trembling_aspen

Distractions and Game Two

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:21:50 GMT

My computer is in the dining room. With my six year old home this summer, I’m having a hard time focusing on writing stories. I’m terrible at writing when there’s distractions. I’m tempted to stay up late at night again, except usually I’m pretty tired by then. When did I get old?

I’ve been playing game two (which has a name now, but it isn’t announced yet), and it’s really cool! Much simpler than game one, and it feels different too. Basically, it’s not much like game one. But I really like it. I think it’s going to appeal to a bigger audience, especially online. Now if only we can get the World-At-Large to know we exist, I think we’ll do really, really well. Game one is in stores in Canada (including Walmart), and our publisher is working on getting it into Walmart in the US. Who says publisher aren’t cool? :-)

Delilah

Werewolf

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:45:22 GMT

Friday the 13th, Steven and I went to a friend's house for Game Night. When enough people arrived, we played a game I'd heard of but didn't really know about, Werewolf. It was AWESOME.

It's a social game. The cards passed out only tell you your roll, villager (team villagers) or werewolf (team werewolves). The werewolves pretend to be villagers with the goal of killing all of the villagers and winning the game. The villagers try to ferret out the werewolves, kill them and save the village.

You have to play this. It's minimum 8 players, but I think it works best with 13 or more. 25 isn't too many. :-) Have fun!

Delilah

Zine Death

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:38:27 GMT

That contest I entered? Yeah… They haven’t updated their website in months. I think the zine died. Oh well.

Moving on and still writing,
Delilah

Don't Bail

Mon, 26 May 2008 18:32:19 GMT

I found a cool video on youtube. Check it out. It’s for anyone who has had their dreams carelessly stepped on by others.

Delilah

Quote Fun

Mon, 26 May 2008 18:29:48 GMT

This is going around the blog sites. Add your list in your blog or in the comments section here. It’s fun to read what everyone picks. :-)

Go to this page , pick out five quotes that speak some truth to you (refresh the page as needed), and post.

Here are mine:

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.” Josh Billings

“How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be,
When there’s no help in truth!” Sophocles

“Once you can laugh at your own weaknesses, you can move forward. Comedy breaks down walls. It opens up people. If you’re good, you can fill up those openings with something positive. Maybe… combat some of the ugliness in the world.” Goldie Hawn

“Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forgo an advantage.” Benjamin Disaeli

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therin to be content.” Helen Keller

Delilah

To Do Rubric and Randy Pausch

Mon, 12 May 2008 17:57:52 GMT

Have you seen Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture on youtube? Cool stuff. He also did a lecture on Time Management I really liked. I heard about Randy Pausch briefly an Oprah and decided to look him up. I’m glad I did. Randy is dying of pancreatic cancer, and his Last Lecture has some real gems of wisdom.

In the Time Management video, I saw a four square rubric for a To Do List that I have never seen before. Column One is labeled “Due Soon,” the next “Not Due Soon.” Row One is labeled “Important,” the other “Not Important.” Now it’s easy to see what I should really be doing (the Important/Due-Soon square), and when that’s done, what I should be doing next (the Important/Not-Due-Soon square). I have to take a hard look at Not-Due-Soon/Not-Important stuff and ask myself should I do them at all? So far this is stuff I want to do but don’t have to do. I’ll leave them for now, not forget stuff I’d like to do but also not stress about it.

The only problem with “The Cube” is that I tend to rewrite (copy) my goals over and over, even when using the same rubric for an entire week. I’ve added an extra section, Like the rubric, so that it’s always written by the printer. This includes Goal 1 stuff (Health), Goal 2 stuff (Writing), Goal 3 stuff (Stress Management) and Weekly Chores.

I also added a strip of calendar like days (on the side) for appointments, and four lines at the bottom to list next week’s appointments. I’ve already thought of something else to add, quotes (words of wisdom). This has set me off on another quest, to collects said words. :-)

I’ve never used To Do Lists much, being that I can manage things in my head pretty well. Having my goals written down is helping me keep on track, which I need. It’s too easy to get distracted by life.

Delilah

Discovery!

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:59:51 GMT

I’ve been checking the contest six to twelve times a day, but alas, they’ve yet to post the winners. I thought since the reading period was over, they would have done it already! Wrong.

Luckily I’ve discovered a weird, cool tv show. I had the tube on, just as background noise while I planned to read, and instead, I got sucked into the story. It was originally on Showtime, but now the first season is playing on CBS. I borrowed it from a friend and forced my husband to watch it with me. During the first episode of Dexter, Steven asked me, “Is he a bad guy or a good guy?” My answer, “Yes.” Love it, love it, love it. Unlike Firefly, at least I stumbled onto this one before it gets canceled (and I really hope it doesn’t!).

Delilah

It's In!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:00:25 GMT

Final word count: 2385. :-D I got some quick crits from my awesome writing group, cleaned it up and submitted it. I'll know in three days whether my story made the top three or not. I'll let you know.

Delilah

Oh Yeah!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:37:57 GMT

First draft, 2412! Whoo hoo! Zombie contest, here I come (after I clean this sucker up a bit). :-D

Delilah

I Just Might Make It

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:05:42 GMT

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the story at 1900 words. If I can wrap it up in 600 words, this baby will be the right length for the zombie contest! Yay!

Delilah

Everybody’s Agent

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:53:28 GMT

My daughter has a friend in the neighborhood, and to my dismay, said friend has a pool. One time when I was there and had told her not to go near the pool, guess what? The other kids went near the pool and she followed. The neighbors let their little darlings roam the backyard freely. They know how to swim, so that isn’t a big deal, but my girl does not know how to swim, and the panic at leaving her there without me is more than I can endure.

Whenever she goes over, so must I. On one of these longgggg visits, I had a long and interesting conversation with her parents and aunt about movies, books and games. Turns out, they’re sff/h people too. :-) The father raved about one particular book series and insisted I must borrow his books and read it. The first book is Rules of Ascension by David B. Coe. I’m a geeky kind of book reader and tend to read prefaces and such. In this case, Mr. Coe included a page of thanks, including his agent, LUCIENNE DIVER.

Yep. Is the publishing world really such a small place? Or is this a weird coincidence? Lucienne represents a couple of friends of mine, Rosemary Clement-Moore and Rachel Caine (both awesome writers). Lucienne is the one agent I’ve met! (I think I’ve met three or four editors). She bought me drinks at a convention.

So far, I like David Coe’s writing. It’s very good. But if he kills off the next person I get attached too, I’m going to be… unhappy. It’s happened twice already! Seriously!

Lucienne has a keen eye for good work. She’s a super nice lady, intelligent, knowledgeable about her field, and very professional. When I’m ready for an agent, I’d be lucky to attract one of her caliber. If she isn’t already, I expect her client list will be full by then. (Sigh.) But maybe she’ll know (and recommend) someone. :-)

Delilah

Words, Too Many Words

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:46:36 GMT

Guess what? You know that zombie story I wrote last week for a contest? It’s waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. That’s right, about 1/3 too long. 1000 freaking words. Can it be cut down to size? Ha! I’m not even going to bother.

I have another interesting idea for a zombie short story. There’s about four parts to it, and yesterday I began to despair. This little baby is bound to be too long as well. Unless I can get each part down to 600 words. Maybe. Just maybe. I’ll have to give it a shot.

Delilah

Birthday’s So Over, Battlestar Love

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:56:02 GMT

I haven’t had a party in ages, so this year I decided to have one all weekend, Firefly watching by day (love, love, love that tv show) and dancing by night. So… My birthday’s over, and I’m left with a mix of emotions, and they don’t make much sense. I’m loved and accepted; I’m ignored and rejected. I had fun overall. The stream of guests was choppy, and in some of the inbetween times, I ended up (and enjoyed) watching Battlestar Galactica, season 3 (yes, as always, I’m behind on these things).

What’s wrong with me, you ask? Loved/ignored, accepted/rejected. Scitzo? Or is everyone like this? Or do I have too much time on my hands and worry about stupid crap? All of the above? Ha! I don’t know where all of this pondering is going. I spent some time staring at my picture thinking, “It all makes sense, if I’m a cylon.”

Battlestar is awesome. I love turning things over and thinking about what’s happening in my mind. Like how the cylons behave just like humans, and the need to dominate is inherently human. We’ve been doing it to each other since the dawn of time. ***SPOILERS AHEAD***

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I love Baltar and his imaginary Caprica. I want so desperately for him to find some kind of redemption. I’m very surprised he isn’t suicidal. At this point, with him in Galactica’s prison, I don’t see how redemption is possible. I will be very sad if he’s executed.

I love Helo’s Sharon, and wondered how she could find out about her baby without hating Adama. But at the time I thought Adama knew what happened. It’s much easier that he didn’t, but I did agree with what Sharon originally told Caprica, that the baby was safer with the cylons, until Boomer lost it. Ummm… Not sure where Hera will be safe. I’m glad they’re back with Helo though. I don’t know why Caprica went with them. That made no sense.

The cylon, Leoben, really broke Kara by pretending Kayce was her child. I feel so bad for her husband, Sam, because she just can’t tell him why she can’t be with him. She can’t open up to anyone, it seems. The girl has some serious commitment issues, and is using Lee to not have to face anything real. I want her to find some peace, but I don’t know how she will, unless she actually has a baby (and that’s something she’d never choose).

What’s up with Laura? She’s evil, I tell you! Annihilate the cylons using the disease? Exterminate them because they’re not human and undeserving? She is just as bad as they are. She has the same mind set. Give them the disease because you’re desperate to survive, you don’t want to exterminate them and will save some if it’s safe to do so: yes. That would have been something Helo could have accepted. And then she smugly admits she enjoyed Baltar’s suffering, and she longed for him to be guilty, regardless of truth. Evil. She has a cold, detached-from-humanity, monster inside, and that in its self isn’t bad. Lots of people have that monster. I suspect soldiers often have it, a disconnect from humanity. Having it, and acting on it are not the same. The thing I hate about Laura is that she lets her monster out because of anger. To me, that’s the wrong reason.

I really want the cylons and the colonial fleet to broker a treaty, another seemingly impossible thing. The humans are so angry, so full of rage over the destruction of their twelve planets, their homes and families. They would demand complete freedom at a minimum, but that anger would be stoked, and the cylons aren’t stupid enough not to recognize the roaring fire to come. Which is why the cylons will not except anything other than total submission. Each group fears its future safety, and neither seems in a position to compromise. It’s sad, really.

Before I snuck a look at some of the final five skin jobs on the Internet, I really believed Gaeta was one of that number. Technically, I guess he still could be. When Baltar whispered something to him and he freaked out, almost killing Baltar, I thought he had to be. Why else would he react that way? Hmmm… Steven and I both agree that too much has been implied about Baltar, and therefore, he probably isn’t a cylon.

I’m very intrigued by the final five cylons. Why do the seven not know who they are? And if they are in the fleet, are they sleepers? And if they are sleepers, what in the world is their actual purpose? Which makes me question the entire purpose of the cylons. It seems the seven have no clue what it is because they don’t know who the final five are, and to me that means the final five are running things.

I love watching the descent and splintering among the cylons. It’s hilarious that they don’t realize just how human they are. I wonder if any of them will ever get a clue.

Delilah

Writing is Good

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:58:28 GMT

I just wrote a short story in something like, three hours (but of course, I’ve been thinking about the plot for days, rejecting many ideas that led nowhere), and it felt GOOD. 3400 words of goodness. It’s been so long since I’ve finished something, this feels great. :-)

Delilah

Going S-l-o-w

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:12:51 GMT

Writing for game two is going sssslllloooowwww. I’m not liking it because I can’t do too much with the characters. The writing is intros to levels and it’s more about the state of things and what needs to be done next. It’s weird writing stuff I don’t enjoy. I’ll have to work twice as hard to get it good.

I’m thinking of writing a new zombie short story this week, for a contest. The deadline is looming, so I have to get to it if I’m going to do it at all. I have a cool idea, but I still need a good ending for it.

I don’t know when I’ll get back to writing on a regular basis. Things have been weird for me lately. Between the pressure to get certain things done NOW and feeling sick a large amount of the time (migraines/headaches), I’ve had a hard time keeping things together. Some things plain fell off my radar. Some things are out of the way now, a breath of fresh air, but I’m not out of this particular hole yet.

Delilah

Happy-Making Reads

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:29:23 GMT

Who is Scott Westerfeld and where has he been hiding all of my life? He has written the best series ever, beginning with Uglies. It’s YA (teen), and it’s incredible. Very happy-making. When I’m reading his stuff I don’t want to do anything else, not eat, sleep, pee, or be bothered by the fam. It’s gripping.

My son wasn’t so sure about Uglies. I mean, the name just doesn’t cry out “Read Me!” to eleven year old boys, does it? I guess it didn’t call out to me either, but I heard glowing things from a friend (Kristi H) which really intrigued me. Finally, my son asked me if I really thought he’d like it. “YES!” So now he’s hooked too and beginning the third book today (out of four books).

Uglies begins in a futuristic society where adolescents are longing in wait of the day they turn sixteen, when they get the surgery to make them pretty and move into New Pretty Town. Except Tally’s friend runs away, and Tally’s told she won’t be made pretty until she finds and betrays her friend, somewhere out in the scary wild.

After reading so much Elizabeth Moon, I started to believe the best books absolutely had to have multiple POV. Steven and I talked about it, and he insisted that it depended on the story and some stories would be better in one POV. Well. I’ve found them in Scott Westerfeld’s writing. He uses one POV and it’s perfect. I still want to write like Moon, though I’ll be open to other ways depending on the story. Both Moon and Westerfeld have outstanding characters, flaws and all, characters I love dearly.

Delilah-wa

Note to Self

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:35:38 GMT

Don't reread old blogs anymore. Too many missed typos. Aren't you supposed to be a writer or something? :-D

Delilah

Elizabeth Moon is so Cool!

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:38:51 GMT

Krista and I drove 5 hours (one hour of traffic on hw 35 in Dallas in the afternoon! What's wrong with that highway!!!) to get to Austin for Elizabeth Moon's book signing. We were late, so we missed the reading. She signed our books as we plied her with questions and general Vatta/Serrano love. She couldn't remember who stole Kevil's money. If anyone out there knows, throw me a bone please.

I also met some of her crew. Rachel reminded me of a friend from my writing group, Melanie. The two speak the same way.

When we were leaving, feeling happy and excited still, we ran in to Mrs. Moon in the parking lot, and she invited us to join her and her crew for a bite across the street!!! It was so freaking awesome! Did I mention she is one of my three favorite writers of all time? We had an hour of interesting conversation and more Vatta/Serrano love. It was fantastic, and well worth the eight and a half hours in the car.

Delilah

ConDFW 2008

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:53:04 GMT

ConDFW was smaller this year due to competing cons, and although I wasn’t excited Friday, this turned out to be a very good con. Many of my friends were at the other cons, or picking up shifts to cover a jaunt to meet Elizabeth Moon on Thursday. It turned out not to matter. I ended up meeting A LOT of people- fun, engaging people. Some of my friends were there, and I spent time with them too (also fun, engaging people).

Panels? Oh right! That’s what cons are for, to learn from those on the panels! :-D The more cons I go to, the more I find myself hanging out with old and new friends more than attending panels. I did hit some panels at the con, including writing YA, writing short stories, porn vs erotica, space, what will the world look like in 100 years, and killing characters. Some I picked because of the interesting topic, and some I picked for the very entertaining panelists.

I was sad to see it end. Even when that meant I could finish Moon’s just released Vatta book 5. It hit me like never before, cons are my community. They’re were people like me go for fellowship. Science fiction, fantasy and horror fans, readers or not, cons are were to find them. I need to go to more cons!

Delilah

Craftsmanship, Thy Name is Moon

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:18:42 GMT

I've been reading Elizabeth Moon books like crazy this month. I still have two Elizabeth Moon books to read to finish two different series. Honestly, I’d rather do that this weekend than go to ConDFW (but I am going!). On Thursday, and friend of mine and I are planning a one day road trip to Austin to meet Elizabeth Moon at a book signing.

Elizabeth Moon has changed me as a writer. She did something that I did in my half novel, only 100 times better. Plus, like Joss Whedon, she has the group thing down, where a group of people care about each other intensely. I don’t have that in my half novel. And I love that group thing, that sense of truly belonging. Also, Elizabeth Moon is a master at weaving plot together. The Vatta series is five books, and the Serrano/Suiza series is seven books. I think I’m going to cry when I finish these last two because the ride will be over, and I’ll miss the characters.

My favorite of the bunch thus far is Rules of Engagement. I find myself replaying events in my mind, like I’ve done with one other book, my favorite book of all time, Beowulf’s Children. Not as much as I did with Beowulf’s Children, but still! It was beyond engaging. As for the shock factor, the bad things people will do to each other, she wrote something here that I never even thought of. I was full of happy elation and desperate anguish when I finished the book. It was amazing, but my writing isn't there yet. What she did with the Serrano/Suiza series is how I aspire to write, although not necessarily in the science fiction genre.

Still learning,
Delilah

A Call for Names

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:36:08 GMT

Lumen are short, agile, magical, cave dwellers. The ancient abandoned city of (help me find a name) was built as an offensive border to protect the lumen territories. The city name will likely be the name of the game. Any ideas?

Delilah

Friendly Cat

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:59:24 GMT

Your Score: Lion Warning Cat

65% Affectionate, 66% Excitable, 33% Hungry

You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone.

To see all possible results, checka dis.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by GumOtaku on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(GumOtaku)

New Game, More Writing

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:32:57 GMT

Well, it’s official… Or is it? It isn’t officially announced, but everyone *has* to know we’re working on something. And that something is a casual game! We don’t have a name yet, but the main characters will be lumen. The lumen live underground, but they have really big eyes, so they see very well in the dark. Therefore, though the game will be entirely underground, it will by varying degrees of bright and colorful. This game will take place directly after the story, Depths of Peril (read it at www.soldak.com).

I don’t have plans to write short stories for this game at the moment, but I will do all of the ingame writing. It’s fun to have a new project. Somehow, I don’t seem to write as much when I don’t have an anchor, something to write around. Maybe that’s why so many people write books. You don’t get up in the morning have no road map to follow in Imaginationland.

Delilah

Yay!!!

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:10:58 GMT

So, I found out I had the dates wrong for my son's DI challenge. It's the week before ConDFW. So I get to go to all of the con after all! :-)

I'm kind of sad that a lot of my friends won't be there though. The DFWWW writers group is having its convention the same weekend. What were they thinking?!?! I actually asked that, and it turns out it was the only time they could get their hotel. :-( Off of the top of my head, I'm going to miss Dan, Rosemary, and Candy. That just bites!

Delilah

If Short Stories are Hills, Novels are Mountains. I'm Out of Breath!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:51:10 GMT

I’m quiting 90 in 90 and will not be finishing my novel, Relentless at this time. I’ve hit a road block in it, and need some space from it. I want to be writing, and while my novel fills my mind, I’m not writing. I want to write something I can get excited about. I’m going to write some short stories, maybe some long short stories.

I am excited about writing! I don’t know what I’m going to write yet. I’ll have to brainstorm after I go shopping. Hee! I love brainstorming stories.

Delilah