What I've Learned from NaNoWriMo (and Writing Reviews All Year)

Here I am, basking in the victory of NaNoWriMo and working on my grad school application. Haven't done much in the way of editing the application's story and Invisible. Probably a little burned out from writing, I dunno.

Just was thinking about what I've done so far and I have to say, it isn't half bad. With my reviews, I realized I need to work on providing a better way of conveying both good and bad sides and then having a way of saying "yeah this was (good or bad)". Just something else.

Also, with working on More Than Thorns, I learned that I can write something long in about a month and it turning out promising. A hilarious thing about this story was that in its former life, Thorns was a rip-off of The Shining, only in Louisiana and the house was a Greek Revival. Thank God I was able to resurrect it. Normally, when a story gets that entrenched in gory things like that, it's beyond saving. The other funny thing is, I actually miss the world and the characters of Thorns. I really want to revisit it and add more scenes. But Invisible and the application story need to get done.

The biggest lesson I got from NaNoWriMo was to have fun. I forgot how much fun writing can be. Editing is fun too, don't get me wrong. I had an absolute blast. It was the challenge I've been needing for so long. I set goals and met them (well, most of them) and got absorbed in another novel world. I had to tell my editor shut the hell up and just write. I learned to give it my all, even if I wasn't 100% satisfied with the final product. In order to be a successful writer, I must let myself actually do some damn writing (that and edit it, but you get the point). Editing and revisions aren't going to be my problem. It's crossing that first finish line, finishing the first draft.

All this? My friends, this is the craft of writing.

Going cruelty-free...

Recently, I have gotten interested in purchasing beauty products that are cruelty-free (i.e. not tested on animals). After doing some research, I found a few places that are cruelty-free and went there earlier today. One stop was at The Body Shop. I managed to get some shampoo, conditioner, tea tree facial wash, and hair product. Can't wait to see the results of the facial wash. I also found cruelty-free deos (Jason) at Whole Foods later on. I'm going to go around and try other products and see what I can find.

One thing I learned is that, yes, going cruelty-free is more expensive. The deos weren't as expensive as the ones I used to use, but The Body Shop is a little pricey. We'll see if it's worth it. Thankfully, Physician's Formula is also cruelty-free, so no big switches there. The makeup is a cheaper Bare Minerals (about half the price, believe it or not).

If you want to find out how to go cruelty-free yourself, check out The Leaping Bunny and order a shopping guide! (I'm expecting mine in the mail soon.) Or you can read on the site what companies offer cruelty-free products. (Note: if you are vegan, you may have to double-check if the products use animal byproducts, e.g. beeswax.)

A great blog I stumbled across is Living Cruelty-Free. The blogmistress writes reviews on various products and answers all your burning questions. Tons of information. Go check it out!

I'll update on this periodically, spread the word on great products. As I look at my beautiful gray tabby sitting on my windowsill, I owe it to her, my other pets (of course), and all other living creatures love and respect for them. If that means switching products to save animals' lives and save the environment, then so be it.

ETA: I do have plans to extend going cruelty-free pretty far, from laundry detergent to toothpaste. Whatever can be replaced with products that don't test on animals, I'll go for it.

It's time to kick ass and eat jerky... and I don't have any jerky.

Since seeing a counselor, I have gotten a grasp on things and ready to take some action to get things moving again on this blog. Of course, that and my life. But I'm gonna assume you already knew that.

Anyway! First off, I will finish my all my review plans, and of course, the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge. After that, for 2012, I'm going to do "The Year of Revisits". I'm going to review my top 12 favorite books of all time, one book a month. If I want to review anything new or old, I will, but that will be about it. This will be my last year of those "end-of-the-year" lists. If I happen to read enough to constitute those kinds of lists, awesome! But it has worn down on me in recent days, so it's no longer gonna be a big priority.

As for these initial plans, I'm scrapping the Charlotte Hatherly album and replacing it with Murakami's new book 1Q84. I will get a move-along on everything listed here. They're severely overdue.

I'm off for a road trip and a concert in the evening. See y'all later!

What's Been Happening So Far...

This weekend, as part of my job at the non-profit, I'm joining my co-workers in a parade. I already decorated my ridiculous fish hat with colorful curly ribbons to commemorate the good times. I'm excited about it, but also concerned. I think I am getting a cold, but that's not going to stop me. But it won't surprise me if I pass out Sunday night (also after going to see Vienna Teng in concert [whoo-hoo!]) and wake up the next day feeling like a semi had struck me.

So much to do with plenty of time to do it, believe it or not. Today, time is surplus.

I'm also thinking of taking up a few hobbies to help me through some of the rough patches in my life at the moment. Atop that, gain more skills and knowledge. Like bookbinding and making soaps, even going back to drawing. Though, the last thing I want to do is get bogged down in too many hobbies.

So far, got a few things done. A few more before going to the bookstore for a closing shift.

I need to stay on top of this blog.

For the last 9 reviews of my "24 Reviews" project...

I will follow up with these fine media specimens:

Books:
Other Kingdoms by Richard Matheson (promised earlier, but listing it for prosperity)
Before the Fallout by Diana Preston
The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum
Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood

Revisited Albums:
Casual Gods by Jerry Harrison
Law and Order by Lindsey Buckingham

Albums:
Lindsey Buckingham's new album- will be done upon release
New Worlds by Charlotte Hatherly

Video Game:
Silent Hill: Downpour - will be done upon release
 

~

As for the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge:
1Q84
Underground
South of the Border, West of the Sun
Dance, Dance, Dance (maybe?)

~

My plan is 1-2 reviews a month. I foresee 1Q84 being early November, the same for the new Silent Hill. That is the plan, and so it goes.

Here's the dealio...

A review of Guster's new album is forthcoming, as reviews of some books I'll be reading in the meantime. I'm inching closer to the end of Part 1 of Invisible. As I get closer, I came to an interesting realization: that there may be a Part 3. I probably will get an answer once I reach the milestone of Part 1.

This isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

I leave you with music.

200th Entry Bonanza Blowout Plans

Well, I promised a big celebration to commemorate the 200th entry for Musings of A Crazy Lady Writer. Well, here's how it will go: it will go on as long as there are enough entries to fulfill the celebration time (I estimate about five days).

The following will happen:

-I will formally review two albums that I previously posted sorry excuses for reviews of: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne and The Red and the Black by Jerry Harrison.

-Y'all will be able to put a face to the name...

-I will announce a new novel project chronicle.

-Albeit abridged with some names removed, a little bio of my life so far...

If y'all think I'll do something like this every time I reach 100 more posts, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I plan to do this two more times: for the 500th entry and the 1,000th entry. Holy s*** if I make it to 1,000...

**9 left to go!**

Two years... huh.

Two years ago, I decided to blog seriously. Here I am, still updating with random news and updates about writing. I would like to take this to the next level. I'm considering, beginning 2010, to start writing serious reviews on books and music.

There will likely be more on writing stories and other writerly things. Let's make it the third year with style, y'all.

So happy second anniversary to "Musings of A Crazy Lady Writer"!

One mini-vacation later...

Okay, I finally figured out what I'm going to do with writing. First off, several short stories lined up.

-A woman laments her affairs with men that share a common trait: they were all Pisces.

-A teenager in a mall in my hometown, around 1985. But I have to know: is it too much to ask for photos of local malls from the eighties?! DX

-A fairy tale about a local attraction, believe it or not, not too far from my house.

-A Catholic has a run-in with an atheist.

Trust me, the ideas are more awesome than that, but I'm only willing to give away a few details.

~

Oh, and yes! A novelette project too.

Thanks to late-night YouTube viewing (though I don't sign in, I lurk) and watching this video and reading about the fate of the man who captured it on video. According to the comments, he had died. And, if I read the comments correctly, the moment when the camera falls over and it seems to fade to red, he had been struck by debris and killed.

With that, and along with viewing old-school tornado safety videos, I was inspired to write a story about an amateur spotter capturing footage of a violent tornado.

And they say the Internets are bad for writers. Pffff!

~

Other than some marathon reading, there is nothing else to write about. So, good night...

-Lindsey

P.S.: If I only had a Blu-Ray player...

New Year's Grand Schemes!

Well, you know... I might as well tell y'all. I'll even give explanations!

The List:

• Organize my time better. If I can conquer time management, happy fun times will be had. Oh, and I get tons more stuff done, both serious and fun things.
• Spend more time and effort on my schoolwork. No more B's for me! I want to graduate summa cum laude (cum laude would be nice too).
• Begin to do yoga. Recommended by my chiropractor due to my scoliosis/sciatica nerve issues. Plus, I love yoga.
• Attend church. Believe it or not, I never attended church. I would love to hear at least a few services from different places.
• Volunteer for a charity for two weeks. I'm donating to charity, why not physically do something for charity?
  
• Drink more water. Since I swore off caffeniated products, I'm relying on powdered tea. That's good, but not efficient.
  
• Save my money more efficiently. I'm trying to save up for an apartment, fun stuff, charity donations, and some random big-ticket item.
  
• Learn all about my insurances. Since I have been kicked off my folks' insurance at the end of last year, I might as well know how the one I get from my job works.
  
• Watch more movies. I have a Netflix backlog like you wouldn't believe.
  
• Practice guitar every day for an hour. I have a feeling guitar-playing will make things easier for me to deal with.
  
• Write every day. This is obvious, since I'm a writer.
  
• Do better on my car's upkeep. Since it's mine (not 100% though), I might as well know how it all works.
  
• Lessen my movie, book, CD, and video game backlogs. How can I justify buying more books if I haven't read the ones I already have? Same goes with the other categories.
  
• Learn many new skills. Many examples include: how to maintain a car, fix faucets, do math, shop for a car... etc.
  
• Go out with friends/co-workers/family more often. I'm a homebody, but I want to change that. I love staying at home, but I know I'm missing out on life.
• Be less scared of the online community. I get nervous on message boards and when I post on here (every so often though). I want to change that. No vlogs or anything like that from me, but just be more active on message boards.
  

Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. I'll be (in Cartman's words) hella busy. But, I'll still post on here!

Until next time, I leave you, listening to Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"...

-Lindsey

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to 2009!

I have lots of great things planned for this year, which I feel will be a great year. Not just for me, but for the world in general.

We have great things to look forward to and tragic circumstances to overcome (and to grow from). May your celebrations be full of love and cheer, and may the new year be good to you.

Until next time, I leave you listening to Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere"... in my head.

-Lindsey

Maybe next time?

I don't think I'll be doing NaNoWriMo this year. For some reason, I don't like the idea of posting the story up for the word count. Whatever I was planning to write, is private (mostly due to the fact that it might be embarrassing). It's only to see if I could even achieve this goal and I rather not share the story with other people. Especially if it isn't finished...

Instead, NaNoReMo. Again. Why the heck not? I had a blast last year with Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White.

Credit goes to Matthew for the initial idea and Leila for reminding me of it.

Anyways, I'm doing it on my own. Their choices are tempting, though. For my choice... it's going to be La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas. Whee, French lit!

~

My sis is back at Blogger and the link to it is updated. Check it out!

~

As for any writing goals, I'll concentrate on a longtime story idea that recently resurfaced. It's about the teenage children of two original characters of mine. I have no clue if it's going to be a novel or a long short story. My writing senses say... novel. And they are usually right.

I leave you, rocking out to Radiohead's "Airbag". Hell yes, OK Computer... there's something worth all its noise.

Regards,
Lindsey

P.S. "noise" is Lindsey-speak for "hype". Just so you know...

Gaaah, the pain...

I swear, I've been popping pills ever since I got my wisdom teeth pulled. First, there were the two painkillers (one had codeine in it!) and the antibiotic. The painkiller with the codeine made me have some weird-ass dreams and I would pass out and take one-hour naps. I have since stopped taking them and gone back to the ibuprofen initially prescribed for my sciatic nerve pain, which works better IMHO. Several days after finishing my antibiotic, I got a head cold. So here I am, popping cold meds and nursing a nasty headache that came from the headbanging I would do when I cough, XD.

On the teeth front, they're healing beautifully. I got a syringe at my post-op visit and cleaning the holes got easier. I've gotten back to eating regular foods, but I've been avoiding sodas. I'm sticking to water, tea and anything else but soda. It's been two weeks since then. No more caffeine dependency for me!

~

I finished reading Richard Matheson's Somewhere In Time a while back. It was okay, started off good but slowed a bit in the middle and got better at the third-quarter. I would recommend it, but please... just read What Dreams May Come. It's infinitely better.

I recently went to the library near my house and borrowed a few books. One was Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, which was the basis for the best Disney film ever: The Great Mouse Detective. I liked the book, it was really cute.

Another is Kenneth J. Harvey's The Town that Forgot How to Breathe. I haven't finished reading that, and I may not get to. I can't get into it. Gah, I hate it when that happens.

I'm having a similar issue with "Mrs. Dalloway". Man, I have so many books and only eighteen of them really appeal to me! No more buying books on a whim, that's for sure.

~

So, Silent Hill: Homecoming finally came out. I finished it in a week and here's my verdict: I liked it. I thought it was going to be the worst thing ever, but I was wrong... sort of. I think the crew that made this game can totally pull off another title, but they need to stop referencing the damn movie. Please guys, we Silent Hill fans only ask for originality! Heck, ask us for ideas. We're bursting with them!

~

I'm also happy to report that I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life: stick with my current degree plan and keep soldiering on. Alas, regrets of dropping the Fiction class have risen. Oh well. At least I got in, :D.

~

Man, I don't think tarot card reading is going to be a new hobby. I like it, but it hasn't stuck with me. I should give it a few more weeks, and then decide whether or not to give up and move onto something else.

I got a tarot card reading from someone at this new-age store my sister likes. For twenty-five bucks, I got told this (all this is to the best of my memory):

-I'm afraid of myself (duh)
-I have five pieces ready to be published (wuh? Which five? This has perplexed me since that day)
-I'll dabble into every form of writing (you know, I have planned to)
-I'll be famous (o_O!)

And I thought my silly daydreams of being a famous writer were just... well, silly! I almost died of laughter in my chair.

~

Ah, grand schemes. One I have is to do NaNoWriMo. Make up a whole new idea and do that. Lord knows I have enough time...

Another is submit some poetry to my university's literary magazine. They're taking pieces for next semester. Maybe I could get in. Who knows? I have to try.

No more. But trust me, I'll think of some...

~

I just listened to Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Go get this album! It is amazing. So cool that I can't think of a rational, unbiased thing to say other than... damn!

Already, one song has inspired a poem.

~

I've been working on and off on my writing. But no quitting here. I'm back in the game, everyone. Let's celebrate by living. Oh, and voting in this year's fine election. So don't forget to vote!

Wow, I need to shut up now. Long post is getting longer. I leave you, nursing a headache yet smiling all the way through it... until a pang hits and I clench my teeth.

Regards,
Lindsey