A New Tag…A Social Media Tag!!

About a month(?) or so ago, Kate Jane created this interesting Social Media Tag that I think will catch on (or have already caught on). It creatively uses a number of social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, as a frame for writers to talk about their current (or past) WIP. I’m going to use Burwood Murder, a short story, for this tag. 🙂

Here’s how it works:

The Rules:

Copy the questions below and answer them. Then, tag five people to do the tag and notify them; make sure to leave a comment including your post’s URL for the person who tagged you, so that they can go read your post!

The Questions:

  1. Twitter: Describe your plot in 140 characters or less.
  2. Facebook: With the parents/grandparents flooding this site, who is your oldest character?
  3. Instagram: What does one of your characters look like? #selfie (find the closest picture you can!)
  4. WordPress: Designing your theme is the funnest part, so how would/did you design your book cover?
  5. Tumblr: Naming your blog is so difficult! What did you name your book?
  6. Spring.me: Get your weirdest questions answered. Ask your main character one weird question, and have that character answer.
  7. Pandora/Spotify: What kind of music are you playing whilst writing? If you don’t listen to music, what do you think your main character would listen to?
  8. Myspace: All good things must come to an end! What is one book idea that you were really into, but lost interest in?

My Answers:

1. Twitter: Describe your Plot in 140 characters or less.

He was chasing down a murder story…until he became one of the victims.

2. Facebook: With the parents/grandparents flooding this site, who is your oldest character?

There are a lot of older people in this story, but the oldest is Walter who runs a junkyard.

3. Instagram: What does one of your characters look like? #selfie (find the closest that you can):

Let me tell you something: You’ll be surprised of the type of pictures you can find browsing the Internet. (*shudders*)

Anyway, if anyone could look like my MC, Drew, I think it would be this guy:

mechanic-electoronics-431x300

4. WordPress: Designing your theme is the funnest part, so how would you design your book cover?

I think if I could make a book cover for Burwood it would have a murder object, like a hammer, smashing something off screen (or off-cover I should say) with blood forming the title.

Gnarly, right? I thought so to. I don’t think its very original though, lol!

5. Tumblr: Naming your blog is so difficult! What did you name your book?

To be honest with you, I never settle on a particular title. I usually just name my drafts after a symbol/idea that came to mind when I was drafting/outlining the story. The “symbol/idea” for Burwood is murder in a small town.

6. Spring.me: Get your weirdest questions answered. Ask your main character one weird question, and have that character answer.

ME: Have you ever wished you could fly?

Mysterious Murderer: I think this would be a different story if I could do that.

7. Pandora/Spotify: What kind of music are you playing whilst writing? If you don’t listen to music, what do you think your main character would listen to?

I didn’t listen to anything while I wrote this, but Drew may listen to heavy metal or techno.

8. Myspace: All good things must come to an end! What is one book idea that you were really into, but lost interest in?

I tried to pen a romance novel a few years back…but the thrill quickly dissipated and I lost interest. Heck, I can’t even remember what it was about! I guess it’s germinating somewhere in my unconscious…somewhere

Tag, You’re It:

  1. Luther Siler
  2. Miska Jenkins
  3. Taylor Grace
  4. Nirvana
  5. You want to try? Knock yourself out.

Create like a Child and Plot Without Structure

NaNoWriMo forces us to remember what writing is about: having fun, unleashing our creativity, and coloring outside the lines. It’s the perfect opportunity to break away from plot structure and rekindle our passion for pure imaginative storytelling.

How? By keeping it simple.

Centuries ago, Aristotle noted in his book Poetics that while a story does have a beginning, a middle and an ending, the beginning is not simply the first event in a series of three, but rather the emotionally engaging originating event. The middle is the natural and causally related consequence, and the end is the inevitable conclusive event.

In other words, stories have an origination, an escalation of conflict, and a resolution.

Steven James

I’m no genius; however, I think Aristotle may have been referring to this guy:

fiction

Keep it in mind as you sketch your story these next few weeks. Try to loosen up and plot without following rigid structures. Harness the spirit of NaNoWriMo and create like a child.

Besides, you can always edit it later…

Monthly Wrap-up: A Productive July

K_be_productive_web-e1357583634539Wow this month was a severely productive one! Not only did I meet my goals, I surpassed them.

A big round of applause to everyone who participated in Camp NaNoWriMo! Even if you didn’t meet your word count goal–you still had the courage to try. And that’s what Camp NaNo is all about.

I hope that August will be just as fun and rewarding. 🙂

The Wrap-up:

Here’s what happened last month.

I’m an Inspiring Blogger…Really? Sweet!

So I woke up this morning, like most people do in the morning, and stalked into the kitchen. Snatched a mug off the shelf, filled it to the brim with sugar and drizzled coffee on top. I knew that I needed to work on my Camp NaNo project but I thought:

Meh. Going on wordpress and deliberately procrastinating sounds so much better.

So I did and then–

KACHOW!!!

Taylor Grace nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

It took me a moment to come to grips with this. Partly because my potent pancake syrup (aka coffee) was causing my brain to move faster than a herd of horses, cheetahs, leopards, and [insert fast animal] put together!

But once I eventually came to the realization that I’d been complemented…

“Honest, gutsy writer who tells it like it is and has a fantastic sense of humor.”

– Taylor Grace

I felt…well complemented!

I mean Inspiring Blogger? Holy crap!

veryinspiring_bloggeraward

So the rules are:

  1. The nominee shall display the Very Inspiring Blogger Award logo on her/his blog, and link to the blog they got nominated from.
  2. The nominee shall nominate fifteen (15) bloggers she/he admires, by linking to their blogs and informing them about it.

I love simple instructions…I really do. Well here are fifteen bloggers that have inspired me in someway (this was very hard to narrow down btw).

They are:

  1. Books and Bark 
  2. Carol J Forrester 
  3. Wordy and Nerdy
  4. Tyro Charm
  5. Rachael Carrera
  6. Lynette Noni
  7. Vik Tory Arch
  8. A Writer’s Life For Me
  9. Caffe Maggieato
  10. Damyanti
  11. Raevenly Writes
  12. Leonie Rogers
  13. Victoria Grefer
  14. Ripples of Truth
  15. Lady of the Pen

 

Monthly Wrap Up: Ending May

Wipes sweat from brow and flick it at you.

Whew! It’s been one tough month for me. There was my 21st birthday, studying, late night headaches, more headaches, more studying, stress, STRESS, finals, and finally a relief.

The wrap up for this month is pretty short because of the things I talked about here and here. However, I still got some blogging done so that’s a plus! Take that college!!

Here’s what happened:

Here’s what happened last month.

What are your plans for June?

This Week’s and June’s Goals

Ugh, the end of the month is approaching faster than a steam engine. It’s like it snuck up behind me like a ninja! Can you believe that?

There hasn’t been much going on in the Tavern this month (at least to me) but I’m planning on picking things up. Which brings me to my goals for the week and for the month of June.

For the week, I plan to…

  1. Get back to posting three times a week
  2. PASS my finals *crosses fingers*

For June, I plan to…

  1. Read more
  2. Write two book reviews
  3. Begin outlining a manuscript for July Camp NaNo (Hmm…I wonder what I should write)
  4. Continue to read through Restitution
  5. Give the Tavern the attention it deserves 🙂

Have you been meeting your goals for May?

Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day is more thmemorial_day_10_852855en a time of parades, it’s a time of remembering.

memorial-day-cartoons2
It says: “You military heroes gave up all your tomorrows so I could have mine. Thank you.”

images (4)

I was Nominated for the Liebster Award!

I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award from Ben Pastore!

Whoot!

The rules are that I state 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions from my nominator (Ben), nominate 11 other bloggers with 200-ish followers, and give them 11 questions to answer. Then the people that I nominate do same things that I did.

Whew! Did you get all of that?

Let the bore-fest BEGIN!

 

11 Random Facts About Me

  1. I am the clumsiest person you’ll ever meet
  2. I was inspired to play the violin after listening to this. (While we’re on the subject, I’ve also played other instruments like the flute and a wee bit of guitar. My love for music started in elementary when I played on my music instructor’s piano.)
  3. I have a kitty named Fluffy MoMo (we call her MoMo for short. Cute, right?)
  4. I didn’t like to write at first until this happened. Funny how things work out, huh?
  5. I am a gamer! (Tekken and Sims are my favorite games)
  6. I like the snow
  7. I have an awkward fascination with tying bandannas on my head. (What, they’re stylish!)
  8. I love Cheezits
  9. Green is my favorite color
  10. I am a Taurus
  11. My favorite show is The Blacklist

Answering Ben Pastore‘s 11 Questions

1. What do you picture yourself doing 5 years from now?

Hmmm…

Rubs crystal ball

I see…I see myself still in college pursing a degree and, most of all, writing (that’s a constant).

2. Who is the person that has had the greatest influence on your life?

My parents. They keep me going! 🙂

3. If you were given a blank ticket good on any airline, where would you go and why?

New Zealand to see Hobbiton (I HAVE to know if Gandalf’s beard is real!)

4. What makes you sadder than anything else?

I’m a family person so I feel worst when they feel bad.

5. What was the last kind act you did for someone?

I spotted a spider on my keyboard, I raised a shoe to hit it, but I thought it would be nicer if I waited until it crawled off. You know…for the laptop’s sake?

(I’m joking)

I helped a friend study for a quiz this week. 🙂

6. Do you consider yourself a person open to new ideas?

Yeppers! In fact, the whole reason why I decided to go to college was to broaden my horizons!

7. What was your single most coolest experience in your life?

When I attended my very first symphony–it was surreal!

8. Would you still write if no one else could see what you wrote?

Heck yeah! I don’t write for my stories to be read. Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE for people to read what I write! However, I write because I just have to. I can’t go to long without writing because I get…well…lets just hope I’ve written something.

9. To your mind, what would you need to accomplish to consider yourself successful in life?

I consider myself successful when I learn something new. If I am not leaning something new then I am failing to approve myself.

10. Who’s the best ‘unknown’ author that you’ve read?

Oh it was….uh….I don’t think they gave their name. (All joking aside…I really can’t remember. Sorry!)

11. Would you be willing to change your thoughts and behavior if your life were in the balance?

Depends on the situation and what my thoughts or behavior is being changed into.

My 11 Nominees

  1. Ravenly Writes
  2. The Diaries of James Purcell
  3. Paper, Pen, and No Plan
  4. Wordy and Nerdy
  5. Ladyofthepen
  6. The Word Trance
  7. Between Ardency and Glory
  8. AsilngrainLiebster-Award
  9. Until the Ink Well Dries
  10. Vik Tory Arch
  11. Grady P. Brown — Author

My 11 Questions

  1. What’s your biggest goal for the month?
  2. What milestone are you hoping to accomplish in the next five years?
  3. What’s the biggest milestone that you’ve accomplished thus far?
  4. When you started your blog, what was your first expectations for it? Has it changed?
  5. Aside from writing, what other activity captures your interest?
  6. Where is your favorite place to read or write?
  7. Who is your favorite author?
  8. What keeps you going when things get rough?
  9. If you could give one life tip, what would it be?
  10. What genre interests you the most and why?
  11. Out of all your favorite books, which character do you wish you could be? (Oh, and you can’t use your book)

Monthly Wrap Up: I See the April Finish Line

You and I have something in common. Want to know what it is?

We made it to the finish line.

Whether you participated in one of the national events (NaPoWriMo, Camp NaNoWriMo, or A to Z Challenge) or accomplished something else–you did it! Sure the road was rough. Sure you made a mistake or two…or three? Who cares! You did it!

Give yourself a pat on the back!

Here’s what happened at the Tavern:

Here’s what happened last month.

What’s are your goals for May?