F is for Freedom

So, I realized I am behind. My solution? Do haiku freewrites. A lot of haiku freewrites. Look forward to them!

For that which I serve

Another lies above it--

An unending chain.

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E is for Extra Efficient Energy Drinks

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You can find Mega Energy Boost at your local store or visit our website, www.MegaEnergyBoost.com, to order directly from us. Special discounts for military and medical staff!

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Disclaimer: Consult your doctor before taking Mega Energy Boost. Side effects may include dizziness, shaking, nausea, vomiting, physical burnout, recklessness and possibly death. If you are unable to sleep within 72 hours of taking Mega Energy Boost contact your local poison center or check yourself in at the ER.

D is for Dreams

What do you dream about? I don't mean aspirations or goals. At night and during the day, what strange adventures does your mind create? There is a more important question, though. These dreams are wacky and full of potential. So what do you do with your dreams? Do you forget them, try to remember them, or do you write them down?

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For me, I find more inspiration from day dreams or dreams I have during naps since they are easier to remember. From these I have drawn many a story idea. Some are filed away for future use and some have found homes on the pages of my novels.

But dreams are funny things. They are the product of our subconscious's interpretation of the knowledge we imbibe. Especially in my case, what I read, I dwell on. What I dwell on, I write. If I'm not careful ideas will slip in unaltered to my stories.

How do dreams affect your writing? Are they positive influences or a negative distractions?

C is for Characters

I had planned a rather long post on futuristic cars for this day, but it'll have to be postponed (perhaps to the letter V?) because a new topic intruded rather suddenly into my mind. Characters. Specifically, characters which drive the reader up a wall.

Is it really worth the risk of putting these kinds of characters into a story? Or will it only encourage the reader to yell complaints, skip entire sections, or even throw the book at a wall and never pick it up again? (For a real life example of the latter reaction, see

Robin McKinley's blog.)

Let me back up slightly and explain the origin of this topic. As you might have been able to guess, it originated from contact (prolonged contact) with stories that contained annoying characters. The unfortunate bit is that in both cases the character in question is supposed to be the MC for whom I, the reader, am supposed to have sympathy. Let's just say I haven't been very sympathetic and have picked secondary or other primary characters to support and emotionally invest in.

Since this post is supposed to be short and succinct, I shall only pick one of the instances to discuss. As a family we are reading a story "countdown" to Easter. The MC is a young boy of thirteen who is set up as an unbelievable genius (for some reason the author assigned to him a ton of inventions by Leonardo Da Vinci). On top of that, he's an arrogant, prideful, (in some cases) irrational, and immature brat. He's the type you want to slap upside the head and hope some sense wakes up inside. And this brat is the MC who I'm supposed to sympathize with because his father is falsely accused and imprisoned for stealing. The whole story long the brat's trying to clear his father's name and free him. The story, at this point, is pointing towards his father being one of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. (Edit: He isn't. Figures. Kid story needs a happy, in other words "father's alive", ending.) At this point, I "like" the brat enough to say, "Serves you right. Grow up, won't you?"

In my opinion, this character ruined the story. I feel no desire to recommend the book to others because it was not enjoyable. (And it was too predictable.)

Consider long and hard before writing in a character who annoys the reader. And definitely think twice before making the character the MC. It's fine to have a character start out annoying, but please, oh please, have them change as the plot progresses. What annoyed me the most about the brat was not that he was a brat but, rather, that he remained one for the duration of the story with no change.

In what ways do you think an annoying character can be used effectively and ineffectively?

Until next time.

B is for Ballet Night

At my house, Monday nights are Ballet night. My little sister is ferried off by Mom to her ballet class for several hours. This results in Dad and I having the house to ourselves for the evening.

"Which movie's next?" is always the first question. Then we cue it up and let the entertainment begin (sometimes supplemented by chips, yum!). Tonight, though, we'll have to see how it works out. Will we closet ourselves in a bedroom, huddled together around a laptop, or will we have to skip our weekly routine this once? You see, my sister has class cancelled this week for Easter and we can't exactly let her watch with us.

The feature? Probably episodes 3 and 4 of Firefly. We began the series last week, but Dad is hooked. My plan succeeded! However, I am enjoying re-watching the series as my Dad is discovering it for the first time.

The majority of the movies we watch are science fiction since it is a common love we share. What is your favorite series, movie or genre to share with others?

Until next time!

Actually, A is for April Fool's Day

APRIL FOOL'S!

Didya think I'd forgotten? Nope. A actually stands for April Fool's Day, not announcement (though it could mean the latter). So that mean I will be doing the A-Z challenge instead of Script Frenzy (contrary to my earlier post).

By the way, my actual theme is Sci-Fi and a good portion of my posts are (probably) going to be freewrites based around this theme. I wonder how many short stories I'll get out of this? Look forward to it!

Until next time!

P.S. It's not too late to sign up! The list closes Monday night, April 2nd. Sign up here!

A is for Announcement (of the theme for this month, that is)

First up is to Announce the theme for this coming month. Yes, Ladies and Gents, it's time for my mysterious theme to be revealed. And the theme is...........

NOTHING!

Sorry, but I decided to back out of this challenge last minute. Hope you have fun for those who have decided to continue along the hard road of this challenge.

Why, you might ask, have I backed out? Simple. What other writing event is happening this month? That's right! Script Frenzy! Brought to us by the same people who bring us the madness of NaNoWriMo every year. I've participated once before (and won [yay for partners!]) and I decided to take up the challenge again this year. But I don't have time to do two writing/blogging challenges at the same time. So Script Frenzy won.

Please do check back tomorrow for my first update on my progress!

Until next time! (And wish me luck!)

Edit: APRIL FOOL'S!