What’s Up Wednesday? The NanoLaunch!

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions… Join us!

What I’m reading:
I’ve nearly finished the latest Xanth, ‘Board Stiff’ from the library’s ebooks department. It’s been a fun romp so far, especially since Com-Pewter finally joined the quest as one of the good guys, wandering around in an android body. I’ve also caught up on a few Toasted Cake and PodCastle episodes, and started reading a Doctor Who graphic novel I picked up years ago at a convention.

What I’m writing:
Well, I started the rewrite for “Return to Civilization” at the Sunday write-in, and I’ve been worldbuilding and character sketching for crazy on my two Nanowrimo plot bunnies (plot bunny ranching?) With big props to the Storywonk “Sufficiently Advanced Magic” class, which has been a very fun way to get ready.

What works for me:
Umm… I’m not quite sure this week, it’s been sortuv time for kissing frogs, as it were. I actually got a bunch of character sketching done in front of the TV last night, which doesn’t always work. Some of the time, I was catching up on “Castle” and “The Big Bang Theory”, but at other points I’d turned the TV to music or just off while I worked on chasing down a particular thought. And that’s kinda cool, that I can make the writing the priority and not the television. 🙂

What else I’ve been up to:
Well, I got up to see the family for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, which was great. Played in the Angry Birds Epic “For the Pirate King” invasion event, made it into the 3rd place spot of whatever and scored some decent prize points. And the Nanowrimo site has relaunched, so I’ve been busy exploring the new forums and organizing spotlight interviews.

And speaking of what I’ve been reading, I updated my reading lists for the year over at Stringing Words, and it looks like I’ve read 336 short stories and 62 novels already this year!

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

What’s Up Wednesday? Lazy Summer Days?

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions… Join us!

What I’m reading:

I’ve been listening to some great podcast stories from ‘Escape Pod’ and got “Luck of the Draw” (the Xanth book) from the library on the weekend, and I’ve been enjoying it quite a lot. I also got “Warm Bodies” from the library, but I’m not sure if I’m going to read it through. I’ve skimmed through a lot of it comparing with my memories of the movie. The library also has a downloadable audio version of “Warm Bodies”, and I may give that a try.

And I read a few Analog stories on my Nexus, both via the library Zinio archives, and my own Kindle issues. Today I started the last arc of Angel and Faith, season 9.

What I’m writing:

Well, I started a story for the Xeroxxing Xylophone idea, having fun with it so far! I know I need to get started with revision stuff, but–well, see above under lazy. 😉

What inspires me right now:

Actually figuring out a secret identity long before it gets revealed in the book I’m reading, hehe.

What else I’ve been up to:

Hanging out with my mom a little, cooking and catching up to the last levels update in ‘Angry Birds Epic.’ Pimping the Nexus tablet out with VPN setup and Remote Desktop apps, so that if a work emergency comes up while I’m in Toronto for Fan Expo, I can use the Nexus to solve the problem. The hero travels light, whoohoo. 🙂

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

R is for Rainbow Rider

For the A to Z challenge this year, I’m sharing science fiction and fantasy story ideas…

I know that this concept was used offhand in the Xanth series (specifically ‘Centaur Aisle’,) but I love the idea of a fantasy character who can get from place to place by climbing onto a rainbow and riding it. How does he (or she) catch up to the rainbow and touch it? Where does it take the riders? Obviously this would have to be a very magical realm, where not much science is operative.

If you’re interested enough to pick this up and write your own version, feel free; ideas are cheap. And let me know! I’ll be keeping the notions vague enough that lots of different stories might be written from them.

Thanks for visiting!

Dreams from long ago

While tidying up my bedroom, I came across many things that should have been through out long ago, and one little item I’m glad hadn’t – a tiny spiral-ring notebook that I’d apparently used as a dream journal a few times in 2004. Now, my writing is hard to read at the best of times, but I think I can make out enough from this journal to be worth sharing:

Sep 6 04:

Weird stuff that doesn’t make much sense – some dreaming about PDF books on my tungsten, renting out mall stores with giant plug in the center (and pulling the plug out.) People from Will & Grace and Buffy putting Jonathan and Andrew through tests – fighting falcons with long thing wooden branches. Which the nerds thought would be wizard wands.

Sep 25:

Some work stuff – a ‘stock admin’ field in the employee file that wasn’t set right. Bill chewed me out for not knowing about it & not learning from the others while they had been there. Also something I didn’t understand in a new project about humidity – so he sent me into a damp room. Cheryl asked me about rules in Xanth – and a page number. I was reading a Xanth hardcover and she was reading a torn half of a Xanth paperback

Oct 2:

A Tim Horton’s kiosk like the ones at York. Joking with the attendant that soon I’d just be able to order ‘my usual’ (4 maple dips and a small white milk) Someone in line pointing out that I could get donuts from vending machines and my counterpoint that Tim’s donuts were in a different universe from vending machine donuts. Some uncertainty about exactly how many donuts I’d ordered, how many I got, how much I had paid, and how much change I got back, but I got back a square gold loonie! (Satanic??)

 

So – well, I’m not sure what to make of that myself, but I hope those long-ago dreams made you laugh a little at least. 🙂