May the "Fourth" Be With You!

Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.

-Yoda from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Yup!  Nerdy intro, I know, but dammit!  I'm a nerd, and damn proud.

Plus Yoda is a BAMF!!!

Sidenote: Yoda was voiced by the lovely and talented Frank Oz... who also does the voice of Grover.  I remember when I realized that and couldn't get images of Grover dressed in Jedi robes talking in that backwards philosophical BAMF speak while Yoda just ran around Sesame Street talking like all the other monsters explaining to the kids the difference between near and far as well as over, under and through.  Kind of like a Muppets Freaky Friday!  (And they should totally make a "There's a Jedi Master At The End of This Book" book in the same vain as Grover's.  That'd be AWESOMESAUCE!!!)

(nerd babble over)

Howdy my lovelies!  Yes, I know it has been a while, but I'm here now, and all is right with the world.  (Well, not in MY world, but I'll leave that alone for now.)

(looks at last post)

APRIL 16th?!?!?!  Are you frakkin kidding me?!?!?!

(takes a moment to chastise self before slamming head into wall)

Annnnnnnd... we're back.

Before I start to ramble and forget, let's do the update-update, shall we?

• Lost and Found is on part twelve 
• Penelope is at part ten with "Someone's Been Sleeping In Mother's Bed"
• Real Life I (just) Made Up is at part twelve with "This Is Not What It Looks Like"
• Tales of the Unemployed and Unloved is on part eight
• Enyo is on part thirteen
• Sanya is on part thirteen with "Not Enough Wine"
• The Curly Muse has a short story called "Quid Pro Quo" (more on that later)
• Everything At Least Once has a new review for "Rockstar Relax (Relaxation Drink)"

I'm behind on one April update for the story blog "a boy, a girl, and a line...", but I'm giving myself until the end of the weekend seeing as my head hasn't been in the right place lately.  Life stress has been effecting everything in my universe, and it's pissing me off royally.  There has been a drought in my creativity, and it's killing me.  Do you hear?  KILLING ME!!!

(CAPS LOCK + ! = hella stressed and frustrated)

I firmly believe that in keeping writing ANYTHING keeps the creative juices flowing.  I believe in working through your "stuck moments"... pushing through and persevering.  But I feel like I've been sucked dry.

I still need to finish my Pol story that I started for my Writers' Wheel-O-Wonder story blog.  That story blog only has two entries in it, and it needs more.

I also haven't decided if I want to participate in the 100 Days blog challenge on the other site I'm on.  I've gotten some suggestions from friends and while mostly entertaining, nothing has truly leapt forth and shouted "Pick me!!!"  (Maybe I just won't do it.  Meh.)

Then there's the story for Chris M. I need to write.  I have the idea, but my brain can't map a way to get it to the page.  Every frakkin time I write something, I slam into a wall.  (And he only wants THREE PAGES!!!)

(grabs hammer to bash head in with)

Then a few weeks ago, my friends (and fellow writers) Tammie B replied to one of my tweets...

Me: Another story blog update down.  Roughly ten more to go.  #amwriting

Tammie B: Write me a story!

Me: What would you like?  (Take into consideration I'm not sure when I'll get it to you, but I'll try.) #amwriting

Tammie B: Surprise me. 

So I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and write a short story for my "The Curly Muse" story blog, and send THAT to her.

But then nothing came.

Then a few days ago I tweeted (like I do)...

Me: Looking over my twitter feed before I start writing.  See if I missed anything.  (Also, "Boogie Shoes" is currently playing in my head.)
Tammie B: *cough*writetammieashortstorybecauseyoulovemeandiworkedtwelvishhourstoday*endcough*
Me: Once upon a time there was a girl named Tammie who worked a lot.  The End.  j/k
Tammie B: Wow!  That was epic!

The story I ended up sending her was the "Quid Pro Quo" one mentioned above which was inspired by the internet.

What's that?  Explain further?  All right, then.  I shall.

So it was nearing the end of April, and I had two blogs left to write anything for, one of which was "The Curly Muse" which is my miscellaneous page for anything that is not a series of some sort.

I wanted to write a short story for the April update, but I couldn't think of anything.

(mind = blank canvas with no paints in sight.)

During a moment of "stuckness", I did a search on the interwebs for writing prompts.  There used to be several pages on another community I'm a member of, but they all seemed to go away.  Then when I did a new search, the communities were all for fanfiction (which I don't really write) or hadn't been tended to in months/years.  I looked through those anyway since I was only looking for prompts and they didn't have postmarked this year or anything.  Just ideas.  I started an email to myself collecting all the pages I'd come across that I thought were remotely interesting from that site.  I also found a few from Tumblr and other sites... added those to the listing.  I really wanted to do something with one particular Tumblr prompt page, but again... no ideas came.

Then when looking through my Twitter feed on my phone, I saw a tweet from a lady I follow by the name of...

Debbie Ohi (@inkyelbows):  Are you ready for the @StoryADayMay challenge?  I'm using it to brainstorm pb & novel plot ideas: storyaday.org

I checked out the website and Twitter account found the prompts (their Twitter feed also has other writing suggestions and ideas).  I liked what I saw.  So I decided to participate (without signing up on the site and just doing my own thing). 

Now of course I'm behind, but I'm hoping I'll catch up.  And who knows?  Perhaps one of these prompts will help me write the stories I've been needing to write.

The first prompt was called "Keep It Short" and gives the only real limitation of length:  1200 words or less.  I started... and restarted... and rerestarted... several times, but nothing was working until I was looking through my bookmarked prompt sites for any ideas and saw a picture of a bridge.  I ignored the prompt that went along with the image and just stared at the bridge which had my attention.  

Then I started writing. 

Funny thing... as I wrote, the number "1200" streamlined across my mind like one of those electronic marquis you see at the airport of whatever.  So halfway through a document page, I paused to do a work count.  Then I'd write more, pause, do another word count.  And so on and so on.

400... 500... 700...

By 800 or so, I decided to stop checking and just write.  For some reason, I was pretty sure what 1200 words looked like.

Nope.

I stopped checking, I got my mojo working, had an ending in mind, and then... Voila!  DONE!  Happy with myself, I did a word count... and found I was at 1500+. 

(long list of impossible obscenities here)

I suck at editing.  My brain shuts off as if it say, "Nuh-uh!  I'm done.  Find someone else!"  But I made myself do it anyway.  I wasn't going to let myself go to sleep (or try to, anyway) until I was done with the story and posted it.

It was just like when I was writing the damn thing.  I started at the beginning and cut some things or condensed some things.  Pause - word count: 1490.  Dammit!!!  Cut some more.  Reword stuff.  Pause - word count: 1450.

Eventually I got down to 1204 and thought Four more words!  I can do this!  In the end, I whittled it down to 1199.  I gave it a title (Quid Pro Quo) and posted it to my "The Curly Muse" page where all my short stories will go.  (Which I think in doing a post for every day in May, I'll give myself a little slack for June... maybe July, too.)

I sent the link to Tammie B via Twitter saying, "How about this?"  (She's good for my ego.)  She said, "It was awesome.  I loved it."  

(blush)

(high-fives self)

I'm not sure how much writing I'm going to get in over the weekend since I'm seeing The Avengers with Leah G and Jim G through his work.  This Saturday and Sunday I'm feeding Geoff T's cats.  Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, so I'm hoping to stop by Anna C's store to visit, say hey, and perhaps pick up some freebies.  And then there's a Cinco de Mayo shindig at my Dawn S & Jess F's place.  Sunday might be a little laid back.  I usually watch Game of Thrones and sometimes other assorted goodies with Leah G and Jim G at their place.  Monday is a friend's birthday dinner which (being jobless), I just might stop by and give hugs and well wishes.  

Oh yeah!  And Tuesday is Character Creation at John S's place for a game he wants to run.  Thursday is Dusty's World.

Random note: Today while on the way to the Hall of Justice/Hall of Infamy (aka HOJI, aka the house in which my friends Kathy W - aka my Girlfriend, Steve C - aka Shteevil, and Geoff T live), I stopped off at the AM/PM near my house for a drink.  While walking back to my car (which was parked on the side of the building facing the bathrooms) a dude walked past me.  He looked a little agitated.  I saw he was walking to the corner of the lot where the back of the AM/PM met with a fence separating it from the business behind it.  I thought I saw a hole in the fence and thought the dude was going to go through  it, but then I saw him stop... to piss.  My first thought?: Does he know I'm, like, right here?  My second thought?: Dude! - the bathroom is RIGHT THERE!

Now... where was I?

Wow.  Wednesday's free.  That's interesting.  And then there's the weekend where being jobless and broke I am not able to see my family for Mother's Day.

(looks for hammer for self-head-beating again)

I know the base problem at the moment in my life is being jobless.  I've been calling and emailing and applying, but it just seems so frakkin hopeless.  I applied to some big places (oh... that would be lovely to get a job at one of those lovely places) and some little places as well.

I just want to work.

The stress of not having a job is to my insomnia as gas is to a fire.

I know if I had some steady income, I'd start to mend... hell, maybe even sleep, but I have to get that job first.  Right now I've got feelers out, and I'm always being told things will work out or just to concentrate on the good things, but staying positive when you feel like you're being shit on constantly by the government and the economy makes sustaining a sunny disposition a little arduous at times.

But hey... there's always alcohol.

So yeah, that's my life in a poverty-stricken nutshell.  I didn't mean to be a Debbie Downer, so I will end this post with a silly little Twitter convo from a few days ago between me and my omakase pal John S (aka Jaquas) - complete with links to certain babble in case you need them.  *grin*

Me: Not really happy today.  Quite depressed actually.  Hope some serious awesome happens before week's end.  I'd greatly appreciate it.

John S: *pouncehugs* I'd offer to hang out, but I'm stuck at work til 7, then off to Dad's to hopefully plan out Montreal.

Me: No worries. It's the same ol' same ol'. Was hoping a miracle would happen today to make me feel more secure. Alas no.

John S: I can probably pull something off tomorrow if you want to hang, or go to the meadery or what have you.

Me: Sounds good.  Drinking helps in moments of depression and anxiety.

John S: Nah, friends help in moments of depression and anxiety, drinking is just a social lubricant. ;)

Me: Ahhh, social lubricant... by Johnson & Johnson.  FDA approved.

John S: "It's so silky smooth!"

Me: Now made for him AND her.

John S: Accessories include: Beer goggles "Making people look that much more attractive every day" #sociallubricant

Me: Social Lubricant: to say what you don't really mean to say one slur at a time.

John S: Side effects may include memory loss, waking up in strange locations, and AWESOMENESS. #sociallubricant

Me: Side effects may include projectile vomiting, groping body parts that aren't yours, and visiting Candy Mountain without leaving the comfort of your barstool.  #sociallubricant

John S: Chaaaaarliieeeeeeeee #sociallibricant

Me: And here ladies we have a victim of #sociallubricant.  Nothing sushi won't cure though.

John S: Pffft.  Victim my arse!  #sociallubricant (Also, sushi sounds nummy)

Me: Did I say victim?  I meant "someone experiencing the effects of #sociallubricant."  (And sushi's always nummy.)

John S: Good cover.

Later my lovelies!

Have Goodness!
Rae