Idea Factory

I have an idea factory in my head that works at all times of day and night. Like any writer, I have dozens of stories I want to write someday. Sometimes I forget the ideas I have until they resurface, with a new plot element, or character, or a specific scene. I don’t know how it happens. I don’t think any writer really knows how it happens, for all that we might talk about inspiration or writing what we know.

I do my best thinking when my mind is wandering. When I’m doing some sort of mindless behavior, like walking or showering or waiting to fall asleep. Sometimes when I listen to music, a scene plays in my mind to the beat of the song, following the lyrics. It’s just something that comes out of nowhere.

Recently, the idea factory passed a new idea through for my inspection, a bit of depth to a previous plot line. I like it a lot and I think there’s real potential, but I probably won’t be able to get to it for a while. I have too many other projects going on, so this idea goes back into the factory to see if it might have a little more growing to do. It should. There’s always room to blossom further.

That is, coincidentally, how I feel about Agenda 21, which is the book I said I was reading last week. I finished it. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of post-apocalyptic stories. However, this isn’t a book full of zombies, or bloodshed. It’s a quieter sort of collapse. A collapse caused by order. It’s an interesting story and it had my attention all the way through, though I feel like there isn’t as much detail as I would have liked. That’s understandable, seeing as the main character has no real power and wouldn’t know much of anything, but still.

There is a sequel, which I hope to read soon, but this week’s book is Phantoms by…Dean Koontz! I seem to remember liking this book in the past, so hopefully it goes well.

I think that's all for now! Be sure to check me out at www.facebook.com/authoremilyblue, or follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @Miss_Emily_Blue.
Until next time!

~Blue

Valentine's Day Thoughts

Another week gone! Valentine's Day is past and I have to say that I really enjoy that day. I don't really understand the obsession society has with relationships. Who's dating and who isn't, and the need to keep from being single. The animosity towards those who are in relationships. I don't understand any of it. Worth shouldn't be defined by the presence or lack of a single aspect of life.
But Valentine's Day, I love. It isn't the pressure to make it a special day. It isn't the fact that it's the one day where you show your significant other how much you love them, because you're supposed to.
I do that all the time. I love my partner. I try my hardest to make them happy every single day. I don't need a holiday for that.
But, I love special days with them. I love making them feel even more special, and planning for that day. It gives both of us something to look forward to.
But, that's enough of that. Time to hop off my soap box and get back to business as usual.
I've been trying to get back into going for regular walks and I have been very sore and tired as a result. It's something I really enjoy though, so it's worth it. It gives me time to clear my mind and just enjoy the weather. Damp, a little chilly. Hardly anyone else is around. Perfect.
I have started editing the novel that I wrote a few years ago, called Black Ink Rose. I printed out the entire manuscript awhile ago and made notes through the whole thing with a green sharpie -Green is my second least favorite color, the first being orange. I let it sit for a short while and now I'm getting back into it. I honestly can't wait to see how it develops.
As far as what I'm reading, the current novel of the week is Agenda 21 by Glenn Beck. It's about, well, Agenda 21! Agenda 21 is a sort of set of guidelines, a plan that actually exists in the real world, detailing sustainable human development. Some of the aspects of the plan might seem drastic, but it's nonbinding. No one has to agree to do it unless they want to, and it is not as extreme as it seems.
The book version is a fictional, post-apocalyptic-esque of what would happen if Agenda 21 was indeed taken to the extreme. The story follows Emmaline, who is a young woman who has spent much of her life in a strictly-regulated compound. Her experiences with the way things are makes her realize that this not how they should be.
Will she fight back?
I have no idea, because I haven't read that far!
I think that's all for now! Be sure to check me out at www.facebook.com/authoremilyblue, or follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @Miss_Emily_Blue.
Until next time!

~Blue

Preparedness

I'm just going to get right into it. I still don't like Dean Koontz very much.
For an example of my dislike for Koontz, I started reading The Taking a couple weeks ago, on January 26th. I only just finished it this part Thursday. The next book I started reading, The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan, was the day after, Friday. I finished reading it Sunday.
That's quite a bit of a difference, time-wise. The difference is that the Koontz book felt more like a chore, while the Shan book was something I wanted to do. It's disappointing, because I really did try to like the Koontz book. It had some interesting parts to it and the premise -an apocalypse which appears to be the result of aliens terraforming the earth- is right up my alley. However, I still felt like there was something lacking.
I usually feel that way with a Koontz book. However, that usually happens at the ending. But this time, I liked the ending. I wish there had been more of the ending throughout the rest of the book, more hints that this was being led up to. As it was, these interesting resolutions came out of nowhere.
Overall, disappointing.
I don't really recommend it unless you're a Koontz fan, and then you'll probably love it.
Otherwise, it's just been business as usual over here. Work, personal projects, leisure activities, and so on.The only thing that changes from day to day is my mood.
And lately I've been thinking about preparedness. About being prepared. For the future, for anything that might happen. There wasn't even something that caused this, not the state of the world or even something on a more personal level. I've just been...wondering.
For awhile now, I've carried around a little baggie of bandages and aspirin and ointments in my purse, for just in case. For some reason, I've been feeling like this isn't enough. If something happens, if push comes to shove, if I am in an area when something is occurring, what use is my little baggie going to be?
I've just been thinking about making sure I'm prepared at home, in my car, and wherever I might be. You never know what's going to happen.
Maybe I think I'm a character in a novel! When it's my time to enter into a story, will I be equipped to handle it or will I be one of the people who gets eaten first by a zombie? Although, I'm not sure what having a First Aid kit in my car would do for my chances of survival against the undead. Maybe I can bandaid them to death.
That's all for now, I think. Be sure to check me out at www.facebook.com/authoremilyblue, or follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @Miss_Emily_Blue.
Until next time!

~Blue

Sick and Discouraged

I've been sick and feeling very discouraged lately, sleeping too much and not getting enough done throughout the day. It really sucks, especially when there's so much that I want to do. I just finished making notes on a 300-page manuscript I wrote several years ago. I got two more rejections and I want to send those stories to other magazines, and I want to get to work on editing another story. I have artwork I want to do, in a variety of mediums.
But, when I'm sleeping all day, I barely have enough time to get finished with my work and maintain a relationship.
Poor me, right? Working a job I love, at my own pace.
I'm aware that I have privileges others don't and I won't deny that I'm lucky for the opportunities I have. However, struggles are subjective. Not having a certain difficulty doesn't mean I don't have difficulties at all.
It can be rough to be motivated, carving out a simple existence in a world that favors big businesses.
It can be tough to get going when your own mind works against you.
I think I'm getting past it, though. I'm leaning towards a more positive outlook in general so I believe this, too, will pass. Things will get better, and they'll get worse, but I hope that the overall trend will be upwards.
I've been reading a novel by Dean Koontz, The Taking. I'm not a big fan of Koontz. His stories just don't hold much interest for me. This one especially has a lot of purple prose that just doesn't seem like it fits the story being told. There's not enough substance for me. Not enough forward motion. I have a feeling the ending is going to disappoint me too, as his books usually leave me wanting. I hope I'm proven wrong because a bad ending is going to make me reluctant to read another book of his that I plan to get into.
That's all for now, I believe. I've been posting more on Twitter, and I definitely post on my author page on Facebook.
My Twitter handle is @Miss_Emily_Blue and my Facebook author page is www.facebook.com/authoremilyblue
Until next time.

~Blue

Busy, Busy, Busy

I missed my post last week! I'm not quite sure exactly what happened, except that things have been oddly busy lately. I'm not quite sure why. It was near the end of my deadline, but I was actually ahead of everything. There have just been a lot of small events going on and I lost track of time.
But I'm back now, never fear! I'm that annoying itch you just can't scratch, always coming back when you think you've lost me.
So, what's been going on? Just, ordinary things. Shopping, a movie, some time spent with family, all stretched out over several days. My sister has just gotten a new puppy and that's been very exciting. I'm proud to say that the puppy is very fond of me, and I am very fond of her. Her name is Hazel, and she is a Boston Terrier mix. There are pictures of her on my facebook page, at facebook.com/authoremilyblue/ and also on my Twitter! Surprise! I've been trying to post there a little more, at twitter.com/Miss_Emily_Blue. So, if you want to see the cute puppy, check either one of those places.
I've been having a hard time finding, well, time, to read lately. I've been working on Firestarter by, you guessed it, Stephen King. An older book, for sure. The copy I'm reading is at least 30 years old, and it is definitely showing its age.
I'm not sure that I have much more to share, except to say that I have all three of my revised short stories circulating around and I'm about to get to work on a fourth. I've been in a very good place recently, which is probably why I've let myself get busy lately. I've wanted to do things. I've wanted to go out, and dress up a little in nicer shirts, with more jewelry.
To someone who never used to even want to leave her room, this is something wondrous and new.
Be sure to stop by at the links I mentioned before!
Until next time.

~Blue

Happiness Is Like...

I have to say, the fact that I'm seeing a few views here is really heartening. I'm so grateful for anyone who takes a few minutes out of their day to read what I've written.
I recently finished working on a second draft of a short story that I wrote in the past. I feel much, much better about it now. My partner read it and called it creepy, although she's not normally a fan of horror so her tolerance isn't very high. Nevertheless, she's always honest with me, and she says she enjoyed it. It needs another edit and a real title, and then I can look into sending it around to magazines.
Three stories of mine, circulating the internet, looking for a home. Nothing is certain and yet, the idea of all that potential is astonishing to me. Even a year ago, I wouldn't have thought that I'd be accomplishing so much, personally and professionally.
But, nothing's perfect. Happiness is like breath against a window at night, a pale fog through which the darkness can still be glimpsed. It won't last forever, that fog. It dissipates, shrinks away. But we breathe again.
Today (technically yesterday but at the time I'm writing this, it's 2:40 a.m. and I haven't gone to bed yet. It feels like today to me still) I had a very hard time getting out of bed. Unless someone has had depression, or a similar discouraging mental illness, I think it might be hard to understand the weight of your own discouraged thoughts. It's so hard to get going, and all the while it's like you're carrying this boulder uphill. At any moment, your strength might give out. You might fall, collapse, get dragged back, be crushed.
Or, you just might make it.
I like to think I made it. I did my work, and I had some fun. As my partner says, it's not about plastering a smile to my face. It's about putting one foot in front of another.
I think that's all for now. Be sure to check out my author page on facebook, at facebook.com/authoremilyblue/
Until next time.

~Blue

New Year Neatness

I'm aware that the title is lame. I couldn't think of anything else that would sound better. I'm just going to claim the lameness as my own and make it a feature.
I hope everyone had a safe New Year's celebration. My own New Year was very quiet. No noisy neighbors or anything this year. I don't do parties, so it was more or less an ordinary day for me. In fact, around midnight, I was just painting. Maybe the cold had something to do with the quiet. It's hard to be in a partying mood when it's negative degrees outside.
I haven't thought about a resolution this year. I can't even remember what my resolution last year was and if I failed it or succeeded. I think I'm just going to focus on doing the best day that I can. I feel like this is going to be a pretty good year, though. Everything has been on a pretty upward trend for me, so hopefully it will only continue getting better.
As I write this, Cassie is desperately trying to tell me it's bedtime. She keeps flying around and won't settle anywhere. That usually means she's tired. She also has this impatient little chirp that she does when she wants to go to bed, usually right in my ear.
I just finished my work deadline not all that long ago, which means I'm right in the middle of some free time. I've got a big project of my own that I'm working on right now, mostly reading and editing and planning at this stage. Maybe it will come to fruition in 2018, or something else will. And if not, there's always the other years to come.
I finished reading Cujo, by Stephen King. I didn't remember as much of it was I thought I did. I enjoyed it, as I enjoy most of what he's written, though it's not my favorite. That would be Misery, or Pet Semetary. Right now, the book I have picked up is The Death of Grass, by Samuel Youd, writing as John Christopher. I haven't gotten far into it, although I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. I can't remember if I found it on a recommended science fiction list, or one for horror. Given the subject matter, it seems to fit in both categories.
Editor Bird is biting my ear, so I suppose I should end this. Thank you for reading and be sure to check out my author page at https://www.facebook.com/authoremilyblue/
Until next time.

~Blue