So, technically this task should have been completed yesterday, but I wasn’t sure it needed review or completion. Although, the more I thought about it, the more I felt I should ask the question(s) of those who already follow me –
What do you think of my blog’s name and tagline? Do they offer you the proper insight as to what you may find here?
I would love your feedback and/or suggestions! And thank you in advance for your help!
Wishing you all the best!
Hi everyone!
I’ve decided to take part in the WordPress Blogging University course, Blogging 101. When I started my blog over a year ago, I had a faint idea of a plan, but for those of you who have been following me for some time now, you’ve heard me say a time or two that I really had no idea what I was doing. I like the idea of continuing my education, and challenging myself to complete as many of the tasks as I can to see if I can grow my blog and kick my writing butt back into shape, so here we are. This is in addition to finalizing my first screenplay for the submission season that is upon us. I’m always more productive when I have more on my plate, so maybe this is exactly what I need…of course, it’s 10:30 pm and I’m just getting to it, so let’s see how it goes.
Day One: Introduce yourself –
Well, here’s a little more about me, you know, in case you didn’t learn enough on my birthday. 🙂 Oddly, it was one of my more popular posts, so for my new friends, you can read it here.
I’m a screenwriter who chose to start a blog as a way of documenting my progress toward my goal of becoming a professional in the hopes that it would help other writers. I was also unemployed at the time, and thought it would be a great way to set some perimeters for my daily routine. I also have a terrible memory, hence the name of my blog, so I figured it would be the best way to maintain a “diary” on a regular basis.
I want to help writers, in part because I don’t remember having a lot of support when I chose this path either, but I have found that this is a great space to share my other passions, interests, and obsessions (Hello, Dragon Age. I’m looking at you!) as well. I like to share inspirational quotes, which I try to do on Mondays, interesting images as Writing Prompts on Wednesdays, and then a variety of other writing factoids, my own writings and those from others inspired by the Prompts, and anything else that piques my interest the rest of the week. I was better about staying on track until The Sis and I moved in September and I got a day job writing. Not as exciting as I had hoped, but that’s a story for another day.
I don’t tend to get too personal or controversial here because that’s not what this space was designed for. I didn’t want this to be a platform or a soapbox. I just wanted to create a welcoming space, something I could be proud of, meet other like-minded, creative individuals, and hopefully encourage at least one person along the way.
I suppose that’s a good start.
Best wishes, my friends! And Happy Writing!
I remember when I started telling people I wanted to be a screenwriter the reactions I often received. I received a lot of scoffs and naysaying and “words of wisdom” that I should choose a more practical career path. This is something that has always bothered me, and it used to gnaw on me a little, actually it still kind of does when I think on it. Why would you ever demean someone’s dream? Why would you think to say it can’t be done, especially when you don’t know what the person is capable of?
This is why I try to be so positive and encouraging in this space. Maybe you’ve received those comments and don’t have a lot of people in your corner telling you, “You can do it!” I’ll be that person for you! 🙂
The Sis and I spoke for some time last night as she took a few online tests to try to make a determination of which career path would suit her best. I love screenwriting and want her to do something she loves too, no matter how long it takes to achieve it. Unfortunately, my creative path practically ensures that I will work in jobs with little satisfaction (because creatives often want to save their energy for their real job) until I “make it”, while her career paths require many years of schooling, but will then reap huge rewards in the end. We each must choose what makes us happy and have the courage to follow it.
Set goals and dreams for yourself that people find amusing and then push those people aside as you go on to achieve your goals. The naysaying should be fuel for your tenacity to show them all! Wave to them from the top, and hope that they find something to be passionate about, because that’s probably the main reason they have chosen to try to knock you down.
So here’s to your continuing success! Best of luck!
I found this interesting infographic in regards to how writing helps the brain and thought I’d share with my fellow creatives.
I found the graphic here if you feel like scouring their site for other interesting tidbits, like “How to be more productive” which would probably be more easily accomplished by not playing on the internet… 🙂
Happy Friday, friends!
Yikes! It’s official, and this will be the one and only time I admit it…I’m 40. Again I say, yikes! I have that scene from Friends where Joey is crying about everyone getting older, “Why God? Why?” playing over and over in my head.
I haven’t been looking forward to it, and I’m not “depressed” exactly, but I’m not that pleased about it either. And it’s not like I didn’t know it was coming…there’s no stopping time. I suppose the birthday present Mother Nature decided to bestow upon me this morning in the form of a pimple in the middle of my forehead is a good reminder that age really is just a number…Thanks, lady. 😛
I came downstairs this morning to quite the sight – the entire house is decorated in princess decor. There are metallic colored swirly streamers hanging from the ceiling along with those fan-like circular ones. There are streamers wrapped around the bannister, around the doors, and even a princess chandelier hanging from the ceiling fan…it’s perfect. Oh, and I have more presents waiting for me than I’ve had since I was a kid, and The Sis is making me a black forest cake which I had for my 1st birthday…it’s turning out to be quite the day!
I have a friend, who for her 40th did something different everyday for 40 days, but I don’t have that sort of commitment. I decided to do something that coincides with my age, and how it does ring true that you get more comfortable with yourself with age. So, I present to you “40 random & true things” about me, in (sort of) chronological order:
Goodness, that’s quite the list and reflection on my life.
Thank you all for being a part of the journey!
xx, Rach
Happy Valentine’s Day!
For lovers it’s a day gifts and overly romantic gestures are expected. For singletons a day to feel bad that we don’t have someone to give/receive overly romantic gestures. There’s usually alcohol involved, in either case, and heaps of money spent to validate said expression of love, but not all love shown today requires it to be romantic.
These are the loves of my life –
While I’m writing this I am enjoying a little pink bubbly, but that’s not to drown my disappointment or anything 😉 we’ll call it pre-birthday celebrating. Now that’s a reason to drink!
Sending love to you all!
xx, Rach
The last couple of weeks, the impending doom surrounding my birthday has caused random outbursts of emotion. I’ve had some bad birthdays, but this one is different. I was in a home store, looking at the various items that could be useful in the new place; new towels, area rugs, side tables, etc. when I started to well up. It’s frustrating to feel sort of stuck; always hoping and striving for more. I keep banking on this elusive future that I can’t wait to happen, and yet with each passing day I don’t feel any closer. I got a job I was hoping would be something I could be proud of in the meantime, I’m writing every day, but we write rubbish and I don’t even make enough money to make it worthwhile.
So as I stared at the cute side table, thinking that I should be able to walk into a store and just buy something like that once in a while, I was reminded of my circumstances and that with the looming age I should be in a different place. So my eyes filled and I started the self-loathing.
I’m just not satisfied with my life. Being an artist is a difficult path, and as positive as I try to remain, sometimes life just smacks you in the face. I’m usually the first to say, “age is just a number”, but this birthday now puts me in a new box. You know the box. I’m officially in a new one next week.
I found these quotes, that made me feel a little better, and thought I’d share them for if you’re ever feeling low.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C.S. Lewis
“In my dreams, I never have an age.” – Madeleine L’Engle
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
I hope you all have a wonderful week! And if you have any words of wisdom, please share! 🙂
So, it’s time to continue the obsession saga series known as Dragon Age. I present to you Part 2: Creating your Character aka The Protagonist.
As I mentioned in the first part, I will discuss topics in the order they are encountered, so this post will deal with character creation and we’ll move on from there.
Character creation is one of my favorite things to do in games. If I could get paid to make characters all day, I totally would. Some games do this better than others, and I had really high hopes for this option in Inquisition given the previous games, and from early game footage we knew the graphics were going to be amazing, and for the most part it is really good, but it has its downsides.
In Origins (game 1) you were given a choice of 6 different origin stories to play through as an elf, a human, or a dwarf. Comments made in game play, and how NPC characters treated you, etc. were all based on this choice. In 2 you could only play as a human, Hawke, which many people didn’t care for (in addition to a number of other factors – we won’t go into that here – I still liked the game). There was also a DLC called the Black Emporium that allowed you to change your character’s features at no extra cost, i.e. gold or favor anytime you wished. Inquisition returns to the original format of different races and includes a fourth option, the Qunari; a race of large beings with horns, usually. You do not have an option to change features, but Bioware did try to have the character creator mirror actual game play, and it is very close. What this means is what you see is what you get, pretty much.
The character creator allows for multiple interesting features to incorporate such as unnatural eye colors (pink, yellow, what-have-you or a combination of any along the color wheel), scars, tattoos, and even a broken nose. You could easily spend hours creating just the right eye size, nose shape, chin depth, even the height of the ears, and that’s all great, except…
Here are the downsides. There are no distinctions in hair options for male and female characters. They removed a number of the good ones from previous games (where did my cute bob with the braids go?!) and instead added 13 bald-ish options. You can go completely bald, have stubble, have stubble with a round head, or stubble with a slightly cone head, and the list goes on for 13 different options…gracious.
And let’s talk about beard options for male characters – there are like 40. C’mon now. I realize there are so many other things going on in character creation, especially having 4 races, but you took away multiple choices for one of the most essential features – hair to include all those others?
Side note, here’s a link to a video about some of the ugliest characters created, but be forewarned for explicit language. I found it hilarious!
One feature some gamers didn’t like was the lack of choice in body type. Elves are small framed, dwarves are short, Qunari are tall, and humans are well, human. There is no choice in making any character taller or shorter, heavier or thinner. You cannot create the rare tall elf, or the randomly short Qunari.
So after painstakingly creating your perfect character, choosing a voice of which there are only two across the board for any race of male and female characters, and a name which no one will ever use in game play because gaming is not quite that advanced yet, you start your game.
Depending on your race, whether you’re female or male, and depending on your class especially in this game, you will be treated accordingly in this world. Elves are second-class citizens, dwarves are generally not surface dwellers, Qunari are from a foreign land and in previous games have been referred to as an invading force trying to convert the world to their beliefs, and then there is the “ruling” class, the humans. In Inquisition, regardless of your class, you will be from a noble family, although if you are a mage, you will have come from a circle; a place where mages are kept locked away for the protection of the people.
This is the driving storyline of Inquisition due to events started in DA:2. We’ll talk about story in another post.
What makes the character creator fun, you might ask? As a writer, sometimes I find it fun to try to create a character that might resemble one of my own creations. If you’re really talented you can create a character that looks like someone else, like this, Nigel Thornberry. So, after all my time spent in the creator, this was my first character, who I really liked despite her questioning eyebrows. 🙂 She does not resemble any of my imaginary friends, but after the play through, I suppose she could. I really grew to love her and her choices, despite what some of her companions thought.
All right, that’s quite enough for one day. The Dragon Age Obsession Saga will continue with posts in regards to dialogue, companions, and story shortly.
Happy Sunday!
I don’t have a desk chair. The one I had previously was old, it wasn’t that comfortable, and it was that ugly gray office style kind of chair with thick black plastic arms. It also had wheels. My little dogs did not appreciate the terrible noise the wheels made against the wood flooring in our apartment, and neither did I for that matter. We had been through a lot together over the 10 plus years, we had written so much, but when The Sis and I decided to leave Los Angeles, I realized I didn’t want to move it again. Honestly, I didn’t want to see it again. It was time to end the co-dependent relationship, and so I chucked it into the alley behind our building, hopeful someone would find it and give it a new home – a sad fate for my faithful companion.
So now, I have no chair. I have to drag the chaise I sit on when I watch tv or game over to my desk, which is too low to utilize as a desk chair, and then have to sit on the back pillow and prop myself up like a booster seat. My dogs like it because they have more room to spread out beside me, but long bouts of writing are not to be found under such conditions.
It’s so awkward.
It sounds like I’m making excuses as to why very little writing has occurred since I determined to write more, and maybe, I am, a little, but the truth is I’m trapped on how to start Act 3. I reread the first two acts, and was empowered to finish this story properly…which is why I think I’m struggling to find the right place to start. I don’t have the time to play around with this one anymore – I have deadlines to make, and this story has been worked over so many times it’s pretty unrecognizable since it debuted many, many, many years ago.
I broke out some screenwriting books hoping to gain some insight, and I thought I’d share a few pearls I discovered. Hopefully, if you’re struggling, you’ll find them useful as well.
1. Have your hero give up just before they reach their goal. By the third act they have determined that they want “it” and they are going to go after “it”, but exhausted they give up just short of reaching “it”. The example used was The African Queen and how they tried so hard to get the boat to the open water, to give up about three feet from it. Then it rains and sets them adrift.
2. Bookends. Can the last scene be an answer to the first? The example was a couple who fall in love during war time and are married on the back of a truck, so at the end of the story they have a proper wedding to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.
3. Make a list of all the questions asked or ideas raised throughout your script and be sure to answer them. This is something I have found to be useful so there aren’t any loose ends or plot holes by the end. It’s a great way to look back over your story as a whole and see that those ideas/themes continued throughout.
4. My last helpful tip is to talk the story over with someone. I used The Sis as a spring board and found that by voicing my ideas aloud about how I wanted the story to end was more useful than trying to work it all out in my head. She asked questions that made me reevaluate my ideas and concepts. Also, when you explain your story to someone, they can immediately tell you if something doesn’t make sense or doesn’t work.
Although I discovered all this useful insight, I’m no closer to the opening scene I need, but I’m thinking that I just need to jump in. I know the story, I’ll find a good point to start, and let the chips fall where they may.
When I asked two separate people, I received the same response…”it was a dark and stormy night”. 🙂 I’d love to hear back from all of you. Any advice on a great third act opener?
Happy Writing everyone!
Yesterday I posted the links to a number of writing contests coming up, so today I decided we could all use some encouragement to help us achieve those goals. These are not just for writers, but for anyone who is ready to do great things!
What is it you want to accomplish?
I realized that I have to make some adjustments if I want to get my writing on track and be more productive. The days pass in a blur, and I am no further to accomplishing my goals than I was a few months ago, but that all changed this weekend. I’m afraid it’s going to take a bit to get back in the full swing of things, and I don’t really have that kind of time…but at least I’ve found that spark again, and my brain turns to that instead of blank nothingness.
So, if you have any secrets you’d like to share about writing, rewriting, finding time, or working through the brain dead patches…please do so! 🙂
I wish you all well, my friends! Have a great, and productive week!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 