imagination uncut

Help Me Name My Newest Character!

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:37:00 -0700

I’ve begun to outline and draft my newest work of fiction (summary found in Do Dreams Make For A Good Novel). The hardest part is creating characters… specifically naming them. I spend more time creating a character outline and figuring out names than actually outlining my work.

Since there are a few that have expressed interest in reading more, I have decided to actually write it as a story (not sure if it’ll be a short piece or a lengthy novel) and I’m looking to anyone that wants to weigh in to assist in the naming of the main character!

Given that I spent some time coming up with these names for a reason I’d rather not open it up for suggestions for the main character - though I could always use suggestions for supporting cast ;)

Here are the six names which I need to narrow down to one:

Emma
Charlotte
Amelia
Evangeline
Sophie
Lucy

Write your vote in the comments below (tumblr doesn’t have a poll feature :( )

listening to "Michael Buble - Sway"

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:47:43 -0700

listening to "Michael Buble - Sway":

Who wouldn’t want to dance to this? I swear I need to learn ballroom… :D

Do Dreams Make for a Good Novel?

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:20:00 -0700

Last night I had an amazing dream. The vivid details surprised me as it’s rare I remember a dream… well, it’s rare I’ll remember a dream that isn’t a nightmare. I woke up this morning completely disoriented, feeling as if I was still trapped inside the morose, plastic looking world and my bedroom the dream. Stumbling in a daze to my couch I popped open my laptop and debated writing it down.

I find it uncommon to have new ideas for a novel considering I’ve been working a decade on my own. My novel has history of thousands of years and a future of a few centuries. Since it clutters my head begging to be written I hadn’t expected sitting with a blank notepad file trying to decide if I wanted to open myself up for a new story.

After announcing my novel-like dream to my Twitter stream I got into a short conversation about hosting the novel on a blog and it ended with that person saying they would definitely read it. So, I wrote a short summary of the climax of my dream (as I dreamt it) leaving the rest locked away until I actually get around to writing it… which I have a feeling will be sooner rather than later.

It’s fall and it’s being said that a fierce storm is coming. Radio and TV are warning people not to leave the house and to begin preparing for terrible weather - worse than in recorded history. They’re expressing concern for days of rain and blackened skies; tornadoes and high winds. Overall the majority of people laugh it off even as the weather begins turning sour.

Up top a cliff side and within mall one evening the main character finds herself trying to connect with her friends as the weather turns for the worse. It begins to rain and a voice from the national radio announces over the malls loud speaker they are shutting down broadcast as they are experiencing high winds. The main character along with other patrons stop, petrified, as they hear a deluge crash upon the glass roof. The main tries one more time to connect with her friends and family only to find that her phone is shut off.

People are getting nervous; whispering increasing into frantic shouting. The mall dims to near darkness and panic sets in - people look up to the glass ceiling and it appears as if they’re under water. A deafening crash and the sound of a waterfall send patrons running for the outside. The mall is flooding.

Drenched and huddling together outside in the rain, they stare into the inky black of the valley below. The only light coming from the bright lights of different cities, long patches of black separating the towns. Lightening cracks and illuminates a mountain range, it’s peaks reaching high into the sky and obscured by thick clouds. The rain stops as quickly as it came, the valley get eerily silent and within the silence someone gasps, “Did you see that? Did you see the light go out?” and one-by-one, then in bunches, the city lights blink out.

Alone in the pitch the group hold their breath and as the seconds tick by a bluish-white glow emanates from the mountains illuminating through the clouds. Awed and stunned the people watch as a vessel, ancient in design and higher than the peaks, floats into the valley.

listening to "My Life Would Suck Without You (Glee Cast Version)"

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:01:24 -0700

listening to "My Life Would Suck Without You (Glee Cast Version)":

Read that a promo for the new Glee season is out & now I’ve been gleeking out to the soundtrack

The Doctors Apprentice - The Clockwork Quartet. For almost a...

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:30:00 -0700

The Doctors Apprentice - The Clockwork Quartet.

For almost a decade I’ve been aware of steampunk. I first saw it in a video game (Final Fantasy IX) and its been in the back of my mind as something I knew I could really get involved with - subconsciously it started coming out in my writings. Last year before San Diego Comic Con I had been spending time researching cosplay costumes and I gave thought to putting together a steampunk outfit but I couldn’t pull it together in time.

Last week a twitter friend posted a link of a band he was listening too and while the band, The Clockwork Quartet, has a catalog of songs youtube has only two of their pieces. I’d love to hear the rest of their repertoire but out of the two I enjoyed The Doctors Apprentice - it’s a beautiful story sung with all the appropriate mechanical taps, chirps, mournful sighs across the strings of a violin and fervor of someone trying to save a life.

Tea Cupping - Part 1

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:57:00 -0700

Monday night I attended a Tea Cupping class.

Tea cupping is a process of tasting and evaluating the quality of loose leaf tea. Tea cupping is a process that includes a number steps and is a vitally important method because tea quality varies widely.

Even tea from the same shipment, tea garden and processing batch can differ in taste and tea cupping is an ideal way to ensure quality control.

The term cupping is used to describe the examination and tasting of different teas to determine quality, taste, aroma, briskness, body and color. Cupping similar teas and comparing them against each other enables one to determine best value when making a purchase. Cupping a tea by itself will help you understand the characteristics of that particular tea.

That being said I stood in a walkway, four teaspoons clutched in my hand, accompanied by a friend and three other tea enthusiasts and waited patiently for the timers announce that our tea was finished brewing.

I had taken my first tea cupping class back in the fall just after I had visited the store (White August Tea) for the first time. That class covered the basics. What tea was, how to steep it, what water to use, what temperature the water is supposed to be, etc etc. Once we tried all the teas, prepared properly and poorly, we were sent along our way.

Last week another cupping class came to my attention and this time it was covering the basic teas. A generic listing of teas were listed as the tea types - one from each family - and it was purely about tasting the teas and getting to know each variety at it’s most pure form.

The teacher, and owner of the store, passed around the sipping bowl that was filled with unbrewed tea. We swished it around to see how all the loose leaves were different and took a moment to smell each varieties aroma. After it was brewed she passed the lids around so we could see what happened to the look of the leaves and how it affected their smell.

We tried a bitter Earl Grey that sucked the moisture from your mouth; a beautiful sencha that tasted like nori (I developed a hankering for sushi after that sip) and spring grass; a delicate white tea both crisp and refreshing and a smokey oolong that reminded me of inhaling bonfire smoke at summer camp. The two I did not try were herbals: a new ‘tea’ called honeybush and the other an unmixed rooibos.

She told us that the following classes would be building off the basic one we’d just completed: a class on all green tea; one with all whites; another all blacks; teas just from one region (Africa, China, Japan, etc); another with one of each type of tea from each of the most popular tea regions so we can compare their flavor, aroma and color. There are others I’m sure but I’ll find out when she sends out the invite, so until next time!

Anonymous Questions Don't Guarantee Truthful Replies

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:05:18 -0700

About two weeks ago Formspring became popular. The whole idea is to put yourself out there and let people ask you questions. These can be either silly or serious, but in the end each question is personal, some more so than others, and a group of anonymous people have access to read the answers.

I see the appeal. To be able to ask someone a question anonymously is far safer than going up to them, face-to-face, and hoping for an answer while you wait patiently before them as they scramble to reply.

Its harder for sure, but I believe in any form of written media you lose something. There is a degree of emotion that goes into answering some of the questions I’ve read and it’s not always transferred through a computer screen. I’m not going to deny that I have learned new things about people I consider friends; I just remember sitting around over food or drink and throwing questions like these back and forth. Sure, if you asked something too personal the other person would squirm, and perhaps not respond, but you couldn’t mistake the body language.

It always made me smile when a friend would reply to a question that delved into a fond memory or a favorite something. I’d frown and sympathize with them if they talked about a bittersweet memory. I could commiserate over an answer they had been shy or embarrassed about and laugh with them as they’d answer some outlandish inquiry.

Anonymous questioning gives me the satisfaction of knowing the answer… and on the other hand, it makes me wonder how truthful is it. When the person has time to reply are you really getting a true response? You allow that person the time to mull over the question and answer as truthfully as they see fit. Asking a person face-to-face doesn’t grant the time to think about how they want to answer while possibly not divulging the whole answer. If it’s something they don’t want to answer they get embarrassed, they hedge and become uncomfortable. Of course, they don’t have to reply, and you can retract your question, but giving the person a lengthy response time gives them the opportunity to creatively answer, or sugar coat their reply, without being totally honest.

Perhaps this is me just being less than trusting of people or old fashioned. I have not joined formspring nor have I asked anyone a question on there. If someone wants to ask me something I wish they’d do it to my face… I’m sure the reply I give would be a lot more rewarding being able to see my body language, the flush of my skin or emotion in my voice. But, I’m sure formspring will be around for a while and I’ll still anonymously be reading peoples answers enjoying getting to know them that much more.

Guardian Portrait of the Provider

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:14:01 -0700

Wow… Sounds far more important than I’m sure it is. Formspring seems to have taken off with some of my friends and a question of “what personality type are you” has come up.

I’m a sucker for taking these kinds of quizzes. I love reviewing my horoscope, both Western and Eastern including Indian & Chinese - Capricorn, Makara and the Boar respectively - and I’ve even gone as far as looking up my Celtic Tree Type and apparently its Birch.

The Japanese are fascinated with the blood type (it’s nearly as common there to be asked “what’s your type” as it is here to be asked “what’s your sign”) and sadly, since I don’t know my blood type I can only speculate and I’d hate to guess… “Well, Doctor, my ketsueki-gata is AB… so while I’m in this really important surgery I’m sure I can receive any donor blood…” yeeeah… I don’t look that one up.

But now I’ve had something new and fun to play with: a link to a Jung Briggs Myers test. Naturally I took it and lo! I’m ESFJ. Apparently I’m a Provider… but I’ve been told that before from a much longer, much more tedious test (the eharmony 29 Levels of Compatibility test is something like 43 pages. I lost count once I hit the 30s).

Naturally, since I’ve found my result for the test I’ve been poking around the internet and this is what I’ve found:

E – Extraversion preferred to Introversion: ESFJs often feel motivated by their interaction with people. They tend to enjoy a wide circle of acquaintances, and they gain energy in social situations (whereas introverts expend energy).
S – Sensing preferred to iNtuition: ESFJs tend to be more concrete than abstract. They focus their attention on the details rather than the big picture, and on immediate realities rather than future possibilities.
F – Feeling preferred to Thinking: ESFJs tend to value personal considerations above objective criteria. When making decisions, they often give more weight to social implications than to logic.
J – Judgment preferred to Perception: ESFJs tend to plan their activities and make decisions early. They derive a sense of control through predictability.

Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.

Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone’s been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.

Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what’s been going on in the local community, school, or church, they’re happy to fill us in on all the details.

Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others. As expert people readers, ESFJs often adapt their manner to meet the expectations of others. However, they may have difficulty recognizing the shortcomings of loved ones.

ESFJs tend to be vocal in expressing their sense of right and wrong. Their value system derives from the external standards defined by their community, as opposed to a personal set of ethics. (This is one of the traits that distinguishes them from their ENFJ counterparts.) ESFJs raised in an environment of high ethical standards tend to display true generosity and kindness.

I also learned that later on personality researchers added additional functions to the hierarchy calling them “Shadow Functions”. These are functions with I’m not normally inclined to feel or do but typically can emerge under stress:

Introverted feeling (Fi): Fi filters information based on interpretations of worth, forming judgments according to criteria that are often intangible. Fi constantly balances an internal set of values such as harmony and authenticity. Attuned to subtle distinctions, Fi innately senses what is true and what is false in a situation.
Extraverted sensing (Se): Se focuses on the experiences and sensations of the immediate, physical world. With an acute awareness of the present surroundings, it brings relevant facts and details to the forefront and may lead to spontaneous action.
Introverted intuition (Ni): Attracted to symbolic actions or devices, Ni synthesizes seeming paradoxes to create the previously unimagined. These realizations come with a certainty that demands action to fulfill a new vision of the future, solutions that may include complex systems or universal truths.
Extraverted thinking (Te): Te organizes and schedules ideas and the environment to ensure the efficient, productive pursuit of objectives. Te seeks logical explanations for actions, events, and conclusions, looking for faulty reasoning and lapses in sequence.

William Howard Taft, Barbara Walters, J C Penney, Ray Kroc, Louis B. Mayer, Sam Walton, Dolley Madison, and Dave Thomas, Mary Tyler Moore and Sally Field are examples of Provider Guardians.

Well then, wasn’t that fun :)

26

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:12:00 -0700

I turned 26 this past weekend and it got me thinking. I never make New Year resolutions. Ever. Besides the fact that I never keep them I tend to pick things that are grand ideas to accomplish but are a little tougher to actually pull off.

Instead, I want to start my list of “Things to Do Before I Turn 30”. Its a trend in the group I hang out with and since that’s now four years away I’d better get crackin’.

There are things that you’d expect to see I’m sure… fall in love, get married, etcetera, etcetera and while I want to put them on my list, I won’t… because love isn’t something you can rush and put a time line on. Also, this list will grow… so it’s always in motion :)

I want to learn how to play a new instrument… preferably the saxophone or drums.
I want to relearn and play my flute more often. While I disliked it in primary school I do find it to be an attractive sounding instrument and I miss playing music.
I want to sing more.
I want to dance more.
I want to learn anyone of these three styles of dance: salsa, ballroom or swing.
I want to finally start my ‘hotel blog’ where I stay in hotels and unprofessionally review them.
I want to expand my cooking abilities. Plain ol’ chicken and steak is boring. I want to cook like Giana De Laurentiss and Alton Brown.
I want to cook for people - significant other, friends, dinner party, girls night… whatever.
I want to get a cat. I sorely miss mine and realize just how much I enjoyed having one around.
I want to go to Flagstaff more and spend time admiring it.
I want to travel around the world. First stop Tokyo! After that I want to travel to the British Isles and I’ve a desire to go to the Isle of Man and Easter Island.
I want to travel back to Catalina Island.
I want to spend a lot of time back on the East coast - not to live but to visit. I want to spend the time with my family and I want to spend the time in Cape Cod. I want to squish my feet into wet sand and smell the ocean air.
I want to go on a cruise of Alaska.
I want to finish my novel.
I want to become a better foodie.
I want voice act.
I want to attend a Comic Con and actually cosplay.
I want to get a nice camera and start documenting my life abstractly.
I want to race a car…
Actually, I want to drift my car…
I want to relearn Japanese.
I want to go back to school for Psychology.
I want to learn how to ride a horse.
I want to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
I want to see Niagara Falls.
I want to see the Redwood Forest.

To be continued…

posted: Jan 19, 2010

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:31:00 -0700

On Monday at my writers group holiday party I received a book from the resident romance writer “The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing”. I cracked it open today and got to page 1. Basically, I read one paragraph.

As I’ve expressed before, novel writing is my hobby. I think I surprise people when I tell them I don’t really care if I get published. I’ve a story in my head and I just want it out on paper… I would almost rather give the book away for free to the people that want to read it than try and sell it. I’m not looking to be the next JK Rowling, Tolkin or Pierce… I just want to share the vision in my head.

This book is roughly 450 daunting pages. It covers typical subjects like the philosophy of plot and how to create realistic characters to creating authentic dialogue, hooking your readers within the first 50 pages and how to find editors and publishers.

I am very excited to read it. I’m not sure it was entirely meant for me, but I am glad that she had an extra copy and gifted it to me. The last writers book I read was on creating dialogue. Yes, an entire book on writing dialogue. Part III looks particularly interesting as it discusses how to start writing, what to do if you get writers block, and how to revise your work (my biggest problem is revising the same pages over and over and over to the point that I never move forward in my work).

At my writers holiday party on Monday we made a toast to getting contracts for our novels in 2010. I’ve just hit 70 pages, I do know that I’ve another 300+ to go so I made it a personal goal that at the end of 2010, on December 31, I’ll have completed the rough draft of my work.

Here’s to my novel and to 2010… boy am I going to need it.

A few days ago I started playing video games again. It’s been...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:10:00 -0700

A few days ago I started playing video games again. It’s been nearly 10 months and I had been missing them. I picked up my PSP, popped in a few different games and settled on Star Ocean Second Evolution. Now, this isn’t the first time I played it. In fact it was the game I stopped playing back in March.

This isn’t a review of the game but an admission that I am closer to deciding whether or not I’ll be going back to school… back to take Japanese classes again. Just one more thing I need to add to my plate of things to do… but I really miss it and what happened Sunday morning brought me one step closer.

Star Ocean Second Evolution has two opening videos. I’m personally a fan of the second one. I like the flow of it better. After scouring Google for a good two hours I found the lyrics to the whole song and not just what is in the full motion video. After piecing together the parts of the lyrics I realized that the last two lines of the song were incorrect. I replayed the song over and over while reading the lyrics in hopes to find the two lines but sadly they weren’t in the lyrics… the only lyrics… I had come across.

I spent the next hour figuring them out. The song is in Japanese. The lyrics in Romaji. And I’ve been out of a Japanese class for nearly 5 years… and I’m happy to say that I think I figured them out :)

Start, by Scandal

Fui ni koboreta namida anata dake ga shitte ita
Yasashisa ga afureteru ano sora no you ni

Haruka na sekai mezashi koko kara tobidasou
Bouken no tabi e to ikou

Tsuyoku nareru wa kitto anata wa
Ikutsumo no hoshi wo koe tadoritsukeru yo
Kagayakidashita yuuki to tomo ni
Tobitateru name hiroge giga hibi jiiru

Hoshi no umi wo wataru

Writing for the Future?

Tue, 26 May 2009 20:39:25 -0700

A week ago tomorrow evening will be one week that I have been unemployed. Again. A lot of things that happened the first time and that happened this time have made me think about my life and how I want it’s future to shape up.

I want to be a writer because I have a story to share. Patricia C Wrede, the author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Thirteenth Child, said something similar. That she had stories to share. For once it was comforting to read that I don’t have to BE a natural writer to write. It was always daunting to read how I had to eat, sleep and breathe writing to be one.

I eat, sleep and breathe a lot of things: writing, video games, internet marketing, beautiful website navigation, the dream of voice acting and a lot more… how can I do just one thing when there is so much I want to do?

In the week that I have been out of a job I had a lot of time to think on what I want to do, where I want to go. I do love internet marketing. I love watching traffic increase, and followers go up. I love the word play from the keyword research and the way I have to make titles and decriptions fit within so many characters. But, at times it infuriates me. In the end though, it will be my job as well as something I enjoy.

Writing on the other hand will be a hobby. A want. Something I need to do to get this story out of my head.

At the same time it makes me wonder if I should seriously contemplate using this ‘down time’ while I am searching for a job to make as much progress as I can on my novel. There is only so much that I can do once I send out my resume, social networking with near everyone and apply for unemployment. There is a lot of waiting, so I should make use of my ‘down time’…

I sent out the first five pages of my novel to my writing critique group and I had one member reply to my email. I was more than flattered by his comments which also propelled me to focus on my writing in my current situation. I am a good writer and it is good to hear; especially from someone that does not normally read science fiction/fantasy literature, let alone it being a mature young adult book.

As much as I want to I begin to write a new section and feel as if I get stuck. I tried an outline but that didn’t work the way I had hoped, or did writing different parts. The only hope I have, is like with everyting else, moving forward.

day 39 without a laptop

Sat, 16 May 2009 09:04:00 -0700

39 days ago my laptop broke. One side of the screen came completely off it’s hinge. Since then I’ve felt as if I’m missing a vital part of me. An arm, or an eye or perhaps my pinkie finger which is beneficial for punching those hard to reach keys on the keyboard.

It’s been hardest on my creativity. I use my computer for near everything so writing my novel was no exception and now that my novel is stuck on my gimp machine I’ve been having cravings. Writing cravings.

I dream of scenes in my sleep. Ideas come to me at work, in the shower. It’s been interesting when I get ideas while I’m driving. I scramble to pull out my sketchbook/notebook to jot them down so I don’t forget.

Not that my novel couldn’t wait another year to be finished. It’s only been 10 years now in the making. A whole decade of writing and all I’ve to show for it is 200 pages that have been rewritten more times than I’d care to count.

I suppose it’s to be expected. I started the novel with two friends in highschool and since then we’ve separated during various years of our youth, graduated highschool, graduated college and had various jobs all the while. Excuses they might sound, but being verbally creative was hard at times and my writing took off again once I was in a stable job.

Until my laptop died and I’ve been without my novel (I’m trying to use that poor machine as little as possible just in case) I didn’t realize what a blessing it was to have it at my fingertips whenever I had the writing itch. I sound selfish, calling my novel that was always so close to me a blessing when I’ve got a whole world of things in my life to feel blessed about but the simple fact that it was there whenever I wanted I feel like I took for granted.

That being said I’ve come to a writing decision. I plan to write at LEAST 10 pages a week along with attending writing meetings. It’ll be hard to find the time between work, meetup groups for my industry (which relates back to work and the personal enjoyment I get out of attending), and whatever else additionally I’ve got going on besides sleeping and eating. This is where it comes to making the time, not just finding it.

Handy enough, Google calendar now allows for tasks, so as much as it pains me to call writing 10 pages a week a task, it’s what I’ll do. If I don’t complete my task though I can’t punish myself or I’ll resent writing and that would be bad to say the least. No, I’ll evaluate at the end of the month and reflect upon how much I was able to write knowing that if I didn’t complete my goal of 10 pages a week that I can always do better next month. I’ll plan out my writing agenda for the next month and make allowances for my schedule.

In the meantime I’ll be planning an outline and scheduling while perusing stores for the gloriousness that is a netbook. I’ll try to stay faithful to writing my adventures here and look forward to my next great writing adventure: National Writing Month in November where I have dedicated myself to writing 50K words in a MONTH. I hope that my writing here and my near 50 pages a month will help me prepare for that endeavor.

01

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

I’ve joined tumblr. Again… I joined nearly a year ago but since I don’t blog I didn’t think it would be prudent to keep up a blog that is updated barely once a year.

In this case though I’ve renamed the blog… I’m back to imagination uncut and I plan to use this to track my writing progress and random thoughts (yeah, just what I need right? Another place to post random things)