Category: Blogging

Blogging, life, Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- July 2016

Emily

Last night, at writing group, I was so tired that I actually could not imagine writing this blog post. I felt like I hadn’t slept in two weeks (mostly because I basically hadn’t slept in two weeks) and I had no more words to word. I couldn’t even Pinterest. That’s how tired I was.

Well, I’m still tired, but here I am. And now, I’m going to explain why I felt that way 🙂

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

CNW_Winner_1500-1

This was the big one. 50,000 words, over three different stories, in 29 days. July has 31 days, you say? Well, thinking I was going to have plans this past weekend, I pushed through and finished on day 29 instead.

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First draft of Calenhiril’s Search is completely finished. All it’s going to need is some editing and filling out as I go along. I have written the actual end of a story I have been writing for 15 years… I’m feeling… well. That’s a blog post for another time.

I wrote the fanfic short story sequel to Worth Living For. It went really well, a lot better than I thought it would. I’m very excited to start editing it, but I haven’t decided if I want to try to do that in the last two weeks of this month, or wait until September. If I get my mojo back, I will try for August, but I’m not holding my breath.

Wonderland Reclaimed. It’s a mess. It’s going to need so much tweaking and fixing and nitpicking. But Part One- Down The Rabbit Hole – is complete. Again. And I used the rest of my words (nearly 11,000!) to work on Part Three until I could work no more! I’m still a little stuck on how I want the plot of Part Three (tentatively titled Through The Looking Glass) to go. There are so many things that need to happen, most of them in the background of the two main characters’ arcs and I’m still not entirely sure how to work it all in. I’m going to let it rest for the next two weeks or so until I get my bearings back.

  • Clarity– 9 chapters posted (COMPLETE!)

It’s finished! And it went really well! I got so much positive feedback and so many people that are excited for the sequel! I’m still planning to write the Age of Ultron sequel, but unfortunately it might not happen in November like I planned. I may decide to write 50,000 words on Double The Baggins, Twice The Took instead (see below). And of course this is all completely dependent on whether or not I finish Wonderland Reclaimed before November. If not, I’ll be working on that instead. Again. I’m going to be sick of this story before I even get out of the first draft.

nope

Once I finished Clarity, I was feeling pretty good about myself. So I posted a couple chapters of Calenhiril’s Search, just as a nice surprise for readers. I pretty much ripped their hearts out, but that’s neither here nor there ;P Right now, I’m thinking I will have this story completely finished by the end of the year, which is going to be weird. I won’t even know what to do with myself. Wow.

Yes, I fell into this trap again. I just really want to get them out of Rivendell, is that so wrong? And on that note, all my characters seem to get trapped in this Rivendell vortex. Why is that exactly? Elrond?

giphy

Right, well, clearly he’s not talking. But anyway, now that Clarity is done, I feel like I can take another crack at this story. I’ll probably only post a chapter a week, because I do want to focus on finishing Calenhiril’s Search, but I hope to have this finished by this time next year at least.

JulyWordKeeper

Yeah. This is why I have no more words left to word.

writing-bad

What’s Coming Up in August

Well, the first two weeks are going to be R&R time. I’m going on vacation, so I’m prepping for that and then I’ll be gone, spending time with fogishandsome, riding steam engines, climbing around Pueblo settlements, floating in hot air balloons, that kind of thing 🙂

When I get back is when real work will start up again. I’m still desperately trying to finish Wonderland Reclaimed before November. Preferably before October, so I have time to prep a project for November. Which means I have a month and a half to write roughly 40,000 words that I have not plotted yet. I know what needs to happen, but I have no idea how to get there. And one of my main characters has changed race no less than three times, it would be very helpful if she would just PICK A LOOK ALREADY! *ahem* Anyway, I’m going to try to write at least another 10,000 words in the two weeks that are left to me in August.

Along with that, I will still be posting at least one chapter of Calenhiril’s Search a week (sans vacation week), along with trying to post one chapter of DBTT as well. I’m rapidly running out of written chapters for DBTT, hence the possibility of writing another 50,000 words on that story in November, rather than the Age of Ultron fic I had planned.

It’s only August and I’m already looking forward to December. I’m so tired, I think I’m going to just go sleep for another couple of days.

bunny-falls-asleep-at-desk

 

Blogging, life

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale- July 2016

Emily

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale (Twitter tags: #AHobbitsWalkingTale #byfogisbeautiful)

  • Miles Walked This Month (June 30th-July 25th):  55.5 miles
  • Total Miles Walked:  390.1 miles
  • Milestones Reached: Trollshaws, Ford of Bruinen

“For just at that moment the light came over the hill, and there was a mighty twitter in the branches. William never spoke for he turned to stone as he stooped; and Bert and Tom were stuck like rocks as they looked at him. And there they stand to this day, all alone, unless the birds perch on them…”

~The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton

“One morning they forded a river at a wide shallow place full of the noise of stones and foam. The far bank was steep and slippery. When they got to the top of it, leading their ponies, they saw that the great mountains had marched down very near to them.”

~The Hobbit, Chapter 3: A Short Rest

Well, it wasn’t the worst month I’ve ever had, but it was a near thing. I did, however, manage to walk more than I did last month, which was the goal! We survived Trollshaws (without being squashed to jelly!):

trollshaws

We’ve nearly made it to Rivendell, but not quite, we’re just on the other side of the Ford of Bruinen:

4e6fe43f6e813_241_lotrford-of-bruinen2

Next month, we’ll meet Lord Elrond and begin our perilous journey into the Misty Mountains, if all goes well!

On a blogging note, you may have noticed that I missed last week’s blog post. This was due to a combination of Camp NaNoWriMo, and the fact that I’m considering switching that particular post to something else. I didn’t have time to get it ready this month, but stay tuned next month for something new and exciting!

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Blogging, Writing

The Quarterly Writing Round Up!- Q2, 2016

Emily

A reminder:  At the beginning of the year, I made some yearly goals and some quarterly goals, which I promised to reevaluate and re-prioritize every three months. It’s been six months now, and it’s time to look back at Quarter Two 2016! Here’s a recap of my goals for the year, in case you don’t want to go back and read the original post:

Overall goals for the year: Finish Changing History rewrites DONE! (Q1), Finish first draft of Changing History: Entwives, Write the Worth Living For short that I’ve been planning for ages, Edit and begin posting Clarity DONE! (Q2), Finish the first draft of all three parts of Wonderland Reclaimed.

Reward Project: If I finish Wonderland Reclaimed, I can write my Avengers: Age of Ultron fic for NaNoWriMo in November.

So out of five goals, I’ve finished two. Not quite half, but pretty close, considering I’ve been working on Calenhiril’s Search as well.

And here’s the month by month!

Quarter Two, 2016- Review

April: Camp NaNoWriMo #1! Edit Clarity (A Loki Fanfiction).

  • I did this! 80,000 words edited in thirty days! It was awesome! I’m super excited! 😀

May: Continue to post at least one chapter of Calenhiril’s Search and DBTT a week. Finish the first draft of Wonderland Reclaimed, or add 50,000 new words (whichever comes first).

  • I posted three chapters of Calenhiril’s Search. Respectable, but not quite what I was hoping for.
  • I only posted one chapter of Double The Baggins, Twice The Took, and this was the month that I decided to put this particular fic aside for the time being, until I could dedicate the time and attention it deserves.
  • No new words were written in May. Actually, I may have, kinda, forgot I had even made this goal. Whoops! ;P Hopefully July will make up for this!

June: Prep month for Camp NaNoWriMo #2! Depending on how May goes, either prep for editing Wonderland Reclaimed, or prep for a finishing WriMo (50K words on Wonderland/Calenhiril’s Search/DBTT). Begin posting schedule for Clarity (M/W/F).

  • I… prepped as much as I could? Okay, I didn’t really prep for Camp. I’m doing a Finishing WriMo so it’s not quite as critical, but I probably should have done more on this front. Hopefully it won’t be too detrimental. Also, I changed up one of the stories I decided to finish, instead of DBTT I’m working on my Worth Living For short (one of my year-end goals, so yay!).
  • I started posting Clarity! \o/ I only missed one day early in June, but I’m still well on my way to being finished with Clarity by the end of the month of… wow, I’ll probably be done by the end of July if I keep up the way I have! 🙂
  • I also got back into the swing of posting Calenhiril’s Search and made up for the missed chapter in May by posting five chapters in June 🙂

In review, I think I accomplished a decent amount this quarter. Granted, no new words were written (I feel like such a dumbass for forgetting that goal, tbh), but I got a lot of other things finished and several more things are in the process of being finished. One of my goals for 2017 is to limit myself to two sprawling epics in a year, one fanfic and one original work. I’m well on my way to making that happen, I think 🙂

With that in mind, here’s what I have planned for the next three months:

Quarter Three, 2016- Goals

July: Camp NaNoWriMo #2! Finishing WriMo including Calenhiril’s Search, Paradise Found (Worth Living For short), and Wonderland Reclaimed: Down The Rabbit Hole, 50k words cumulative. Possibly finish posting Clarity, but NaNo is the priority.

August: Finish posting Clarity (if not finished in July), I don’t plan to add any new words this month, instead focusing on the editing and posting of Calenhiril’s Search (at least one chapter posted a week, more as I finish them).

September: Continue posting at least one chapter of Calenhiril’s Search a week, complete first edit of Paradise Found, add at least another 25k to Wonderland Reclaimed.

So, with any luck, by next quarter, I will have finished two more of my yearly goals and be well on my way to completing another, which will put me on track for the year! I’m really looking forward to this quarter, I think my goals are definitely doable, if nothing untoward happens (which, let’s be honest, is always a possibility).

Until next time!

pusheen-typing

Blogging, Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- June 2016

Emily

I got so much done and my heart is so full of love and appreciation, let’s get started before I burst 🙂

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

This went really well this month! I’ve had several really excellent reviews, very detailed (even if a few of them made me feel a bit defensive) and overall quite positive 🙂 I’m really excited to finish up the first draft of this story this month for Camp and finally have it behind me. Not that I don’t love these characters, but… well, this could get lengthy and will probably merit it’s own blog post when the time comes 🙂 Suffice it to say, I’m very pleased with how things are going in Middle Earth and I’ll be even more excited to jump back in after Camp in August!

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with the reception of Clarity! All of the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. And by overwhelming, I mean I’ve seriously been brought close to tears a few times by the kind words and love that has been poured out for this fic that has been so close to my heart. It means so much to me that the messages I was hoping to convey have been so completely understood and embraced with such enthusiasm. If any of you out there are readers of this fic and are reading this, words cannot express my gratitude for your words and your encouragement. I read every review (sometimes over and over) and I appreciate every kindness. We’re on the downhill slide now, and things are heating up, thank you for taking this journey with me 🙂

  • In extra writing related news, I’ve discovered a new site. It’s called WordKeeperAlpha and it is a stats site made by a writer, for writers. I’m not gonna lie, the most motivating part of NaNo for me is the bar graph. Watching that graph move up little by little every day and striving to reach and surpass that dotted goal line is what keeps me going on the days when I would really rather do anything but write. This site has a similar draw for me. It’s a work in progress (I’m still waiting for the Goals bar graph and the NaNo-like bar graph features), but I’ve found it extremely motivating even just as it is and the creator assures me that in between his own writings he is working on getting more features implemented. In the meantime I think it’ll be a great way to keep up with my progress throughout the year, rather than relying on NaNo’s bar graph only three times a year 🙂

With that said…

What’s Coming Up in July

CNW_Participant

That’s right, it’s that time of year again! I finally decided on a Finishing WriMo, with three stories on the agenda and a goal of 50k words:

  1. Changing History: Calenhiril’s Search– This should honestly be a surprise to no one ;P I’ve set aside 20k words for this, but I’m working on it until it is DONE, damn it! Finished, finito (Italian), fini (French), fertig (German), terminat (Romanian)(Are you there, Sebastian Stan? This one’s for you)(As a matter of fact, yes, I did go a little nuts with Google Translate. Why do you ask? ;P). I will be finished with the first draft by the end of this month, hell or high water. I should only have about four chapters left to write, but we’ll see how that goes.
  2. Paradise Found: A Worth Living For short story– Those of you reading this that know me are probably reading the words “short story” and laughing your asses off. I know, the self-proclaimed Queen of the Sprawling Epic, writing a short story? What wacked out AU have we been tossed into? But stay with me, it’s actually just a small part of a much larger story that will be written later. But I’ve been promising this short since Worth Living For (my Bruce Banner fic) was published, almost three years ago. It’s going to get done this month, at least the first draft will. And hopefully it will segue nicely into the Age of Ultron fic I have planned after that 😉
  3. Wonderland Reclaimed: Down the Rabbit Hole– Once those two fics are taken care of, I’m going to buckle down and spend the rest of my remaining 50k rewriting the Lost Words from The Great Disaster of 2015. It’s time. I really would like to be published before I’m forty. I’m really feeling the pressure now. I’m thirty years old and I have done nothing of note with my life. It would be nice to be published before I’m thirty-one, but I’m realistic, that won’t happen. Thirty-five would be nice. Forty is an absolute maximum. But I have to start working on things and stop putting them off because it’s painful. This is the first step toward making that happen.

There it is, The Master Plan for July! I’m well on my way (6,000 words as of this writing), stay tuned to see how I fare!

Also, I’ve become aware that I owe you guys a Quarterly Update on my New Year’s goals. That will happen later this week, so keep an eye out. I know, two blog posts in one week? What madness is this??? Just you wait! Until next time!

JimCarreyTyping

 

 

 

Blogging, life

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale- June 2016

Emily

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale (Twitter tags: #AHobbitsWalkingTale #byfogisbeautiful)

  • Miles Walked This Month (June 1st-June 29th):  54.6 miles
  • Total Miles Walked:  334.6 miles
  • Milestones Reached:  The Last Bridge

“I don’t know what river it was, a rushing red one, swollen with the rains of the last few days, that came down from the hills and mountains in front of them.”

~The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton

Well, it was a slog this month, but I finally made it out of the Lone Lands and across the Last Bridge!

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I walked the least amount in a month that I have since I started this journey and next month isn’t promising to be a big walking month either, what with Camp NaNo and all. But my goal is to at least walk more than I did this month, because this is pathetic! With that in mind, I should see you all at the Ford of Bruinen! 🙂

Blogging, Crafting, life, Random, Reading, Writing

#Hashtags And Other Minutiae- June 2016

Emily

I don’t even know that I’ve done anything cool on the internet this month. Let’s find out together! 🙂

Tumblr

  • Favorite Posts:

I just really love animals, okay? Bonus: Tom Hiddleston with a leopard cub.

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/146210737025/via-httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv-e4muxs4ihty

I just posted this today, actually, and I regret nothing 🙂

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/146260288277/hufflepuff-why-cant-we-all-just-get

  • Favorite Reblogs:

I’m not crying, you’re crying…

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144519373200/elentori-art-no-one-can-help-me-said

Faramir in text posts:

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144655825477/theturtleismoving-as-requested

Played this last night for my writing group, we literally watched it three times in a row and could not stop laughing 🙂

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/146084761132/stellagibsonisalifeforce-anonstarbuck

This was like a punch in the gut 😦

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/146229791987/captbexx-rip-anton-yelchin-hugs-and-kisses

Twitter

  • Favorite Tweets

Nothing original this month, sorry 😦

  • Favorite Retweets:

Me, basically.

You can ask, but I can’t guarantee I can explain ;P

https://twitter.com/AdanRamie/status/737471130852696064

The original Science Bros 🙂

Instagram

  • I spun up some yarn…

  • And made a cowl!

Pinterest

  • Featured Board: Avengers Assemble! And, you know, other Marvel-ous shenanigans 😉

 

  • Favorite Pins:

I guess that’s it! See you guys around the internet! 🙂

Blogging, Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- May 2016

Emily

I actually did more this month than I thought (which should really not be surprising to me any more, but it is :P). Let’s get started!

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

I had every intention of getting right back into the swing of this story after Camp NaNoWriMo in April. It didn’t happen as well as I had wanted. I got bogged down in edits. These later chapters are in far more need of editing than the nine or so chapters previously and it’s making it difficult to get through. But I am persevering, as much as I am able! The time of plot twists is nigh and I’m super excited about it! 🙂

This story was started on a whim. Unfortunately, that means it’s the most likely to get dropped, which is exactly what I’ve decided to do. Not forever (I have way too many plans for this story to possibly consider dropping it forever :P), but at least until I feel like I’m in a good place with “Calenhiril’s Search”, which will probably be when I have the first draft completely finished, possibly not until the whole thing is posted. I just really want to focus on “Calenhiril’s Search” right now and get that off my conscience before I stress myself out with too many other things. And posting two stories at the same time (“Calenhiril’s Search”, and now “Clarity“) is more than enough for my plate right now.

What’s Coming Up in June

ClarityFinishedCoverTall

As of  Wednesday, June 1st, “Clarity” is officially live!

pja3bag

Link to Fanfiction.Net

Link to AO3

There are two chapters currently posted, with an expected chapter count of twenty, plus an epilogue. I will be updating every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, as time allows, so keep an eye out! I’ve already had some really favorable reviews and I’m very pleased about it. I use those reviews to motivate me as I go through the proofreading process for each chapter and my perfectionist brain keeps trying to tell me that it’s all crap 😛

CNW_Participant

That’s right, folks, July’s Camp NaNoWriMo is nearly upon us! I know, I can hardly believe it myself. But June is the time to prep, waffle, and generally stress about the relative sanity of trying to dedicate my life to this thing three months out of the year. And I’m doing a bang up job so far ;P

I’ve got myself almost completely sold on the idea of a Finishing WriMo in July, starting with finishing the first draft of Calenhiril’s Search, followed by a quick foray into “Paradise Found” (the “Worth Living For” short sequel that I’ve been promising for nearly three years now), and finishing up with “Wonderland Reclaimed: Down The Rabbit Hole” (the first part of my Wonderland retelling that I lost in The Great Disaster of 2015).

Which is a great plan. Solid. I’m excited to be a part of it.

(…)

Except that I also started writing out the summary for my Age of Ultron fanfic and I’m really getting excited about it. It even has a title now: “Good Intentions”.

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So, yeah, who knows what’s going to happen in July. I’m still about 90% sold on the idea of a Finishing WriMo, and I would get to do at least one Marvel related fic if I did that, so… yeah. Stay tuned next month for my decision! 😛

 

 

Blogging, life

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale- May 2016

Emily

A Hobbit’s Walking Tale (Twitter tags: #AHobbitsWalkingTale #byfogisbeautiful)

  • Miles Walked This Month (Apr 26th-May 31st):  80.8 miles
  • Total Miles Walked:  280 miles
  • Milestones Reached:  Traveling the Lone Lands to the Last Bridge

“Everything seemed gloomy, for the weather that day had taken a nasty turn. Mostly it had been as good as May can be, even in merry tales, but now it was cold and wet.”

~The Hobbit, Chapter 2: Roast Mutton

Ugh, that’s a nasty description isn’t it? Kind of like the weather today, actually. But I walked the farthest in one month that I have yet, so I just can’t quite feel as gloomy as Bilbo and the dwarves right now 🙂 I only have 45 miles to the Last Bridge and then things will start to get exciting!

But for now, here we are…

thelonelandsbannergleams

 Better just keep trekking 😉

Blogging, Crafting, life, Random, Reading, Writing

#Hashtags And Other Minutiae- May 2016

Emily

No cool intros, no witty quips. I’m letting the work speak for itself today 🙂

Tumblr

  • Favorite Posts:

I didn’t do many original posts this past month, mostly I just answered asks ;P

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/143168203162/did-you-ever-have-that-problem-where-youre

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/143393964211/that-star-wars-meme-thing-you-just-didwe-have

  • Favorite Reblogs:

RIP Agent Carter…

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144307654603/marvelousdorito-the-world-has-changed-and

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144314799279/imaginessforall-requested-sagittarius

Clint Barton is my fave.

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144486004266

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/143354420929/remusjohnslupin-au-femfellowship-of-the-ring

Breaking News: Poe Dameron continues to be an A+ life ruiner.

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/143598132905/reb-chan-all-i-do-now-is-draw-poe-dayumeron

Actual Retail Life

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144209346145/skellydun-why-is-it-always-ice

http://fogisbeautiful.tumblr.com/post/144361243428/lazy-afternooner-a-new-hope

Twitter

  • Favorite Tweets

I literally had two tweets this month, sorry Twitter :/

  • Favorite Retweets:

Instagram

  • I finished spinning my milk fiber!

  • And I started a new  spin!

  • I also used up the last of my funky, chunky handspun singles with mitts!

 

Pinterest

  • Featured Board: This month, Changing History!

  • Favorite Pins:

 

That’s all I have for you guys today 🙂 See you around the interwebs!

Blogging, Writing

Once More Unto The (Writing) Breach- April 2016

Emily

What I’ve Accomplished This Month

CNW_Winner_1500-1

That’s it. Literally, that was all I did this month. I edited over 80,000 words in 30 days, and let me tell you, there were days I didn’t think I was gonna make it. I started out very confident, completely certain that I was going to get everything done, maybe even get done early! And then I realized I was ripping this story apart and now I had to put it all back together, not once… not twice… THREE TIMES this happened to me, in the second half of the month! It was heart-stoppingly stressful some days, but I think I’ve done the story a lot of good.

For those of you who might not remember what the heck I was even working on, here’s a reprint of the horrible summary for Clarity that is getting a well-deserved rewrite sooner rather than later:

Clarity (A Loki Fanfiction)

Loki (the traitor, the usurper, former prince of Asgard) is imprisoned below the palace that was once his home, cut off from even his mother, possibly the only person in the whole of the Nine Realms who still cares for him. But Lady Frigga has always been a clever woman. And there is a girl in her service, a girl with no past and an unusual quality that makes her uniquely suited to the task the Queen has in mind. Klara might not know who she is, but in the dungeons of Asgard, she might learn who she wants to be.

I’m letting the story rest and I’m going to allow a few trusted readers to read the final product before posting begins in June. The tentative date for the first chapter to post is Wednesday, June 1st, with a posting schedule of Monday, Wednesday, Friday, if anyone wants to mark their calendars!

Also, I have this playlist on Spotify I’ve been listening to while I work on writing/editing Clarity. Feel free to give it a listen if you want a teaser for the fic!

What’s Coming Up in May

My intention is to get back into the swing of regular posting, starting with one chapter per week for both Changing History: Calenhiril’s Search and Double The Baggins, Twice The Took. I might post more as time allows, but mostly I’m taking this month to rest and try to recuperate my energy from my work intensive Camp session. And also prepare for the next Camp NaNoWriMo in July! A writer’s work is never done, it seems! Currently, my heart is set on trying to finish Wonderland Reclaimed, but that could change depending on how I feel about Calenhiril’s Search and DBTT by then. I could be doing a finishing WriMo instead! We’ll see what the future brings!

Until next time…

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If you thought I forgot it was May The Fourth, you clearly don’t understand the level of extreme nerdery I operate at… ;P