Well, guess freakin' what?

I changed my mind AGAIN about the NaNoWriMo project. Instead of finishing Dolls and City, I'm going back to the original story, but with a twist...

It's no longer a Silent Hill fan fiction. During the dead time between calls at work, I managed to turn it into an original story. And I like it a million times better.

Tom the Cat: representing my writing emotes since... now

I had a feeling this would happen again. Dammit, it's 2012 again. Well, almost, but whatever.

~~

BTW, the soundtrack to the fan fiction applies to this one. For those with a goldfish memory like myself, here it is again:

(edited on 12-30-15 due to fluctuations in the playlist as I worked on the project)

1. "It’s Gonna Be Easy Now" by Dan Seals
2. "The Last One to Know" by Reba McEntire
3. "Holding On for Life" by Broken Bells
4. "Silhouette" by PHASES
5. "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine" by The White Stripes
6. "Worlds in Collision" by Jerry Harrison
7. "Leave A Trace" by CHVRCHES
8. "Half Life" by Twin Shadow
9. "The Waiting" by Akira Yamaoka (from the Silent Hill 3 Soundtrack)
10. "Compass" by Zola Jesus
11. "Helelyos" by SEXWITCH
12. "Poison Tree" by Beth Orton
13. "Carrion Flowers" by Chelsea Wolfe
14. "Lord Knows" by Dum Dum Girls
15. "Surround Sound" by Empire for the Sun
16. "Immortals" by Marnie Stern
17. "I’m A Ruin" by Marina & the Diamonds
18. "Mt. Washington" by Local Natives (damn you, Life Is Strange!)
19. "Salvation" by Editors
20. "I Will Follow" by U2 (damn you, Rock Band 4!)
21. "Bella Donna" by Stevie Nicks

(I love it when current songs sneak their way into a project's soundtrack)

Change of Plans: the NaNoWriMo Edition

Okay, I originally planned on doing a fan fiction of Silent Hill, but after trying to plan it out, I felt my mind go towards two different projects that I want to finish by year's end.

So after doing the Ben Franklin method (as my mom calls it), listing the pros and cons of doing the new project or finishing the other two as part of NaNo this year, it was an easy decision to make. So yes, I'll be finishing Dolls (I talked about it on and off here) and then the sequel to Blues, known already on here as City.

I'm a little bummed about not doing the initial idea, but things happen and I must follow where my heart is at this time. And right now, it wants me to finish these two projects.

It is what it is. *Kanye shrug*

Whoops...

I said sometime this year that my goal was to create 50 new posts for 2015, but I really meant for that to be 40. Yeah, I know, ten less, whoop-dee-doo.

But there it is, 40 new posts for 2015 on here. And so far...

*checks number*

26 down, 14 to go.

If I get there quickly, I'll do 10 more.

Okay, I'm gone now. Bye.

A Big Announcement!

After sitting on this for a while, had to make sure it was all set in stone-like material, I'm ready to announce something wonderful...

Building A Thick Skin: How to Handle Criticism Like An Effing Adult

So I received my first piece of criticism regarding my writing in a long while. I was checking some poems I posted on an online magazine some time ago (it was for a letter I was writing) and there was a comment that was posted recently. Naturally, as a writer would, I read it. At first, I thought it was funny. Then I read it again. It finally stung me.

I called my mother to read it aloud to her, but the reaction from her was not expected. She didn't laugh along with me, but said "it sounds like someone's opinion".

She ended up totally right. Sure, I didn't completely agree with the commentor*, but I later came to respect this person for taking the time to write a response. My poetry elicited a reaction, which is better than complete silence (at least, in this case). In this age of the Internet, posting anything but praise or the so-called "correct opinion" has gotten people in some seriously dangerous places. And the way writers are acting about critics and how they sic their fan-bases on these folks... yeesh.

So the comment did two things: it humbled me and also made me analyze my relationship with poetry.

I'll be honest, I was worried that perhaps, the comment had a point about my poetry. Maybe it wasn't really good, maybe I really don't know how to write them. But I took a step back and recalled some of my favorite poets: Frost, Nye, Plath, Whitman, Brooks, Alexie, and Hughes. Each of them wrote poems in their own way, so what if mine didn't fit the ideas that the commentor had? Perhaps the commentor is used to radically different ideas of poetry; thus, who the hell am I to tell them they're wrong?

No, I did not reply to the comment on the page. It is best left alone and best I do not get involved that way. The writing speaks for itself, it doesn't need my "defense", they're big kids.

So thank you, random person who posted a comment on my poems. Thank you for your words and your time. As a writer getting into the publishing realm, I bow to you, the reader, in humility and gratitude.

*I don't think this is a word, but whatever. *Kanye shrug*

Alright, alright, cooking with gas now...

So in my search for new employment, I got some promising leads: customer service positions at two insurance companies (a medical one and an auto/home one). I booked some phone interviews for the same day because I'm awesome (see: limited on time). I may need to nap later that day, but we'll see.

So far, the overtime is going well. I think I may put in some more next week, but I'll see how this week goes before I commit to that.

~~

Update: I have decided to take a small break from doing overtime since it all caught up with me by Friday night.

Also, things are actually going pretty well in the new department. So, now I am not so sure about leaving the bank just yet. So I'll have to give it some more thought, but man... I think the money may be the biggest temptation.