lathriel: (globe)
I went for a walk today by myself, into the city center/centre to do some writing at a cafe. It was pleasant, even though there was some wet snow on the way there. I also stopped at a used bookstore to look for antique fairy tales for Sarah and Jenn, but all I found was real antiques that I couldn't afford :/

Some pictures )

At the cafe, I read through Part I of The Poppet and the Lune, the first story arc entitled "A Heart Full of Stitches" (credited to [livejournal.com profile] glamourkin ). I am happy with it. I'm going to go through and divide it into smaller chapters, and I am considering doing a web serial. Why you might ask? Well, if I can build an audience it will look good when I finally go to query it. Also, it will force me to write. Also, ever since the conception of this story I had the idea that it should be published as a serial. I might do it as a web serial first, then try to get it into magazines. Who knows.

Does anyone know the deal with copyright and the different blogging sites? Do they own it? Does no one? I thought I'd read somewhere that blogging was as good as publishing... I don't know.

Anyway, I also stopped at a Chinese medicine place at the Westgate Shopping Centre because my bronchial area has been feeling not so great. They gave me some kind of powder to drink like tea... we'll see. I'm assuming this is mostly from the insane adrenaline before I left, and then the fast climate change, and then the sleeplessness and accidental starvation. The tea-ish stuff is actually not too bad. The stuff in my lungs is gross, though.

I actually meditated today, too! That was nice. It was more visualization and path-working than mind-clearing, though. A good time was had by all ;D I have so much free time on my hands here since I only have each class once a week, and can't work. I should probably be writing more, but I should also be seeing more of the city (even though it's really small). I'm working on finding a groove here... in the mean time spontaneity rules the day ;)



lathriel: (desert)
So, I finally have internet in my room. Yaaay!

I am uploading photos to my flickr account as we speak.

So, ok, I've made some nice friends here at Brookes. My British flatmates are very friendly- the international students are very friendly. The girl in the room next to me is from Canada so we're both loving the weather here. But, man, Brits DRINK. All the time. I can't do that. But apparently, college kids also drink a lot in general and I totally missed that memo. All the girls I've made friends with are big into clubbing- they all listen to R&B- we keep the conversation pretty much on the surface, for the most part. Not to mention I'm definitely one of the oldest exchange students in the undergrad program, which makes me feel hella old to also be saying "nah I don't want to go clubbing."

Anyway, I'm fine with that for now because they are all really friendly, fun girls. I'm hoping that when class starts on Monday I'll meet people more of my ilk, though. I have Advanced Video on a campus that's 30 minutes away from my dorm, at 9 in the morning, until 10. Then nothing. Then the same class from 1-3 in a different room. We'll see how that works out. I'm off on Tuesdays, potentially off on Wednesdays if I drop Communicating Images, and have Authorship and Creative Writing 9-12 on Thursdays (kind of like keeping sacred Thursdays alive? maybe?) at the campus a few blocks away, and Design for Online Communication from 5-8 on a different campus, even farther away. They do classes very strangely here.

I'm also hoping to meet people in my belly dance class! I'm so nervous/excited about that. Kadri was a wonderful teacher/person so it will be hard to not be disappointed, but I've got high hopes. Plus, I might get involved with the dance society here, and learn some latin dance, or swing if they have it. And my last resort for meeting people who aren't 21 or younger (no offense to my young friends at home, but you are far more mature than most people your age anyway): I've asked the chaplain at Brookes to email me info on the Unitarian Universalist church here. I've been meaning to go in Buffalo, so why not start here? Then at least I'm guaranteed to meet people who have a little depth to them.

Meanwhile, between all kinds of crazy stuff, I'm trying to re-write my query letter for The Hierophant. Yeah. I'm not waiting around on that. Plus, I finished the first installment of The Poppet and the Lune and I'm pretty excited about it. I think. I'm also excited to go to the city alone this week, so I'm not being dragged into stores, or worrying about losing people, or forgetting them. I think I'm going to try to find a cafe and write there. Although, the pubs all have free wi-fi...

I'm also very tired because I have spent more time on my feet this past week than in the past four months combined. So I'm going to go make some tea. Cause I'm in England. ;D

These entries will be more thorough soon. I'm still settling in Xp

Ahhh

Jan. 19th, 2009 02:02 pm
lathriel: (globe)
Ok, so I'm stalling on the tattoo post, partly because I haven't been able to upload to flickr (my connection at home is "borrowed" so I can't rely on it) and partly because, while I'm okay with explaining the "it" tag, part of me wonders if it's necessary. My brother has been giving me a hard time about this tattoo because he doesn't "get it," but I don't get tattoos for other people, so who cares, right? Of course, if he did completely understand it he might feel very uncomfortable with the images in his head such understanding might evoke.

Anyway...

I had to go to the dentist today. The last time I went, they said I had a cavity that I needed to get filled. I never got it filled. Today, they said "no cavities, yaay!" ;D I win! Or my teeth win?

What else... I had a little psychic journey last night and came up with a theory that might blow my mind if it's true... I also learned on Saturday night that you can make delicious pizza on wraps if you broil it instead of bake it (so the bread part doesn't burn, but the rest of it cooks fast!). I think I might put The Tower on hold and work on The Poppet and the Lune instead...

I know, I know. It sounds bad. It sounds like I'm not confronting the novel. But I just have this feeling like it's not ready. I've been writing novel after novel for so long, I think I could use a break. Not from writing! Just from novels. TPatL is a series of short stories. I can finish the first one, and then see how I feel about The Tower. Yesh? One of the things I must keep in mind while trying to manifest publication and success is that everything comes in its right time. I'm not in a hurry. The Universe has delivered, and it's up to me to align with that reality. If I'm pressuring myself to get a novel done, that's not "being in the flow." I need to love the writing I'm doing, to see it as an act of joy. If I can't do that with the novel now, I think the short story is a good stepping stone.

Besides, holy shit, I'm leaving for Oxford in ONE WEEK :O omgomgomg I hope I meet people on the plane that are going to Brookes, and that they are nice.

Wow...

(end random post!)

Wow.

Jan. 7th, 2009 02:59 pm
lathriel: (masquerade)
So, hello law of attraction, your evidence is manifold today. I was mid-post of this entry when I read my best friend's entry that dealt partially with the fear that this directly opposes...

I realized last night when I was washing my face (a typical time for a mind-boggling realization) that... I don't care if The Lotus Children series ever gets published.

Jiggawhat?

I know. It's still weird to me. But I've written Renaissance, and I love it, and I still love all the characters, and the story, and some day I will write the other six books. But... I don't know. Maybe it's because the story is so close to my heart- it's a part of me that represents much more than how well I tell stories, or how stubborn I must be to hold onto an idea for (going on) fourteen years. But as long as I do tell the story, at least once, I know that it is enough. It's such a relief to not care.

Of course, that won't stop me from trying to get it published.

I... I can't tell if I feel this way about all of my stories. I have a feeling of certainty that gets in the way- I am certain I will be published soon. So, if I say "i don't care if I ever get published" is that partially because I already know I will be? I guess it doesn't matter. I have high hopes for so many of my novels and stories- but if this one or that one never hits the presses, who cares? I'm young- I have a lifetime of story ideas waiting for me.

And of course, once I'm super famous the publishers will eat up anything they can get from me- am I right? ;D Ahh optimism.
lathriel: (Default)
Hmm. There's been a lot on my mind lately. First off, Scott and Carin had the baby on Saturday night: Aiden Michael Collins, 5lbs some ounces, 18 inches, 6 weeks premature- but all is well. That's mind-blowing in and of itself, even though I've known she was preggers since September.

Also, there's been drama on my mind in strange ways. I'm not personally offended, though I'm personally involved in it, but it has allowed me to clarify what I really want out of friendship. I've had a rocky time on that dynamic my whole life, in weird ways, just like now. I taught myself early to stop judging people so harshly or jumping to conclusions, or making drama where there is none, and I think that's why it pisses me off even more when people do those things to me. But I don't need to go around proving anything to anyone- as long as I know my intentions are good, all the neigh-sayers can fuck off (pardon my language).

Of course, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

And I'm semi-blocked on The Tower. Little details are holding me back, plus a crazy schedule of family junk and cleaning and holiday stuff. Those are all pathetic excuses, I'm well aware. Tomorrow I will just have to make the god damn time and sit down and restart. Well, I'm keeping the prologue, but restarting chapter 1. Yes.

And, sometimes I get into these weird moods where I think my writing isn't worthwhile because it's just a lot of fantastical bull shit... I always hear people (especially in my family) discussing literature, and it makes me feel like I'm not a real writer or something. I feel commercial. Yeah, I wanna sell my books, but I'm not writing to please an audience... am I? I can't tell. I can't tell if I have any depth in my writing, or if when I say it's the next "Twilight" it really is...

Meh. Life is still awesome. I made a sweet gingerbread house Mt. Olympus with Sarah P. tonight, unofficially winning the contest I had with my family (though no one judged, so there was no real winner, just a lot of people saying they liked ours the best!). Laura and Tad (her kitteh) are moving in tomorrow, which means about a month of adventures await us ;D I played in the snow today for the first time in years! I made a snow angel :)

And I'm making a preemptive new year's resolution to re-discover the inner health nut in me. Does anyone else remember when I worked at Feel Rite and sugar was a curse word in my world? I literally did not eat sugar or sugar substitutes except on holidays and birthdays for years. I still refuse sugar substitutes, unless they're herbal. I used to be so freaking healthy... no wonder my doctor says I've gained 13 pounds since I had mono (though that's not fair, I mean I had mono when I was last weighed). Simple carbohydrates were no where in my diet... I was even a raw foodist for a summer. I used to drink those gross green drinks. I used to drink fresh vegetable juice every freaking day! What happened? I want to get that Maddie back.

Anyway.

It's been a very thoughtful few days.
lathriel: (eek)
One of the agents I queried on Monday has requested the first 50 pages of The Hierophant!

My query isn't even that good!

But my doctor says I need to get an ultrasound of my thyroid!

I don't care, I is happeh! I've got medical insurance, and miracles of modern and ancient medicine, and I've got the knowledge that I'm living my dreams, and anything is possible!

Anything.

:O

Edited to add: Um, also, I just got my ticket in the mail for my flight from JFK to Heathrow (London).

Can my brain explode now with how awesome life is??? Wait, no. Cause this is what life is supposed to be- endless blissful opportunities and gifts from the Universe...

Still, I think I'll do a little happy dance. ;D
lathriel: (violin)


A nice little tattoo, on my back, over my heart :) I might try to spiff it up a bit with embellishments, but I don't wanna mess it up.

Guess what? I'm going to be submitting query letters for The Hierophant today. And there is one agency doing a "query holiday" in which they're just asking for a cover page and the first chapter/20 pages of your novel (because, like most authors, they see that how well you can write a query letter isn't as important as how well you can write novels). Firebrandliterary.com, check 'em out if you have something ready to submit.

:D

I'm so excited about everything...

I have so much stuff to do this week, it's amazing considering I don't even have a job. And none of it has to do with Christmas, even! I'm done with that- except for one gift for one person, I'm not sure what to get. But Laura is moving in soon, so I have to get this place cleaned up and re-organized (how to squeeze two girls into a one-bedroom apartment...), but it needs to happen anyway. I have too much junk ;p But I guess it's a good thing my cats don't let me sleep in past 7:30 any more cause there is much work to be done in the coming weeks...

OH and Yellow Rose in Formaldehyde screened last night (the movie I helped Max film back in September- I got credit for sound, script supervisor, and grip, lol) and it was fantastic. My parents loved it- though I thought it was a little slow, but that didn't surprise me because Max loves Kubrik. Anyway, I am proud to have my name attached to this film.

Life is good :)
lathriel: (violin)
Ok, so I'm very disoriented because I'm borrowing a laptop from my parents while the Apple store does a file transfer from my iBook G4 to my new MACBOOK PRO! HOLY SHIT! I'm still dumbfounded. I was supposed to get a macbook and then upgrade later, but my brother worked some weird logic magic on my mother while he was on the phone with her and she decided: "well, if you're going to get it anyway, I might as well spend the extra couple of hundred and get it for you now so that you can have the best resources for your media stuff."

:O

;-;

My mother is amazing. We've worked this out, btw- i'm not a complete J.A.P. (besides my Dad's the Jewish one). I've basically exchanged my next million birthdays and christmases, plus I've agreed to help my mom make a documentary (which is a subject for another exciting entry!).

But, what's really frustrating is I thought I had my query letter drafts for The Hierophant on my flash drive, and I don't, so I have to wait until I get my computer back tomorrow until I can look at them again, and it's driving me crazy. I so want to move forward on this, it's a visceral feeling in my blood.

I actually had a dream last night that I got a letter from an agent expressing interest in one of my novels. I've never had a dream that blatant about the publishing process! It also involved me, Sarah Diemer, and Jenn cleaning out the attic of an old house (houses in dreams represent your subconscious self, and attics represent your higher self, and we were all three cleaning together... and I've been learning about this "clearing" process to help rid your subconscious of limiting beliefs... it was so perfect!).

Ahhh.

Oh, and another thing, I finally just coughed up the dough to pay for a translation of "storyteller" into Sanskrit. I'm either going to get it along my wrist (not across) or on my back, over my heart to the left of my spine, or on my chest. I dunno.

I do know that I'm going to get a quill tattooed over my heart on my chest. Soon. It has a lot to do with me being a writer, obvs., but it also has to do with a myth my best friend made up for one of her books/series that I fell in love with the first time she told me about it. I don't want to say it here, but some day, when the books are published, you will get it.

:D

The left side of my body is a party, and the right side is all business ;p

Oh! And, last but not least, I got a new Tarot card deck last night because I lost my rider waite deck. I got the Art Nouveau deck, which I know doesn't look very "Maddie" but... it is strikingly appropriate for me lately, actually. Plus, its energy is just amazing. I'm very excited to get back into *trying* to learn how to read.

Ok! thankfully I do have drafts on my flash drive, so i'm going to work on that, and then make a list of agents to submit to (once the query is done).

"I feel heppy!"
lathriel: (eek)
-I finished reading my first draft of The Hierophant last night. ;-; I'm so freakin' excited about this book/series! The ending needs some work, and I still need to figure out where to have Kyla "come out," but other than that it's actually a lot better than I'd anticipated, considering I went into each chapter not knowing what was going to happen next. Ok, actually, no, it's just a really effin' good draft of a really effin' good novel. XD

-I got another mind-blowing CD from my parents about life the universe and everything (essentially) and it's got me high on bliss :D

-I have an exam today at 3:30, then I'm done with UB until summer!

-my mother had a reading with Gretchen (her friend who is a 3rd generation spirit medium/clairvoyant) and, being my mother, she asked about me, and, among several other awesome things, Gretchen said "Maddie does best when she listens to herself. Tell her to do that more." It's weird, because I've done that more and more the last few months, and I don't know if I needed the instruction to keep doing it, but OK! Feed my arrogance ;D

-Life is good!
lathriel: (masquerade)
So, okay I love it when it snows like it did last night. I wish I had a USB cable, I'd upload the pictures I took around my apartment building when I got home last night. It was the soft and fluffy kind of snow, where the sky is all pink and everything just seems embraced by the spirit of winter, and I actually like being in Buffalo in December because you just don't get snow this pretty anywhere else... ahh...

Anyway, things to do today:

-get some online x-mass/yule shopping done
-clean my apartment
-write write write (The Poppet and the Lune)!
-revise revise revise (The Hierophant)!
-print a second copy of above novel for Sarah (Diemer)
-draw my walk cycle for animation (so close to finishing the semester- only that and one exam left before I can really relax and celebrate)
-get three more submission packages in the mail for Renaissance
-Thank Gosh It's Over party tonight in the village. I hope more than just the writer's group shows up ;p

I'm really really really really really (really) excited about The Hierophant. Really. And I think the sequels are going to be just as awesome. It's my intention to have a final draft of that novel in submission by the end of the year. Oh yeah. Oh freakin' yeah baby I'm doing that. 3 novels in submission (ok, 2- I haven't submitted The Sins of the Guardians in a while cause I figure when I get picked up for a more marketable novel they'll publish that little piece of darkness based on my established fan-base [positive thinking!]. But maybe I'll submit it again soon. It's a lot of work keeping track of all these damn agents who've received or rejected what, or who claim to be taking submissions but really aren't ;p).

I am a novel-writing machine, and I love it!

::blissed out on stories::

Now, to productivity!
lathriel: (violin)
I got the rough drafts of Midnight Estates and The Hierophant printed at Kinko's today (I actually got a free extra copy of ME because they printed the first one wrong! Maybe I'll let someone read it, even though it's missing a bazillion scenes), and boy do I feel accomplished. I'm actually really excited to read through The Hierophant- just flipping through a few pages, and glancing at the writing while I did spell check during sound class this morning, made me remember how much fun it was to write that draft. I loved it then. I think I'm falling back in love with it. Yay for that!

Any hoo- just sayin'.

Now, I am getting off the internet and starting "The Poppet and the Lune," and yes I've decided to write it as a serial fairy tale. If I can.

Wish me luck!
lathriel: (globe)
I finished Midnight Estates this morning in Film History. I'm not happy with it, but what else is new for me finishing a novel? I will be in time. After a day off and some meditation, I decided my next writing project will be The Poppet and the Lune, though I've yet to decide if I'm going to write it as a novel or a series of short stories. I might pick up The Hierophant and read through it, too, but then again I might not. I don't know if I should finish revising and editing that before I begin its sequel, The Tower. Although, I already technically wrote the prologue for that one.

Hmm.

So, here's an excerpt from the novel I finished, all choppy and rough drafty and NaNo-y.

I will follow you to the end of time... and whatever lies after. )

(yes the cut text is a quote from the novel. I am self-important like that. ;p )
lathriel: (lovely)
(The subject is a line of dialogue from my NaNo: Tristan to Zelda. :D)

I didn't write yesterday, but that's okay because I wrote over 10k on Saturday. And I am going to write like a demon tonight! Zelda's perspective is coming to an end I think, and I'd like to start Tristan's by the end of the night. Yay for avoiding writing awkward sex scenes!

I have a few ideas for short videos I want to make now that I have my camera back in working order. It's a decent camera, not the best, but it will do for what I have in mind: some pixelation; maybe an object animation or two; possibly a "holiday" short. I'm gonna get my hands on the student version of iStopmotion express and have a ball this winter on my almost 2 month break (Brookes doesn't start till January 29! Though, I hope the group flight leaves at the beginning of that week so we have time to settle in... in OXFORD XD). A new computer is in negotiations with my parents and my next three or four birthdays, so that means I'll actually be able to run Final Cut and iStopmotion- huzzah!

Um, what else. Oh, I submitted a short story to the Writer's Digest SS contest this morning, for the hell of it. It's not technically fiction, it's about the moment I realized my cat was dead forever. 401 words. Yay?

That's all for today.

Oh, yeah, if there is anyone who is good with dreamweaver, I can't for the life of me remember how to upload things to servers or whatever... help?
lathriel: (Default)
With writing! ;D

I hit 28k last night in my NaNo- that's pretty much double where I'm supposed to be. And how does she do it, you might ask? No, I do not have tons of time on my hands. No, I am no taking drugs. No, I am not refusing to delete anything. I am simply... in the groove. :D

I wrote over six thousand words AT the write-in last night! :O

And I'm PROUD of them!!? :O :O :O

Sure, it's rough draft quals, but it's a fantastic enough bunch of words (all 28,000 of them!) that I'm positive revisions will be fun and painless. I love my characters! I'm proud of the subtleties I've included! I feel innovative! I reinvented creatures of the night! GO ME!

XD

ok. sample time! )


Yes! I love them!
lathriel: (velveteen)
I am going to make 25 either today or tomorrow morning. My new goal is not to hit 50k by the end of the month (because I'm fairly certain I will, no problem, by the end of week 2) but to finish the entire draft. I write long stories- not short; not novellas; long. Two of the three novels I've written, 50k would only be slightly more than a third of the way through. I don't see this one going quite that long, but still. If I can finish the draft by the end of the month, I will consider myself a winner this year for NaNoWriMo.

Now, before any of you get the classic November "I hate you, but not really" response going, just remember that I have been consciously working (very hard, might I add) at unblocking myself as an artist, specifically as a writer, for over four years now. I went through hell and back to get to the point I'm at now, where words are flowing fairly steadily, and with enough confidence to keep me from going back and deleting them all. And I still get stuck- I still doubt my ability. But I persevere, because I know that artists- writers especially- are absolutely insane, and have no grip on reality when it comes to their own work and how good it is.

So.

Every moment I find myself in the middle of spilling words onto a page, happily or not, I am more grateful than you can imagine to be caught in that flow. I am grateful for NaNoWriMo, for The Artist's Way, for Sacred Thursdays, and for every kind word you have all said about my work. And I think, really, that is the key- that is why I have been so happy these past 3+ months, and so able to confront my writing: because I am literally living a life of gratitude, and through that perspective, everything looks a little bit (or a lot) like magic.

Thanks. :)
lathriel: (writing)
It's obviously a rough draft, and obviously a NaNo, but here it is.

My villain is based on Edward Cullen XD )
lathriel: (writing)
That's almost cool enough to be a tattoo...

So, I am officially having only one problem with this NaNo novel: it's in the past tense, and "The Hierophant" was written in present, so everything sounds awkward to me even when it probably shouldn't. But, aside from that, it's coming along swiftly and swimmingly!

The characters are unfolding before my eyes- the purpose and plot, too. I really went into this with three ideas: "Tristan und Isolde," werewolves, and the Midnight Estates luxury development in Clarence, NY. I am dead serious when I say writing is like magic- fiction, anyway- because I think I write the best stuff when I don't know what I'm about to write. The Universe takes the reigns, and suddenly my fingers are flying and words are spilling onto the page in glorious cadence and timber...

Mmm.

I'm super excited for this novel!

And for our next President!

And for Oxford!

Yaaaaaaaay!

Finished!

Nov. 3rd, 2008 06:56 pm
lathriel: (writing)
I just finished my first draft of The Hierophant. I'm not happy with the way it turned out. I know, I know, it's writer psychosis, but it's happening, so there. :P

This draft is the second longest thing I've ever written: over 144,000 words. Much of it will have to be condensed, i'm sure. Or thrown out completely. Meh.

This is not a good mood to begin my NaNo in.
lathriel: (masquerade)
Hmmm. Where to begin about how amazing this holiday weekend was...

Halloween! )

NaNoWriMo Day 1 / Samhain / All Saints Day :P )


Dia de los Muertos / Writing! )

There's too much crap to do this week, and not enough time to just sit down and write. But I'll get it all done.

I'm so close to finishing another novel. Well, a draft, but still.

XD
lathriel: (desert)
I went on a cleaning rampage instead of confronting writing the end of The Hierophant. I vacuumed; took down the recycling; cleaned my desk; cleaned the kitchen; cleaned the bathroom (mostly); hung a shelving thing and put a hook in the wall to hang my jewelry from; cleaned off the dining room table; did two loads of laundry- well, I still have a load of laundry in the dryer right now :p - and did not write a single word in that god damn draft. On the plus side, my sink (and counter, and stove, and other kitchen surafces) full of dirty dishes won't be getting in the way when I kick off National Novel Writing Month on Saturday!

Oi. I'm really screwed here, for two reasons: 1) I need to finish this novel before I start NaNoWriMo, for which I only have the vaguest idea anyway because I haven't had time to brainstorm as much as I'd have liked, and come 4-ish tomorrow I'm done. Meeting the ladies in Billsville- tattoos at 5pm sharp (haha- sharp, as in needles); and 2) I don't really know how it ends. I know what happens to the characters... but the details on the actual climax are a little fuzzy. I feel like the whole climax is pretty much the last five chapters of the book :/

Oh, sure, I could just write it with the same faith that I wrote the rest of the draft with- faith that the Universe will point me the right way, or the characters will take over when I'm leading them astray (hey that rhymes). But, no, that'd be the easy way out.

Heh. Last night, Trebor and Ana staged a coup.

Arrrrg I'm gonna finish this thing, damn it! 'Nuff of this insecurity B.S. Universe, show me the way!

Profile

lathriel: (Default)
Maddie Lion

April 2017

S M T W T F S
      1
2345678
9 101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30      

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 11th, 2025 09:59 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios