Answers To Reader Questions: Post No. 3

I was actually supposed to do this a week ago, but I forgot and only remembered after I'd posted last Saturday. Sorry, everyone!

Emily Rose asked:

Do you plan to home school until college? Are you taking college courses at the moment?


Yes, and no. I do plan on being homeschooled until college, unless we move to a district with really good schools or something like that, which is highly unlikely. And I'm not taking any college courses at the moment, though I have done (and am currently doing) some programs at Learner.org.

(SOURCE)

Got any other questions, bloggers?


(I really do like answering them. :) And it gives me material to post about on Saturdays for NaBloWriMo.)


-----The Golden Eagle

It's October, Which Means A Lot Of Things Will Be Happening

Happy October, everyone!

The reason for this post is that I have a few announcements to make about things happening here on this blog:

1. NaBloWriMo
Can't forget this event. Basically, it's a challenge to write a post for every day of October. Yes, that's right, every single day. I did it last year, and had a lot of fun coming up with topics each day: this year, I'm going to try to be a bit more organized, though you will see some random posts crop up during the month. Or maybe just something along the lines of "I can't think of anything to say . . ."

2. The Rule of Three Blogfest


You've probably heard of it by now, but if not, this is a blogfest where writers post on Wednesdays/Thursdays throughout October (four posts in all) based on a writing prompt given by the hosts--but the setting has already been given to you to work with, called Renaissance. I'm really looking forward to writing/posting mine; I've got ideas for my characters from the first prompt already, which will go up next Wednesday.

3. Pay It Forward Blogfest


Sign up, and list three blogs you recommend on October 14th. I love meeting new bloggers, so I'm excited for this blogfest.

4. An interview with author Elliot Grace


If you don't know Elliot Grace, you have to go check out his blog and follow him. He's one of the most interesting authors around, and I will be interviewing him here on October 26th. Watch for it!

5. The Inheritance Cycle Re-Reading Challenge


This is a really good Fantasy series, and Christopher Paolini has finally finished the last novel, which will come out November 8th. Hooray!

6. The Insecure Writer's Support Group


Wednesday, again. I'll have to post double on that day, because that's also the day the Rule of Three Blogfest begins--these blogfests seem to be trying to thwart any plans I make. :P

7. Rachael Harrie's Third Writer's Platform-Building Campaign


There's a third challenge to come on October 17th, so of course I will be posting that as well. (If you haven't read my entry for the Second Campaigner Challenge, it is HERE.)

. . . and I think that's it.

Finally.

Do you have anything planned?




-----The Golden Eagle

Happy Halloween! (Plus: NaBloWriMo, NaNoWriMo, And Random)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hallowe'en. All Hallows Eve. Whatever you'd like to call it, today's the day! Have fun trick-or-treating, partying, whatever. :)

*****

Today is also the last day of NaBloWriMo! I have posted at least once every day for the entire month of October! Even more reason to celebrate.

But, if you're like me and have participated in NaBloWriMo, don't do party too hard! Because tomorrow is *drumroll*dramatic display* NaNoWriMo!


I know that I've said several times that I wasn't planning on doing this event. For many reasons, I told myself. It wouldn't be good for my novel, I said. It would be better to edit, I thought. I don't think word-vomiting all over my document would be a really great idea, I consoled myself.

*sighs* EXCUSES. But you know what? I've decided to change that. Because of a lot of factors. So, basically, I am going to be doing NaNoWriMo!

(If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is by now, I'm seriously going to question where you've been for the past month.)

I'm kind of pushing the deadline to sign up here, but I did sign up to do it! This will be my first year. But hey, I wrote 40,000 words last month, so it's just 10,000 more than that. So, the thing on my mind right now is, I am going to kill this challenge with everything I've got.

Here's the link to My Profile. Buddy me, if you've got an account. (I can't find a lot of you, because there's no "search" for the profiles or anything like that.) At first I wasn't sure about linking to it, but I managed to disable the Home Region thing, which would basically tell you where I live. Boo. I didn't want to do that.

I'll update you guys over there and on this blog with one of those word count widget-y things. I think I'll use the potato man one:

Anywho. Just get geared up for the absolute writing frenzy--it's 50,000 words, after all!

*****

Interesting, because they don't come around here often, but I saw a bald eagle yesterday! Just perched. It was sort of far away, but I could see the characteristic white head and dark brown body. It would be nice if it stuck around . . . but I doubt that.

Ever seen one?


It was snowing a few days ago. SNOWING. It just wet the sidewalk a little, but it's c-c-c-o-o-l-d-e-r than usual now. Even for the beginning of November, people are not usually shivering in a winter coat. It's supposed to get colder and stay that way for a while, too.


Have a great Halloween, all!


-----The Golden Eagle

Tag, Award, Random

The tag comes from Shaynie at The Book Blog! She tagged anyone who liked Sherlock Holmes. :)

1. Do you like Sherlock Holmes?

Yes!

2. Would you ever like to go overseas and work with a relief agency in a war-torn country?

It would depend on the type of relief work that I'd be doing. It would also depend on where I'd be doing the relief work . . .

3. Do you like foreign films?

I've never watched a foreign film. (Is this bad?)

4. Do you like writing?

No. I HATE writing! I loathe it! The beings who possess my mind and force me to write are cruel enough that they don't even make me like the awful chore!

*ends good-humored sarcasm* Yeah. I love it.

5. Will you be doing NaNoWriMo? What's your book about?

I'm not going to be doing NaNoWriMo, although I will try to write as much as I can next month.

As for what my book is about, it's . . . complicated. Not to mention it has CLASSIFIED written all over it, (even to my mom because I don't want to spoil the plot for her :D), but I can say that there are spaceships. And dictatorships.

6. What's your favorite animal?

I love lots of different animals, although I get the feeling you've already guessed I like birds of prey.

7. Have you ever been to a foreign country?

I was adopted from China, so yes, I HAVE been to a foreign country! Unfortunately, I don't remember a thing. I flew over Korea, (stopped in Seoul), Russia, and Canada. Plus Alaska.

8. Are your ears pierced?

Nope.

*****

The award comes from Rachel Morgan at Rachel Morgan Writes!


It is the Cherry On Top Award.

Thank you, Rachel! :)


I received this award a short time ago, and already answered the question, although it was phrased a little different than this: If I had the chance to go back and change one thing in my life, would I, and what would it be?


I'll answer it again anyways. No, I would not, because I've learned too much and done too much in my life to warrant going back and trying to change it. :)

*****

Now, for the random!


If you visited my blog yesterday, you may have noticed that I didn't appear to have published a post yesterday--when I DID. It was the book review of Krik? Krak! which I accidentally told Blogger to publish on the 17th. Darn. So, if you I slipped up on NaBloWriMo, I didn't!


Only an absolute bookworm would get hyper at the idea of traveling to two libraries in one day and getting out a million books at each, which I will presumably be doing tomorrow. They're both very good libraries, too. Plenty of YA, and MG, and Adult, and even DVDs. Utopia, people.


Which only makes me more frustrated when I learn that the District's representative wants to CUT THE LOCAL LIBRARY'S BOOK BUDGET DOWN TO ZERO. Otherwise known as nil. Zip. Nothing. They may have given the librarians a salary hike, but no new books if this budget thing continues!


They don't do interlibrary loans around here, either. Darn it!

*****

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. SNOW. It's only the end of October! Whew. But I don't mind--I actually like snow. :)


Have a great Thursday, everyone!


-----The Golden Eagle

October is Still Here

Halfway through the month or so and 19 posts later, I've still managed to keep it up for NaBloWriMo!

Congrats to the others who are participating with me! I've seen consistent posts through October--let's keep it up, all! Type, type, type!

*****

I'm supposed to write a backstory piece of one of my characters. I haven't written a thing, and consequently the document is titled CURRENTLY UNTITLED AND PRETTY DARN UNWRITTEN.

Eloquent, right? I figured CAPS whenever I turn on the computer would get my attention . . . sadly though, my inspiration seems to have decided I'm not worth the effort. But I'll get something done--it's just that if I write down a particular character's past, then it's full of spoilers. Another person's history takes place in a military academy. Other people don't remember their history, and even if they did, it wouldn't make much of a story.

*****

I hate sloppy first drafts. I know, I know, I see in a lot of places "Don't worry about your first draft!" and to just write, (Zemanta is offering my an article that says "Get the damn thing done!") but if I don't edit/revise as I go, I end up stuck, with too many loose ends, impossible situations, and just general chaos--and I don't like the feeling. Kenneth Oppel (who is one of my favorite authors) actually suggests editing/revising the draft if you get writers' block, which I think is excellent advice. It's works for me, anyway.

Sort of. I've been working on my first draft for over a year now, and it still is not finished. I love writing it, don't get me wrong, but I tend to be astonished (and maybe a tad envious) when people say "I wrote this in _____ months!" because it's certainly taking me longer than that.


Do you think writing the first draft as fast as possible is the best idea, or do you like editing as you go along?

(Chopper rattling the windows right now--and pounding the eardrums. Very annoying. Might be some planes up there, too. Although, it's not all bad. There are helicopters in my story, believe me, so I guess it's just a another writing experience, eh?)

*****

Fall has almost definitely set in now. The heater is on, (boo--do you know how much oil that takes?) and the days are brisk. I love brisk, and windy too. There's a lot of wind these days, and it finally cleared up after half a week of rain; it's sunny, the trees are orange, and the sky is blue. Huzzah!

Another aspect to fall is the winter squash--my mom got some for free where she works and I can smell it baking right now. It smells better than it tastes, I'm afraid. I don't like squash, generally--I've never liked pumpkin, hubbard tastes blah (despite what the people at the senior center state), I'm not a fan of acorn. But zucchini can be okay.

*****

I'm done with the miscellany! I think . . . yes, that's it. Have a great Sunday, everyone!


-----The Golden Eagle

In Which I Receive An Award and Deliver a Satisfied Rant on The Atlantis Complex

First, the award! Len at Conversations with Self awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award--thank you so much, Len!

The rules for this award are to thank the person who gave you this award, *thanks and hugs for Len* and pass it on to 15 other Lovely Bloggers.

15! There are too many lovely people out there for that to be any kind of decision! But okay. I'll bite the bullet and here are the 15 people I award in a random order:

Renae Mercado

Brave Chickens

Ishta Mercurio

Misha Gericke

N. R. Williams

Clarissa Draper

Cruella Collett

Tere Kirkland

Elena Solodow

Lisa Potts

Caroline

Icewolf

Peaceful Reader

Talei

Lola Sharp

Thank you once more, Len!

*****

Cover via Amazon

***Minor spoilers, but not much plot. Nothing big, but if you want to keep the book totally new and fresh for yourself, then don't read this. But it's not like I laid out the whole thing.***

I FINALLY managed to secure a copy of Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer from my library. (In case you've never heard of this book, it's the newest book in the Artemis Fowl series.) I didn't say "review" because I have trouble reviewing books that aren't the first in a series, or ones I haven't reviewed the other books in--it just seems awkward to me. So I'm going to rant on it a little instead.

I've been wanting to take this book out ever since it came out, and I finished The Atlantis Complex the evening I took it out. Artemis Fowl is one of my favorite series, (if not THE favorite) and it's even better than The Looking Glass Wars, Maximum Ride, and The Five Ancestors.

I didn't know what the make of The Atlantis Complex at first, because it's not the typical good-guy-beats-bad-guy plot that the other books are based on. Opal Koboi, much to my surprise, doesn't make a big entrance, and instead it's Turnball Root from The Artemis Fowl Files. (Thank goodness I managed to take that book out of a different library.)

Because I'm not trying to be totally exact or professional here as I am in reviews, I'm going to say this: Holly, dear elf, why. On Earth (and in Haven). Did you date. CAPTAIN TROUBLE KELP? Okay, it was only one date here, but STILL. Trouble KELP. That dude is . . . . . well, okay, I suppose Holly and Trouble might go well together. They're both LEPRecon and officers and all that.

This book was funny, as usual. Eoin Colfer has a distinctive humor/sarcasm that I love, and the characters are genuine in this series. Artemis Fowl wasn't himself for all of it of course, but, as always, he manages to pull through if without as much sanity as other times.

I'm going to say READ IT READ IT READ IT because this book is really, really good. I still think that The Arctic Incident and The Opal Deception are the best books out of this series, but The Atlantis Complex is well done.

*end rant*

*****

I have completed Day 2 of NaBloWriMo!


That is all for today.

Ciao. 再见. Adios.

(Don't ask me why, but "toodles" is beginning to get on my nerves.)

-----The Golden Eagle

300th Post

Fascinating . . .


Kidding. I'm not doing anything this time, just writing a normal post.

If normal is what my posts are.

I'm here to talk about . . . eh, well, I'm not exactly sure. I could mention my writing. Like the fact that I'm in the middle of editing Part Two and more editing in Part Three while I still need to edit Part Four and Part Five is sitting patiently (or impatiently) while I try to get caught up with it. (I usually edit my posts right after I write them, since I write my books in parts . . .) I've almost finished rewriting a chapter, and then I can move on to Part Three and give it my whole attention.

Or I could chat about the weather. Like the fact that it's getting colder, (although it was rather warm yesterday) and there are bare trees already. BARE TREES. C'mon, leaves, hold on to the those branches a little longer. Snow's not in the forecast quite yet. It's not even October.

Or I could yammer about the fact I like this orchard place maybe 40 minutes away where they sell fruit for a lot less than Wal-Mart. We (my mom and I) got half a bushel of apples there . . . which means there is a lot of apple to eat in the next few weeks. :) They also had some vegetable for a really good price, but we bypassed that because we already had a lot of produce.

Or I could mention the fact that NaBloWriMo is just around the corner and that I still have not written up and scheduled posts for the month. Darn it. I really need to get going on that or else I'll fail this challenge which would not be pleasant . . . for me, anyway. I planned some things and I could type out at least a few titles, but I need to do something else right now.

Or I could tell you that I have four books to read before the 1st, otherwise I'm not going to finish by TBR pile before it has to go back the library, and I DESPISE doing that because I usually read fast. But seeing as I have over 30 (40?) books out (mostly YA, some Adult) I suppose I have an excuse. I'm reading She Thief  by Daniel Finn right now. Good book so far.

Or I could say that I still have no idea what to post about. ;)

-----The Golden Eagle

NaBloWriMo

There are a lot of these "Na-something-Wri-Mos" aren't there? Most famous of all being the National Novel Writing Month in November. But I have decided to participate in NaBLOWriMo, the October event just for bloggers.

The objective? Post every day in the month of October with no breaks.

I thought about doing NaNoWriMo and trying to write 50,000 words in November since I met (and exceeded) the 30,000 words in 30 days challenge in June. I almost had 50,000 words that month, actually. But since my book needs a whole lot of work as it is, and I think editing, revising, and restructuring has got to take a bigger place than, it has right now, I've decided against trying for NaNoWriMo. Maybe next year. Also, for some reason, it feels like I'd be doing a disservice to my book if I tried to rush myself and came out with a lot of junk in the process. Junk doesn't do anything for anything.

Therefore, when I saw the NaBloWriMo icon on Alex's blog and also noticed that Cruella was participating, I thought: Well, I'll do this instead!

I suppose you have surmised by now that you're going to be reading a lot of me in the month of October. I will, however, try to make it more interesting than just "Yo." Because I could make every post in that month "Yo." since I believe that would fall inside the posting parameters. The only problem is that "Yo." would be, in a word, BOR-ING. And so I am thinking of things to post about to complete this challenge.

What have I come up with? I've thought of a tutorial I could do, (it's profile-related; you know, that issue where if someone clicks your follower icon but the link to your blog never loads?), I've got some book reviews I could do, (TBR pile: Get. Over. Here.), there are some other things happening, (like book release dates), and I've got an idea for Halloween. (Um, maybe you don't want to know the details of that last one.) And, of course, there is life. Life is unpredictable. There's always something cropping up that I could elaborate on and post about. Right?

But I WILL try to post in October. I will. I shall. I can. I'll schedule things and expand them as time goes by, just to make sure that something will pop up for every day of the month.

What about you? Are you going to participate in this NaBloWriMo?

-----The Golden Eagle