NaNaWriMo

So, its been about 1 year since I started Aurora. I have a lot done in the planning department, but not so much in the writing department. As such, I'm gonna be doing the NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) 2010! Every day in November I'll be heading over to their website, and writing my 1667 words for the day. At the end, that adds up to about 50,000 words in a month, or (roughly) a novel. I'll be irritable, want to quit like three days in, and think my writing is crap, but I'm gonna try my best to stick it out the whole month. If I can, that'll be a pretty huge deal for me. So if I don't post much, (which I'll try and do) you'll know why. I hope to have a lot of fun with this, and I really hope you'll stop by and read some of my work. I start writing on Monday, so wish me luck!

Really Long, Inadequately Titled Post

Hey guys! So, as you may or may not know, I play music live on a regular basis. Every Thursday and Sunday to be exact. We've finally restarted practicing on Tuesday nights, and today's practice was for an opening of our new loft area at church. It's pretty dang sweet. You guys are all invited, here's the facebook event link: Loft Event. Pictures of our 98% finished loft:

This event is going to be awesome. I'll be playing my new bass, there will be tons of music, most likely free coffee, all that jazz. On another note, there's been something that I've been putting off doing, which is telling you how stuff panned out after the Freedom post from 7/11. To put it simply, it didn't. But, as I said in the post (and which I've been re-thinking and decided I still feel the same way) I'm perfectly fine with it not panning out. I was, and still am, satisfied with just making that first move. And, to be really honest, that makes me feel really good about myself because last year I would not have said that. It would've thrown me straight in the dumps. I don't know what to attribute this feeling to, but whatever it is is really cool. Finally, here's my last update on my Summer Checklist:

- Get at least halfway through writing my book.
     I didn't even get close to this, but I did do some work, and I will continue to do so. I will also continue with this for this year's NaNoWriMo, so I might even get it done before the year is out, If I apply myself to it.
- Learn to palm flip
     Didn't happen.
- to palm spin
     Didn't happen.
- to wall flip
     Didn't happen.
- to wall front flip
     Didn't happen.
- to Kip-up
     Almost happened! I'm so close, I hope to be able to do this really soon.
- to cartwheel (I still can't do one. At all.)
     Didn't happen.
- Run a 6 minute mile (sprint speed, not average speed)
     I'm not sure if this happened. I haven't tried, but I did do a lot of running this summer.
- to Kong Vault
     Didn't happen.
- to Speed Vault
     Happened!
- to Dash Vault
     This too!
- to run up a 10' wall (I can only do a 9' or so now, whatever height Mike is with his arms raised above his head plus 6")
     I can do 9'6", so better, but not my goal.

Now, onto stuff I did accomplish, but wasn't on my list:

• Made it more than halfway through language set 1 for Japanese.
• Started learning how to read people's bodily expressions.
• Bought a bass.
• Actually practiced my Violin on a consistent basis. I still suck, but I'm better than I was.
• Hung out. This is a rather new development, I've never really hung out before 2009 or so.
• Didn't stress out over a girl for the first time since like 2007.
• Learned a lot of new classical songs on my guitar.
• Got some semblance of abs, not just the natural abs you get from being über skinny.

Well, that's all for now. See you later!

School

Hey guys. Haven't been able to post this week because of school. Ugh. Quick update on that: My math class is so boring. 3 hours a day every Monday and Wednesday. Then econ, which is pretty fun. Tuesday's and Thursday's I have philosophy (of which my teacher is an anarchist) and then writing. Now, enough of school. I've started getting up earlier so that I can write more of my book every day (gotta start devoting good time to that), and finally got a whiteboard for brainstorming on. Also finished cleaning and setting up the bass that I purchased, among other things. I hope to have some character outlines for you soon. Well, that's it.

Wayside

Hey guys! All of my pictures and writings from Cornerstone will be put up in the morning (I don't feel like firing up my scanner right now), which will be my last post on Cornerstone for this year. That got me thinking, and I realized there was that project that I let fall by the wayside, which I plan to revive. You can find the project here. After that, I thought of another project I let fall, which is my Summer Checklist. About the only things on there that I've worked on are my book and the mile run. And so, today I went for a run, and did a ton of stretching, preparing myself for those tricks I wanna be able to pull off. After that? I played Lego Harry Potter. I was pretty tired. Anyways, that's all for now. See you in the morning! 

Aurora Wordle Stems From Boredom

The generic wordle for Aurora. I got bored and wanted an easy post.

Strung Out

I'm still deciding on what I want the new layout to look like for the blog. And what the new title should be. But I'm not so sure yet. So this is the temp. layout. I've also been wondering (again) about how the narrative of my book should be, because right now I have to jump through hoops just to explain stuff, whereas with other styles of narration it would be so much easier. That, and I need to sit down and write out a whole storyline, because while I like just writing and letting the story flow, I also would like to leave those subtle plot hints that when someone re-reads a book makes them enjoy the book that much more. I hope I can do it.

Anywho, I picked up some new CD's the other day. They're all good, and I thought I'd make mention of them here. My Paper Heart by Francesca Battistelli, which has a rather unique sound that I like, The Invitation by Meredith Andrews, a Chicago artist that puts out some good stuff, and even though I don't listen to Paramore, I picked up the Paramore Piano Tribute CD by the Piano Tribute Players and the Strung Out On Paramore tribute CD by the Vitamin String Quartet. It's a good bit of acoustic rock, and you should check it out.

There's a bit more, but if I post it now then I won't have anything to talk about later! And who knows what I may be crazy enough to post when I come back home Friday tripped out on twelve shots of Novocaine and a few lung-fulls of Nitrous Oxide?

Random Nothingness

So there's actually a number of things going on, the first of which is that I'm thinking of new development company names, studio names, stuff like that. Finding a name I like is hard. Second of all, I got some more of my book typed up (read: I write my book on paper, and then edit it as I type it). Third: I'm really sorry about dallying on those pictures, but my scanner still doesn't like me. Sorry! And finally: I got Final Fantasy XIII! Yay! From what I've played so far, the voice actors are good, the game itself is visually pleasing, and the story is something I could get into. And have. Well, I must now get back to gaming. See you tomorrow!

Continuity

So, I was writing more of my book today in a coffee shop. Nice, right? Anyways, something dawned on me that made me realize that I need to re-write my work. only a few chapters, so it's not too bad. I sat there, thinking, and a book that I've been meaning to buy called How NOT to write a book came to mind. While I was thinking about the book, I started thinking about (obviously) how not to write a book. I decided that continuity is very important, and it made me notice a huge flaw in my writing. The flaw is that I like to give action and conversations first, and then description. Know why that's a problem? Because it causes the reader to get confused. Example: imagine a person. Any kind of person, but it must be a guy. Pick one, any one. Now imagine him in combat with another person. I'd venture a guess that you probably aren't thinking that the guy is holding a bowie knife, has on black cargo pants and a form-fitting gray tee, is pale as the belly of a fish, and has thin, wispy blond hair. And weighs a 100 lbs with near no muscle. I'd guess that you also didn't think that the guy he's facing is a well-built mass of muscle weighing in at 186 lbs and is only wearing combat pants. Now the fight is over. I'd say you aren't thinking skinny guy won. Without any damage to himself. And he never even needed the knife. That the room they're in has red walls with black trim, the floor a dark gray sparring floor with padding, and a huge sunroof. My point is that unless you're amazing at guessing features, or don't automatically guess what people and rooms look like, and what outcomes are, you had to change a lot about what you thought in just a few sentences. Which is good sometimes, but bad wen you don't get a description of important people until like 10 pages after you meet them. So, I must now go re-write to describe people before you get too attached to the person you have in your head whilst reading. Sorry guys! but, on the bright side, Chapter 1 should be done soon because I've already re-written most of it. Well, that's all for right now. Have a great day, thanks for reading, and as always,

Roses Are #FF0000

Writing!

Hey guys! I wrote some more of my book today, and did some more work on my theme. Tomorrow I plan on forcing myself to write more, and to write some music too. Maybe even practice my violin. I'm still having trouble deciding what tense and person I want my book to be in, but I think I've settled on first person present, because I want you to go on a journey with him, not go on those that he's already gone on. It leaves me open to shift to other characters and, if I so decide, even kill him off and switch characters, because there is no guarantee that he'll live (which there is when first person past tense). That makes things fun, and I hope it keeps people engaged and wanting to read more.

The Pieces To An Unknown Puzzle

For reference: I'm not on a 48-hour posting schedule. I'm doing in by day of the week, not literal day. Now that that's out of the way, time to get to the actual post!

So, not much really happened today. I went to class, played some fallout, outlined some stuff for Aurora. I've got so many pieces to a story, a character who, in my mind, already exists. To me, his world is real. His values are relateable, his character, tangible. In my mind, I have his story, his old life. But, try as I might, I might as well be him when devining his future. I must manufacture it for him, but I also must keep his future within the confines of his world, even though I created it. I like where each turn could take him, and yet I don't yet know which turns he will take. Do all novelists feel this way? I hope so, because then that would give me hope for my book. As it stands, I have the pieces to a puzzle, but have no idea what it makes an image of, and what pieces should be used for this first book (did I mention I want it to be a series?).

Roses are #FF0000.

The Arts Fridays!

Hey Guys! As part of something to try and get me started blogging on a more regular basis, I've started The Arts Fridays! Every Friday, I'm going to post something that I've been working on that pertains to The Arts. Stuff like original music, sketches, stories, things like that. I started working on a picture for today, but I forgot that as opposed to the 2 hours that I thought it would take, it's probably going to take more like 10 to 15. I forgot how long those pictures can take! I'll post it as soon as I'm done (At the very least I promise to post it by next Friday), but for now have a look at some older work, like the intro to Aurora, a sidebar that I drew, and some sketches! Oh, and let's all say thanks to Lexa for being the inspiration to this new trend! And now, here comes the art!:

Now to Aurora:

The sun rises on what promises to be a beautiful day. The soft chirping of birds floats through the crisp morning air as people about the city slowly rise from their sleep and connect to the Channel in preparation for the new day.

Time passes, the world goes on. At least, that’s what I’ve always been told. But how can the world recover from this?

Connecting to their favorite news station, the denizens of the city prepare to receive their morning news feed. Reports of the current state of affairs pour into them, are read over, then filed away for reflection on their commute to work. All that you would expect to be in a newscast is there: stock reports, weather, the current political status, crimes, and all else. This is what they receive: the economy was never better. Stocks are up, there are no crimes to speak of. The weather will be beautiful, as is usual for this time of the year, and the traffic is light. An almost perfect, and extremely charming, city.

The year is 2127. Over the past 100 years or so the world has seen immense technological advancements. The Channel is by far the biggest advancement of all, and some would even say the best. The Channel is a universally accessible media source, full of other sub sources, with which one can search for information, contact people, send messages, hold digital meetings somewhat akin to old video conferences, and many other things, like get the mandatory morning news feed. All this is thanks to a chip implanted in us at birth, so that we are never without access to information.

The standard news feed is interrupted and replaced by an emergency broadcast. Something about a man trying to disrupt the integrity of the Channel, trying to bring it offline. They say not to worry, the Maintainers are fixed on him and trying to bring him into custody. A picture floats up, representing a man in his prime, with dark brown hair, shallow cheeks, and a casual demeanor that could lead you to believe that this man is harmless. His only true distinguishing feature, and perhaps the most unsetteling thing about this man, are his heterochromatic blue and green eyes, which throw a sharp contrast to the rest of his face, a chilling effect. They're calling him Cethin, the night stalker. A warning goes out to be on the lookout for this man, and to immediately inform the Maintainers if you see him.

The Maintainers. These are the people whose sole duty is to monitor the connections made in the Channel, making sure all stays in order. The government champions these men and women as society’s watchmen, looking out for the people and their safety, weeding out those that will cause harm. I was one of them, a lead Maintainer. Now I am marked as this Cethin, out to destroy all the good that the Channel does. And this is true. I stand alone in my fight to bring down the Channel, because only I realize what others don’t: that the Channel is simply a means to control the minds of the masses, placing them squarely in the palm of the government and their whims. I am Ryan Elior Kennedy, also known as Aurora, and I am about to usher in the dawn.