Tuesday, March 29, 2011

WitFit prompt Mar 28 - Let's blow this joint...

I woke up on my own; no alarm clock needed, and before I even opened my eyes I knew I was surrounded by the familiarity that was my old bed at Charlie’s house. How long had it been since I woke up here? I really didn’t even want to think about it. Snuggling in, I appreciated the fact that the pillows and mattress were still molded perfectly to my form one last time before I had to get up.
Breathing in deeply, I could smell… Bacon. Charlie must have gone to the diner for some breakfast take out. Wow. He really was trying to butter me up. I couldn’t help the smile that grew across my face at the thought.  I am not really a morning person so smiling before I open my eyes is a major accomplishment.
I could hear Charlie’s new flat screen TV playing softly downstairs. There was a gentle crackle so I decided he must be watching some old seventies movie. Only Charlie would get a new TV and watch old movies.
“Hey dude, let’s blow the joint,” I heard a young man’s voice grumble across the screen.
A sigh escaped my throat and reality began to creep back in to my consciousness.
I am right there with ya ‘dude’… You and me both, you and me both.
With a groan, I sat up to get out of the bed.
“That you Bells?” Charlie called up the stairs.
“Yeah Dad, I’m getting up.”
I threw my feet over the edge, slid them into an old pair of slippers and scuttled toward the stairs refusing to turn my head in the direction of any mirror. Thankfully there weren’t many in this house so it wasn’t that hard to do. I wasn’t ready to face the image that would confront me yet.
Even though I wanted to remain in the comfort of my childhood bed forever, I was ready to get this day over with and get the hell outta Forks.
Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization

Monday, March 28, 2011

Million Dollar Baby

I started reading Million Dollar Baby by clpsuperstar yesterday in response to discussion (aka campfire, aka CF) on ADF, "Romanticizing the Unromantic". No specific fics were mentioned in the discussion and considering there were well over a hundred replies, that's pretty good. However, I asked someone to PM me with some recs for the type of fic in question as I hadn't read many... Although, that didn't stop me from having an opinion.

Someone was kind enough to send two PM's actually with a ton of recs and her thoughts on them. I've heard of MDB before so I decided to start there.

So, I have finished 8 chapters and have basically decided it's PWP with an attempt at humor in a dark setting. The lemons are pretty hot but that's not exactly hard to find in this fandom. I need more than that to keep me reading. Like a fic has to be readable even if it were stripped of it's lemons. I am not sure MDB has that going for it.

The characters are extremely OOC which I have no problem with but, I think in these cases the author has to put in more effort to create some attachment to the characters. Like make me believe it, ya know? Plus, I think the humor is not exactly my personal sense of funny and dialog is only so, so. This might be due to the fact that the author is in her 30's (according to her personal blog) and her characters are in their 20's. Maybe this is her attempt to write younger? I dunno. I will say she seems to enjoy it and that definitely comes across in her writing. This is essential to a compelling read, imo.

I am not saying it not entertaining. It has at least 10,000 reviews so I know other people must agree with me there. It's just that the way the characters respond to each other is difficult for me to believe. I know this is fiction and I know it's supposed to be the authors fantasy but still... If someone you purchased for a million bucks - for the intent purpose of pleasuring you - got pissed and set a package of lingerie on fire in your driveway I don't think the typical response would be "That's okay, I understand." JS.

I doubt I will read much further -- not because of a moral issue or even lack of entertainment value but because of a lack of believability. But who knows, I am known for changing my mind.

EDIT: I forgot to mention my favorite part about this fic - shame on me! Clpsuperstar has created her own original character "Gay Gabe" who happens to be Bella's bff. I heart him, hard. He is so funny and his voice is so natural. Love him. He reminds me of so many people, you know the RL, nonfictional kind of people. I'm wondering if he shows up in her other fics? She mentioned something about only seeing snippets of him in one of her a/n's.  It made me think that he made bigger appearances in her other fics. Also, she is working on publishing an original fic. I would be much more interested in reading her own her than another fanfic. That's thing about fanfics.... They do tend to box you in. She is probably not one for the box. Which is a good thing. I will definitely try to get my hands on her book when it comes out.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

WitFit Prompt Sunday Mar 27 - Reflection

Reflection Day: Pause to reflect on your progress and goals, review your work from the preceding week.

Let's see, I have no work to review from last week so scratch that.

Progress, hmmm. I submitted once but, I wrote every day. My writing (even if only a blog post about not writing) was prompted by the WitFit prompt. Progress is satisfactory.

Goals, well honestly, I have none. That sounds so horrible to me. I have always been a very goal oriented person. I am able to thrive with goals clearly set and do nothing but drift along aimlessly without them. I guess I better do something about that.

I have dreams yet no goals. How much do I really care about my dreams then? I am scared to try? No or I wouldn't be here. I am happy with my life. The happiest I've ever been. I think. I don't want to rush myself or stress out over things. I tend to do that even when there is no reason to.

So scratch the big all-encompassing goals.

My goal for tomorrow is to write about the daily prompt and submit it on time to the Fictionista people.

My goal for this week is to write at least 5 days out of 7. I am not sure what counts though. Unrelated blog posts - No. Related blog posts - Maybe. Penzu journal entries - Maybe. WitFit prompts - Definitely.

 I have officially reflected.

WitFit Prompt for Saturday, Mar 26

So Saturday prompt are "multimedia" as in, I am to image/youtube search the prompt word. The prompts for yesterday were: Mendicant (a new one on me), fairy and libriarian.

I didn't get to write because I had my brother and his wife over for dinner last night and evening is really the only time I have to write but, I did learn a new word (which I need to research a bit more thoroughly) so it's not a total loss.

men·di·cant
[men-di-kuh nt]
–adjective
1.
begging; practicing begging; living on alms.
2.
pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar.

–noun
3.
a person who lives by begging; beggar.
4.
a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property, subsisting mostly on alms.

This word clearly has a religous conotation to it although technically it means begging. Most of the images I found were of monks, I would say Buddhist monks but I don't really know for sure. All I know is that they did not appear to be Christian. Which is why I want to research my new word a bit more. I feel like I am missing out on a finer point of it's meaning.

I did find this corresponding image for Mendicant several pages down in my search which I saved... Who knows maybe I will use it someday. This painting really sparks my imgagination.

Love's Mendicant by Stephanie J. Frostad

Friday, March 25, 2011

WitFit Prompt Mar 25 - Nipple

“A nipple,” I grunted as I squatted down on my kitchen floor, looking for the missing apparatus. “I am missing a friggin’ nipple.”
“Excuse me…?” I heard an unfamiliar male voice behind me.
I turned to see my neighbor standing in the doorway of my mudroom.  I looked up from my most unladylike position on the floor and as our eyes met, I could feel the blush creep across my cheeks – only adding to my embarrassment.
“I am sorry, I should have knocked. I saw Charlie in the yard and he told me you were back here. I was just hoping to borrow your extension cord….”
Now that I was standing, I had to think fast. Should I pretend like nothing happened or try to explain? I knew the odds were good that the more I spoke, the more likely it was that I’d end up making the situation worse. Unfortunately, the good looking neighborly types tended to make me nervous and tongue tied.
Something about knowing I couldn’t just avoid them, like some random hottie at the bar, made the stakes seem higher. We’d be backing out of our driveways at the same time or bumping into each other at the convenience store down the street for possibly years to come. I didn’t need the cutie in question thinking I had some sort if mutilated nipple disfigurement every time we had a chance encounter. How was I going to get through the next 5 minutes with any shred of dignity still intact?
“Uhm, sure that’s fine. I just need to check on the baby first. Then I’ll get it out of the garage for you.”
“Oh wow, I didn’t know you had kids.”
The look on his face was priceless; it was one of complete befuddlement wondering how he could have missed something like that while living across the street from me all these months. Now it was his cheeks that were wearing red.  
I laughed but it sounded nervous, even to me. What was that about?
“No, no my niece Amber is upstairs. I am babysitting for my brother. He and his wife are having their first date night since she was born. I really want to make sure everything goes smoothly but, honestly I don’t even think I can get this bottle put together right… I think I’ve lost the… an important component.”
I watched as realization formed on Ian’s face, then quickly faded to relief. Which I have to say was interesting. Was he relieved I still retained ownership of both my nipples or was he simply relieved that I was only babysitting and he wasn’t the most unobservant neighbor known to mankind?
My nervous laugh must have been contagious because now it looked like he was literally biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
A crackle from the monitor broke the semi awkward silence that was growing between us. Suddenly like thunder during heat storm in August that crackle -turned to a full blown roar.
I ran upstairs flash like, calling to Ian over my shoulder letting him know I’d be right back.
Wait.
Was I really trying to make sure he didn’t leave? How was that supposed to be a good idea? I had a screaming baby on my hands and I couldn’t even put the bottle together right! I sure didn’t need a witness to that.
I collected baby Amber and attempted to calm her but it was obvious that nothing other than her beloved bottle would soothe her. Where was that nipple!?! In my urgency to tend to Amber’s cries, I forgot all about the good looking neighbor and the baby monitor sitting on my kitchen counter.
“Helyo babee Amba. You's a sweet luvin gurl aren’tcha. That’s right – you’re auntie Tess’s sweet gurl… Oh, you sweet lil’ thang come ‘ere and give auntie Tess some luvin’ kisses.” 
“Mwah…. One for this cheek and… Mwah one for that cheek.”
Wow, when did I become so baby crazy?
Amber seemed to find my antics amusing and shrieked with laughter when I did my best Barney imitation as we made our way down the stairs…. “I love you, you love me – “
Suddenly, my sanity returned when I caught a glimpse of the broad shouldered man standing over my stove. I stopped at the foot of my stairs and peered into the kitchen, watching Ian prepare Ambers bottle with ease.
“Uh, wow. Where’d ya learn how to do that?” I asked incredulously.
Now I was the wondering if I’d missed the telltale signs of a single dad. 
“Well Auntie Tess…” Ian said with a crooked half smile on his face.
This was a smile which caused me to shrink back on my heels a bit. I couldn’t be sure from the glint in Ian’s eye if he was laughing at me or with me…
“Some of us are just more… Experienced… Than others.”
His statement immediately caused my left eyebrow to rise of its own volition. Logically I knew that any of his experience was exactly none of my business.
This time Ian did not attempt to smother his chuckle.
“It’s probably more family history than you care to know but, my parent’s divorced after I moved out of state for college. My dad remarried. Quickly. To a women 20 years his junior.” he explained, shooting me an ‘oh yeah, you know what I mean’ look. 
“Can’t say I blame the old man his wife is beautiful and a real sweetheart too – not the sharpest tool in the shed by any means but still a total sweetheart. Anyhow, I don’t know if he was planning on starting completely over or not but regardless, he became a dad again during my junior year. I spent the next summer at his place. I’d always been an only child and I didn’t want to miss out on my one chance to have a sibling. Jenny was 6 months old when I got there and we were attached at the hip. Plus, it didn’t hurt that she was the best chic magnet – Ever.”  
I laughed, impressed by the ease with which he explained his less than traditional family structure and even more so by the ease with which he made Amber’s bottle.
Uh oh.  
I started feel those long forgotten flutters deep in my tummy start to stir once again. A totally confident, not to mention hot, neighbor who was good with kids – I didn’t stand a chance.

WitFit Sign Up

I signed up for the WitFit daily prompt writing exercises on the Fictionista's website. I thought they did this on a monthly basis so I was pleasantly surprised when I received my first prompt via email last night. I plan on posting my work here, since the fictionista's recommend it.

But get this, the first prompt was "nipple". Ha! I - mother of two - am so not scared of that one! =]

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Contests/Awards

I Entered 'A Tornado Meets a Volcano' in the Jukebox Contest. My fic was inspired by Love the Way You Lie. Sadly, I did not win - not even close :[


At the Shimmer Awards I  voted for too many to mention.

At the Inspired Fanfic Awards I nominated DAOLS for Best Rosalie under 1000 reviews and The Ice Queen and Mister McCarty for Best Secondary Paring under 1000 reviews. TIQAMM took the prize!!

Voted for several in
The Vampies including:
What Drives Her (WDH) by Virginia May
For Whom the Bell Tolls
I Want it Painted Black
HTWBTLYE (How To Win Back the Love of Your Existence)
Coalescence by Openhome
I don't think any of my picks won a Vampie :[ However, I was excited to find a category for Best Volturi/Nomad. It was an excellent source of leads for my new quest.... Villain Fix!

Fandom Fighgts Tsunami



Fandom Fights Tsunami

This is an amazing collaboration! 251 authors to date. Of course, the need is astounding. Even 'da hubs' wants to donate (to the cause - not through fandom) without any prompting from me. I will be making my contribution to the Red Cross momentarily.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Finding Your Voice: Fandom Fights Mental Illness

Button

finding your voice - fandom fights mental illness

Ok so, how can I not support this one? Even though I am starting to realize there really is a new cause every week, if not more often. BUT this (NAHMI) is a cause I already support. I realize that I WILL have to say no to the causes at some point but, this is not the time.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Fandom Against Domestic Violence

Buttons

I contributed to this cause and actually, I hope to be able to contribute to Sexual Assault Awareness as well but I felt I really needed to go with FADM for now because I used the personal stories on their blog for research while writing my FiRsT fanfic ever (for the anonymous jukebox contest. I will update post with name of fic after contest ends.)

I want to write at least one more section for my fic. I need to find out how authors contribute writing to these types of things. It would be fitting, I think, to the cause.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Dark Alleys and Other Love Stories by Incognito Burrito

Wow, she just posted that this is the last official chapter, there will be an epi but other than that this is it. I am a touch sad and just realized how attached to this little fic I am. It was the first WIP I just went out there and found for myself. It's the first fic I've reviewed (almost) every chapter for. She was the first author to respond to my reviews...

Awwh *sighs* I just didn't see it coming this fast. I wonder if this is how she planned it or if something came up and she needed to end it. I simply trying to put together a o/s and that alone it time consuming!

Dark Alleys and Other Love Stories (DAOLS) by Incognito Burrito

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Blue


Blue
Originally uploaded by Vashtia
The photo in my header can be found at the following link... just in case anyone other than myself actually comes here.
euromagic's flickr
I can blog a photo from flickr like in this posting and make sure due credit is given but, I don't know how to add one to my header. My links never work... I am sure I'll figure it out but in the meantime this will have to do, I did check to make sure it has a common license. Brownie points for me =]
I will be creating three lists to keep up with my fanfic reading: Completed, WIP and TBR (to be read). I will update these as I go. I am thinking it will be best to maintain the lists on Penzu with links provided here. Because of Penzu's emphasis on privacy I need to make the links will be directing me back to the updated list and not the original version.