Thursday Tea Party

Hello lovelies! Tonight, I have coffee instead of tea… And lots of it. I am in the home stretch for Beauty’s Tears – only 9 poems left to write. I am hoping to knock out the writing before the first. I likely will not be getting to Layout until December, but it means that Heart Drops will be started with the poems of the PAD challenge.

Fae Corps will be doing another round of daily prompts in November. I will probably be reblogging many of them. The first group got a good reception so we decided to do them for nano/poetry writers in November.

I have been approached by another poet/author about doing a guest blog. Her idea intrigued me! So I will be posting it as soon as she gets it to me for you to read. I enjoy her poetry so I believe that you will enjoy the post.

So… I am facing my fears… And then some. I asked about doing a author signing event yesterday. I also have found a craft fair to try and sell my art and crafts at. This is such a big thing. I have been making art, jewelry, and resin pieces. And due to fear, I have been sticking it all in bins. Anxiety often keeps me from doing. I was called out for my bs. Joe, my boyfriend, told me that if I was not going to do anything to sell or use it then I should stop making it. I hate it when he is right. So I am swallowing the what if I fail fear. The first craft show is a local hot dog sale on the first Saturday in November. I have to get to earning money for books for the signing event. I personally have 19 poetry volumes, 3 kids books, and a memoir. Plus Serena’s 2. And the anthology. That makes it expensive to have even a small amount of copies to sell. Those numbers just make me want to cry.

The beginning of the year will be seeing a lot of new things, from me and from Fae Corps. We have a lot planned. I will be seeing the release of my Beauty’s Tears and the anthology Faery Footprints in December. I am hoping that Serena will have a book ready for release with the new year. I am looking at the release of the audiobook version for the princess lost.

This year is still going to be bringing new challenges. What are you hoping to do before the end of 2019?

Webcomics Wednesday

It’s been a while since I have done this, so I thought that it was time to talk about a new comic. Eventually I plan on covering all of my favorite ones. Last time I talked about Dominic Deegan. Today, I want to talk about a relatively new comic. She has been posting for a couple of years. Geekasaurus is an adorably geeky family of dinosaurs. A fun sense of humor and a very wholesome family feel to it.

The artwork is cute. The writing is inspired. I highly recommend reading through the past comics.

What webcomics are your favorite? And why?

Friday Prompts – Zombie

Ok. Here’s the list for October. Send me a link to your post, comment below or email to patti.mouse@gmail.com. The prompt can be answered however you see fit as long as it is individual work- yours. So art, poetry, short story, photos, or whatever you can come up with.Today lets explore Zombies! Here is some drawings of a zombie I did!

And a poem from Pocketful of Poetry

Zombie

Also did you know that Serena has a Zombie Novel out? Rust, Gore, and the Junkyard Zombie

So, now let’s see what you can do with it!

Who am I

Writers gather their characters from various places. Some look at people in their own life, some try to create ones opposite of the people they know.

By nature, a writer is a people watcher. It helps to get descriptions and ideas.

Personally, I think that people watching should start with the mirror. Who am I? Look into your own personality traits, character flaws, desires, and fears. That gives you an idea of how to write a character. Practice describing you. Do a “character” sheet for you. In an attempt to show you what I mean… Here is a character sheet for me.

Name : Patricia Lynn Harris

Nickname /preferred name: Patti

Eyes: Chocolate Brown

Hair: natural dark brown /nearly black though she often colors it in shades of purple. Wears it between short and slightly more than shoulder length.

Height 5’2

Weight 290

Body shape pear

{Here is where you decide how in depth you want the sheet to be}

Birthplace – _________

Home – ____________

{Obviously I don’t feel personally I need those}

Strengths: Intelligence, flexibility, resilience, creativity

Flaws: Lazy, chronically ill, sloppy, physical weakness

Fears: severely claustrophobic, mildly Agoraphobia, Acrophobia

Personal descriptors: pacifist, feminist, pansexual, ptsd

Abilities : program in c#, draw, write, paint, resin, jewelry design, digital art, cover design, crotchet, needlepoint, networking, computer literacy, storytelling, sewing, piano, teaching, editing, publishing

Yeah, this is all very dry information. It gives you a skeleton to work with. Then you can take it and create an image of your character. Here’s what I see…

She was not your typical shut in. Patti was creative, and used that creativity to test her boundaries. Her dark eyes sparkled as she made the characters come alive. Running her hand through the lavender hair, she grumbled her frustration about the story not coming easy.

Though she had other projects awaiting her attention, this story was pulling at her. The self imposed deadline gave a reason to avoid doing the housework that she so wanted to avoid.

See how a few dry facts turn into a short and interesting scene? Do that with you and see what you can do. Then expand until you have a good character collection to work from. It will make character development second nature. (Also remember… Villains are characters, too)

Familiar Friday

Today I am tired. I wanted to do a post, but I just need to take a break. I got approved to write for Coffee House Writers. My partner just released her first YA Novel. We have been dealing with both vehicles going down at once, and the riding lawn mower broke a belt. Add in changing out a broken dishwasher in my kitchen and it has been a busy week.

Now I don’t like to give excuses, you deserve a post. So I figure that I will share some of the inspiration memes I have. Back to the normally scheduled posts on Monday.

More Monday

Ok folks… I am exhausted. I just did layout for two books. I am editing the first novel for one of our Authors over at Fae Corps, Cyn A Snow. I am trying to do Sketchtember, at least twice a day. And I don’t have anything ready for today. So, instead I decided to ask you to share what you have been doing. Art, writing, crafts… Just give me something to look at. I look forward to seeing what you have been creating. I promise that this is a judgement free zone. I will not tolerate negative comments.

Finding Ideas

So in today’s society it seems like there’s more than we can handle in ideas out there. If you are like me, sometimes you have too many ideas. You just need to have an outside push to get the writing going.

Stories seem to be easier as far as ideas for me, but not everyone is the same. I struggle with topics for my poetry sometimes. So that is when I crawl the net looking for prompts to spark my muse.

Where do I look? Well, I personally like tumblr for prompts. The search feature helps. Look for #poetryprompts.

I also have a Pinterest board. WordPress can be a good source and there is a few who post to Instagram.

Seems like there is a few options. Sometimes you can even just put a call out on social media for ideas.

Note that many prompts can be used for writing, for art, and are interchangeable.

Where do you seek your ideas?

Friday Funday

Trying to do a writing based fun day.

Admittedly, some of them are writing tips. Some are word funnies. Hope that you enjoyed, and if you have one feel free to share it with me!

Prompts

I.)

If you could live in any place or time (or both) where/when would it be?

II.)

You stumbled and fell into a hole in the ground. You find yourself in a new time /place(the one from the question above). You are alone with nothing more than what is usually in your pockets /purse. What are you going to do? Where will you go?

III. )

Would you seek to return home? And why? Is it something or someone you want to return to?

IV. )

Lastly, what sort of adventure will it take to return home? What adventure if you stay? What changes will your presence cause in the timeline?

Good writing! 😍

Webcomics Wednesday

Ok… This is a segment that I have been considering. I used to follow hundreds of webcomics. I have gotten behind due to the small screen I am most often working with. It makes checking the pages more difficult. Add in chaos… And I am far behind. I want to change that.

Some of my favorite comics have ended. And I have been needing to update the links. I follow quite a few comic creators on social media. I find them to be fairly interesting people. Well one of my absolute favorite comics is being continued again.

The artist moved on to another comic. He has grown since the first part of his comic. I used to check in daily. He is still one of my favorite creators. His stories are amazing.

I asked if he was only going to update past the summer. He said that he intends to continue on until further notice. I am so excited! He is doing a m/w/f update schedule. His current continuation is called The Legacy of Dominic Deegan. Help me show him that his work is truly appreciated.

What is your own favorite webcomic? And why?