Racers, To The Starting Line!

Okay all you brave souls, it's

TWO DAYS

 

until



 

NaNoWriMo 2014!

 

Are you ready?

 

Have you: signed up at NaNoWriMo ?

 

Written a cursory outline of your project?

 

Gathered all the materials you'll need?

 

Stocked up on comfort foods so you don't have to stop in the midst of inspiration?

 

Warned everyone that you'll be crazy at least once a day until you write?

 

Surrounded yourself with pictures, objects, texts to help you through a block?

 

Reminded yourself that it's about writing, not about perfection, and that if you don't finish, you're still a good person?

 

So many people are doing this. You are NOT alone. Reach out if you're struggling. Let's all cheer each other along. There is no prize other than personal satisfaction and knowing that unlike so many people who talk about writing, you're actually DOING it.

 

I'll be posting here and there (I won't be counting my blog as part of my NaNoWriMo word count because it's not my project), so I may miss a day or two.

 

Come December 1st, let's all catch up, take a breather and push off any revisions until January when there are no holidays and only long stretches of winter which is perfect for going back to work.

 

Until Saturday....

 

 

Char

Bully For You!

It's October: National Anti-bullying Month.

 

 

In a discussion, you express your opinion on Facebook or Twitter and someone responds with a nasty, personal attack on you.

At the lunch table in school, your smart friend makes fun of you for getting a lower score on a test.

Your dad calls you a loser because you didn't make that score at the game.

Returning a paper with a failing grade, your teacher says you're the worst student she's ever had.

They are all bullies: that FB person, that friend, that father, that teacher. There was nothing constructive in their comments. The comments were meant to hurt, not to help.

October is Anti-Bullying Month. Almost all of us can share stories about being bullied. The more we talk and think about this issue, the sooner we can help end it.

Let's all be a hero- starting with ourselves.


Char

Bwahahahahahahahaha! Did I Scare You?

It's time for Halloween!

Some of us love it, hate it or are obsessed with it. In the spirit of a happy medium. I'm taking a simple poll: What are your fave scary/Halloween movies? The categories, and my humble opinion, are:

Vampires: My absolute is Dracula, with Frank Langella (1979). Why? Because he made evil attractive, and death a nuisance- a trait I think humans maybe too gladly embrace. (But I was torn with Underworld Evolution (2006- loved Kate Beckinsale!)

Werewolves: Without a doubt, The Howling (1981). Dee Wallace is blithely ignoring danger signals--we know what's lurking in the woods. The best scene is when someone is in the psychiatrist's office, spying, and a werewolf hand reaches over to take the file. OMG.

Zombies: This is a toss up: I adored Warm Bodies (2013) because no matter how evil a person is perceived to be (aka R in the movie) we all think (and hope) that there is a spark of humanity in the worst of us. The other choice is Zombieland (2009). It shows that it's not always might--but basic common sense--that determines who lives. And, I like how the gals are not screaming, helpless twits who constantly need to be saved or are the victims.

Mummies: Without a doubt I don't think there is any competition--it has to be The Mummy (1999) with Brandon Fraser. Although, I would love to see a movie of Anne Rice's Rameses The Damned. I think it has potential to be the best mummy movie ever.

Witches/witchcraft: This is a hard one because you have funny movies like Hocus Pocus (1993, and the sequel coming!) or dramatic ones like Practical Magic (1998), but I'd have to choose The Witches of Eastwick (1987) because again, it all starts out so innocently...

Ghost: I could go the romantic route with Patrick Swayze in Ghost (1997), because we'd all love to believe our loved ones could touch our lives once more before moving on to a paradise. But for pure scare I nominate The Woman In Black (2012) with Daniel Radcliffe because of the ending. Others, like the Paranormal series, made me squeal, but I think this movie portrayed the essential elements of a ghost story- fright, uncertainty, doubt in one's mental state- and the important twist at the end.

Haunted place: The Legend of Hell House (1973) ties with The Shining (1980). Both creeped me out because you never knew if the person next to you was caught up in the weird occurrences--until it's too late.

Now there are lots of movies that were more frightening, but I chose these for the overall feel of believability (although I don't think there ever will be zombies, vamps, werewolves, etc.), because sometimes we're not sure if it's real or just our imagination...

Boo!

Have a Happy Halloween!

Char

(All pics courtesy of Microsoft)

Seeing Red...

It's been a crazy week, and the next two are going to be just as frantic. So I'm going to take a little breather and give us all a few moments of serenity and beauty:

Take a deep breath:

Close your eyes:

And just be in the moment:

Enjoy life. It's not all work. It's not all writing. It's not all doing everything that needs to be done immediately. It's about living.

Char