This must remain extremely HUSH HUSH

I never once thought this would happen to me so soon, but this morning I woke up to the chilling realization that information I used in my novel is ON DISPLAY!! Now, I have to preface this by saying that I use terms, names, references that are completely public domain. I have no actual right to say they are my own, but I want to also say that over the last year of writing these terms and references have become a part of my world in my Manny. So, when I see something out in the open for all to see I have a moment of EXTREME PANIC!!

Which ofcourse looks something like this............

Then I reformulate my thoughts (after a text freak out to my bestie saying things like "what the hell?! Can you believe this!? And being the awesome bestie that she is, she agrees with me, then tells me all will be fine and I come back down to earth again). It's amazing to me how intensely I feel about a fictional story, but to me these characters and emotions that I write about are real. I feel them, I feel their struggle and their pain. In a lot of ways that I never understood before, a lot of my writing reflects the problems I have gone through in my life. Ofcourse, I bet practically every author comes to this conclusion, and they use their writing in their own way to flesh out their own problems, and solve them in a fictitious way that actually helps in an inward mental process of healing.

Needless to say I have come to terms with this small FREAK OUT, and I know that I need to keep most of my story extremely hush hush to keep this from happening again. So, with that in mind, I regret to tell you that I can't tell you a single tiny little detail about the awesomeness of this story, but I am completely dying to share it with all of you. I promise I am writing like a maniac to get it done, I want it out there as much as some of you want to read it. I hope when it comes time that you enjoy it as much as I have writing it!!

Side note...I no longer look like I am in an extreme panic, now I am more writing like a banshee...though its slightly difficult at the moment....PUG....

 It's not so easy to type when I have puppy all over my hands....

But The Dude does not seem to care.....

Back to the Manny, the first draft is almost complete! I am hoping to have my first draft read through by January, I can't wait :)

Characters are everywhere...

Characters in everyday life. I swear I never go a day without walking into a situation where I think, “holy hell, you would make a great character in a novel!” Not really because that person has a super interesting life, though that may be a possibility, and not really because they have a great story. It’s more about the character themselves, the little nuances that make that person weirdly unique and stand out from the rest. I will give you the characters I find most fitting in a novel through my daily life, but to save face of course they will have fake names. I dare you to now not think of the people around you in this way…..

1) The Ear blaster: There is this guy that I work with that I almost try to avoid. Not because I don’t like him, he is very nice, and not because I think he is mean, crude, or awkward (well maybe a little awkward). No, this guy is a talker. A won’t shut the hell up no matter how many times you give him the silent treatment, or say the off-hand “uh huh” or even try to act like you are actually really really busy…..looking at your computer. AKA…io9…facebook….reddit….The point is the guy doesn’t know when to just stop talking. So he would make a great side character. Not an annoying one, but a one that seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He finds his long lost love when a new secretary gets hired and she is MORE talkative than he is. Something like that….but to me, this dude needs to stop talking about Pauley Shore, I really don’t care man!

2) The Uber flirt: I don’t mind a little PDA, it truly does not bother me what so ever that you feel you have to casually plaster your hand to my arm mid conversation. HOWEVER….please stay away from my lower back, no its not ok to let me catch you glancing elsewhere than man eyes (you need to learn to be more covert!) And I know that there are flirts of the other side. The ones that giggle and seem to want to hug everyone within a mile radius. The ones that will stop mid conversation just to go say hi to so and so (even though they walk back over to you and say, “I have no idea who that was, but I always feel bad that I don’t use his name! He just looked like he needed a hi.”) Lets keep it at, PDA away, but keep in mind that there is such thing as personal space, if I can smell what you had for lunch…you are too damn close to me.

3) The Queen B: I think every office, work area, life situation has one of these. The one with the super high pitch annoying laugh that drills into your ears from WAY down the hallway. The one that thinks she is tough shit, hot shit, amazing shit…basically she thinks she is the Queen and the rest of you are the PEE-ONS!! Annoying much? Totally, but there is a problem, she actually is really really good at her job, she is above you on the ladder, and even though she may or may not have anything to do with your work schedule she likes to punish you on the weekends, late nights, and early butt crack of dawn mornings if she is able to. She looks at you with the manic smile saying things like, “you don’t mind right, because I have to be somewhere, so you can do this for me right?” And what can you say, Queen B may not own you, but she gets her way. You have to be honest here, you will never get your way, the day before you quit just give the B the finger and walk out of the office “Wanted, James McAvoy style” and know that you got the last laugh. Pwahahha….(that’s my textual evil laugh)

4) The total Sweetheart: Now this one is in every atmosphere. If you are self conscious and or insecure with yourself this person might actually annoying for their all amazing perfect sweetness. But really, that just makes you a jerk, I hope you realize that. This person truly is just the nicest thing you will ever meet. So genuine and down to earth, probably has the most infectious laugh you will ever hear, amazing eyes that are just so beautiful you fall into conversations with them thinking, “why would I ever want to be talking to anyone else?” Love this person, and if you give this one the time of day and a piece of your heart, they will always take care of you in return no matter what. Don’t be the B that steps all over this person and puts them down, they deserve to be cherished and loved and adored. Like Pam on The Office.

So that is my summary of some awesome characters around me. Each one of them has a place in a story, and most often the stories you hear in everyday life revolve around these types of characters. I’d love to hear back from you, let me know what your favorite type of character is. Who do you look at and think, “holy crap, you should be in a book!!”

PS.....this is my character today: half awake hipster with a classy coffee and pizza for breakfast. Grumpy, goofy, and in need of a hair tie

Useful tips along the epic journey

I am very excited today! Not that something super amazing has happened necessarily but I am getting closer and closer to my end goal. The Manny is almost complete! I am rounding out the final chapters of the GROWING PEAK OF EXCITEMENT through my Chapter Outlines. Things are finally coming together, and now I realize there are some pointers I picked up along the way that I feel are worth sharing.

1) Having an editor to help you along the way, I would recommend a really good friend that can point out “good critiques.” Something that the reader will appreciate as a fix, and not something that doesn’t add to the story what so ever.

2) Don’t be afraid to write total CRAP. I thought at first that I needed to write a chapter, perfect it, edit it, rewrite it, reedit it… but that took SOOOO DAMN LONG!!! Then I thought, how about I just throw up words all over the page in a sense of the story. That didn’t work either…BUT I then realized there is a healthy medium. I write a chapter to get out the idea, I go back and read it to recap the ideas that just went rapid fire through my brain and fix any LARGE problems that I see during the first read through. Then, I MOVE ON!! The big edit can come when the ideas are in place, especially if you have a super awesome cool editor that can comma hunt for you. BECAUSE I LOVE USING TOO MANY COMMAS!!!!!

3) Take a break. I want to say that the idea for this novel hit me about four years ago, but the actual writing connected with me about a year ago. Since then I have taken two somewhat large breaks from writing. One was about a month, the other was about three weeks. I don’t really think about these breaks as NOT WORKING I more like to think of them as brain storming time. I just don’t write as much. I take the time to truly think about my story, and if I still like the direction it’s going. Then one day I get a wild crazy idea for a scene and I am on the go again completely invigorated to write like crazy.

4) Don’t discard ANY forms of critique. Some might be totally dumb in your mind, or change the plot too much for you to want to use that idea. But the truth is that every time you receive a critique there might actually be a form of use out of it. My editor told me two little things about four months ago about what I needed to do to make the story a little more intense from the start. Plot line details….those two little things at first didn’t seem right, BUT after reading through the Manny again I realized she was right. I rewrote pretty much most of the first half of the Manny. All critiques have a valid point….but there is a difference between a critique and an ass just passing judgment. The difference: A) You should rewrite this scene, it doesn’t add to the characters development and it’s a little unorganized in thought for the reader B) you should rewrite this scene because it sucks. “Why?” Just because it does, it sucks. A) is valid and thought provoking, B) is a waste of your time

5) HAVE FUN!!! I can’t tell you how exciting and fun it is to write a story that people are excited about. Every time I feel like I am doing this for no reason and that nothing will ever come from it, I find someone who is interested in the story and I read them the Prologue. Only three people have read it so far, but every time I do that I feel like I remember the reason I started this journey. For me it’s hard work, but the excitement and energy I get from those around me keep me going.

So I am excited to share more with you soon. My deadline is quickly approaching so I apologize if I disappear now and then to “work” it’s only because I don’t want to disappoint. I will get this Manny done, and I hope when the time comes, you will see it published. Also, thank you all for your support and even for reading these blogs, you will be the first to know of any news!!! Be back soon…on to more writing adventures!!!!

Watch out for falling rocks

A momentary pause in the middle of the day, a sudden change in direction, it happens so quickly and you don’t even see it coming. It’s amazing to me how quickly life can change, how fast everything flips on a hinge sprinting back in a separate direction than when you first woke up that morning. It’s always a shock, a total surprise, a rock in the middle of your lane that flies at your moving vehicle at a speed to fast to avoid. BAM! Your life is now different.
I look back at where I started my adventure here in LA, and I can’t believe the differences I see in myself. I am shocked and amazed at my own ease of my surroundings, the confidence I am able to carry on a day to day basis. I know who I am, and I know what I want, but it definitely did NOT feel that way when I first moved here. I was alone, scared, without a job and in a huge city without a single friend. Everything I knew, everything that was familiar was back home in a nice pretty little package of security. But in the big bad world of La La Land I was completely on my own. For the first month I was scared out of my GOURD!!!! But…slowly things started to fall into place. I got a job, I met some people, I got a puppy, I changed jobs, I moved into a studio, I met more people, I started going to shows on my own, I started searching for the fun and thrills I had craved to experience.
Funny enough most of my stories are completely ridiculous that even I can’t believe I went through them, I believe one day I can make a novella out of the ridiculous, silly, awesome, crazy adventures I have had just in the two years of living here. But the best stories, the best adventures come packed with a punch. These events and situations that made me who I am, that shaped my sense of self, my own little piece of life story.
I remember the moment I met my best friend, the moment our lives crossed paths and I knew from that moment on that I would never find a friend as dear and openly honest with me. She has been a light in my life when all other lights have gone out. I am forever grateful to her patience and loyalty, her love and friendship, and her ability to tell me, “whoa calm down friend, take a breather. Now what’s going on?”
I remember the moment my heart was broken and I vowed to never let someone treat my heart like monkey meat. That moment shaped my courage and my determination not to settle, I will find someone worthy of my love and affection and I won’t take anything less than I deserve.
I remember the moment I was so low on funds, so low on faith in what I was doing that I was downright ready to give up. But then I was shot with a bit of encouragement, a bit of “hey, I can do that!” moment. A year ago I began this crazy wild adventure to write a novel while still pursuing my love for 3D animation and VFX. And even though I still struggle to maintain these goals, to accomplish these goals, I never would have found them in the first place if certain moments in my life hadn’t pushed me towards the desire to become who am I today.
Life can change in the blink of an eye, one minute you are just walking your own self determined path and the next, you are smacked in the face with change. You can accept it or deny it, but there is no chance of you avoiding it. Life is a funny thing, a wonderful horrible difficult beautiful exciting adventure, and I don’t plan on wasting it. I am jumping in with both feet hurtling toward my goals like a rock plummeting towards gravities destination. Let’s just hope this time, Gravity doesn’t land that rock on my windshield eh?
....PS rocks and windshield don't mix...