Tribute to September

A quick follow-up to the last vlog, I was assigned the very first week after the original.  I was a little bit intimidated because I had no idea what to do or talk about, so I decided to tell people a little about myself.  It's not very interesting, but it is enough that I can avoid punishment from the rest of Inksanity.  That is, unless I don't meet the goal I set for myself.  (What was I thinking?  October 1st seemed a lot more attainable when it was a month away...)

Needless to say, if you are reading this, you know that I either have a few hours to complete my goal or you are waiting to find out if I actually did.  Because all of the other things I could be accomplishing right now are not so inviting, I will go into more detail about my goal.

In the vlog, I said I would have a beta reader-ready copy of Finding Beauty ready by October 1st.  My first draft was only 54 pages long, so my initial thoughts were, "Sure, why not?  All I need to do is revise about 10 pages a week.  That's nothing!"  Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, so here I am, with less than 4 hours to go and still a little under 10 pages to read.  Ugh.  Why am I so optimistic?

Fortunately, the ending is a little more developed than the beginning was, so maybe I can manage to finish this on time.  Of course, it's not like it's the end of the world, but really I would prefer not to face whatever gruesome punishment my friends have in store for me (I heard it involves elevators, which are recurring nightmares of mine).

IF all goes as planned, all of my lovely beta readers can expect to receive a draft of my novel by Sunday, October 6th.  (You know who you are.)

If all does NOT go as planned, then my readers and viewers can expect a follow-up to this post, containing all the details and footage of my punishment.  For my own sake, I hope this waits for a later time.

The race is on.  In exactly 3 hours and 52 minutes, I will bid farewell to September.  For better or for worse, October is coming.  Tick tock!

The Typewriter Effect Project Pilot

Hello, my dear readers!  This post kicks off a vlog project that a few fellow writers and I have been developing for a while now.  Inspired by an offhand conversation and by other YouTube vloggers, we decided that to have a series of videos about writing would be a good way to hold each other accountable for the goals we each have.  Not only this, but it's a fun experiment in technology that adds a new medium to our writing.  We are aware that there are glitches and a few bugs to work out, but we are hoping that we will be able to get these fixed in time.  Please bear with us as we are new to this process and are in it for the adventure.  After all, we don't hope to be famous, just to be ourselves.

I present The Typewriter Effect.  None of us knows what the project will entail, only that it will have a variety of eccentricities to entertain our viewers.  There could be anything from a weekly update on our latest novel project to a duel-or-die character battle.  (It's frightening, I know.)  And maybe, just maybe, we'll inspire someone to begin something big.  After all, greatness comes in small packages.

Dear Anonymous

I wrote this poem for anyone who is feeling down and needs words of encouragement.  Too many people don’t realize how valued they are.  In a world where greatness is measured by material standards, I want them to know that beauty comes from the inside, not from without.

I just want you to know

That you are beautiful

Don’t ever change because of someone else

You don’t need to impress others

You are you, and that is enough

Nobody is perfect, so why do you have to be?

Mistakes are part of the learning process

People care about you

You have potential for greatness

Boldness is powerful

Quiet is revolutionary

When you’re tired of doing things wrong,

Step back and see what you’ve accomplished for good

You may be surprised by what you find

Your life is not an accident

You are wonderful

Those who say you are nothing

Are absolutely wrong

You are strong

This world knows nothing of greatness

Who you are is not who you see in your reflection

And no matter what anyone says,

You are priceless

Don’t give up

Streetlight

The lights glimmer so bright

With their missing letters

Here and there

The shops all closed,

Except for a few

Who hope to snare another passerby

The streets are dark

And no one is about

Save for a few souls wandering

Hurriedly to nowhere

The streets are empty

But for a few cars

And the streetlights click on

In a flood of orange

Chasing away those shadows

That prowl and skulk shadily

Who hunt like predators, hungry

Those shadows that creep around

In alleys

In shops

In courtyards

In parks

Around corners

At crosswalks

But not where the light pools

In the middle of the street

That circle of safety

From the darkness

From the silence

From the desolation

Here, in the dark

A safe harbor