Thursday, May 3, 2012
Found out why it was taking so long to hear about the OCLC number application--I hadn't gone through the checkout process yet! Well, this morning I checked out properly, and finally ordered my first book proof, now that I've adjusted the cover enough to fit within Createspace's weird automatic parameters. They are shrinking the cover to fit, instead of properly cutting off all the bleed space. I think it's the rainbow on the front cover messing things up.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Well, it's been two and a half years since I posted to my writing blog, and I'd better start again, because I am about to self-publish The Witches of Castle Crabapple! It's been fun drawing chapter pictures and a cover, two things I wouldn't be allowed to do if I published it with a real publishing company. There is something to be said for keeping it all to yourself. :D
Meanwhile, Blogger has rearranged their features, and I have to figure out how to do everything again...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
People of the Mushroom Planet
Proofreading my brother's new roleplaing game, X-plorers ( http://stores.lulu.com/grubman ) gave me all sorts of science fiction plot bunnies.
I am pursuing those, while I have been given the opportunity to draw some real bunnies (for almost no money, naturally ) to be given as prizes for a local rabbit show. Even though they want rabbits posed in judging positions (boring!) instead of cartoony, mischievous bunnies, I am sort of intrigued by the request to draw something on actual paper once more. I am getting fired up to do it with white colored pencil on a colored paper. Can't remember the last time I finished a piece of artwork in the real world.
Rewriting went nowhere this weekend again. My excuse: being sick with one of my usual sinus infections. It seems to be clearing up quickly, so I may have avoided the bronchitis stage this time.
I am pursuing those, while I have been given the opportunity to draw some real bunnies (for almost no money, naturally ) to be given as prizes for a local rabbit show. Even though they want rabbits posed in judging positions (boring!) instead of cartoony, mischievous bunnies, I am sort of intrigued by the request to draw something on actual paper once more. I am getting fired up to do it with white colored pencil on a colored paper. Can't remember the last time I finished a piece of artwork in the real world.
Rewriting went nowhere this weekend again. My excuse: being sick with one of my usual sinus infections. It seems to be clearing up quickly, so I may have avoided the bronchitis stage this time.
Friday, July 31, 2009
You've Been Sentenced
No story ideas? Writer's block? I have a recommendation.
Today I played a great game called You've Been Sentenced. It comes in a pentgram-shaped box and is filled with pentagram-shaped cards. LOTS of cards. Each card has a word on each of the five sides.
Each player receives ten cards, and the race is on to construct coherent, grammatical sentences from the cards. Most have variations on a single word: flat, flatter, flatten, flattest flattening. Others contain names, nouns, or handy prepositions. There are also many wild cards. Each word is worth a certain point value.
Once a player has constructed a sentence, they may set the timer, and all players have to finish before it runs out. Then each sentence is judged on whether it is acceptably grammatical, and points are totalled. The real fun, of course, is reading the sentences people have cobbled together out of the random words.
As best I can remember, here are a few of the sentences we came up with during the game.
Harry S. Truman moodily kicked ducks in the end zone.
Powerful cats fantasize about Washington DC.
The river flamed and totally freaked out Dr. Martin Luther King.
Noise loves to slide around sharpened minds.
Her lips matched.
I wish I had taken notes during the game, because many of those forced sentences had a strange poetry about them, or at least the hint of a story lying behind them for the one who took the time to mull them over.
Looks like another no-rewriting weekend, as tomorrow I'm off to a cousin's wedding, and Sunday I promised to finish proofreading my brother's new role-playing game.
Today I played a great game called You've Been Sentenced. It comes in a pentgram-shaped box and is filled with pentagram-shaped cards. LOTS of cards. Each card has a word on each of the five sides.
Each player receives ten cards, and the race is on to construct coherent, grammatical sentences from the cards. Most have variations on a single word: flat, flatter, flatten, flattest flattening. Others contain names, nouns, or handy prepositions. There are also many wild cards. Each word is worth a certain point value.
Once a player has constructed a sentence, they may set the timer, and all players have to finish before it runs out. Then each sentence is judged on whether it is acceptably grammatical, and points are totalled. The real fun, of course, is reading the sentences people have cobbled together out of the random words.
As best I can remember, here are a few of the sentences we came up with during the game.
Harry S. Truman moodily kicked ducks in the end zone.
Powerful cats fantasize about Washington DC.
The river flamed and totally freaked out Dr. Martin Luther King.
Noise loves to slide around sharpened minds.
Her lips matched.
I wish I had taken notes during the game, because many of those forced sentences had a strange poetry about them, or at least the hint of a story lying behind them for the one who took the time to mull them over.
Looks like another no-rewriting weekend, as tomorrow I'm off to a cousin's wedding, and Sunday I promised to finish proofreading my brother's new role-playing game.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Slacking...
Didn't do any rewriting this weekend. Instead I read a book on digital coloring and used the info to good advantage in a Snape portrait. I have been looking at books on figure drawing and drawing hands, and since I discovered Don Seegmiller published a book on advanced painting techniques with Corel Painter (my digital art program of choice) I had to order it. There is nothing that motivates my artistic desire to draw, learn and improve than the knowledge that by doing so, I can procrastinate my writing...
Seriously, I always seem to get motivated to do something besides write. Gotta get my writing butt in gear.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Make a Scene
Someone once complimented my writing as being "economical prose that gets right to the action." In other words, I can't be bothered to describe anything. (Ha!)
Well, this week my co-worker Lois and I went to the Iola Car Show on behalf of the library. Krause Publishing, who host the car show, always have a huge blowout book clearance sale. Most of the books are on car and hobby subjects, and when all those $15-$30 dollar paperbacks are available for $5 each, it's a great way to get some fresh blood on the library shelves.
One of the books we picked up on our $300 shopping spree was a writing book called Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. I haven't actually read it (it's about planning and constructibg scenes in your book) but just the title made me think.
One of the things that got me into Harry Potter (especially in making fan art) was the unique, amazing visual aspect. There were things in every book that people wanted to imagine and draw, sometimes just even little touches.
There are no giants, werewolves, potted mandrakes and jugged grindylows in my book, but there are certainly things I could change to make the books more uniquely Castle Crabapple....for instance, the scene where the witches first arrive at the castle, and all the courtiers are dressed up in their finest, waiting to recieve them. Well, there's really only a handful of courtiers in tiny Crabapple Valley...I guess I will have to stick a few farmers in there. And their familes. And favorite sheepdogs. And possibly one prize pig. This could be fun. Must keep it tight, though....and I'm not sure if Ruffles M. should appear in the scene or make his grand entrance when originally written. Ruffles didn't exist yet when I first wrote this chapter.
Meanwhile, over on Livejournal, I have joined a new community for 'people passionate about reading, writing and illustrating.' Since the person starting it seemed to have some serious credentials, and since approval was required to join, I was hoping it might be a very serious sort of venue. So far people are posting their poetry and short stories and fan fics, and I'm having doubts. (Poetry always makes me suspicious.) I'm not about to post my Real Book there, or break off rewriting to dash off postable stuff. About the only other thing of note I have to post is my fan fiction novel, but not sure I want to add more frivolity to the blog.
Well, this week my co-worker Lois and I went to the Iola Car Show on behalf of the library. Krause Publishing, who host the car show, always have a huge blowout book clearance sale. Most of the books are on car and hobby subjects, and when all those $15-$30 dollar paperbacks are available for $5 each, it's a great way to get some fresh blood on the library shelves.
One of the books we picked up on our $300 shopping spree was a writing book called Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. I haven't actually read it (it's about planning and constructibg scenes in your book) but just the title made me think.
One of the things that got me into Harry Potter (especially in making fan art) was the unique, amazing visual aspect. There were things in every book that people wanted to imagine and draw, sometimes just even little touches.
There are no giants, werewolves, potted mandrakes and jugged grindylows in my book, but there are certainly things I could change to make the books more uniquely Castle Crabapple....for instance, the scene where the witches first arrive at the castle, and all the courtiers are dressed up in their finest, waiting to recieve them. Well, there's really only a handful of courtiers in tiny Crabapple Valley...I guess I will have to stick a few farmers in there. And their familes. And favorite sheepdogs. And possibly one prize pig. This could be fun. Must keep it tight, though....and I'm not sure if Ruffles M. should appear in the scene or make his grand entrance when originally written. Ruffles didn't exist yet when I first wrote this chapter.
Meanwhile, over on Livejournal, I have joined a new community for 'people passionate about reading, writing and illustrating.' Since the person starting it seemed to have some serious credentials, and since approval was required to join, I was hoping it might be a very serious sort of venue. So far people are posting their poetry and short stories and fan fics, and I'm having doubts. (Poetry always makes me suspicious.) I'm not about to post my Real Book there, or break off rewriting to dash off postable stuff. About the only other thing of note I have to post is my fan fiction novel, but not sure I want to add more frivolity to the blog.
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