Lari's Bookshelf

NaNo Zombie So I'm one of those crazy people who decided it would be a good idea to write a novel in November. Well, at least 50,000 words, and they may not all be necessarily good words, but nothing like a crash course in hurried novel writing to get the creative flow going! At the end of Day 6, I totaled  9,881 words. Just shy of where I need to be to finish on time if I keep going at a steady rate. If you are interested, here is my posted synopsis for my story. It's still pretty accurate, but may change: Twenty-three year old Melvina Finnson embraces fantasy and escapism to ignore the fact that she works a low wage job at one of the few remaining SuperRents in Small Town, USA. She is more than satisfied with a life filled with movies and video games she gets for free from work, and she's jaded about opportunities for her in the "real" world. As she begins to accept the fact that she is a college dropout and content with a life of perpetual distracti...

So, I've seen quite a few TV shows or movies (many of them I like!) that have virtuous heroes against baddies, who just like being bad. For instance, my daughter just started watching She-Ra: The Princess of Power on Hulu . Princess Adora, long lost sister to Prince Adam (He-Man), fights the evil tyranny of the Horde, ruled by Hordak, by becoming She-Ra with a magic sword. Sexy, Blonde, Virtuous, and Sexy It's such a clear-cut evil vs. good show, that there is no nuance, not really with the villains. Even by having Adora a member of the Horde herself in the beginning, seemed like an artificial attempt to add depth to a character who really is one-dimensional. She simply "had not seen" the Horde being mean to people, but as soon as she sees an old man get thrown into a lake, she does a 180 and has no trouble fighting against the people who raised her. (Side note, I also think it's funny that these evil villains can at most "stun" their victims b...

I haven't been doing my own creative writing. I know. I said I was going to. I made a goal. But I didn't reach it. At all this week. So what now? Do I throw in the towel? No. I'm not going to. But I am going to consider making my goal a more reachable feat. 1000 words, not including my blog and freelance writing, is just too much for me right now. I'm knocking down my daily goal to 250 words a day. Until I can get used to THAT, then I'll consider bumping up my goal again. I really enjoy running this blog, but it has taken up a ton of my time this month. Not that I don't enjoy it, I do. Good news is that ever since I figured out a schedule for the blog , I have been able to at least manage my time a little better. I think the first week with the new schedule went off without a hitch. The blog's still new, but it's finally maturing. I spent so much time online, researching on how to do this stuff right. Reading on how to design my blog, etc. Playin...

Since this blog is my baby, I've been letting it grow and develop with little restrictions. I am realizing now it is old enough to have a regimented schedule. Not to mention, the librarian part of me is calling out for a more organized approach to blogging! Here is a tentative weekly schedule for my blog: Reviews : Tuesdays and Fridays will be days for posting book reviews. If I am only able to get one book review completed for the week (I'm guessing this will be the norm), that post will go up on Friday so that my blog has consecutive days of posting (Wednesday through Sunday). If I happen to get two reviews done for the week, I will post the second review on Tuesday.  Wednesday Reads : Wednesdays I will be exercising my reader's advisory skills (fancy librarian jargon for "book recommendation skills") and pulling books together on a certain topic, essentially doing a digital book display for a post. Topics will be based on popular trends in literature, and ...

There are many things I have wanted to say here, but haven't. I'm facing a struggle with authenticity. Sometimes I want to write what pops into my head. But I restrain myself. I hold back. I'm constantly censoring myself. I worry of what people will think of me. Worried that people will judge me. I frankly look up to people who can be so open on their blogs and just be so naturally authentic . So I'm drawing a line, right here and now. If you are on this blog, you are mine. I can't be worried about appealing to your sense of "decency," or "appropriateness." I'm going to be authentic with myself, my writing, and what interests me. It's not going to happen in one day, but it's a goal I'm working towards. "Old habits" as they say... Part of it is my background. I have a lot of friends and family who are conservative/religious and I know they might stumble upon here at any minute and question my use of the word "d...