Month: June 2017

More Problems… Continued

Update: my constant computer crashes now have a known cause…my HDD is fried! Well that or the part that reads it…anyway, dad did heavy duty diagnostics to find that out. We think it’s the controller for the HDD because we tried putting in my backup drive and it found nothing on it either…

Likelihood is I will be without a computer until either dad fixes up one of the other dead systems in the house, finds a way around this controller bug, or I break down and buy the cheapest but most useful one I can find. If anyone has a laptop they could donate, I’d totally love to beg for it! I kid…mostly.

What does this mean for my blog though?

Well…

  1. The 101 Challenge is on hold infinitely until I have a computer.
  2. My posts will be scarcer.
  3. I’ll still be writing and such! Just mostly outline work, maybe some art, etc.

My time will be spent mostly fighting tech, playing games, outlining to the max, etc. I’ll share more as I think of it. For now…off to replay Journey to Kreisia to try to find another ending. Normal ending was too depressing!

More Problems…

Within a couple days, my computer and glasses have broken. My computer won’t work right even in safe mode, so dad’s working diligently when he’s able to help me with it (he was in the business way back. Convenient, like having my own free tech support at home!)

One of the nose guards on my glasses snapped off too. It’s temporarily fixed by replacing it with duct tape. Not the most comfortable, but I can generally see!

Our car still needs to go to the shop. Hopefully, now that three things broke, they’ll be getting fixed more easily soon! Still, with my computer how it is and chaos all around, 

Lethologica [Part 1]

According to the dictionary, lethologica is “the inability to remember a particular word or name”. Whether you’re writing a story or talking to a friend, it’s a fairly common occurrence, isn’t it? You know you know the word, it’s at the top of your tongue, but your brain just blocks it out.

When I first read the word, I really thought it would have to do with death and logic. I mean, letho looks to me like lethal, and logic is literally in the end half of the word! But if I think hard about it, forgetting a word yet feeling like it’s on the tip of your tongue? It really sounds like the death of logic!

It feels like my computer has a case of it too, because it hasn’t been running properly the past couple days. As I find it hard to type good posts on my tablet (mixing autocorrect and laziness and awkward typing methods isn’t an easy feat, after all), this will be a two parter: the basics today, and a more detailed thought on this new term plus challenge when the computer lots to listen to me again!

Sorry for this, guys. I hope you take your time to keep an eye out for lethologica in your own lives! Feel free to share your experiences and thoughts with me here!

Map Madness and 101 Challenge 14

Maps are a very useful thing

Whether it be for wandering streets in reality or the depths of the mind. As children, many of us were taught to use various methods of planning. One such method? Mind maps.

However, even for an auditory learner like me, visual maps are somewhat essential. I’ve come to find making even simple maps in Paint just to name the roads in a story’s town handy- and marking off where places are can be a real aid. It’s like making my own (albeit crappy quality) GPS!

SoS City Map

I’ve also been enjoying mapping in my game development works. In fact, I made a fair few maps recently and taped a playtest of the first couple minutes of the game (which, obviously, is still a work in progress). It showed me there were bugs, but it also made me feel pride for my maps- and my sense of humor. Please feel free to take a look!

And finally…A little about mind mapping itself, and how it can help you learn more about your own person:

I’m the type that gets confused easily. My own mind often feels clouded, and I’m often dreading trying to make sense when I speak. For me, I’ve always been better writing my thoughts on paper or the computer rather than speaking them. I know I’m not the only one whose ever felt that way.

Do you ever feel like the words coming from your mouth just don’t make the point like they did in your head? Sometimes, even if just for yourself, writing it down can help. Writing helps me with a lot of things, actually. If I’m stuck on a decision, I make a chart sometimes of the good and bad of both sides- sometimes as a Venn Diagram, sometimes as a list, and sometimes just as a stream of consciousness. Whatever helps you strive is a good tool- and mapping the mind is surely good for your heart and sanity (if such a thing exists in you).

I’ll write more about things like more use of charts and stream of consciousness later. 🙂

Today’s Challenge: A list of your favorite industry blogs

To be totally honest, I’m still finding and catching up on blogs that fit my niche…And by niche, I mean literally anything and everything. I love blogs about lots of things: about plants, about people’s daily lives, about writing…I even love blogs about blogs sometimes! However, because it’s usually just mild surfing, I don’t honestly pay that much attention. Today’s real challenge is to start paying a better look at the blogs I visit, and keep a closer eye on them!

I hope you’ll keep a close eye on me too…
Maybe even nudge me with recommendations or reminders!
Wouldn’t it be fun to share?
Like a book club for blogs!

Internet Changes, Future Posts and Return of the 101 Challenge (Day 13!)

It’s been a while, but I swear I’m alive! I went a few weeks without internet due to lack of funds and having trouble with a company I was working with to GET internet for my home. The modem they said would take only a few days to a week took at least two or more weeks to get here, and then it wasn’t quite working right brand new out of the package. However, after some great help from a lovely lady at Sprint (my internet is a specialty program for low income, which uses a Sprint cellular modem with unlimited data). We thought it was strange how bad our throughput was, and she agreed, and we figured out the bugs over time. So while originally today was going to be a day to call and complain…It’s working pretty well, now!

That said, it’s been a rough month or two. I couldn’t handle living with my grandma after a while and we had a bit of a blow out. We still spend time together sometimes, but we aren’t on the best of terms as of late due to it- but we’re working on patching it up, and dad still helps her from home the best he can.

My bruise is gone from my surgery, sadly. Yes, I’m sad about that. I’m weird. But you know what isn’t gone? All the ideas of posts I wanted to make this past month! I’ve been working on various projects at once as usual, and some of it you’ll definitely get to see in future posts. I felt like sharing a list of things I plan to post about in the near future, as well as changes I hope to make on the site (as I get more into the swing of the net again).

  1. Maps (Mind-Maps, Atlases and more!)
  2. General updates to my works.
  3. A ton of links added to the Sites to See page.
  4. Regular prompts for fun.
  5. More ways to deal with writer’s block (see my examples below in the challenge)
  6. WAY MORE CHALLENGES
  7. Ideas for more interaction with my lovely readers
  8. And tons more!

Well, while I’m working on all that, though…Here’s today’s challenge: Overcoming writer’s block

I was sure I’d done this one before, but I remembered being on this number, and either way, this is a concept that’s a major deal for most writers….naturally, myself included! And writer’s block isn’t as simple as it may sound, in my opinion. It’s not simply a moment where you don’t feel inspired or hit a plot hole you can’t figure out how to fill (though those are the most  common ones for me…) Writer’s block can also have to do with general interest in a project, general energy to work on things, and even can be caused by racing thoughts!

For me, the way I fix my writer’s block depends a lot on the kind of writer’s block I have, but the best method in general taht usually helps me is this…

“If I have no ideas on how to continue this project right now, work on one I have an interest/idea for and come back to this one when it clears.”

Basically…Distraction! When I am working on a story, and I lose my muse for it…It doesn’t mean I’m always losing my way in general. It doesn’t always mean I don’t have any energy to write. It’s often just THAT STORY, for some reason or another. Heck, sometimes it’s just working on a specific chapter! So, I switch gears. Stuck on a chapter? Skip ahead to another one, I can always go back later. Can’t handle this story anymore? Work on a different story, get to know some new characters! Maybe they’ll give you some insight for the previous project you were working on! It doesn’t mean you give up. It just means you switch your mindset!

Basically…For me, distraction is a natural helper. Whether it’s switching projects or doing something besides write (play a game for inspiration or to beat up things, watch a movie with family, read a ton of manga…heck, sometimes I do the dishes if i’m irritated by my story!). It helps clean the mindframe that is stuck and irritated by the block, and you’ll manage to find a way around it over time. Time heals all wounds. Writer’s block is part of this…I’m sure of it!