Showing posts with label my other blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my other blog. Show all posts
23 March 2012
22 March 2012
Another Shopping Expedition @ Cobbett&Paws
New post over at Cobbett&Paws about my shopping mission, wherein I totally failed to buy the black denim I went for and come home with a host of other stuff instead. *facepalm*
Also, SHARKS.
Also, SHARKS.
21 March 2012
A Random Assortment of Updates
*waves* Hi-hello! How goes things? Long time no see (as always, sigh). At least the New Minion is a passable excuse for not blogging, right? RIGHT? O:)
So, I have a random assortment of updates today - which, considering the title of this post, is shocking, no? Mostly, it is non-writingish. There has not been much writing in the 6 weeks since New Minion's birth, although the last week has been more productive in that regard - and I finally, FINALLY figured out where/how to start Jesscapades. Really, I feel like I ought to plow on and finish the current draft (I have 52,000 words, give or take, and it's about 2/3 done), but I can't help but think I'm writing throw-away words when I work on it... So I may decide to just go back to the beginning and start over again. We shall see.
It's funny, though. If you've been hanging around the writing world for long enough, you'll know that sooner or later every writing how-to translates to - 'but everyone does things their own way'. There's no one right way to write - and yet, much and all as I know that, I feel like going back and starting from the beginning of Jesscapades is the 'wrong' thing to do, because so many of the pros say that you should never go back, only go forward. Stupid of me to let something like that hang me up - I mean seriously, isn't it better to go back to the beginning and rewrite, even though I haven't finished the end, than to NOT WRITE ANYTHING AT ALL?? Dude. Seriously.
Unfortunately, my brain is a very all-or-nothing place, something that manifests everywhere from hobbies to housework. I hate vacuuming (which I always try to spell vaccuming or vacumming!), for example, because I have this horrible, lingering feeling that unless I've moved every single piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, the job ISN'T DONE PROPERLY. And I LOATHE not being able to do things properly. Hence, house ends up unvacuumed because the Inky, she has neither the time nor the muscles to move every bit of furniture every single time. *sigh*
I suspect this is somewhat of a serious character flaw, one which I am Working To Overcome. To that end, 2012 has been dubbed the Year of Finishing Things, in which I must finish all projects that I start, or finish old projects. None of this bad-habitty, start-a-project-all-excited, reach-critical-mass, freak-out-and-run-away business.
I have already finished one lovely shiny project early this year: The Chair. Those of you with exceptional memories may remember that I mentioned DH & I were reupholstering our old lounge. Well, we did it, and here is the shinyfish result (well, nearly; I apparently don't have a pic of it TOTALLY finished, which is sad, because OBVIOUSLY it looks better with arms and a seat cushion):
I've started another rather major undertaking: making bags. It combines too many things I love not to do: pretty fabric, textures, colours, designing stuff, useful things (BAGS, HELLO!), Etsy, and hopefully, enough extra cash to enable my return to work in July to be part time rather than full time O:) (yes, that was a slightly shameless plug...) Because I am Amy and can never have enough blogs that I rarely update, I've started another one! This time to deal with all my fabricking adventures. Do follow if you're interested in that sort of thing, and unless anyone here screams loudly to the contrary, I'll post here when I have something new over there. So head on over and find out why my shop is called Cobbett&Paws... :)
Finally, in the list of random updates, the Dog Book, she is nearly done. FINALLY. This was only supposed to be finished, you know, LAST OCTOBER. *sigh* Oh well. Better late than never.
And speaking of dogs, you totally have to watch this video I stumbled on today. CANINES FOR THE WIN. We all knew they were superheros in disguise.
What are you guys working on at the moment? Do you have something you're having trouble finishing? I know, I'll make a Finishing Club 2012 badge, and we can all pledge to finish something this year, bwa ha >:) To the year of finishing! Hurrahs!
So, I have a random assortment of updates today - which, considering the title of this post, is shocking, no? Mostly, it is non-writingish. There has not been much writing in the 6 weeks since New Minion's birth, although the last week has been more productive in that regard - and I finally, FINALLY figured out where/how to start Jesscapades. Really, I feel like I ought to plow on and finish the current draft (I have 52,000 words, give or take, and it's about 2/3 done), but I can't help but think I'm writing throw-away words when I work on it... So I may decide to just go back to the beginning and start over again. We shall see.
It's funny, though. If you've been hanging around the writing world for long enough, you'll know that sooner or later every writing how-to translates to - 'but everyone does things their own way'. There's no one right way to write - and yet, much and all as I know that, I feel like going back and starting from the beginning of Jesscapades is the 'wrong' thing to do, because so many of the pros say that you should never go back, only go forward. Stupid of me to let something like that hang me up - I mean seriously, isn't it better to go back to the beginning and rewrite, even though I haven't finished the end, than to NOT WRITE ANYTHING AT ALL?? Dude. Seriously.
Unfortunately, my brain is a very all-or-nothing place, something that manifests everywhere from hobbies to housework. I hate vacuuming (which I always try to spell vaccuming or vacumming!), for example, because I have this horrible, lingering feeling that unless I've moved every single piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, the job ISN'T DONE PROPERLY. And I LOATHE not being able to do things properly. Hence, house ends up unvacuumed because the Inky, she has neither the time nor the muscles to move every bit of furniture every single time. *sigh*
I suspect this is somewhat of a serious character flaw, one which I am Working To Overcome. To that end, 2012 has been dubbed the Year of Finishing Things, in which I must finish all projects that I start, or finish old projects. None of this bad-habitty, start-a-project-all-excited, reach-critical-mass, freak-out-and-run-away business.
I have already finished one lovely shiny project early this year: The Chair. Those of you with exceptional memories may remember that I mentioned DH & I were reupholstering our old lounge. Well, we did it, and here is the shinyfish result (well, nearly; I apparently don't have a pic of it TOTALLY finished, which is sad, because OBVIOUSLY it looks better with arms and a seat cushion):
I've started another rather major undertaking: making bags. It combines too many things I love not to do: pretty fabric, textures, colours, designing stuff, useful things (BAGS, HELLO!), Etsy, and hopefully, enough extra cash to enable my return to work in July to be part time rather than full time O:) (yes, that was a slightly shameless plug...) Because I am Amy and can never have enough blogs that I rarely update, I've started another one! This time to deal with all my fabricking adventures. Do follow if you're interested in that sort of thing, and unless anyone here screams loudly to the contrary, I'll post here when I have something new over there. So head on over and find out why my shop is called Cobbett&Paws... :)
Finally, in the list of random updates, the Dog Book, she is nearly done. FINALLY. This was only supposed to be finished, you know, LAST OCTOBER. *sigh* Oh well. Better late than never.
And speaking of dogs, you totally have to watch this video I stumbled on today. CANINES FOR THE WIN. We all knew they were superheros in disguise.
What are you guys working on at the moment? Do you have something you're having trouble finishing? I know, I'll make a Finishing Club 2012 badge, and we can all pledge to finish something this year, bwa ha >:) To the year of finishing! Hurrahs!
01 January 2011
Happy New Year!
Hi, everyone!
I hope your holiday period has been wonderful. The blog will be returning to its regular (and somewhat theoretical) Mon-Wed-Fri schedule on Monday. In the meantime, if you're interested in more progress-reporty word-county kind of stuff, updates are ongoing over at the livejournal :)
Have fun, stay safe, and HAPPY 2011!! :)
I hope your holiday period has been wonderful. The blog will be returning to its regular (and somewhat theoretical) Mon-Wed-Fri schedule on Monday. In the meantime, if you're interested in more progress-reporty word-county kind of stuff, updates are ongoing over at the livejournal :)
Have fun, stay safe, and HAPPY 2011!! :)
09 November 2009
Why Write?
Ta da!
*looks around, beaming, arms outstretched*
*notes looks of confusion*
What, you don't like my magic trick? What magic trick? What do you mean, what magic trick? I just beamed myself all the way from October to here! I totally skipped the first week of November! I time travelled!
What do you mean, you didn't?
*eyebrow* No, of course there weren't any posts for you last week, I skipped it. Time travelling, remember? Yes?
...No? *sigh*
Well, in that case, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you... Maybe with chocolate O:)
ANYWAY.
On to today's post!
Many months ago, before I had discovered the wonders of time travel, I wrote a post asking why we, as writers, indulge in the activity of writing that most people will agree is not entirely sane.
I mean, hello: We write things down because the voices in our heads tell us too.
If they were telling us to do anything but write, let's face it: we'd be in a mental institution.
Maybe we should retrain mentally ill people to write down what the voices say they should do, rather than to do it? Just a random idea there. And yes, a close relative died in a round about way of mental illness, so I'm allowed to say things like this :P
Ahem.
Writing. It's an insane pursuit, in an insane industry; and yet we do it. We do it because we love it; we love it because... why?
Why do you love writing?
If you haven't already, go read the post from February. I came to the conclusion then that of all the myriad reasons I write, the key ones are:
a) because it makes me happy;
b) because it provides entertainment both to me and others;
c) I can push boundaries, explore emotions; and because
d) I can explore foreign experiences and worlds.
But you know what I realised last week (in October that is, because I skipped the first week of November, remember)?
All of this can be summed up in one pretty little phrase. It's so simple, it's so real, and it strips away all pretenses of things like writing for fame or money or approval, all of which can become dangerous addictions that make the act of writing something that really is insane.
No.
I don't write for any of those reasons, although sure, they'd be a nice bonus.
Why do I write?
I write because it makes me a better person.
If you're interested in reading the full essay I wrote on this, you can! Right here.
And tell me again - why do you write? Is this the same reason you used to write, or has it developed?
*looks around, beaming, arms outstretched*
*notes looks of confusion*
What, you don't like my magic trick? What magic trick? What do you mean, what magic trick? I just beamed myself all the way from October to here! I totally skipped the first week of November! I time travelled!
What do you mean, you didn't?
*eyebrow* No, of course there weren't any posts for you last week, I skipped it. Time travelling, remember? Yes?
...No? *sigh*
Well, in that case, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you... Maybe with chocolate O:)
ANYWAY.
On to today's post!
Many months ago, before I had discovered the wonders of time travel, I wrote a post asking why we, as writers, indulge in the activity of writing that most people will agree is not entirely sane.
I mean, hello: We write things down because the voices in our heads tell us too.
If they were telling us to do anything but write, let's face it: we'd be in a mental institution.
Maybe we should retrain mentally ill people to write down what the voices say they should do, rather than to do it? Just a random idea there. And yes, a close relative died in a round about way of mental illness, so I'm allowed to say things like this :P
Ahem.
Writing. It's an insane pursuit, in an insane industry; and yet we do it. We do it because we love it; we love it because... why?
Why do you love writing?
If you haven't already, go read the post from February. I came to the conclusion then that of all the myriad reasons I write, the key ones are:
a) because it makes me happy;
b) because it provides entertainment both to me and others;
c) I can push boundaries, explore emotions; and because
d) I can explore foreign experiences and worlds.
But you know what I realised last week (in October that is, because I skipped the first week of November, remember)?
All of this can be summed up in one pretty little phrase. It's so simple, it's so real, and it strips away all pretenses of things like writing for fame or money or approval, all of which can become dangerous addictions that make the act of writing something that really is insane.
No.
I don't write for any of those reasons, although sure, they'd be a nice bonus.
Why do I write?
I write because it makes me a better person.
If you're interested in reading the full essay I wrote on this, you can! Right here.
And tell me again - why do you write? Is this the same reason you used to write, or has it developed?
06 October 2008
Link Salad Round Three
Today you get Link Salad, because as this posts, the hairdresser and make-up person will be arriving, and we will be running around like frantic chickens getting Beautiful before the wedding. Posts might be a bit light on this week, but will hopefully return to normal next week :)
So, in the latest rounds of assessment procrastination, here are some goodies I found.
Missing a loved one? Miss no longer - you can now turn your loved ones into diamonds. And never fear, your loved one doesn't have to be deceased - some hair will do. They even do pets!
Some creepy creatures from the sea, like the oarfish, a real live sea serpent, and the gulper eel...
Calculate your real age based on diet, exercise, family history etc. I'm 3.8 years older than my calendar age; I need to exercise more and eat more fruit! (No surprises there!)
Perhaps this site will help me out - it comes highly recommended by my good friend Liana.
Ah well, if all else fails I can do what I jolly well ought to be doing anyway - walk the dog!
And on a writing-related note, I'm not the only one who "hates writing." :)
See you next time - don't forget to Breathe ;)
So, in the latest rounds of assessment procrastination, here are some goodies I found.
Missing a loved one? Miss no longer - you can now turn your loved ones into diamonds. And never fear, your loved one doesn't have to be deceased - some hair will do. They even do pets!
Some creepy creatures from the sea, like the oarfish, a real live sea serpent, and the gulper eel...
Calculate your real age based on diet, exercise, family history etc. I'm 3.8 years older than my calendar age; I need to exercise more and eat more fruit! (No surprises there!)
Perhaps this site will help me out - it comes highly recommended by my good friend Liana.
Ah well, if all else fails I can do what I jolly well ought to be doing anyway - walk the dog!
And on a writing-related note, I'm not the only one who "hates writing." :)
See you next time - don't forget to Breathe ;)
22 September 2008
Stuck: Talking About Writing, Part Two
A really good point was raised in the comment section of my post last week on knowing what it is we're doing when we write: sometimes, we can get so engrossed in the how of writing, the what gets stuck. Here's my take on that:
Over on my other blog, Labr-adore, I posted last week about a sudden insight I had into myself, my life, and the way I approach things. In comparing my attitude towards and enthusiam for both dogs and writing, I realised that I seem to go through a 'pattern of attraction'. I start out, wildly enthused, obsessed, infatuated. Then I realise how much I have yet to learn, and I slump into depression. Gradually time passes, and I gain experience, and something hits me - it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I try, and fail. It doesn't matter that what I write now, or how I train now, won't be the best that I ever do. I'm trying, and the act of trying is the act of growth. And I come full circle, returning to an enthusiasm for my project - but this time tempered. Passion, but not unrestrained. A true love of what I do, informed by the knowledge of how difficult it will be - and loving it just the same.
Writing. Growth. You can't write without growing, even if it's only by the tiniest amount. And every time you grow, all that 'stuff' that you're supposed to know, the theory, the whys, the hows... gradually, it fades into the background.
You still know it, of course. But it doesn't live constantly at the forefront of your mind. Like training the basic triple step of swing dancing into your muscle memory, so that where once you were falling over just trying to balance whilst dancing the steps you can now hold a conversation, brush your teeth, and juggle a flaming baton while doing them... Like learning to drive a manual, where at first all your attention is focused on that clutch and easing it out, and you concentrate fiercely until one day, you jump into an automatic and reach for the gearstick and clutch out of instinct... Like learning anything, one day, you write something - and you realise it's good. And you didn't think about technique once while you were doing it.
In the meantime, what do you do?
Practice. That's all you can do.
Over on my other blog, Labr-adore, I posted last week about a sudden insight I had into myself, my life, and the way I approach things. In comparing my attitude towards and enthusiam for both dogs and writing, I realised that I seem to go through a 'pattern of attraction'. I start out, wildly enthused, obsessed, infatuated. Then I realise how much I have yet to learn, and I slump into depression. Gradually time passes, and I gain experience, and something hits me - it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I try, and fail. It doesn't matter that what I write now, or how I train now, won't be the best that I ever do. I'm trying, and the act of trying is the act of growth. And I come full circle, returning to an enthusiasm for my project - but this time tempered. Passion, but not unrestrained. A true love of what I do, informed by the knowledge of how difficult it will be - and loving it just the same.
Writing. Growth. You can't write without growing, even if it's only by the tiniest amount. And every time you grow, all that 'stuff' that you're supposed to know, the theory, the whys, the hows... gradually, it fades into the background.
You still know it, of course. But it doesn't live constantly at the forefront of your mind. Like training the basic triple step of swing dancing into your muscle memory, so that where once you were falling over just trying to balance whilst dancing the steps you can now hold a conversation, brush your teeth, and juggle a flaming baton while doing them... Like learning to drive a manual, where at first all your attention is focused on that clutch and easing it out, and you concentrate fiercely until one day, you jump into an automatic and reach for the gearstick and clutch out of instinct... Like learning anything, one day, you write something - and you realise it's good. And you didn't think about technique once while you were doing it.
In the meantime, what do you do?
Practice. That's all you can do.
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