August 2010
2 posts
Moving to Wordpress
I’m switching to Wordpress blogging for a few reasons, but one of the biggest is that I like to think that I might actually have readers who enjoy my blog and want to follow and comment on them. Tumblr was fun and looked great, and was easy to use, but it was lacking a few qualities that I really wanted. I’ve been thinking a lot about my blog, and decided that for the most part, I want...
Sara and I Ramble...
Me: We go together like laugh and cry.
Her: What does that mean?
Me: It would really suck to have one without the other.
July 2010
3 posts
On Stephen King's book, "On Writing"
First, I’d like to announce that this is my fourth day in a row waking up before 7am and exercising. Insomnia? Bite me.
As you can probably tell by the title of the blog, I’ve just finished reading (via audiobook) On Writing, by Stephen King. It’s pretty much on my top list of things a writer should expose themselves to if they really want to do this seriously.
There are tons...
The Science of Being Goofy Writer People
So I can’t write. I think it’s been too long, and some rust has built up. Despite all of business Sam’s yelling, it’s not happening. So, on to the next best thing.
Reading?
I think so. Reading always gets those gears turning, and gets me all excited. Nothing exhilerates me more than reading an excellent book and wanting to write my own, or reading something that is almost...
More Schitzo-Sam
Hello, deep dark internet. It’s your friendly neighborhood… um, Sam. We really ought to give you a better name. Mine is still cool though. =)
So. I’m pretty much killing time until the pool opens. I can’t focus on reading, and I don’t want to play video games. I want to write. I want to give you guys Chasing Clouds, because I keep promising it to you, and to myself....
April 2010
3 posts
Tracy Hickman on Writing Excuses (LTUE)
Tracy Hickman: “Writers basically believe that they are never going to be or are already has-beens. The thing I try to tell writers all the time, and I have to remind myself is that we have not yet written our best work. The best is yet to come. It could be that next book, it could be two books away, but it’s in our future because every time we write we improve our craft. Every...
Writing Exercises
Here are some Writing Exercises I just came up with for myself. They are each designed to be done in as little as 5 minutes, yet expandable (If you really get into what’s going on you could go on writing for hours). I thought I’d share them - if they inspire any writing exercise ideas from you, feel free to share! =)
Word Association; Pick a news article (online, serious or funny) and...
March 2010
7 posts
Sam's "Romance-O-Meter"
“You complete me” = Cheesy but Romantic, if there’s history to back it up.
“I loved you since the day I met you” = Twitterpation = Not Romantic. “I knew I found you interesting the day I met you, and came to love you” is cool, and “I loved you before I met you” conveys an idea that the person fulfills the things you need in a relationship and...
ZOMG, Horror
I’ve been fascinated in horror lately. Most especially “My Last Dutchess”, “A Tell-tale Heart” and “I am Not a Serial Killer”
One of my “writer-weaknesses” right now is that I’m not practiced in making things as dark as I want them to be. When I read a really good Fantasy, I often sit and ponder in dismay at how the author was able to...
Thanks for the birthday wishes, Mr. Weird Al
Happy birthday Happy birthday to you Happy birthday Happy birthday to you Well, it’s time to celebrate your birthday, it happens every year We’ll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer You should be good and happy that there’s something you can eat A million people every day are starving in the street Your daddy’s in the gutter with the wretched and the poor ...
February 2010
6 posts
Movie Nostalgia
Don’t know why I feel the need… simple list of movies I grew up on, and I mean each of these were repeated consistently as I grew up, especially on Sundays or when one of us was sick. In a way I feel each one shapes who I am and what I look for today, though exactly how and why might be another blog entirely.
Action/Adventure Star Wars Back to the Future Hook Romance You’ve Got...
Oreo Hypothesis
Hypothesis - Milk catalyzes the Human-Oreo reaction.
Control Group; Me, one sitting, no milk
At Home; None. Wait until I get some milk.
At Party; 1-2. Better to have oreo than to have none
Experimental Group; Me, one sitting, with milk
At Home; 12+, if I don’t eat the whole bag
At Party; ~6, trying to be polite and let others have some
Conclusion - The data supports the Hypothesis
Bricks
Fell out of bed, and entering the bathroom
hit my head against the brick wall.
Stonily I stomped about
piecing together my belongings,
my mood heavy and weighted
like stone.
The traffic moved like concrete flows over pancakes,
my sputtered curses falling
like soft fists against a wall.
Then, my homework left alone and forgotten,
hit my head like a brick.
Written today in class, after a...
Writing Horror
I can’t quote it perfectly, but I once heard Stephen King define horror as the little teenage girl in alone, clutching a knife that she won’t ever get to use. In other words, it’s not James Bond. In a James Bond thriller, we put our capable hero in situations that may be overwhelming - but it’s James Bond! We just wait to see how he gets out of this.
In a horror, we...
WatchBrandon Sanderson Interview for the Wheel of Time. I picked up my first Robert Jordan book at 16, and loved what I read. Admittedly, I got thrown off for years after I finished book 4 by the length of the books, but I’ve recently begun reading them again and I’m now on book 8. Robert Jordan has captured my respect, especially in his talent with Characterization. This video is actually...
Sam wants YOU, and your input.
I’m doing this 365 day playlist project. I saw several people doing daily projects like this for 2010 and for me, music is a huge part of how I control my mood. My aim with this playlist is to repeat artists as little as possible, and if I do so, I do so with songs that have very different feel (Such as Linkin Park’s Shadow of the Day, vs their other stuff). I’m not about to run...
January 2010
6 posts
21 Things We're Learning to Live Without - Rick... →
In a way, this blog put into perspective how something like the current recession can be a blessing. We all are, or know people who are in a hard spot - but in the end, do we really need to pay someone $6 to make us a sandwich? It’s not like a sandwich is especially hard to make, and the raw ingredients might take you a couple bucks higher - for a week or more’s worth of sandwiches...
“People who write their own chapter quotes should be shot.”
– Bob Defendi, quoted in the Chapter Heading of “Death by Cliche”, by Bob Defendi.
Secret to Great Harvest Brownies
Now, I’m not actually giving you the Great Harvest Brownie recipe… I signed papers that prevents me from doing that. But if you want an easy way to good brownies, try this;
Buy a box of brownie mix from the store (My preferred brand is the Pillsbury)
- Replace Water with Milk
- Replace Oil with Butter
- Add chocolate chips and/or walnuts to your preference
- Make sure to take them...
(Poetry) Breathless
Breathless
It was not the sight of you
and you are not the reason
for this ache in my chest.
Truth is
I’m out of shape.
Using Arrogance
Waxing Philosophical about Confidence and Arrogance
What is the difference between arrogance and confidence? This isn’t a hypothetical question, because I’m about to attempt to answer it. For myself, mostly. I think that the answer lies very much in the same place as the answer to this question; “What is the difference between anger and violence?”
The answer to this...