon devoted to just writing.

Who are your mentors: I can't really think of anyone who is a mentor specifically. Everyone who has the passion to write and to put their words to paper and get published has been an inspiration to me.

My favorite authors to read: Diana Gabaldon is on the top of my list today, Nora Roberts, Laurell K Hamilton, and way too many more to list

Update

So, I've been writing a lot lately. Mostly at work, really. A lot of the writing has actually been getting notes and outlines written up. One things I really wanted to update here was my current word counts.

• Noah's: 99 words


• Selene's: 12,743 words
  


• Aislynn's: 6,719 words
  


• God's: 580 words


• Justice: 848 words


• Ezra: 5,145 words

Well, Selene's is mostly an estimate at the moment. I took most of my word counts from what I have typed up, so everything I have written that hasn't been entered on the computer just yet. That is one of my many to-dos for this weekend.

But that is my update for today

From the writing of others

I realized I'd posted this a bit ago and meant to make it just a draft, I didn't have the time to get all the quotes done before I started this post, and, before I knew it, it was time for me to go to bed. But this is what I was planning to do. Quotes, poems, songs, those kind of things inspire me to write. I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite writing quotes and why I like them or however they make me respond. I think I'll end up doing it over a space of time for a bit, and then maybe make it a weekly thing. Here's to day one.


I love this quote from Justice Brandeis, and how very true. Not very many people can get things perfect on the first try. Or if they do get it right the first time they write it, they are the kind of person that has been writing for a long time and knows exactly how to write that appeases themselves and others.

Me, on the other hand, I rewrite constantly, almost as much as write. Taking the story I have been writing for a long time time now, it has gone through rewrites constantly as my ideas grow and I look at one seeing a dead end and I take it to a new road that will sometimes end in dead ends as well. I like rewriting and exploring the world that my characters live in.

Forever and a day

So, it has been a month since my last update. Been a busy month, really, a busy summer. Here's a quick recap:

• Changed positions at my job (not necessarily a promotion, but its a better position with better hours).


• Girls got here for their summer break, been enjoying my time with them and having them help me plan their part in the wedding. Not to mention the excuse to go out to places that kids get to go without getting weird stares when I go by myself.


• Moved a few weeks ago. Just now getting internet and time to post anything. I HATE MOVING. Especially 300 pound couches up a flight of stairs, around corners and through two doors. FUN.

Those are the basics of what I've been up to lately. Nothing really worth while to update about wedding plans, and those would have gotten posted to the wedding blog anyways.

Though, I do have one thing to say about moving besides that its torture hidden by the gladness of a bigger place. You find things you forgot you had. Like the depths of my filing cabinet. I don't go into my filing cabinet often, or haven't for awhile. I keep mostly old drafts of writing in there and old notes that aren't really applicable to what I am currently writing. All my newer stuff is organized on my desk (ha ha, my desk which isn't a desk, mostly its a stack of folders that sat beside the bed but will soon be on a desk now that I have room for one in our room.) Anyway, the point, I went through a filing cabinet and found a lot of notes I had filed away. Maps, pictures I took the time to draw (and trust me they would have taken plenty of time because I have no artistic abilities) and not to mention some notes I had printed out awhile back that had gotten erased when my lap top had blue screened earlier this year.

I love treasures and the ideas they spark.

So basically with my new position at work I get more free time, less of a busy-ness that I used to have in my old position. I also have access to word. That is a bad combination with a writer, as some of you know. Trust me, it gets me distracted. I've been doing outlines (I used to hate outlines and would do what I called To-Do lists.) For all the stories, and my plot is going places I never thought I would take. It's been interesting.

Hopefully I'll have something to share later

Movie Review ***Spoilers***

I just love reviewing movies, so I thought I would do it here for once.

Today, on my lonely day off, of which I should have been spending packing up our things for our move, but hey who does what they're supposed to do on their days off? Don't answer that.... Anyways, back to that sentence, I went to go see a movie. I do that occasionally by myself just because I'm... well I'm a dork. The movie of the day was My Sister's Keeper. Todd didn't want to go with me because, well he doesn't like movies based on books he liked. So here's my review:

My Sister's Keeper
Rating with out taking in book: I'd give it four stars out of five.
Rating taking in the book: I'd probably only give it about three at the most.

Synopsis from www.imdb.com : Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) have just been informed that their young daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has leukemia, and that she only has a few years to live. The doctor suggests to the parents that they try an unorthodox medical procedure of producing another child in a test-tube that would be a perfect match as a donor for Kate. Sara will try anything to save Kate, and they have a new baby Anna (Abigail Breslin) to be used as a donor for Kate. The first thing they use is blood from the umbilical cord for Kate. As years go on, the doctors must take bone marrow from Anna to give to Kate. At age 11, the next thing Anna must give to her sister is a kidney. Anna has had enough of all of these medical procedures, and she decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation and the right to decide how her body will be used. The whole family is being torn apart by Anna's decision because everyone knows what will happen to Kate if she doesn't get a new kidney.

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3717136921/

My Review: This comes from two directs really, one from just watching it from a movie goer's perspective and one from a reader's perspective. Let's touch base with the movie goer first. It is a touching and heart breaking story that is told from various perspectives. Its interesting that they got into everyone's head to get feelings across on this crazy story. I cried at various parts, but that was the point.

I think most of my review is really a comparison between book and movie. Here are a few parts.

• First we'll touch on the different points of view aspect. I loved this aspect in the book and I was hoping (and somewhat fearing) they would try to do this in the movie. I was sort of disappointed how they tried to pull this off. They started having it go between the different characters, but something happened where they kind of slacked off and kept it in Anna's view. Then, pop!, they remembered that that was part of the plot line and put it in to another person's view. The way that Jodi Picoult wrote it there were these character's views: Anna, Campbell, Julia, Sara, Brian, Jesse and Kate in the end. In the movie you get Anna, Campbell, Sara, Brian, Jesse and Kate. Really more of Kate and Jesse in the movie then in the book, which I liked, but there was a point of less Kate in the book. Which doesn't come across as much in the movie.


• The ending basically pissed me off. Yes, I agree that the book was a depressing story, but it was amazing and heartbreaking how it ended. I like it better then the happier ending they chose for the movie. Basically in the book, the case is won but things happen to the point that Anna gets in a car accident and Campbell (who is the one that is deemed responsible for helping Anna make medical decisions) has to make the decision to take her off life support and gives Kate the kidney she desperately needed. In the movie, Kate dies before the decision in court ever comes, even though by then you know that Anna would definitely give the kidney to Kate if she wanted it (which she didn't). Kate survives in the book to live a longer life cancer free, with Anna's sacrifice, and everyone (though sad, and not wanting to remember Anna's sacrifice) moves on to good lives. Anna, and her family, survive in the movie, but they start to grow apart and away.


• I also don't like how they kind of changed all the characters. First-- Julia, who in the book is guardian ad litem, is completely taken out, and with it the side story of Julia and Campbell, which I liked in the book, it showed there could be happy endings even in sad times. Campbell -- not a lot was changed here, but there wasn't anything to build up to with Judge and his condition, that was just a random "oh, he is epileptic, how sad, that's what the dogs for", it was more interesting building up to that conclusion in the book. Sara-- her character really didn't change, but instead they changed the perspective she was telling the story in (thought they do start it off right), Sara's character, in my mind, was stuck in the past in the book, focused on Kate's disease instead of her fracturing family, in the book this plays a lot into her character and is an insight into her and a shock when she is brought into the present. Brian -- the movie kind of just throws his character down the drain, you don't really get the impact of the firehouse and how Anna stays there, you don't get a taste of Brian being torn between the happiness of his daughters and the health of one. Jesse -- they totally screwed up this character, instead of making him an arson and drug addict, they make him dyslexic and a bum who apparently doesn't go to school, true he does get portrayed as the outsider, but you never really see the connection he grows with his family by the end and everyone forgiving each other. Anna -- really, the only thing they seemed to change for her was her age, and I'm not really sure why, in the book she is supposed to be fourteen and Kate sixteen, you also don't get a lot of the inside of Anna's head that you got in the book which I missed. Kate-- I do like that you got to know her a bit more, that is one benefit of the movie.

Yeah thats pretty much it for now

Me? Blogging? Psh...

So, once upon a time I used to be good at this whole journaling thing. I could just sit down and reflect on my day. Now, being an adult, I find that a little more difficult. And I think that that is because my brain gets so fried when ever I come home from work that I absolutely do not want to reflect on the day. Half the crap that I go through while working are things I don't even want to have to remember.

Being a call support agent with a major television provider in the U.S. means that I get calls from complete assholes and idiots all day asking me to help them and fix their problems. That wouldn't be so bad if those assholes and idiots would learn to follow directions. Just so you know, when I tell you to press the menu button on your remote, that usually means that I want you to press the menu button, not some random button you decide to press. And then when I asked you what you pressed after you bring up some bullshit I don't want you to say these words: "I thought you said (insert name of whatever button pressed)". You know I didn't say that. Really you did. I only told you the name five times. Seriously. MENU. *Face meet palm/desk/other sharp instrument*. Granted there are the nice people out there who can make my job easier. But there really aren't that many out there these days.

Wedding planning is kind of at a stand still at the moment. Granted we have over a year to plan. But we do need to make a few very important decisions. Like an official date and place. We still haven't decided on the damn state we're getting married in. Decisions, decisions. If you want to read more about the pre-wedding planning and tasks, and any other information go ahead and take a look at my other blog. Two Hands One Heart. Most updates on the wedding will be linked there from now on.

Lets see... what else. Visits with family of different sorts were fun. All the visiting and playing kept everything happy and bright. We definitely wish that both sets of visits could have been longer. We miss our girls and I definitely miss my mom. I would love to just hide her here forever but I think my dad would miss her.

Life has been slightly stressful lately. With working and trying to not kill people bunking on couches, not to mention court and planning various things like weddings and moving out. Nothing has been very "news" worthy lately. But we're getting through it and trying to just get settled. I've been here in Colorado for about 13 months now. Its been exciting and I am more happy then I have ever been.

But thats it for now, I'll try and update more often as well.

CMA