Categories
My San Francisco Chronicles OWOP Scribd

Daily Post Day 2 & OWOP Update

Sunset

I don’t particularly like the prompt for Daily Post Day 2. But as they state on the blog, the prompts are entirely optional.

It’s not that I don’t have someone in mind who needs more credit, but there are many names that run through my head when I think about “who needs more credit”.

At this time I would prefer not to name these people because this is more personal than I would feel comfortable stating on the Internet.

So there you have it, my response.

In other news–One Word, One Picture (OWOP) is starting out swell! Have had two participants come onboard, which may not sound like much to others, but it’s exciting for me. Also, Posterous makes it much easier to have others post with me on the same blog. I’ll need to figure out if I should keep each individual post as-is or consolidate each day’s pictures/words into one daily post. For now, I will just let the posts be. When more participants join on board, consolidated posts may be necessary (so not to flood RSS feeds/Twitter/inboxes), but right now I’m comfortable with the format.

One last thing: I am so grateful for the writing friends I have met in San Francisco. One friend has announced she will do JanNoWriMo, which is perfectly fine with me as that will motivate me to get back to working on my novels-in-progress. It’s always great to have a support network, especially in person when possible. Time for more write-ins when I return to the Bay on Wednesday!

(P.S., if you missed my tweet/Facebook blast re: my short story on Scribd, here’s the link: The Million-Dollar Rupee )

Categories
prompt travel

The Daily Post 2011 Challenge–up for it?

On the way to Japan, 2004

I found out about The Daily Post via a friend on Twitter. I figure, why not? I haven’t been so regular with my blog schedule and really, their prompts so far seem enough to spark some writing juices within me. This year I will be more regular with my writing plans anyway.

The prompt for 01/01/11 (seems everyone is having fun writing 1/1/11) is: List three countries you’d like to visit, and why you want to go.

Well, gee. This prompt resonates with me because I am a lover of travel (currently, only in spirit). This April will mark 3 years since I was in Japan to visit friends for three weeks, and at this moment I do not have any set plans for going overseas before business school in the fall.

I do want to go to these places though:

1. Brazil – Had some friends from there and have met some wonderful students via my previous employer. I became interested in Brazil in 2009 when I was making plans for a long overseas trip for that year or last year. I’d still like to visit, preferably before the World Cup and Olympics hit (and that’s when tourism will go way up for the country).

2. South Korea – Same reason as above–friends from there, or former students. I briefly dabbled in the Korean language in late 2009, so it wouldn’t hurt to refresh my memory on the language again. Also, my great interest in Korean food…mmm.

3. Thailand – And…well, there was no real point to list off the countries separately when my reasons for going to all of them are relatively the same: the people I’ve met from the respective countries, the food, language, etc. One friend told me before that she would be able to help me get travel plans to Thailand whenever I’m game for travel.

Those three countries I have never visited; I’ve only visited China, Hong Kong, and Japan. I would like to go back to visit since my experience in this day and age will be much different than when I visited in undergrad. After graduation, I’ve been more open to other cultures and learning as much as I can about where people are from. Perhaps it’s a part of me that longs for that feeling of “some place different”.

Categories
Internet Work in Progress Year in Review

Looking Back and Looking Forward: 2010 + 2011

Circa 2005 at George Mason University

Well, I certainly disappeared for the month of December, but you know how the end of the year goes with the holiday frenzy. I had wanted to participate in National Novel Finishing Month, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be for this month. I added on only 300some words to my February 2009 novel, but I will add more in this next year.

This year in writing has been meaningful to say the least. I attended a few online classes via Gotham Writers’ Workshop to learn a little more about freelancing and blogging (albeit I’ve been in the blogging world for 10-11 years now, but I wanted to see what the instructor could advise upon).

I discovered the world of Fiverr and have landed a few small gigs via that website; have resulted in one customer giving me continuous work for short stories for an ESL class. The pay isn’t much but I have really enjoyed working on my writing as opposed to being stuck at an office as a minion (oh, but really, no offense to my previous employer at all; they are wonderful people there).

I also entered into my first writing contest, perhaps the first ever (I can’t recall whether or not I entered any writing contests in my adolescence). Granted, I didn’t win, but it was still a good experience working through my submission and having local friends critique the piece for me.

For 2011, I will do much more with my writing: complete the two drafts that have been unfinished for 1-2 years now (started those drafts in 2009), read more books (only completed 13 books this year due to the incident from late January), find more clients to write for, and, well, who knows where else I will go with my writing?

In other realms of my life, 2010 taught me a lot and perhaps was a year of enlightenment in more ways than one. 2011 is already shaping up to be another grand year with my entrance into business school and another big move on the way.

As I reflect on my life from this decade, I see I have really come a long way from the teenage years. We all realize this at some point in our lives, but I notice this year has been a huge step for me. Onwards I go into this new year!

(Oh, by the way, I have also created blogs at Tumblr and Posterous. My Tumblr account so far consists of amusing conversation tidbits, the occasional picture, and some poetry. If you are interested in joining me on my “One Word, One Picture” Project for 2011, check out the Posterous site!)

Happy 2011 everyone!

Categories
Internet NaNoWriMo the3six5 Work in Progress

NaNoWriMo Winner & Upcoming Projects

I didn’t think I could manage it, but I did: I finished my manuscript today at 8:09PM PST. I’m a NaNoWriMo winner for the third time! Three out of four years is a great accomplishment. I was more successful with completing the novel this year than last due to more community support (especially in real life). Also, doesn’t hurt to have some competitive spirit.

My opinion on my novel though? It thoroughly sucks. That’s the blunt truth, but I am thankful for having gone through this whole process this year. It taught me that, well, I have matured a lot since I first participated back in 2007, and perhaps I need to plan more for the coming years rather than just wing the plot.

I really cannot believe that the month of November went by so quickly though. For December, I would like to complete the manuscripts for two previous unfinished novels. Then, in 2011, focus on editing and revising all my novels.

All of these plans along with preparing for business school….yes, I am going to be quite busy. But I am enjoying every single moment of my life these days.

(P.S. the3six5 editor position for next December! Preparations are already starting with Skype meetings and such. Exciting!)

Categories
holiday NaNoWriMo Work in Progress

NaNoWriMo: Day 24 (and all the previous days)

Yikes–I realize I dropped off with my posts in the past week. And yes, no real excuses except the usual ones: time flew, had a lot of stuff to do IRL, etc. Yes, you have heard it all.

Today I participated in a 10K writing day thanks to the Fear of Writing blog. I only got to 7,380 words but that is still a huge accomplishment! I like that these 10K writing challenges occur every month and not just for November for NaNoWriMo; good to know so I can keep myself motivated throughout the year!

Lots of time spent at the gym lately and also just going out a lot. Went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra this past Sunday. Loved listening to classical pieces played rock-style. Fun crowd, too!

My NaNoWriMo novel has gone the wayside…I’m up to 34,449 words as of tonight, but really, so much of it is nonsensical. Yes, I realize the Inner Editor is speaking. But I also just know that I need to plow through these last final days of November and get to the finish line so I can at least tell myself “Hey, I made it, no matter how crappy the draft is!”

Plus, it doesn’t hurt to get that certificate and winner’s t-shirt. Oh, and a 50% discount on Scrivener software. Yes, I am motivated by giveaways/bribes.

Well, guess it’s off to bed for Thanksgiving tomorrow!