Ive been looking forward to this all week. Not only because we get a devastatingly delicious double dollop of alliteration, but the whole concept of the blog spanned from this single spark of an idea.
Fridays will be the day that I post the short story I have been working on all week. This story could be just about anything. It could be a serial that continues week to week. It could be stand alone stories of ideas I want to test. It could be fan-fiction. It could even be erotica (which, if I am allowed to say so myself, I am quite good at). This is the meat of my blog, and I hope that the work I do here every week will prepare me for this years NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.
See, for the last 8 years or so, I have had 3 ideas for novels. One of them is fleshed out in full. I know who all the main characters are, what they do, why they do it, where it takes them... everything. I even have it set up as a trilogy. The only problem is I am so horribly lazy, writing it all down seems like a lot of work. Also, writing is most fun when I DONT know whats coming up.
Like in my second novel idea, which is like a side-quel to the first idea, happening at the same time as the trilogy but in a different place. I know who the main characters are, I know the motivations and how I want it to end, but I dont know how they all get to that point. I had one character I introduced in the first chapter, and she was to be the love interest for the protagonist. So you must imagine my surprise when *SPOILER ALERT* I killed her at the end of the first chapter. I totally wasnt planning it, I didnt expect it, I just got into the zone and wrote probably my finest scene. It was filled with emotion, it was powerful, it gave me goosebumps for crying out loud. As much as I needed her alive, she served me far better dead. This is how I prefer to write. Off the cuff and let the characters be themselves, as opposed to me trying to fit them into something they aren't right for.
Then my final novel is the one that is most interesting to me at the moment. All its ever really been is an idea, although I have written a rather confusing (and saucy) prologue for it. It departs from sword and sorcery fantasy to take on a more sci-fi role, which I feel is where any chance of being published would be at currently. I have spent the last week filling in a lot of gaps, fleshing out my characters, and I am really really excited about sitting down and writing one of the main characters, who I have yet to decide if I love or loathe. I love the characters in movies who are real jerks, but you somehow find yourself rooting for them. I have never been able to properly write such a character, as their motivations are really hard to a) determine and b) express correctly. The closest I have gotten is a character who is likable in the beginning, and begins a decline into assholehood (Sounds like a kinky sex thing... O_o).
So yes, I guess I am really rambling about stuff no-one cares about, but thats ok, because I am positively charged with excitement, which is a very rare feeling for me.
So, to be precise and get to the point... Fridays I will leave a piece of fiction here. I havent started thinking about what I will write yet, as I am more focused on the long-term goal of NaNoWriMo. But I suspect there will be a serial of some type, with the occasional stand alone stories here and there.
I cant stress this enough, I WANT criticism. Preferably constructive, but whatever you can manage. Even if its "I like it" or "I dont like it", leave a comment on all my stories. I know I have a LOT of room to grow in this field, but this is seriously something I would like to make some sort of earnings off one day in the future, so help me out here :-)
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Placeholder topic for now
I really struggled to come up with a topic for Thursdays. Again, looking for themes, I could only think of Thursday as late night shopping. Thats not very helpful! Then I thought about mythology, what with Thursdays being named after Thor. Then I thought about the Avengers, and how awesome that movie was. I got free tickets to it from a union I am not even part of, so I guess sometimes luck does fall my way! :P
So thinking about Avengers got me thinking about Spiderman which I saw last week, which got me thinking about... well... everything. Spiderman is as close to a religious icon to me as Jesus himself. Blasphemous, sure, but if you were to track down my old livejournal account (please dont), you would see a very very indepth post about how Spiderman 2 challenged me enough to accept faith and convert to Christianity. Yeah...
Whats my point? For lack of anything better to talk about on Thursdays, I will be reviewing things. It may be a book. It may be a movie. It may be a tv show. It gives me a chance to talk about something that is engaging me (I was going to say enjoy, but then I remembered watching grey's anatomy, and I cant say that was enjoyable) in one way or another. This will not be up to date reviews. I cant afford to go out and get all the new things. Also, I would really love to dive into Princess Bride with an in-depth analysis on why its so awesome. So if you find yourself wandering over here on a Thursday, be prepared for... anything. And also, if anyone can think of something I can write about in place of this (or even a suggestion to write about for this), feel free to pass it on!
I could even do a cross over of my themes and have a monday rant about my review of Twilight series! Cause seriously... You dont fall in love with people who break into your room and watch you sleep. Unless you come from Stockholme.
So thinking about Avengers got me thinking about Spiderman which I saw last week, which got me thinking about... well... everything. Spiderman is as close to a religious icon to me as Jesus himself. Blasphemous, sure, but if you were to track down my old livejournal account (please dont), you would see a very very indepth post about how Spiderman 2 challenged me enough to accept faith and convert to Christianity. Yeah...
Whats my point? For lack of anything better to talk about on Thursdays, I will be reviewing things. It may be a book. It may be a movie. It may be a tv show. It gives me a chance to talk about something that is engaging me (I was going to say enjoy, but then I remembered watching grey's anatomy, and I cant say that was enjoyable) in one way or another. This will not be up to date reviews. I cant afford to go out and get all the new things. Also, I would really love to dive into Princess Bride with an in-depth analysis on why its so awesome. So if you find yourself wandering over here on a Thursday, be prepared for... anything. And also, if anyone can think of something I can write about in place of this (or even a suggestion to write about for this), feel free to pass it on!
I could even do a cross over of my themes and have a monday rant about my review of Twilight series! Cause seriously... You dont fall in love with people who break into your room and watch you sleep. Unless you come from Stockholme.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Wednesday Weigh-in
You know what I love? Aside from posing questions that can't possibly be answered in my chosen form of communication. That's right. What a freakishly lucky guess. Alliteration. And really, who doesn't love a good case of Alliteration. We were brought up with it thanks to Mickey Mouse and friends, the pickled pepper picker Peter Piper and less obscure ones such as Lucky Luke.
Since I am fat, and I dont want to be anymore, there really wasn't a choice in the matter on what would be put in at Wednesday. A few years ago, the first time I got serious about losing weight, I started a blog called "Fat Man in Tighty Whities". That blog is really the spiritual predecessor to this one, only it was a lot more focused. I did daily updates on food eaten and exercise done. At the beginning of each week, I would pose myself a challenge, at the end of the week I would evaluate myself. If I did well, Id get a reward. I also took pictures of myself in my underwear to embarass me into action.
All in all, it worked, sort of (which really is the story of my life, the "sort of" bit. Seems I can say that about everything). I lost a lot of weight, but the problem came down to timing. You see, two days after I started the blog, my wife left me. This put me in an emotional state that was GREAT for exercising, but not so good for remaining sane. If you were to track down that blog you would see a very sad record of the worst 4 - 6 weeks of my life. It also repeated itself a lot.
So basically, Wednesdays will be Tighty Whities v.2. Each Wednesday I will weigh in. I will outline my goals for the week, any challenges I may wish to inflict upon myself (or hey, perhaps there are challenges you can think of for me?) and a photo of me in all my sexy glory. Eventually. In the meantime, you'll have to make do of a photo of me in all my flabulous glory. I just made that word up. Im pretty clever like that.
Since I am fat, and I dont want to be anymore, there really wasn't a choice in the matter on what would be put in at Wednesday. A few years ago, the first time I got serious about losing weight, I started a blog called "Fat Man in Tighty Whities". That blog is really the spiritual predecessor to this one, only it was a lot more focused. I did daily updates on food eaten and exercise done. At the beginning of each week, I would pose myself a challenge, at the end of the week I would evaluate myself. If I did well, Id get a reward. I also took pictures of myself in my underwear to embarass me into action.
All in all, it worked, sort of (which really is the story of my life, the "sort of" bit. Seems I can say that about everything). I lost a lot of weight, but the problem came down to timing. You see, two days after I started the blog, my wife left me. This put me in an emotional state that was GREAT for exercising, but not so good for remaining sane. If you were to track down that blog you would see a very sad record of the worst 4 - 6 weeks of my life. It also repeated itself a lot.
So basically, Wednesdays will be Tighty Whities v.2. Each Wednesday I will weigh in. I will outline my goals for the week, any challenges I may wish to inflict upon myself (or hey, perhaps there are challenges you can think of for me?) and a photo of me in all my sexy glory. Eventually. In the meantime, you'll have to make do of a photo of me in all my flabulous glory. I just made that word up. Im pretty clever like that.
Life Lessons 101
I have struggled with what to slot into Tuesdays. Traditionally, Tuesdays are always "cheap". But how do you write a "cheap" blog. I could give money tips, but there is only so much I can write about "beg money from parents". I thought I could just randomly write about my day, but that is a very boring prospect for me, it offers me no challenge or room for growth as a writer and frankly, would probably bore the shit out of my audience (All 8 of you. Which, actually, is about 6 more than I expected).
It was while I was walking to the mechanic yesterday, fuming more than my car with a ruined radiator, thinking about how I had learned a very expensive lesson (turns out I have been filling up my radiator wrong...) that I realised I could write a blog about the lessons in life I have learnt. Considering most of life's lessons come from mistakes, I am actually in a really good position to speak on this topic!
Be it things I have been taught by others, things I have learned the hard way or things I am smart enough to avoid doing, on Tuesdays I will be talking to you all about my experiences and what I have learned from them. This will hopefully allow me to tell some grand stories, while also giving me the opportunity to evaluate where those experiences have taken me and shaped me.
So, on Tuesdays after you have watched your $1 rental from Blockbuster and eaten your cheap pizza from Dominos (and that is cheap both in price AND quality...ZING), you can log on and get some FREE advice on what not to do in life!
It was while I was walking to the mechanic yesterday, fuming more than my car with a ruined radiator, thinking about how I had learned a very expensive lesson (turns out I have been filling up my radiator wrong...) that I realised I could write a blog about the lessons in life I have learnt. Considering most of life's lessons come from mistakes, I am actually in a really good position to speak on this topic!
Be it things I have been taught by others, things I have learned the hard way or things I am smart enough to avoid doing, on Tuesdays I will be talking to you all about my experiences and what I have learned from them. This will hopefully allow me to tell some grand stories, while also giving me the opportunity to evaluate where those experiences have taken me and shaped me.
So, on Tuesdays after you have watched your $1 rental from Blockbuster and eaten your cheap pizza from Dominos (and that is cheap both in price AND quality...ZING), you can log on and get some FREE advice on what not to do in life!
Sunday, 15 July 2012
The one where I explain Mondays
So, welcome to Monday. If you are like the large majority of the global population, you don't like Mondays. Monday is the day that ruins your weekend. Monday is the day you have to get through, knowing you still have 4 more days to get through before your next well earned break! Everyone hates Mondays.
So in this spirit of mutual loathing, I have decided Mondays will be dedicated to "The Monday Rant". Now, this is actually a very important issue I need to address. There was once a time where I was a very angry and confused young man. Without going into too much detail, I suffered from a type of depression that basically robbed me of feeling emotions. When I got "cured" I got scared by the sudden influx of feelings, and without knowing how to interpret them properly, I did what most people do. I got angry.
This didn't bode well for me at the time, and in the long run it cost me my family. However, I did get help, and I saw a therapist who taught me many skills in dealing with all sorts of emotions that I still use daily. The most important skill is how to channel my anger into something more constructive. The problem is, I probably do this all the time, to the point where my current therapist is telling me I avoid my anger and that also isnt healthy.
So Monday will be the day I come along and allow myself to feel my anger, while channelling it into something constructive! The rant could be about anything. It could be about my asshole mechanic trying to tell me I need a whole new radiator (Im a trusting person who knows nothing about cars, but I still think I am having the wool pulled over my eyes). It may be something in the past that I need a little help in letting go like the time I bought a school friend a Harry Potter DvD for her birthday and was the only person at school who cared enough to get her anything and she didnt even say thank you!!!!!RAAAAAGEEEEEE!
Some days it may be a full on foam at the mouth raving lunatic rant, others it may be an entertaining read where I complain about stuff that doesnt really need complaining about. But the invitation will be here for you to sit back, forget your own troubles for a while as you realise things could be worse... You could be me...
So in this spirit of mutual loathing, I have decided Mondays will be dedicated to "The Monday Rant". Now, this is actually a very important issue I need to address. There was once a time where I was a very angry and confused young man. Without going into too much detail, I suffered from a type of depression that basically robbed me of feeling emotions. When I got "cured" I got scared by the sudden influx of feelings, and without knowing how to interpret them properly, I did what most people do. I got angry.
This didn't bode well for me at the time, and in the long run it cost me my family. However, I did get help, and I saw a therapist who taught me many skills in dealing with all sorts of emotions that I still use daily. The most important skill is how to channel my anger into something more constructive. The problem is, I probably do this all the time, to the point where my current therapist is telling me I avoid my anger and that also isnt healthy.
So Monday will be the day I come along and allow myself to feel my anger, while channelling it into something constructive! The rant could be about anything. It could be about my asshole mechanic trying to tell me I need a whole new radiator (Im a trusting person who knows nothing about cars, but I still think I am having the wool pulled over my eyes). It may be something in the past that I need a little help in letting go like the time I bought a school friend a Harry Potter DvD for her birthday and was the only person at school who cared enough to get her anything and she didnt even say thank you!!!!!RAAAAAGEEEEEE!
Some days it may be a full on foam at the mouth raving lunatic rant, others it may be an entertaining read where I complain about stuff that doesnt really need complaining about. But the invitation will be here for you to sit back, forget your own troubles for a while as you realise things could be worse... You could be me...
Introductions
My name is Luke Cross. Im 27 years old, and I am about to list the accomplishments in my life I am proud of.
Now that that's been taken care of, let's get to the point. My life stinks. Really, it sucks. It blows so hard. Its terrible. I could go on, but thats the point of this exercise. Re-wiring my brain to learn to think positively. Keeping track of my activities during the day, so I can see what I am doing wrong, and figure out how to correct it. To make my life a public spectacle, so that way when shit does go wrong, there will be people around to say "Awww, poor Lukey", or as the case may be "Dude, you brought this on yourself. Stop being a lazy ass and go do something about it". Im pretty certain there is more of the poor Lukey stuff happening, but really you cant have a string of bad luck like I am having, and not think "perhaps I am doing something wrong". So here I am, ready to be accountable for my life!
What will you find in this blog? Im glad I imagined you asked. First of all, a record of all the food I shovel into my mouth. Im...overweight. Not sure how much, I yo-yo a lot. I lost a lot at the start of the year, and then since i moved recently I really have put in no effort to lose anymore, or even keep it off. The problem is, I am a depressive eater, and naughty foods make me feel all better for a little while. So this will be a public record of how often I am feeling naughty, and hopefully, if not cure me, at least make me feel more inclined to reach for the apple as opposed to the Tower Burger (Curse you KFC). This will be tacked on to the bottom of my blog every day, regardless of scheduled content.
"Whats that?" my imaginary audience ask. Well, there is more to my depression and general dissatisfaction with life than just my weight. I feel like im stuck in a rut, and I am not moving forward any. I have a shitty job delivering pizzas. I play way too much computer games in an effort to escape reality. I am not doing anything constructive or positive to change my situation (other than spend 3 - 5 hours a day online looking for a new job, but I am completely disillusioned as to if that makes any difference at all...). So, I will be focusing on my life-long dream of becoming a published author. I havent written anything in years, and I am sure my writing is suffering from the neglect. So this blog is, among many other things, a warm-up exercise. I will be delivering fresh content every day, with a different topic.
I will give myself an easy out, and not tell you what the topics are just yet. Over the next week each update will introduce the topic I will be planning on slotting into that days "time slot". That will give me a nice easy transition into the bloggosphere (and I am mad at myself for using that word...) and allow me to figure out what I want to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays...
To anyone reading still... Thank you for showing interest in my journey. It will be a very interesting one, as this whole exercise is really for me, my self improvement. But at the same time, the key to its success is the fact that its a public record. I need to feel shamed, supported, encouraged, pressured to keep on track and be successful. And with the intent on dusting off my writing skills, I need to write to entertain. So what I have on my hands is a highly personal door to my soul, left wide open for all sorts of dust and leaves and stray cats to enter. Please, for as long as you stay, excuse the mess...
Now that that's been taken care of, let's get to the point. My life stinks. Really, it sucks. It blows so hard. Its terrible. I could go on, but thats the point of this exercise. Re-wiring my brain to learn to think positively. Keeping track of my activities during the day, so I can see what I am doing wrong, and figure out how to correct it. To make my life a public spectacle, so that way when shit does go wrong, there will be people around to say "Awww, poor Lukey", or as the case may be "Dude, you brought this on yourself. Stop being a lazy ass and go do something about it". Im pretty certain there is more of the poor Lukey stuff happening, but really you cant have a string of bad luck like I am having, and not think "perhaps I am doing something wrong". So here I am, ready to be accountable for my life!
What will you find in this blog? Im glad I imagined you asked. First of all, a record of all the food I shovel into my mouth. Im...overweight. Not sure how much, I yo-yo a lot. I lost a lot at the start of the year, and then since i moved recently I really have put in no effort to lose anymore, or even keep it off. The problem is, I am a depressive eater, and naughty foods make me feel all better for a little while. So this will be a public record of how often I am feeling naughty, and hopefully, if not cure me, at least make me feel more inclined to reach for the apple as opposed to the Tower Burger (Curse you KFC). This will be tacked on to the bottom of my blog every day, regardless of scheduled content.
"Whats that?" my imaginary audience ask. Well, there is more to my depression and general dissatisfaction with life than just my weight. I feel like im stuck in a rut, and I am not moving forward any. I have a shitty job delivering pizzas. I play way too much computer games in an effort to escape reality. I am not doing anything constructive or positive to change my situation (other than spend 3 - 5 hours a day online looking for a new job, but I am completely disillusioned as to if that makes any difference at all...). So, I will be focusing on my life-long dream of becoming a published author. I havent written anything in years, and I am sure my writing is suffering from the neglect. So this blog is, among many other things, a warm-up exercise. I will be delivering fresh content every day, with a different topic.
I will give myself an easy out, and not tell you what the topics are just yet. Over the next week each update will introduce the topic I will be planning on slotting into that days "time slot". That will give me a nice easy transition into the bloggosphere (and I am mad at myself for using that word...) and allow me to figure out what I want to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays...
To anyone reading still... Thank you for showing interest in my journey. It will be a very interesting one, as this whole exercise is really for me, my self improvement. But at the same time, the key to its success is the fact that its a public record. I need to feel shamed, supported, encouraged, pressured to keep on track and be successful. And with the intent on dusting off my writing skills, I need to write to entertain. So what I have on my hands is a highly personal door to my soul, left wide open for all sorts of dust and leaves and stray cats to enter. Please, for as long as you stay, excuse the mess...
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