Merry Christmas, Hanukka, etc. Guys!

Hope you guys are enjoying Christmas break and whatever holiday you celebrate! If you're editing a NaNo novel, good luck! If not, hope you enjoy yourself ; )

Who knows karate? I really want to learn, but am short of cash now. No one? Ah well...

Hunger Games fans: This may not be news to you, but there's these 2 published parodies of The Hunger Games. The first is The Younger Games, which is about a 12-year-old in a kid game (I think) who has a chance to win but could also stay with this other guy she probably likes (great description, I know). The other is called The Hunger But Mainly Death Games that really gets into the definition of parody. The book picks at every quirky thing it can from the original book and seriously exposes it.

Just thought I'd share with you : )

And if any of you sees the video game commercial with Chuck Norris in it, give it a huge laugh for me. Lol, "But Chuck Norris isn't a hunter, because hunting implies the possibility of failure." Love it!

And don't forget to tell Dusky what you want for Christmas!

Write on,
~Dusky

Note to Self: NaNo Tips

As we all could have guessed, my attempt at NaNoWriMo last month was a total fail. Of epic proportions. But, lucky for you/me, I picked up a few things while my fingers tripped over themselves in an attempt to catch up to the word count. And now that I've slept and gone through the five stages of grief, I'm here to share them with you/myself!

1. Clear your schedule. If possible, clear a path to that outrageous word count goal. But don't forget to say "Excuse me" to Aunt Sue for shoving her birthday party into the hot dog stand on the curb.
2. Get support. Let people know that you're doing NaNo so people know that you're not going crazy when trying to keep up with the everyday things (homework, eating, etc.), you just happen to be writing a 50k novel in 30 days, which admittedly is about the same as being insane. Besides, you need all the encouragement you can get.
3. Don't slow down! If you stop to take a "little break," they will turn into entire days spent nitpicking with every little thing that doesn't involve accomplishing your goal.
4. Just. Write. Do not, do NOT unlock that little nag inside your head that tells you to rewrite, go back, and essentially throw away your rushed work. She/he can stay in their cage until December, where they can stay happily busy correcting the sorry crap that plopped out of your overworked brain.

See that Dusky? Don't forget!

On a side note, hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving! Can't wait till Christmas : )

~Dusky

NaNo Fun

I could sit here and glamorize the month of November as NaNoWriMo all day, but the truth is, you must work. A lot. Work is sometimes hard, but it can be fun if you enjoy what you're working on. In November, you better be ready to type your phalanges off. You need to be kicking off with a running start when your clock strikes 12 AM to start off a new month. Of course, some have no problem cranking out 1,667 words a day for 30 days, but others find it challenging.

I am one of those people. Sadly, my word count is pitiful, my homework pile is practically touching the ceiling, and I have subconsciously created my own distractions. But no worries! This is only my first NaNoWriMo so I'm only getting my toes wet this go around. Next year, I shall be prepared!

I hope you are doing well with your NaNo project and best of luck to you!

Well, I'm off to work. Ciao!

~Dusky

P.S.: Did anyone else make a wish at 11:11 yesterday?

Happy Writers' Day!

Happy Writers' Day everybody! Celebrate and have a good time, which usually means taking a few minutes to toast with a mug of coffee and getting back to work. Seriously, though, good job guys. Keep making your awesome stories : )

Is anyone else freaking out about this NaNoWriMo thing? I just can't wait! I'm not so sure I'll be able to make the deadline, though. I mean, I haven't even been able to post on here for weeks since I've had so much work to do (I happen to have a little more time this morning). And now I've found out I'm getting my braces off on the first of November.... Ah, well. Guess I just need to look at the positives, eh?

There's finally cold weather here! It's been hot for so long, I was thrilled to wear a hoodie yesterday. Still excited today. There's hope that I shall happily freeze in peace. Ah, fall.

Service Announcement: Don't eat the cantaloupes! Listeria is really not fun : ( Sadly, the outbreak is still not officially over. Sorry.

Last but not least: One more reason Japan is better than China. A toddler in China, who was 2, was hit by a car not too long ago. The car just drove off and dozens of people walked by her broken body, but none stopped to help. A surveillance camera shows people driving and walking around her, and they kept going. Eventually one kind old lady pulled her to safety. Thank God.

Unfortunately that's all  the time I have this morning. Stay pumped guys!

~Dusky

Some Actual Advice

Gather round little ones. Big ones, too. As you may have guessed, this post is actually going to be about writing. Mostly. It also has to do with with Jeff Dunham and peas, but we'll get to that later. But for now, please enjoy my tricked-out logic.

Recently I have sat down and thought of two main things that get me excited about a book: high stakes and drama. For instance, if The Hunger Games was about 24 preschoolers in a giant jungle gym on a quest for the last cookie and Katniss was a wuss who thought boys had cooties, it probably wouldn't be as exciting. Since the stakes are higher (24 kids forced to kill each other) and there's more drama (Katniss choosing between Gale and Peeta), it has become my favorite book series of all time. I guess my advice to you is to not be afraid to raise the stakes as long as the reason for them is, well, reasonable. And you might want some drama going on, but not pour it on like a six year old with a syrup bottle (unless of course it's a romance). Just remember that all genres are different and these are just my ideas, so you don't have to take them seriously if you don't want to. Stay original.

About Jeff Dunham, he's introducing a new character tomorrow night/later today on Comedy Central. It's showing @ 8 PM Eastern Time. Tune in! And out of curiosity, which character of his would you be? My friends tell me I'm like Peanut. "I will never blink!"

Last but not least, peas. Just wanted to say I like the green ones :o) (Actually, I think they are the least...)

 ~Dusky

Remembering 9/11...

To those that died that horrible day 10 years ago: we salute you. No matter who you were, what color your skin was, or your religion, you should not have died that day. The hearts of many go out to you. And we will never forget.