#FridayFlash, NaNo and Writing About Writing

It's funny how things go.  When I first started writing there was no way I'd show my stuff to people. I also knew there would be a long way until I could muster the courage to do so. Although, I knew that nowadays writing doesn't have to be a strictly lonely activity, so I signed up for Twitter and started talking to like minded people. 

This is when I first learned about #FridayFlash. Oh boy, how badly I wanted to be a part of it!  But I was still shy, so I watched, read and learned. 

On May 2010 I finally gathered my wits and wrote my first flash fiction, Zombie Walk.  The response was so great that it even got published on an e-zine, Flashes in the Dark, and it inspired me to run a contest Zombie Luv, which was so very funny and a great success! Recently, to my surprise, it was accepted in the anthology The Best of Friday Flash vol. 2, or as we affectionately call it, BOFF #2. (I strongly suggest you follow the links and buy the thing. The stories there are... Wow!)

After that first push I got a little bolder. I wrote weekly stories and made great friends in the #FridayFlash community. I even joined WeSeWrimo (Web Serial Writing Month) and NaNoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month), and got some great writing experience from it. 

WeSeWrimo I "won" kind of easily, since you're the one setting your own goals. I was very modest and made the best of it. NaNoWrimo is something different altogether. You have to write 50K words in a month, and if you have never tried something like that, let me tell you this is no easy task. NaNo flunked very early on, but I wasn't too upset about it. 

A few months later life got the better of me and I stopped writing. It took me over a year to put it together so I could even consider the writing venture again. No matter, in due time I got back and I do write a few stories now and then, and even, *cough, cough* poems. O.o (Not showing those publicly, sorry! :P) 

Ironically enough, now that I write much less than I used to, I find myself writing about writing. Back when I started Randomities (this blog you're reading, if you're new here ;) I set a goal of sharing only my stories and other random stuff. What I least wanted was to write about writing, because I thought that such meta-writing was for the likes of Stephen King, not people like me. 

Well, life got the better of me again! Recently I was humbled and honored to be invited to join the #FF staff as a contributing correspondent. I hope I'll be up to the challenge! You can make your own mind about it by reading my first article: "NaNo madness this year? Thanks, but no thanks".

So, if you're curious to know why my NaNo experience flunked, and more importantly, why I'm totally okay with it, follow the link above. I hope you'll find it somehow useful. ;) While you're at it, I suggest you browse through the Friday Flash website. It's full of information and links to uncountable wondrous stories. Have fun! 

Pause

Hello everyone! It's been a while, no? Have you missed me? I sure have missed you all. :)


I've missed having time to write too, which I haven't had much lately. Or rather, at all! See, my last post was from 31st of August and I haven't been able to visit my writing pals' blogs or chatting on twitter or facebook. Do you realize my last post on twitter is over 20 days old? O.o


Yeah, things have been a bit crazy here in "real life". In fact, in the past few months I've moved from one side of the world to the other, I've changed professions and I've changed my main writing project altogether. Lots of stuff to deal with! 


(What is "real" after all? But we do have to care for our bodies, so we have to work and earn money, right?)


With all that happening and other things going on I realized it would be better to allow myself the time to take care of them and create a better structure in life to allow me getting back to my darling trolls and other characters. 


So this is an indefinite pause in randomities and my writing life. 


My hopes are that things will fall into place on the next few months, but if you feel this is taking way too much, please do give me a nudge! ;P 


Oh, right! There are some people who asked me to give feedback on their work. I will look into the material I've already received and those who are still to send me their work, please don't shy out because of this pause! If you still want this crazy woman's perspective, I still want to give it to you! heh


Well, that's a bye for now, but not a goodbye! XD

I'm Back!, NaNoWrimo, Apologies and Thank You's

Picture Credits

Hello my dear virtual friends! I'm finally back, I've missed you and I have a question for you. 


"Uh, you're dumping all that at once?" you ask.  


Err, that's part of my coming back, so please bear with me: have you ever been without internet for almost a month? Has your library a limitation for long web addresses that prevents you from posting and visiting your friends' blogs? 

Picture Credits

Ops, that was more than one question, heh. You know what's the weirdest thing about the isolation? It's when you come back. You'd think I'd be staying online all day, catching up with all the friends I miss so much.



Oh, no. 


The fact is that after all this time, when one's life is turning upside down, apparently upwards, and then downwards again, one can lose one's grip on things. So one decides that isolation is a good thing for a while, to reassess decisions and goals etc. But when inside one's shell, one forgets that there are people out that who care about her, and that one's absence worries them.

Picture Credits

This is the moment I apologize. I'm sorry I haven't replied the awesome comments left in my absence, and I'm sorry I've worried some of you. On the other hand, I felt so very loved with your emails and DMs checking up on me! Thank you, I heart you all. :D 


On another matter, this post's headline mentions NaNoWrimo... Ahem, with all these twists and turns I couldn't keep up with the challenge, so this year's NaNo project flunked. But know that I'm doing it again next year. There's no quitter here, no sir! heh

Picture Credits

The NaNo failure made me think about what does it mean to be a writer. Instead of reproducing all the speech I had written, I believe the image above synthesizes my conclusions. 

This picture has nothing to do with
this post. I just like it and wanted
to put it somewhere. Please ignore me
and keep reading.
Picture Credit

Am I out? Hum, no. But I will have to slow down for a while, at least until life gets less dizzy. This means that Randomities will return to its original concept, that is, being erratic. So, the trolls are still on, as well all the weird stuff I make you put up with, but I'm allowing myself not getting concerned about posting frequency, traffic, stats, and all. I hope that in the mean time you'll keep an eye on us - me and Randomities - until I put life back on track. 


Thank you all for reading! I'm off to reply some long due emails now, of the people from whom I deserve a good kick in the soft parts, heh. ;) 

B-day Giveaway!

Soo, the 27th is going to be my birthday. Yay! 


You see, since I'm a very nice girl, almost as nice as my trolls, I'm giving you a present. And, you can choose whatever you want! 


Well, within certain boundaries, of course. :P


The idea started out because I was lucky enough to win Jamie DeBree's contest, thanks to another lucky call from Johanna Harness' #amwriting buttons. Jamie is a very generous author who gave me not only the eletronic and paper copy of her book, Tempest, but also an Amazon gift card of $20. Wow! 

So, you can choose any book you want, whichever genre or author suits your humor, and I'll send it to you as long as it doesn't cost more than those 20 bucks. 


All you have to do is leave a comment. But hey, not any comment will do. Since I'm getting inevitably older, I need to have some laughs. Haha, getting old is not fun. So the trick is, I'll give a b-day present to the person who posts the most creative comment that contains the fundamental element of humor until midnight GMT+1 of August 27th, 2010. (Italy time)

A b-day without a party is lame, so I'm offering you some Italian goodies in the attempt to bribe you to stick around for a while longer, heh. 


Over there at the buffet you can find prosecco, white and red wine, several types of bruschettas, prosciutto with melon, and of course water and non alcoholic beverages at will. To sweeten your mouth there are many flavors of gelatto, like the famous amarena, dark chocolate, mint-choc, lemon, strawberry and one of my favorites, yogurt with wild berries. 

Yumm, grab your spoon and dig in! 


Don't be shy. If this is your first visit, hang around and meet the fantastic people that frequent Randomities. You might make some new friends. ;)


To my regular visitors, a HUGE thank you! Meeting you guys is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.


Now, almost everyone knows by now that I'm a dog person. So I'm counter balancing the cat picture up there with this one. Happy my-birthday to you! :D

Note: The following links lead to where I've found each image: cake, girl, cat, gelatto, spoons, doggie. 

Visual Revolution!

Welcome to the new and improved Randomities!


With the new template and looks I've added a few pages to better call your attention to some of the coolest stuff we have here:

• Stories - A quick link to all serials and stand alone stories published here.

• Honorable guests - Spotlight to the generous people who contributed to enrich Randomities' content. Please let me know if you want to feature there. ;)

• About - blablabla, heh.

If you have a blogger blog I want to call your attention to this place:

http://www.bloggerplugins.org/

This is where I found most of my widgets, even some that are standard. The blog's host is most kind and helpful, taking time to answers doubts and working on requests. I strongly suggest you check his stuff out!

So, what do you think? Are the colors ok? Too many widgets, too little? Feedback please! :)

The Privacy Thing

It took me almost a month but I'm finally explaining why Randomities moved, and why I've changed my whole web presence. Thanks for your patience guys! :)

Beforehand, I should assure you that no, there's no stalker. My shadowy picture is result of an option I've made in regard of my privacy. Ever since I've turned my life towards the writing career I've considered how much should be shared about my personal life on the internet and elsewhere.

It's not an easy thing to find balance. Take Neil Gaiman as example, he has a blog, he's on twitter, he has a girlfriend who has a blog and is also on twitter, his assistant too and even his bird-watching friend.

There was a time, not long ago, when he shared insights about his daughter, his son, his dog and cats, his girlfriend, and even the rudeness of a cab driver, or the moment he was going to sleep -- from the bed of a hotel room or his own.

Once I did follow all this activity, being a real drooler over his writing, but soon I felt overwhelmed -- talk about stalking, eh?

Now I follow him on twitter and only occasionally check out his blog. Last time I popped in there I glimpsed over another post about his dog (boring) and news about the events he was attending (boring, but only because I can't be there, bleh).

As far as I know he has limited his personal exposure on the web. I concluded this by the diminished number of tweets and change in content. Now he shares other people's stuff as well. Actually, to be fair, he has been sharing mainly other people's stuff lately, which are interesting and informative.

Although I've never reached Gaiman's extreme I was already feeling over exposed. Having a conservative profession I thought I should split my web persona from my professional one, to spare me future problems and allow me the freedom to write whatever the muse inspires me to.

So I ask you, how do you feel about your own exposure on the web and elsewhere?

Do you think the lack of a clear picture of a writer could be an impediment to her work reaching the readers?

Breathe

I had promised another installment of the zombie dragon story for this week, but, but... It doesn't matter does it? heh ;P

So, I wrote this a few days ago, which I thought I'd share with you although it doesn't really qualify as #FridayFlash. But there you go; I hope you'll like it. :)

Breathe

I'm walking on a large road with no room for pedestrians. I'm going from one appointment to another and I have plenty of time. I'm hungry. I'm eager to sink my teeth into the half-eaten sandwich I'm carrying in my purse.

My strides are calm yet determined. I spot this:

I had seen this small path before, walking on the same road. I've wanted to explore it although it looked too much like the entry to a private property. Today I dare going in. It might have been the pending flowers that made it look like the door to another world, or it was the sun inviting me to rest under the trees tops. It doesn't matter.

I look back to see if someone sees me and I stroll in. I'm welcomed by chipping birds, a kind breeze and white butterflies.

As I advance I'm more and more certain that I'm trespassing. I ignore the knot on my stomach and look at the shades of green of the tree leaves above my head; I smell the humidity of the earth below my feet; I hear the cracking sound of the fallen branches at my every step.

I hear a rumbling sound that does not come from my belly. Shortly after I see a construction between the tree trunks; there's no doubt anymore.

I turn to go away. Nature invites me to stay for a while longer, so I leave the rough road embracing the woods, feeling that the birds will hide and protect me from the owner's wrath. I'm wearing red under a black coat.

I give my back to the house and the noise and sit on a tree stump. I eat my sandwich, leaving the crumbs in appreciation of the bird's greeting. The sun thanks me with a warm beam, illuminating every one of us.

I breathe in the moment and go. The butterflies salute me in my way back.

*

I'm writing this in a charming town, drinking a good caffè macchiato. I pause every once in a while to gaze at the passing people, the buildings and into nothing.

The sun has hidden behind the clouds, providing a cool afternoon. My red scarf protects me from the mountain air and the coffee heats me from the inside. Life is good right now.

Note: These pics were taken by yours truly with her crappy cell phone camera. Please forgive their bad quality, although I've tagged this post as "pretty things". It's the essence that is pretty, not the form. ;)

Guest Post - La Bella Italia

The picture book writer Olive O'Brien, who was Randomities' first honorable guest, with a great article about the differences between writing for kids and for adults, asked me to talk a bit about what's it like to live in Italy.

If you're curious too, stop by Olive's blog, Write Olive, and check it out. :)

Note: The picture up there was taken by yours truly, in her vicinities. ;)

Can I Hate a Color?

See that little fella up there? Well, I have a huge problem with it.

Every time I want to click on its blue twin brother I'm unconsciously drawn to the orange drag.

More than once I've scared my dear readers, amused or plainly irritated them. You see, I'm as tired as you of all this.

So, now my new motto is this:

"I hate orange and I love blue. Death to orange!"

Yeah, bluuueeeee! heh

Ok, now back to my normal self. (Not so normal though. Just saying, heh.)

Sorry for the mess, folks. I'll watch my stupid little finger more closely from now on. Please feel free to kick me in the butt if I do this again. Ugh!

Ok, now back to explaining things and organizing contests.

Welcome to Randomities' New Home!

Hello there!

Please feel most welcome in Randomities' new home! :D

As you see, nothing changed. Randomities continues being autumn themed, everything looks the same, except for the little changes I keep doing, heh, and the content will keep being random and the posting erratic.

The only thing is that now we have a new web address:

http://marisrandomities.blogspot.com

If you're popping in for the first time, please be most welcome! Feel free to browse in. All Rantomities' content was transferred here, for yours and our lovely regular visitors' delight.

Please notice that you can receive Randomities by RSS feed, by email, and you can follow its content by becoming a Google Pal and a Facebook Pal as well.

If you have any difficulties, I'd ask you to be a little patient, as the final details are still being arranged. You know, when you move in there are a lot of boxes to unpack!

Note to all Randomities's Pals: guys, please follow here too, so we won't lose contact. :)

Finally, if you're curious about the reasons why we moved, stay tuned. Soon I'll explain the whole thing. ;P

Uh, oh! Randomities Won a Creative-Creepy Blog Award!

Not that this is a creepy award by itself, but who awarded me is a horror writer, Jodi MacArthur. She gave it a chilly reading that was rather entertaining, so I decided to play along.

Thank you Jodi, for this fun award, and the twisted idea for theme, heh. ;D

Here are some facts about me that I'm supposed to share. This time I seriously doubt you'll guess what is true and what's not, but go ahead and give it a try.

1. I have a gremlin. Not one of those cute fur balls, I'm talking about the post-water midnight thing.
2. Do you know the movie Paranormal Experiences? Yeah.
3. I have an insect-eating carnivorous pet that is not a pony, but it's creepy all the same. (Just to clarify, Jodi's Pony doesn't feed on insects. Well, that depends of one's point of view, really.)
4. I've met vampires. Yes, I did use the plural here on purpose. I'm sorry to say that I didn't meet cool mermaids or fairies or unicorns, but the old cliché. I'm a bit worried after these encounters, as lately I've been less garlic-tolerant, the light hurts my eyes, and I feel sleepy in daylight. Should you fear meeting me in person?
5. My skin is marked forever. It's blackened.
6. I hear voices. They tell me to do bad things to people.
7. I've once had a vision. A few weeks later it became true.

Now to the fun part. I'm going by the rules when I nominate seven bloggers for this award, but I'd like to propose a challenge of the sorts, hereby changing said rules just a bit. (see original below)

I dare the following bloggers to spread the chill. Make your lies and truths the more scary, ugly, grotesque as you can. Of course you don't have to, but I do dare you to, heh. ;P

>> Anne Tyler Lord, at Don't Fence Me In

>> Marisa Birns, of Out of Order Alice

>> Sam, of Future Nostalgic

>> Laura Eno, of A Shift In Dimensions

>> Jemi Fraser, of Just Jemi

>> Karen Quah, of ModernDayStoryTeller

>> Brian, of The New Author

Finally, the dreaded and mostly disrespected rules (at least by me, heh):

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth – or – switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie.
5. Nominate seven “Creative Writers” who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

Motto

This is a quick note to tell you that I've found a motto for myself.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ~ Plato

I don't know why I haven't chosen this phrase before, as it rings so true, but it doesn't matter.

What do you think of my choice? :)

Note to add: I'm a sucker for images. I couldn't just leave this post image-less, so I've put this beautiful mosaic of Plato in Athens to illustrate it, which I found here. *snort* heh

Randomities Is Carbon Neutral

If a website has around 15K visits a month, the energy consumed by the visitor's computers is equivalent to 3,6Kg (or 8lb) of carbon dioxide emission a year.

One tree absorbs 11lb per year.

Easy math, eh? ;)

Randomities hasn't reached yet this kind of traffic, but no matter. I'd rather make up for at least one website that hasn't joined this movement. ;)

"What the heck are you talking about?" you ask.

It's simple: these guys are willing to plant a tree for each website or blog that joins in, for free, in order to restore Plumas National Forest in North California, which was almost destroyed by a great fire caused by lightning back in 2007.

I'm sure you've heard or read about it?

So, I'm extremely proud to announce that Randomities is Carbon Neutral. *hurra!* ;D

If you got interested in participating -- I hope you did! -- go to this page, where you'll find the simple and easy instructions.

And please don't forget to stop by Jemi Fraser's blog: Just Jemi. She's the awesome blogger who pointed me to this fundamental initiative.

Let's do some good people! :)

Note: The hand holding a tree is from the Carbon Neutral Project's website, and the satellite image is from Nasa's Earth Observatory. All technical information on CO2 absorption by trees also come from the project's website.

Jealous? Hell, yeah!

These days I came across a piece from a fellow writer that astounded me. I'm afraid I can't tell whether its fiction or non fiction, prose or poetry, but suffice to say that I felt jealous of the quality therein.

I had never felt like this before. I thought I'd never feel this way. I thought myself above these "petty" feelings, and then BANG!

I hate when this happens. However, this is one of those opportunities I grab with both hands.

"Have you noticed that you often contradict yourself? This is getting annoying," you say.

Heh, indeed. Why would someone hold to a supposedly bad feeling?

Well, it's not to the feeling that I cling to, mind, it's to discovering a new aspect of myself.

Right, I know this is not a pleasant one, but although I dabble with fantasy and science fiction in my writing, when it comes to real life I'm very realistic. It doesn't mean that I know immediately how to deal with it, though. So I thought that by asking others how they coped with it I might not feel so bad about myself and move on to working and improving my own stuff. ;)

So, would you help me out on this? Have you ever felt jealous of someone else's work? If yes, how did you manage it?

Note: I meant to leave this post dry of pictures, but then I came across the painting "Jealous Zebras" and I couldn't resist putting here. Too darn fitting! heh

Edited to add: The artist who created this fabulous painting is Eira Fogelberg. Thanks to @virtualDavis for sharing this information and linking back here. :) You can visit his Posterous blog if you like. It's has much in common with Randomities, heh.

Uh, oh! Randomities Won the Happy 101 Award!

My dear twitter friend Anne Tyler Lord, of the excellent Don't Fence Me In, sent me the best blog award ever: Happy 101 Award that stands for happiness and friendship. Thanks so much Anne! *hugs* :)

To receive this award I'm supposed to list ten things that make me happy, and pass it on to five people. I gladly comply:

1. Friendship: This award is mostly about the warmth of fellowship. It makes me tremendously happy to make new friends, like the ones I'm sharing this prize with, and to be able to maintain old friendships that could cool down with distance or time. (hi Former-Witch! ;)
2. Unconditional love: like the love we share with our pets, when we allow ourselves to. If you look at randomities' labels, you'll notice how much I dabble about my dogs, heh. Also, I'm lucky to have close friends who I love and am loved by unconditionally. This is a rare thing.
3. Pretty things: It makes me happy to see, watch and listen to the wonderful things that we, humans, are capable of making. In my view, art is something meant to elevate us.
4. The nature: It could fall into the pretty things category, but I think the nature deserves a topic for itself. It's astounding, isn't it? I'm always happy when hiking, climbing, swimming or just standing in a place untouched by man's crafty hands. The connection with the nature is inestimable.
5. Reading: Another thing that is encompassed by the pretty things category, but stands out. It makes me tremendously happy to travel to other worlds, learn about other view points, muse on something, and everything else that the reading experience can render us.
6. Food: Yeah, it's not just the endorphin of a good dark chocolate,heh, but the act of eating is highly pleasant, especially when accompanied by a good wine, in a table filled with friends.
7. Writing: Obviously! To create things, is something amazing. When the characters, the story, or the ideas don't let me sleep until I've given them enough attention, I'm truly happy.
8. Adventure: If you've peered into my profile, you know that already. I like highs, depths, speed, and even the surpassing of obstacles in life.
9. Love, in the romantic sense: I love to love, and be loved back. Intensely. Those who have felt this know what I'm talking about. I'd never exchange a broken heart for safety. Life is not meant to be dull.
10. Meditation: Like Anne, It makes me profoundly happy when I'm tranquil and balanced. To actually breathe helps a lot, and meditation is a good way of remembering how to do it.

Gee, I've been so reflexive lately! Wait and see, 'cause there's more stuff coming, heh.

Now let's go to the fun part! I'd like to spread the love to many people, but I'm limited to five, so here are the friends I'm bestowing the Happy 101 Award to:

Donna, the fantastic writer of Donna's Blog

Debbie, spreading the word about Ainu culture through Project Uepeker

Dan, poet and author of The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes

Phyl, writer, book reviewer and cat lover, of Bookishgal

Jem, poet and writer, of http://jemfyr.wordpress.com/

Uh, oh! Randomities Won Another Blog Award!

There are people who are used to winning blog awards.

See the creator of this cool one, Lesa Holstine, from the Lesa's Book Critiques, and Jemi Fraser, from the (rightly so) popular Just Jemi, who passed it on to me. Thanks Jemi! :D

I'm not used to it, (yet? heh) so I'm totally *doing crazy dance*. Since you can't actually see me, I'm not blushing, no sir!

So, I'm supposed to tell you five outrageous lies and one outrageous truth about myself. Let's see...

1. I hate dogs. They're ugly, smelly, and not friendly at all!
2. I'm normal; I like normal.
3. I was once married to a Chinese man who made me tie my feet in order not to sell me away. We split up because my feet are too big and I couldn't bare the pain. He didn't get to sell me though, and at least I got to visit China!
4. When I was a a drooling teenager, I chocked with my food and got rescued by Johnny Depp. He even kissed me, but I'm not telling where!
5. I look way younger than I am; probably because I'm still an obnoxious brat.
6. I have more than 30 books published under a pen name because I'm too shy to make shameless self promotion. I'm also astonishingly rich, but I won't share a single penny with anyone; not even for good causes.

Now to the fun part: I'm passing on the Liar, ops, Creative Writer Award to Peter H. Fogdal, form the hilarious Danish Accent. Hey Peter, you're gonna have to come to Italy to get your award! heh

Psst! Don't miss his first novel translated to English.

Edited to add:

Holly mole, I must be a big fat liar indeed! The sweet Anne Tyler Lord, from the great Don't Fence Me In, has just sent away another Creative Writer Blog Award. Thanks so much Anne! :D

I know that as a writer I should be able to play with words at will, but I'm too stunned. So I'll jump straight to the fun part, and nominate the super cool Angie Capozello, from the fun Techtigger's Soapbox.

Also, you'll want to check out her serial fiction project The Penny Dreadful. I love it!

And I could never miss sending fun things to Kristi Thompson, from the humorous How Did You Get There, which has just been through a major aesthetic change that you must check out. (The content is even better, of course. ;)

Finally, since I've got two of the same award (not that I'm complaining! heh) you might want a double dose of lying? If yes, please tell me so and I'll be pleased to comply. ;)

On the other hand, if you think I'm deadly boring go ahead and visit the people mentioned up there. You won't regret it!

Mine!

Ha! Iris is mine all mine -- and Moira's, in a weird cool way -- not my mother's anymore! :D

Her co-owner, with minority share mind you, is snoring right beside her, here on my feet, heh.

Note: This picture was taken last summer, as it's snowing today. Yay!