Caffeine--Stat!

It took its sweet time getting here, but I think spring has finally arrived! Which is great because I need the sun and warmth to recharge. I'm always more productive in the spring and summer (so say my graphs!).

I can't say much of my productivity for cleaning my house. *coughs* Well, if my husband doesn't like it, he can clean it - lol. Not that he complains--I can happily say he wouldn't ever tell me to clean if he saw me writing, since he knows how important it is to me.

But I doubt anyone really cares about my messy house, not unless they have to come visit (it needs to be clean by June 28th, yes, must clean for a cookout...it'll happen the week before when hubbie takes off of work just so we can clean the damn thing). I hope some of you care about my writing progress, though! If you don't, that's OK too. You can pass this post by then, and eagerly await my next post instead. ;)

I am going to answer a series of questions (so what if I'm interviewing myself--no one said writers aren't crazy).

Have you been writing the last couple months? Yes!

Have you been revising? Well, no, but--.

No excuses. Have you been focusing on one project? Um, that's a no too. I can explain, though!

I said no excuses! Have you been happy with your productivity and what you've been working on? Oh, I can answer this one with a yes!

Do you feel you've succeeded at your general writing goals? Yes, yes, yes! And that's what matters, isn't it?

What is your main goal? To keep the writing gears oiled, like I mentioned back in January. Any writing counts! I've been working on this fun short story (well, maybe it's a short story) that has rabid unicorns in it, and the baby blows raspberries with squirrel blood, and these things called blurberries--.

Slow down, slow down. No, not going to slow down I don't want to! Time for you to shut up. I haven't put any goals or constraints on what exactly I'm working on because I need the freedom to dabble right now. And I will mention an excuse--I have a 6-month-old who depends on me to take care of her. As a matter of fact she's wiggling on my lap right now while I type one-handed.

Uh, well. Don't you "uh, well" me. I've also been working on another contest entry for Valley of Unicorns. This one is a role-playing campaign. And I'm having a blast doing it. I wrote 1500 words on just one scenario last night. Is it something that I can publish? No. But I am keeping my creativity flowing, plus all writing is practice. 1500 words in one night! Think of how that will translate when I can focus again on material I intend to seek publication for.

And the main point is I'm pleased with my progress. Happy I'm having fun romping with words. There will be more time to focus on revising and such when my baby decides she's going to finally sleep through the night (and not grab at my face and hair when I'm just trying to type up a blog post), or maybe when I can get a constant IV of caffeine without all the unhealthy negatives of soda or sweet tea (which I'd seriously be sucking on all day if I could stop thinking of the acidity and empty calories).

OK, maybe I do need to slow down a bit. I shouldn't have drank that sweet tea.

Clearly I've been productive by my standards. All writing is practice and the more you do it, the more you'll improve.

I've also been running Writing Quest every month still. Don't forget to join in if you have some writing goals!

That's pretty much all I have for updates. Now get me more caffeine, and hurry, or I'm going to crash!

UP NEXT: What Am I Writing Now? -- A snippet of what I'm currently working on.

Crazy Necro Antics, Third Edition - Springtime!

The necromancer is a playable character class in Everquest, also called necro for short. Necros have an ability called feign death--some nicknames for this ability are FD and flopping. This series will highlight some funny instances of feign death. You do not need to be an Everquest player or even a gamer to laugh at these antics. Happy giggles!

The bees (and bixies) are buzzing about, flowers are in bloom, and the necros make sure to enjoy spring as only necros can! Morrigann decides that this time, fun amongst the flowers would be best had with a friend. So, Eteron joins her! As you can see, the heady scent of the flowers immediately puts them in a haze. They just can't stay on their feet, it's so intoxicating! Careful, Morrigann and Eteron, a bixie is lurking below--you may be dreaming spring dreams on her flower.

Sure enough, the bixies are after Eteron! Oh, no. Play dead before they sting you. Where is Morrigann? She needs to come to her friend's rescue.

Yikes! Guess she's in a pickle of her own. The sporelings and flowers must not have liked the way she smelled them. Seems the necros just can't stay out of trouble. Can they escape without feign death becoming real death?

Necro revenge! Both Eteron and Morrigann manage to smite the creatures camping them. And then they raise the dead for their own little army! Don't go threatening this pair of necros, or they'll put your corpse to work--no peace even in death!

And if you can't beat them, join them. Morrigann and Eteron don bixie illusions so they won't be bothered by the locals anymore. Oh, dear, guess the water lilies have them floating face down. They must not know bixies shouldn't go near the water.

DON'T EAT THE MUSHROOMS! Oops. I guess it's too late. What are we going to do with these careless necros? I bet they're hallucinating now. Because you really shouldn't eat the mushrooms. Everyone knows that. Well, everyone except Morrigann and Eteron.

The day winds down, and the necro friends are exhausted from all of their spring frolicking. So exhausted, as a matter of fact, that they can't find their way out of the hedge maze. Oh, well. They'll just take a nap and worry about it later.

Morrigann wants to remember the fun time she had with Eteron, so she brings some flowers back to the guild hall. However, she had to fight several bixies off to be able to pick the flowers, so she's a little worse for wear. It was worth it, though! She can't wait until next spring.

If you have any suggestions and silly antics you'd like to see, please post in the comments! It's possible your chosen antic(s) may be used in an upcoming post. All requests will be attributed in the post with a link back to the requester's blog (so include your blog link as well if I don't know it).

NEXT UP: Monthly Update!

Magic Is Reality, Reality Is Magic: Green

Magic is Reality, Reality is Magic is a series that highlights aspects of religions, particularly Paganism. We pull things from everyday life to use in our fiction. Magic is one of the key attributes of fantasy. Why not explore the realm of magic that many people already have in their lives?

Picture By SunOfErat Colors hold a lot of power in magic as well as symbolizing many things for us in everyday life. For this entry I chose the color green because spring is upon us (if winter ever gets the memo). How can you not think of green when the grass finally grows fresh and alive and the flowers start to bloom?

Clearly green symbolizes nature, as referenced above, which in turn connects to fertility. Green is the color of life!

But it's also the color of money, isn't it? Perhaps the U.S. paper money was made green because the color represents prosperity. If you look at the other side of the coin though, it also represents greed and jealousy. Don't let the green-eyed monster take over! Along with prosperity is also luck. The four-leaf clover, a long believed "lucky charm", is green.

A few other things green is associated with are balance, harmony, healing, abundance, and health.

What do you associate with the color green?

If you'd like to read a bit more about this color, you can take a look at the following websites: The Color Green, Green Color Meanings, and The Meanings of Green.

Further Reading Suggestions:

Cunningham, Scott. Earth Power. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1992.

I hope you found this tidbit interesting! If you would like me to touch on a particular topic that fits in this series, please don't hesitate to contact me with suggestions.

NEXT UP: Crazy Necro Antics - Spring Edition