All The World Is Full of Fishies, In Their Fishy Lives

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

   SpellCheck.net seems to be down this morning, darn the luck. Could it be my fault? I have posted the link for it in many, many places.
   I am not awake, I am not awake, I am not awake. All work and no sleep makes Liz groggy. Well, thaat and a rotten night's rest. Not to mention the past week, waiting for pees to show who, I lwarn, might not show till a week from Nonday, or something. Snarl.
   If the 'puter doesn't crash, pre-NaNo (GloNo), then it's the social strata of the space/thyme continuum. Jeez...

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

   Heh. I have to take a bit of time to contemplate the environmental impact of Squirrelzilla/Godrisu/Godkinezumi on my world's ecosystem. It's like I said--one little writing challenge leads to a whole lot of trouble.

I give Up!

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I'm going to have to creat emy won mythological Monster of Spring. I can't find any useful references online.

Writing Woes

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

ik in 4 hours. Somehow, at this rate, I do not think that I will mahage to write 10k by 10PM, at this rate. *sigh* We'll see: I've almost finishd transcribing the notes now, not to mention embellishments that I felt were needed as I was doing it. We'll see...

I Think I Have Had An Attack Of The Sillies

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

The paragraph, narrative, that rI have just written. I've underlined the finla sentence, in the context. You'll see why I've got the momentary giddies.


For all that Richel knew, it could be everyone on the list, and they might be working towatds a common goal. Salusbourg might either jwnat to rule, or else might want to restore the throne to the Quartax family. It might even be anither, whose name escaped the list, but who desired the prestige and accumulate dwealth of the throne. Not that the throne was all that wealthy, abecause the funds did circulate back to the land. You had to sow what you wanted to reap, and he wnated a prosperous and healthy reign, jboth for himself, and for the people. That had been the whole purpose behind the war, which had culminated in his kingship. He had not actually wanted the rule, but Estelle and Baldur had talked him into it, along with Ellspeth's hand, and the rest of her as well.

EDIT:
nd no, not a Sue. That's how the name worked out. It's similar to mine, but I prefer Liz, sometimes Beth, or Elizabeth. But Ellspeth? Sorry. I know it's a varaition, but I'd never use it. My one Sue, and it was for an original fic that I never really worked on, I've used the name, instead, for my address on GoogleyGMailkins.

Yes, I'm cheating, right now.

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          Technically, I'm not supposed ot be on until after I finish typing my hand written notes. I found my AlphaSmart cord, so I can uplaod the text from it more easily, so I took the notebook out from the bathroom.
          I just felt like proceastinating for a bit. Let's see, after the notes I have to type up now, I should have about 18k words, which leaves 32k for NaNo.I'm not sure that I can manage 10k in a day, but I'll try, and that's for the next three days.. and well before Midnight.
          Well, a tad over 10k per day, since there's also that additional 2k...
          Here's to the last minute! And the final days of Nano. When it's done, then I can toast it with plum wine.

One Bit of Good News

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I found the--I think they called it a PC Y cable, although the bloody info page is disconnected from the link. I was trying to think of what they called it, but I'm pretty sure that's it. Anyway, I found it, so I should be able to start using my AlphaSmart instead of a paper notebook in the--well, you know... And that's my good news.

Inspiration

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Prydewing 01
Prydewing 02
Prydewing 03
Waterfall 01
Waterfall Pink
Waterfall Electric
Waterfall Green

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

The scientific name for an animal that
doesn't either run from or
fight its enemies is lunch.

Michael Friedman

Just for the sheer fun of the quote. ;-)

Global Novel Natter

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

You will notice that I've altered the title field for this page. ;-) It reflects a conversation we older folks had in the Geezer's Clubhouse this past week. See, "National" is more like "International" nowadays; so we started discussing ter,s. Someone said "WoNoWriMo" didn't quite cut it. I'm not sure the conversation would have died if I hadn't suggested "Global Novel Writing Month", or "GloNoWriMo", or if someone else would hae suggested it. My fellow Geezers seemed to like it. Not that Chris Baty's going to change the name, or anything. It's just something we were talking about. ;-) And hence, the new page title, if not a new web address.

Leave The Humor In!

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          I wanted to commit an open letter to all the people who told me to leave the humor out of my fantasy novel.
          You guys suck. It's back, it wanted back and, thanks to Squirrelzilla, it's back to stay.
          It's not to say that there will not be serious in with the silly. There's too much serious material still to cover, for the silly to outweigh it. But the silly is what breaks up the straight-a$$ stuff. It was the initial inspiration for the series and, when you people made me take it away, it turned the series into Storyzilla, where it gained weight and put it all on the tush. I mean, really.
          You need silly. In my story, I really need it, to tone down the subject matter. It helps me maintain interest in a first draft and, darn it, it makes for a better read, IMO. I still have to get through the rest of the series too, one that's going to be a bit of a sappy romance but which actually fits well into the overall plot, which is foreshadowed from the first book, after a fashion, even from the pre-story. Heck, I even have sappy-crappy, kind of, in the pre-story, too.
          That's not to say that the folks (no one on my friend's list of that I know currently) who pooh-poohed the humor didn't have great ideas otherwise, but come on now, who's writing this story. And your problem with the title SWAIN'S WORLD? You mean, you've never heard of a working title? You know the end result's up to the editor anyway, and SWAIN'S WORLD was my title for the original, humorous short, years ago, that led into this series.
          So this is my declaration of freedom: the humor stays. Thank you. ;-)

Hey! It's Alive!

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          Terror restarted her computer, so my system is back online. Yay!
          I survived Thanksgiving, too. I must have one of the best families. I just hope that some day, I can return their kindnesses, somehow.
          I'm still running with Squirrelzilla. They managed to get the two beams off Orth's leg, thanks to the Grypnonne and the Equus (species names in my novel, reflecting respective cultural identities--pronounciation is obvious). Now, they have to set the bones in his leg or legs, I have not quite decided yet. Considering that Orth wasn't supposed to break his leg in the first place, well, the story and challenges just got quite a bit more interesting. I think I might deal with the death of a Deity, too, but that's okay, she'll return, come Spring.
          Yes, I'm still deliberating the story. It's going to take longer than NaNoWriMo to work out, but at least it's a jump start. NaNoEdMo might be back up by March but, if it isn't, I'll try to be at the editing point anyway. I'm signed up for National Novel Finishing Month, which should help keep me writing.

Random II

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          I need to go shopping. I have my notes transcribed, except for the notes I wrote on the pot in the john. I'm trying to fill up some f the dialogue slack with description. I broke the non-editing tule and added some bits, but what the heck.
          I don't think I'll make the 50k this month, but so far I'm about at the same ponit I was last year, word-wise, so any words after this, I've beaten my previous year. That, in itself, is a triumph.
          In other words, even if I don't mark an official win, I'm still a winner. Go, me!

I have to say one thing. I really, really need to say it.

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Chickenzilla.


That is all. XD

Blogging

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Is it my imagination, or is everyone getting into the blogging craze? Darn it, folks, it's NaNoWriMo! Novel fever, not blogger's. Xp

Where to begin? I am at least up to 13k with my NaNo, though it's not typed yet. And when I sit to write, I rack my brain for the wording. When's my story going to take off the keyboard's runway? Darn it!


Not to mention offline problems on the home front which could get us evicted from the flat. A whole lot of misinformation and misunderstanding. I'd blame misogyny, but the one doing this happens to be a woman. I hope we manage to keep a roof over out heads by next week.

You know, sometimes, life really sucks. It really and truly does.

200 Words (and Day 20 of National Novel Writing Month)

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I'm writing at least three stories, aside from my NaNo, at least 200 words per day on each of them. No, eait, sorry: two pieces of original fic at 200 words per day, plus two pieces of fanfic at 200 words per day. It's an experiment to see if I can maintain interest enough to keep writing them this way, or if one so fires up my virtual pen that I have to keep writing it.

This, of course, is aside from my NaNo. I'm still typing up my handwritten notes. Well, at least I'm not at a loss for story material, lol.

National Novel Writing Month Update

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Well, even if I will not be able to enter an official word count, at least I'm still writing: slowly, so far, but I hit 10,457 words. It's 19 November now which mean that I'll have to write --oh, I'll figure it out later. Close to 40k in approximately 20 days. Still, even with what I have written already, some writing is better than none at all.

EDIT 21:40 APPROXIMATE:

I have to write around 2k per day to make the 50k total. Even if I don't make the official count, I can still shoot for that, this month. Too bad I won't get the certificate, since I can't get an official count; but at least I'll know I did it. Then I just need to worry about the 30k more for NaNoFiMo.

Are we having fun yet?

Considering Squirrelzilla:

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Thoughts come into our minds by avenues which we never left
open, and thoughts go out of our minds through avenues which we never voluntarily opened.
- Emerson (1803-1882) American Poet and Essayist

This quote best fits my NaNoWRiMo, at this point. Also Murphy's Law, but that's beside the point.

Crap

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

My counter doesn't reflect it yet, but I broke 10k last night. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, my computer can't access the Internet now. I'll still NaNo, and enter an unofficial count, but since the floppy drive doesn't work, I won't be able to back up with GMail or the like, or enter an official word count.

I don't know if the system will go back on, or if I have to find an alternate. We'll see. I stil can't do the word count thing, though.

Reposted from Liz's Looming Lunacy:

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Writing An Artist's Statement

Taken from the four viewpoints that I wish to use in my November's novel:




SAGE OF JUSTICE VALHOOR
Well, I'm an Advisor to Richel, King Tavitt. That's because of the Valhoor Gift, my family's Talent. It's referred to as The Sight, and it is a way to See; not only into the past, but also, into the future. The latter, though, is uncertain at best, and you can only foretell the future with any degree of accuracy when you are aware of all the main factors which impact upon it. Sure, you can get hints here or there, but nothing is one hundred percent certain; still, it has made a Royal Advisor of me, which also means that I have to sit in on sessions of the Coucil.


ORTH
I help Master Warren with his research into the society and habits of my people. I speak both my people's tongue, and that of the humans who come to visit us. Bezn has offered to try to teach me the tongue of the Prydewing. I have asked Master Warren's advice, but the tells me that it should be something I want to do, if I want to do it, and that it is my decision to make, and not his. I know that a human child at my age would not apprentice to a scholar, only because Master Warren has told me so; and none of my own people, save for certain ones like our leader, would not be able to assist Master Warren with his scribal records. Garroste, a friend to my older brother ad son to one who would rival our leader, Koprrh, dislikes all humans, though he, like the rest of us, is half-human. He goes out of his way to torment me; but he cannot touch Master Warren, who lives among us under Koprrh's protection. In my native tongue. in the ogre's language, my name means "fortunate one". I don't know as that I am really all that lucky: but if Master WArren had not helped Dame when I was born, neither Dame nor I would be here today. Still, I never wanted to be different from other ogres. I never asked for this to happen. But, I am different, so I will have to "make do" with what I have before me.


BEZN
I am the one who ferries messages and upholds the tenets of the Treaty between the Ogre and Prydewing clans. I manage to speak (and to read) three languages, though the learning of them has not been easy, save for my own. I did not want this task, but it has proved to be an enjoyable and informative one. Our Prydewing's Elder, Quda, believes in the Treaty which lets us live in peace with our neighbors, the ogres. Fyrrh, and certain of the Prydewing who follow him, disagree, and despise both the human-balanced Treaty and the ogres; but since succession is decided by either appointment or challenge, and he is unworthy of the first, and too cowardly for the second, we are in no trouble from him at the current time.


WARREN DANAU
Orth is so fortunate, and in in many respects. After my brother Garth negotiated the Treaty between the ogre and Prydewing clans, I chose to remain, and continue work here: I have no talent with steeds of any sort, though I am adept at chronicling events and analyzing situations, so we agreed that learning about our neighbors, and writing about them, was more important than that I help to deliver another foal; though strange to say that the one thing I have managed to do well, delivering a foal, also carried over when I helped Ayla deliver Orth. It was a difficult pregnancy in the last days, at best, and with a breach birth--well, with nothing to help the mother or child along, I had to do the best I could, with what I knew; and, strange to say, what I knew was horses, though not very well. I was fortunate that I managed to help deliver Orth in one piece, and that his mother also survived, though a great cat later killed her, and Orth's father. Strange to say, that I hardly remember his name now. Perhaps he wasn't quite so important to me as mother and child, though it will slip back into my mind unexpectedly, and unbidden, at the worst possible time--Akan, that's right. His name meant trouble, although he didn't exactly ask for it, himself.. Anyway, I've taken care of Orth for six years now. His elder brother, Alva, moved in with Garroste's family. Anyway, some months ago, I sent word to my brother, Garth, that I thought Orth had a Talent. I mean, I have none, myself, but it seemed that quickly, and so readily, and for some reason, despite Alva and Grroste, and despite losing both parents so early in life, that he has been uncommonly ortunate, that I was here to help deliver him, and that he has a palce here that would not have existed, had it not been for him; I was undecided about remaining here, but Orth's birth decided me. I have asked Garth to forward to the Council my request that Orth be tested for Mageability. If he has a Talent, then it should be recognized and trained, and not set to wither in some back-roots community.


#


Now that I have what I wrote before here now, I can refer back to it, post-National Novel Finishing Month, and see jsut how far the story's changed since I first wrote this, back on 06 October.

Synchronicity

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          Coincidence of events that seem to be meaningfully related, conceived in Jungian theory as an explanatory principle on the same order as causality, the relation of cause and effect: The result is the same, however differently the causality is interpreted.
          Synchronicity implies a dynamic of relationships or events. Sound familiar? When you write a story, no matter the genre, you want an expressed synchronicity of events and relationships. I think this is often referred to as the "theme" of the story. If you have two people who have not seen each other in ten years, and one is researching, say, Norse vampires, possibly for a story, and the other had designed a gaming system with said vampires, had done research, and by some chance posted something on-line which helped a third party to help the first party focus the search on Norse vampires--that's a synchronicity, if he's on a recent panel discussion about the gaming system and the Norse vampires will be part of the panel discussion. ;-)
          Actually, that part just happened in a topic on LiveJournal: but it doesn't have to be the same research or event of real-life synchronicity. In real life, the lead-in isn't quite so perfect, but it gives the writer an idea to play with, for a logical synchronicity within the context of their story. Instead of hearing word about a friend, synchronicity could bring them to the same place, at the same time, and for a related reason.
          I'm probably just blowing smoke; but it is still an interesting point to ponder.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity
--
Regards,
Elizabeth Anne Ensley
http://nanonatter.blogspot.com
--------------------
When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day's works is all I can permit myself to contemplate.
- ^{John Steinbeck}

And Life Goes On

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have 885 words to 10k. I also have ot get the flat clean. I have no doubt that I can do both, but why do I hae to feel guilty, when doing one, that I'm not doing the other? Maybe I can switch off, between the two.

It's Alive! Alive!

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Apparently, the computer decided that it had quite enough of being dead, and decided to be alive again. Go figure.

Wait! Wait! Systems Update!

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I do not know how I managed it, but the computer is actuakky wirknig again. I also changed keyboard and mouse, so both actually work, and without the mouse squeaking on me! it's alive! It's actually alive!, I might actually make it through this NaNo.
          And, of course, assuming my system lets me, I plan to go out writing.

It looks like it's the end for me.

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

My computer died. Again. It's a freaking annual NaNo tradition. i'll jsut have to see what I can salvage from all this. NaNoWriMo's a bust for me, I guess.

NaNoWriMo, Day Fifteen

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          LOL. Bruce, I can't help thinking about it. It's actually doing me a bit of good, though--that, and a few other bits that are only barely NaNo-related.
          I actually have an idea to increase my word count, that I managed to get before falling asleep this morning (long story, short pier--Terror wanted me to get her up at 4:30 this morning. and--well, a whole long bit ensues from there). The gist of it is, I managed to get two hundred words each in on two separate projects, for a grand total of four hundred, before I went to sleep. That took about twenty minutes, each bit--maybe fifteen. If I translate that to doing NaNo, with a break after each two hundred words (a short one), then I should be able to do more, withuot straining my eyes. Hey, until I manage to find someone local who takes my insurance and get a new pair (which won't happen this month anyway, since I'm still learning the area--we have lived here for going on three years now, but I neither drive, nor do I get out that much, so getting to other towns--where everything is--is a bit more difficult than when we lived in East Quogue), the frequent breaks might be the solution to my short-term NaNo problem.
          Of course, I only woke up a short time ago, and I need to get dressed and get to the store. Milk, bread, and food, since we're pretty much out of all sixteen. ;-)

More NaNo

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Why in Hades would I want the new version of Blogger, when the old one is sufficient? Aside from which, they have not worked all the bugs from the current version yet, so why switch?

I think that the one way I can salvage my NaNo is to outline the day's writng each morning, and then expand upon it in the afternoon. Squirrelzilla really did a number on my notes and continuity.

Day 14 (16 days to go)

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          23,338 words. That's what I would be at, by today's end, if I had been writing 1667 words per day. Unfortunately, I have not, though the day before yesterday I managed approximately 2600 words, and yesterday around 400. It is not a perfect score, but at least some writing has been done.
          Now, I have to deal with my protagonist's broekn leg. That changes the story's essential plan. Now, I have to figure out by just how much this does, in fact, change it.

Monday 13 November 2006

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

Okay. I have to write 2493.117647 words per day to catch up with where I shuld be, and finish the 50k by month's end, but that's no big deal, if I can maintain a word count like yesterday's, where I wrote 2,615,right? If I round up to 2500 it's not so bad, and if I write around 2600 per day, that's an even better deal.

Right now, though, I need to go back to bed. I woke up thirsty, but right now it's too early, so I'm too sleepy at around 3-4 AM to get any decent (not to mention, coherent) writing done.

This art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men.
^{- Captain J. A. Hadfield}

My NaNoWriMo Current 12 November 2006 Thursday

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I've written 1,672 words so far today. That brings me up to a total of 6,574 so far. I still have a ways to go if I want to reach 10k today, since I didn't catch up yesterday. This means I have 3,426 words approximate to write today. Still, it's more than I wrote yesterday, which is a good sign. I'm starting to catch up--not by much, but at least, by a little bit.

National Novel Writing Month, Day 11

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I rejected two spam commnts about making money. I mean, if you're going to spam me, Anonymice (hey, it sounds funnier for a plural than anonymouses or anonymii--and I almost called them anonymeeses [remember the odl Tom and Jerry cartoon?], lol). I know some folks like spam, . eggs, bacon, and spam in the morning, but it's a bit too early in the morning for me. I'm more an oatmeal-and=toast or Raisin Bran-type of person.

I'm a bit behind, but at least I made 5001 words total last night. This is cumulative and not all at once, though at one point in my life I could have written like tht in one sitting, no problem. Part of it is that I really need new glasses. It seems that an outdated prescription isn't conducive to typing all your ideas down. I don't want to tpe with my eyes closed because sometimes I have a tendency to use the wrong keys for home, lol. I would at lwast like to be able to read, rather than have to decrypt, what I have written, when NaNoEdMo rolls around.

EDIT:
I keep checking the National Novel Editing Month site. I wonder if it will be running again, or if it's out for good. If it stays closed, maybe a few of us could wait for March anyway, and encourage each other to edit. The last time I participated in NaNoEdMo, back in 2005, I think the goal was a cumulative 50 hours worth of editing, minimum, on the system of trust. Since March has 31 dats, we could get in 62 hours of editing, at two hours per day.

National Novel Writing Month, Day 10.

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

For this stage in my NaNo, I find this quote encouraging:

You write with ease to show your breeding
But easy writing is cursed hard reading.
- Ben Franklin

          LOL. Well, mine may not be too easy, up till this point, but it is fun. Right now, for the heck of it, I have added the Goddess of the Personification of Summer, complete with character description (I jsut have not mentioned that she's a Goddess), oneo f the Equus ("demon" horses), and, of course, Sage of Justice Valhoor.
          We shall see what transpires from this conspiration. ;-) I am only up to about 4,230 words right now, out of 40k, but all I need, in order to be able to catch up over the course of the month, is to write a minimum 2150 words per day. That's all.
          One word:
                    Coffee.


And yes, once in awhile I will look up random links. This one was coffee. I've done it for vampires, werewolves, zombies, chocolate--why do you ask? lol.

07 November 2006

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

I have not quite caught up to where I want to be with my word count, but at least I am writing, each day. I am up to 3331 words, right now, but I think that I need to sleep, and soon. I can barely hold open my eyes.


“Sleep is perverse as human nature, Sleep is perverse as a legislature, Sleep is as forward as hives or goiters, And where it is least desired, it loiters.”

- Ogden Nash
(American Writer of humorous poetry
who won a large following for his audacious
verse. 1902-1971)

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

            I'm only at 1.253 words on my NaNo. That's fine, it's still early, I have time to catch up. Plus, I did double my total from the previous day.
            The important things to remember are these.
            NaNoWriMo is a personal challenge. 50k is the ideal way to wind down the month, but any writing that you do, during the month, makes you a winner, the point, the whole point of novel writing, is to write. The whole purpose of National Novel Writing Month is in the production of many, many words.
            Yes, a lot of what you initially turn out will be crap. So what? After a point, it's inevitable that the "crap" will find its voice, and you will start turning out halfway decent crap instead of completely useless crap. The more that you write, the more that you can write. It takes both time and practice to do anything, and writing is no different.
            Allow yourself to play, and to experiment with writing. National Novel Writing Month is like a month-long recess. People each play differently. You can allow yourself to play with different, cross, even fanfic genres. It's okay. The whole point of the month is an exercise in turning off the internal editor long enough to write something. I mean, editing is what March and National Novel Editing Month is for.





We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
 - Aristotle

[NaNoWriMo] 03 November 2006

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

          Life intrudes already. I'm up to 506 2ords. Yes, I know, that's a pathetic total, for the third day. Unfortunately (well, no, not really, but... lol), I am also a parental unit, and my budget's way off, so I have to spend a bit of time figuring that out, too.
           Funny thing is, my sister paid the rent for me, a year in advance, and I'm paying her back--but they just reduced our rent by around $150 since Terror's not employed now, but that extra will not be refunded, though it may be credited in the following year's total. It doesn't actually do us a whole Hell of a lot of good now, so I'm figuring the household budget on a string and a hope--and a couple of overdue bills.
          The 'net has to stay, the TV has to stay, and the electric has to be paid, so we might end up giving up phone service for now. Much as it's convenient and all, much as we really, really need it, it's not an absolute essential in the greater scheme of things, especially when the phone itself is dying.

[NaNoWriMo] 01 November 2006

From The Desk of Liz Ensley:

But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.
- Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet In Heaven,
pg. 1 line 3-4

And so, it begins.