Watching the original Little Shop of Horror movie and later Night of the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls. Gearing up for Halloween. This week is Halloween Improv on Tuesday and the last week of rehearsals before tech week of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, and cap off the week off by Halloween.
My last few weeks have been a blur of rehearsals, meetings, and miscellaneous blog posts and OctPoWriMo. I have gotten a little accomplished though through all of it. The first being one submission this week. Been finding some more online journals to submit to. I know, not much, but one is still better than nothing. I also blogged once this week, well today, but yesterday was a really full day of set construction, skypeing, and Doctor Who. Again, it is progress.
All the while I have been reading American Gods still. So much story! It's fantastic, but so much detail is
mentioned in two page at the beginning and then brought back up toward the end. Quite possibly will need a re-read at a later date. But still enjoying it anyway. A story built around mythologies from all over the world.
I also need to get the idea/outline list to Sara, so she can report to KLP's board about the progress of the Hammondsport Xmas Show. I know what you are thinking, nut but but, it's still October. Yeah, but the Xmas decoration were up in Kmart in August! So, you shouldn't be surprised...
On writing, my poetry this month for OctPoWriMo has been some of the best I have written this year. I feel more confidence in my poems and writing; must be the stretching of my poetic muscles, trying new styles, and the interesting and variety of prompts. If you are interested in writing poetry and meeting new people, check out OctPoWriMo.
Today is also my unplugged day, Dear Readers, so I am trying to be somewhat unplugged. Up next is Night of the Living Dead and maybe some popcorn (oh and dinner is in there too)! Have a spooky week and catch you later. Hope to have more to report on Wednesday! :-)
It's been a bit of a blur lately, Dear Readers, what with the rehearsals, props, emailing, improv, and everything. Don't even get me started on the day job! I suppose I will leave it at that. Its a day job and I answer the phone. It is enough to know that I don't like answering phones. But, it pay the bills.
Anyway, off track. Busy week....Blah, blah, blah.
It is late and I will keep this short, as I normally do on Wednesday (rehearsal nights). I am pleasantly aqble to say that I have made some progress this week. Maybe not every area. Alas, there are not enough hours in the days to get everything done, but it's a nice start.
Accomplished:
*Editing: first major accomplishment this week. I took my general re-write notes on the first three pages of The Audition and typed them up on the new script. It is only 8 pages to begin with, but it is going to be a full rewrite. The plot involves the same two leads Betsy and Justin. Not sure if it'll still be a comedy, might be more a dramedy. Some back history, The Audition is a show I wrote for Keuka Lake Players 24 Hour Theatre in September 2013 and is a 1 act about Betsy's first BIG time audition. The original was a silly little comedy script. I want to make it tighter and trying to go for a deeper more mature script. Yesterday, I also took some notes for the next three pages. I have an idea where to take Betsy and Justin (might change the names too). Anyway, major progress on that project.
*Reading: American Gods (Neil Gaiman) is getting good. Passed the halfway mark. I am currently spending any waking time on reading this book. All others on hold. It's a real detailed story and I need to focus on it. It's my first Gaiman novel, so it's special and I am trying to acclimate myself to his writing style. Other book in queue, Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood) and The Winner Take All (A Doctor Who novel). *Writing: currently most of my this week has been for OctPoWriMo. I wrote a flash fiction piece last week about Dinosaurs. And I haven't blogged in almost two weeks. I need to focus more on that. Not just say it but DO EEET! It's coming. I will do better. I will! More forthcoming!
*Theatre:
>Improv show is set and titled The Fright Before Christmas. Just needing to get people together. Improv, check.
Rehearse some (means practice). Have a poster and spreading the word. And then do it of course! Had a set back with my first location choice. It didn't pan out. Just wish the lady was honest with me about not being interested in putting on a word there. Anyway the show is looking good. >Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Got most of the costumes, the set is nearly done, lines are coming along. I have set up a TV appearance, emailed press releases to two newspapers. so things are coming together. Santa, check. To accomplish: *Finish going over The Audition and get notes and plot outlined.
*Blog this week.
*Finish American Gods by Halloween.
*Enjoy Halloween!
Come a visit with the Round of Words in 80 Days crew here!
Also, I posted my daily OctPoWriMo entry, but today's prompt was about audio and I didn't have access to recording a poem at the day job. I then had rehearsal until 9:00 tonight. So, with a bit of help from the Hubs who does this kind of thing for a living I recordedIn Wartime.
Writing Prompt: Free write for 10 minutes on the subject of
Rain. Make it as visceral an experience as you can. How does it feel? Are there
emotions you associate with rain, or experiences from your past? A song? A
book? Use three of the words below.
Word Prompts: Melancholy, Drizzle,
Damp, Rainbow, Cloudy, Grass, Somber
This turned darker than I originally planned. When I usually write of rain, it usually calming, relaxing, or cleansing. This is different than I planned, but I am not surprised. There is something refreshing about writing from a different perspective. What is more ironic is that it isn't raining here, in fact its pretty sunny and almost warm. I am pleased with today's poem. I even used all of the word prompts today, without stretching the idea too far.
Now for ROW80 update. Still am very busy. Finally have a date for my Halloween Improv and a collaboration show too!! Now to solidify the cast and have a rehearsal with everyone at least once before then. Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is coming along. That's the BIG project, between props, sets, advertising, and getting last minute costume piece (not to mention my own costume and learn my 5 lines). Sounds daunting, Dear Readers? It can be, but a theatre person (if you are one, you know) you normally get 2 or 3 things going at once. It's in or blood. And from what I have seen doing A Round of Words, that writers often fall into this pattern too. It's thrilling and stressing at the same time.
Anyway, busy though I am here is where I am...
This week:
*Reading: continuing through American Gods (Neil Gaiman). It is such an addicting book. I love it. The mythology used makes me drool. I am such a mythology nerd. There is also Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood). Stalled on it this week. Will get back to it this week.
*Writing: wrote yesterday. Points for me. I even posted it here. Its about a dinosaur...
*Blogging: see above. Nothing new here. I have my next book to movie review The Little Prince. That is one of the projects for this week.
*Editing: started my revision of my short play The Audition. I got three page into the 1 act doing a full rewrite (it's only 8 pages). Stalled while trying to figure out where I wanted to go with it. Brainstormed some with the Hubs and got some ideas. Also planning on working more on this this week. I doubt I will finish the revision, but will get at good start on it. It's a start, right?
*Visiting and Social Media: this one is easy someday, while others it's a stretch. I am really good about visiting blogs everyday (almost everyday). My average is 3 blogs, often I do hit four. I actually read and absorb the writer content. I want people to read my stuff (poems, stories, blog articles, then I will give that respect back. Twitter and Facebook can be harder. Some days I do not do anything, while other days I'm on fire.
I have started thinking about NaNoWriMo. Its a scant 2 weeks away. Eek! I want to have an idea ready to go this year. Different from last year. I have been toying with a couple of previous written concept scenes/flash fiction piece, expanding them. Then I wrote my random Dinosaur scene(?)/flash fiction piece. Thinking I could potentially expand that. Or even take Crying Mascara and turn that into a full novel. I just don't know. So much potential. It's starting to get exciting. The unknown, the new adventures, the late nights where I write and write and write. I love the adrenaline that I get from NaNoWriMo. That'll be good times with Becky, Vicky, WordNerd, and Allison.
In the mean time keep checking back, Dear Readers. I will be up to something through the rest of this year
that will make it into this blog. I have two road trips in the coming months, as the normal stuff. Feeling great today. Listening to Sara Bareilles and planning to get my Pumpkins after I post this. Pictures to follow. In the mean time, see the Hubs and I made our first Halloween Mood Table (or Mantle). Thanks to Dinosaur Dracula for the idea. Oh, and can you guess some of what we have on the Halloween Mood Table?
Short night, Dear Reader. I am feeling less on than I normally am. I think I need to unplug for the rest of the night. Strange mood. Not sure where it came from. So, I am helping the Hubs create a "Halloween Mood Table". Something he found on Dinosaur Dracula, a guru of nostalgia (particularly Halloween this month). Anyway, I need a bit of distraction to move out of this other worldly heinous mood.
This week has not been with its productivity, Dear Readers. So I will stick to the short re-cap for the check-in tonight. Done a lot of cleaning around and my house is mostly clean and presentable!! :-)
Run Down of the Week:
*Reading: been making my way through American Gods (Neil Gaiman). Getting really good, so much so Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood), but that is a refresher read, therefore I am taking my time.
that I spend all waking hours reading it. Still in the early stages of
*Editing: finally got a chance to look at The Audition, my silly and comedic look at auditions. Written for 24 Hour Theatre 2013. It's needs an over haul, BIG TIME. I started going through it line by line, thinking I could just revise it that way. Not so much. It needs to be re-written. I am okay with it, but I am going to have to spend some time working on it this week. Good news is that I figure out a slant I can use for the script and it will still have the same basic premise, but more organized. Basing the story off of some of my own past auditions and using a suggestion from David to keep the comedy edge. Although I admit comedy is not my forte.
*Submissions: I submitted to one journal journal so far this week. If I can hit up two more by week's end I will be happy.
*Blogging: completed my first Book to Movie review of the month for The Last Unicorn. If you are curious, check it out here. I have the next one in queue. The Little Prince.
*Visiting/Social Media: check in with Twitter and my blog hops, at least three a day. I even caught up on last weekends slackery.
Orangey Lights and Kitty Gargoyle
Theatre stuffs, shows, and projects are keeping me pretty busy this month. Might be part of the reason that my writing has nosedived. Not sure. Not trying to worry too much about it though. As we of the Round of Words crew understand that this is the blog challenge that knows we have a life. Heheheh! And with Halloween around the corner, been trying to get into and enjoy the season. More pictures to follow, but see a bit of the early Halloween goodness at the Scott Household.
Funny after watching Doctor Who's Kill the Moon
Also, Check-in with my fellow ROW80 bloggers here!
So what you what do to prepare for Halloween, Dear Readers? Favourite Halloween specials and/or movies? Favourite traditions?
I like Halloween and Halloween 2 and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Currently healing from a sinus attack yesterday. Slight wannabe headache today, so taking it slow. Saturdays have been my unplugged day for the last few weeks. Feels good, because I usually am working on this or that during the week. Today is getting back on track and still unwinding. I had training yesterday for the day job and that kind of throw a monkey wrench into the weekend. But it was 4 extra hours, giving me almost 41 hours, a total was 40.75 (I left a touch early Friday which accounts for the .75 = 45 minutes).
This week:
*Finished, The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, and then started, American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Wow! Only 4 chapters in and feeling like I want to just keep reading. Surprised it's taken me this long to get to reading Gaiman's work. Thinking I am going to enjoy this book. The Gun Seller, I am not usually into spy novels, but Hugh's wit and comedy make it a fantastic read.
*Editing/Writing: started a deeper edit of Road Trip. Found a big gap in the opening scene. Not a plot hole, but realized that there need to be more. Been working on character development. Finished my press release. Got one of my technical betas input. After one more edit, I can submit it to the director for review and then get it out to the presses. Haven't written anything new, but feeling like I need to focus on edited for a bit and also submitting.
*Visiting: Except for Saturday, I have been really good about visiting, reading, and commenting on follow bloggers/writers; this includes today. I average about 3 to four. Time to up the game. Using twitter as a networking tools more more. Spending less time on Facebook, unless I am networking.
Did not accomplished:
*Submitting: while I did not get to this this week. I am planning on submitting to at least one today to start the last week of Round 3 right. I cannot slack on this. I feel like I need to just sit down and submit; look for new places to submit and start figuring what could be submitting to previous journals I have submitted to. I have had a couple saying the I should submit again. Nothing published yet. Still trying.
*Blogging: missed blogging Friday and Saturdays. I have unplugged time and that is just as important. I blogged earlier in the week, so not a total loss. Always a new week, right, Dear Readers.
Will work on (see previous section):
*Submissions
*Blogging
*The Normal Stuff: writing, editing, visiting, etc. Meaning the stuff you usually see me working on.
Trying to remind myself, Dear Readers that this quotes is the most important thing, that I go out and do, instead of saying I'll do. This is hard when I don't get something down, or when I say one thing and then it doesn't get done. I want people to know that my word is good. That I do, and not just sit and talk about doing. James posted a really well wording piece that uses this principle, "Show, Don't Tell". Go read it! It's worth it! Also, there is the Blog Hop for us ROW80-ers here. Come and cheer us on.
What is everyone up to this week? How are your goals, ROW-ers for Round 3? what is the plan for Round 4? Anything exciting for the impending Autumn? Holidays are creeping around the corner, are you trying to not think about them, or prepping for traveling, dinners, parties, etc?
Me, I am working with my hands in several fires. Some are one off projects that don't kick up until next month or November. Others I am currently working on, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, collecting props, working on sets, some promotions, and even get to be in the final scene. Also, working on the Ghost Walk for the Falls Harvest Fest in 2 weeks. Always something going on.
Have a great week, Dear Readers! Got out and make something awesome. Live Quietly Epic. And remember I believe you.
It's late and I am tired from the previous week activities. I could make a full report of today, but not feeling quite so energetic. I stayed for the whole rehearsal, getting ideas for props and such. By the time I got home I am ready to crash. So tonight will be short. Still a productive though.
What have I been doing:
*Reading: so close to finishing The Gun Seller and have decided on the next book, American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
*Blogging: blogged yesterday and planning to blog over the weekend, Friday or Saturday.
*Writing/Editing: wrote a press release for the show I am involved in. Needs to be revised and a few details added. Then I can have the hubs and Sara (my technical betas) read it. Should be ready to submit by next week. Edited "Wearing the Mask". More to follow.
*Visiting: been sticking to visiting/reading/commenting on blogs everyday, at least 3, although sometimes up to 4.
*Sticker journal: caught up!
*Journal: back to two days a week. Morning work best for this/ I have the most to say and am more focused.
Not so successful this week:
*Scrivener: have not worked in it this week. Bad writer! Need to devote tomorrow to working on my current projects.
*Submitting: nothing yet, am gathering some more sites to submit to and working on new submissions for site that said to submit to their new issue deadlines. Plans for the weeks:
*Organization: just bought a couple of white boards to help keep me in line and on track.
*Submitting and Editing and Writing: will be a long evening in front of the computer.
*Miscellaneous: emailing, pulling together an Improv Show fundraiser for the Fall show, Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, outline the Christmas show, and other sundry activities.
I have training Saturday morning, mandatory training for work. That'll be FUUUUUUUUUUUUN! It's only once a quarter, I guess I shouldn't complain. It's the day job, I kind of need it. I like working there, so I will go and drink a lot of coffee. Check out my fellow ROW80-ers here at the Blog Hop. Anywhooo, have a great rest of the week, Dear Readers. I leave you with this...
