It's Pumpkin Carving Time!

I haven't really gotten to carve a pumpkin in a long time, but this is our first Halloween in the new house and my first Halloween in a place where you get trick-or-treaters since I was four. Above is my pumpkin shortly after I finished carving it. 

Here we are actually carving our pumpkins. Jessica, Brandon's sister, is the one dressed up like a skeleton or something...they had a costume contest at her school today.

This is her zombie pumpkin, finished product.

And this is my pumpkin puking its guts out after it saw the zombie pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!

My 2009 Synopsis

I've finally put together a synopsis for my first NaNoWriMo novel. My next step will be some kind of banner or mock cover to motivate myself. Let me know what you guys think!

Celeste (Working Title)

Ninteen-year-old Kayden lives in a world of fear. During her senior year, she survived a school shooting which left her traumatized. As a result, she developed anxiety disorder and agoraphobia. Kayden passes the time and interacts with the outside world through a massive multiplayer online roleplaying game called Celeste, playing so often and so intently that the lines between her reality and the game often become blurred. In Celeste, she makes a friend who she plays with every day, questing and leveling alongside him, becoming as close to him as she can without leaving the confines of her room, the only place that she really feels safe.

When her friend goes missing, Kayden must gather up her courage and leave the comfort and safety of her home to find him. But when she finally goes outside, she finds herself stepping in the world of Celeste, alone and with no way to get home.

No, this is not my banner, but it is cute. I love lolcats!

NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party

Today isn't the actual real kick-off for NaNoWriMo, but we did the party early because next weekend is Halloween and it's going to be pretty hectic. I got to meet a lot of really cool people today at the kick-off, so it was pretty fun.

We did some writing exercises and I got some good ideas for my novel from some of the other writers there. Several people were wearing the NaNo 2009 shirts and now I really want one. I just have to convince Brandon that the $20 (plus shipping) is worth it.

I took some pictures at the event today, not too many because I didn't want to bother people with my camera. The flash can be annoying sometimes because it flashes a whole bunch. Anyway, I posted the pictures to Flickr. It's my first time using Flickr, but it's more open and people can post comments and tag themselves...at least I think so.

Here's the Link to the Flickr set. Check it out when you're not bored.

Last full weekend before NaNo... Yay Kick-Off!

I lucked out this weekend and got Saturday off. I'm also planning on calling in sick tomorrow because I really want to go on a Mini Cooper drive around Houston to a bunch of different haunted houses. I know it's bad to call in sick, but I'm only going to be working at Barnes and Noble for another week before I begin my new job, and I've never called in sick. I'm just ready to finally have an open weekend!

Today is the big Houston kick-off. I'm hoping to meet a bunch of Houston people there, hopefully make some new friends that share the same interest in writing as me. It's a bit of a drive to head downtown for it, but I don't mind the driving. I'm going to bring my camera and probably post a bunch of pictures to the blog. That's about it for now. I'm running some errands with Brandon this morning, gotta get dog food and whatnot.

My Writing Space

I saw a thread on the NaNoWriMo forums where people were posting pictures of their writing spaces. I'm going to add my writing space to the thread as well, but first I wanted to post the pictures here, because I wanted to post all of the pictures and talk about them a little bit.

The bulk of my writing is going to be done in the study. It's still a little messy but I'm hoping Brandon will have all of his boxes out by the time NaNo starts on November 1st. It's been kind of hard unpacking everything because both Brandon and I are pack rats! We have way too much stuff that we don't want to throw away.

Here's a head-on view of my desk. I've go the iMac in the middle, and on the desk you'll see my MacBook, a camera lens, speakers, printer, mouse, iPhone dock, and my Kindle. This is with the blinds closed, which is how they will be when I really need to concentrate. (The doors to the study will most likely be shut as well.) I've been trying to go for a very minimal style to my writing space, but I always seem to have too much!

I'll probably open the blinds on weekends or on particularly nice days. You can see some of the clutter (it's gotten a lot better). Brandon's desk is on the left side of the picture and wraps around the study. The best part about this room is the view. A nice view of the large pond which will be great when I need some openness or inspiration. (Or if I'm just feeling really shut-in).

And here is a picture of the view outside the windows. It was cloudy today, so it looks a little dreary. It looks a lot better when it's sunny outside.

NaNoWriMo 2009!

So I'm starting this particular blog mostly with NaNoWriMo in mind. That's National Novel Writing Month and it begins on November 1st at 12:01am. During the month of November, my goal is to write a 50,000 word (or more) novel. I'll post updates here and more information about the novel I will be writing soon. I'll also be supplementing with pictures (if I'm not too lazy to upload) and other things. If I go to any write-ins around Houston, I will be sure to bring my camera!

After NaNo is over, this blog will revert to my personal blog. I had one before, but I was kind of unhappy with it and I stopped updating, so I am starting over with it.

If you are going to participate in NaNo, add me as a writing buddy!