Moving on...

Hi, guys! I know it's been a 'hot minute' since I've posted last, but this will be my last post at this blog. I've moved here... http://ericatripp.wordpress.com/.

I hope you'll drop by!

Blogger...

...you're being a bitch. Please. Check yourself, before you wreck yourself.

I'll try posting again tomorrow.

Packrat

Soooo...I'm moving to Austin, Texas.
I've always hated moving, because growing up, my sisters and I lived with my dad and we moved a lot. My dad and I would always move the big stuff and I would always end up sweaty, stinky and sporting about a dozen bruises by the end of the whole ordeal. This time, half of my stuff has been packed for about a year and a half, just because I knew I'd be moving again.

There are eleven boxes (that have been packed away forever) filled with just books. Eleven! I then had to pack two more with the books I've bought since moving in. I haven't been in those eleven boxes in a long time and I think that I'll have to go through them and give some away.

This always makes me emotional and I'm never ever able to get rid of more than a dozen or so. But this time...thirteen boxes of books is just too many. Especially since I know I won't read a lot of them again. Does anyone else have a problem giving away their books, even if they don't read them anymore? Do you donate them to a library or sell them to a used bookstore?

A Long Overdue Realization

I read a lot of author's blogs. A lot of them are a great mix of both humor, info, and just insight into their lives. And I think that it's important to read other author's words, not just their fiction, but their lives as well. How else will you know what another writer does when she is stuck and who knows exactly what you're going through, right?

Now.

My problem is, I get envious. Why isn't my life full of stories to share? Why am I so isolated and stuck in a room with nothing but a laptop and a cold cup of coffee? Why don't I have writerly friends to hang out with and shoot the breeze with? Huh?? HUH?? Why is life is so UNFAIR?!

*ahem*

Oh, yeah...it's because I don't do anything about it. I realized that today, as I'm reading about authors' get-togethers, book deal announcements, and general life. It sounds so obvious right? So right now, I'm going to make myself a goal. I will find a writing group, once I'm officially in Austin, and make those friends and create those experiences. Not just so I have more fodder for the blog, but so I can have that richer, more fulfilled life I'm so envious of.

And, lo, change happened...

Sooooo...lots of stuff has happened. I got a new laptop. (Yay!) Saw Harry Potter twice!! And I'm making the big move to Austin, TX, my favorite place. I'm here now, staying at a friend's house for another two weeks or so, looking for a job and a place to live. It's tough, but I'm happy to finally be living on my own and working again. Stay tuned!

Happy Fourth!!

Yesterday, I went with my lovely friend Fiona and her little boy Dash and Erin, Sean and their little boy Mason to see the fireworks at Tybee. And let me tell you, it was so much fun! We had sandwiches and chips and hummus and veg. And sand and saltwater and sun and more sand...but it was a blast!
The fireworks were really inspiring, it sounds cliche, I know! I just imagined a dark figure running across the rooftops, brilliant colors bursting in the night behind him. The fire so close it singes the clothing and burns exposed skin. The heat adding to the adrenaline coursing through that persons veins as he or she makes an escape.

Wow. My muse is back from vacation! (Can you tell I'm reading Heist Society?)

Excerpt from a WIP

When I'm writing, I always feel like I'm forcing something and my writer's voice sounds so stilted. I think that's why I procrastinate so much. Here's an excerpt, from a WIP (from about a month ago).

The morning light flickered through the window and a crisp breeze blew in. Roxie winced at the prickly breeze on her naked arms. She sighed and wiggled down and arms tightened around her. Hot lips pressed against her neck and a deep chuckle followed. Roxie's eyes flew open as she shot straight up. In her haste to get away from the strange man, she tangled herself in the sheets and fell out of bed.
The man just rolled over and said sleepily, “Are you late for work or something?” There was a loud yawn and then he continued.
“Just call in, Toby won't mind.”
Roxie went still. The voice was familiar and he knew who her manager was. She couldn't make her brain work. Slowly she peeked over the bed. All that was visible was a sliver of toned skin and one of her pillows. The body moved and she ducked back down. Trying to think back to last night was proving to be harder than she thought. There was a party...and lots of alcohol. A grimace pulled at her mouth. She could normally keep control when drinking, so what was different about last night?
Roxie let out a frustrated noise and crawled to her closet to find some clothes. When she let the sheets drop, she found she was in her favorite pajamas and a flimsy camisole. Her cheeks colored, feeling stupid for hiding a body that hadn't needed it. With one more peek at the hidden, slightly-familiar man, she left the room.

(Sorry about the formatting...the blockquotes kinda suck!)

Hello again!

Wow, I've been gone waaaay too long! I've got some plans for some more stuff so bare with me and keep an eye out!

Obsess much?

The thing you have to realize about me, is that I have a habit of obsessing over anything I'm interested in at the moment. When I was younger, it was Barbies. I made clothes out of stray socks, houses out of boxes and furniture out of pretty much anything. In my teens, it was the internet and Kisekae. (It was just like Barbies!!) Then I moved on to the television show Charmed (there might still be a lingering spark) during my senior year in high school. Then there was House M.D. both of which I would read an obscene amount of fanfic. Don't judge. If you're reading this, you've been there too. Stemming from that fanfic, I found Skoosiepants and her amazing "Dirty Trousers" HP fanfic, which grew to bandfic and how I found Panic! At the Disco and Fallout Boy and The Academy Is...

I could go on and on...my point is that, except for the Barbies, it has always come back to reading. After the fanfic stage, it got pretty expensive. Four weeks ago, I got a library card. It's my favorite thing right now; I'm obsessed. I've already checked out and read seven books in the past three weeks and I just got eleven more today. Now that I have some free time, I think it's going to get out of control. But at least it's a healthy obsession, right?

...Right??

Sunday Faves

As of right now, I will not buy another book on writing for at least a year. I already have twenty on my desk, not counting the one I'm reading (for the past two months) and probably have a couple more floating around here somewhere. This will work...I hope. Since I've read a fare bit of them, here are three(or four) of my favorites:

• Page after Page by Heather Sellers- These are very motivating and she provides a different way of viewing the writing life, like viewing writing as a Lover and treating it like you were enamored and showering it with affection.


• Sin and Syntax by Constance Hale- This woman has a hell of a way with words and is pretty funny. It focuses more on grammar and using words effectively to make compelling sentences.


• What Would Your Character Do? by Eric Maisel, PhD and Anna Maisel- This book is just plain fun! I use it mainly to figure out more in-depth things about my characters. Basically, it's a set of quizzes involving situations, events and even moral crises with each answer providing insight from a psychological point-of-view. There's also loads of other interesting things at the end of the quiz.

Waaaay past my bedtime...

Lately, I've been sleeping horribly so I've been hittin' the sack around 1am or so. This leaves me lots of time, that I don't use. Let me rephrase that: that I don't use constructively. I normally play WoW to put me to sleep but before that (and sometimes after!), I usually check up on some author's blogs. My favorite is Brigid Kemmerer's. If you haven't heard of her, you will! Her debut novel, Elemental, is coming out in Spring 2012. It's a while away, but I'll be reminding everyone I know to check it out!
Anyway, what I really love about her blog is her advice and insight.
For instance:

"Just like in any kind of story, I needed to keep character motivation at the forefront of my mind. I need to keep character at the forefront of my mind. The plot needs to keep moving. I write every scene with a goal of maintaining conflict on every page. Conflict adds tension, and tension keeps the pages turning. I read my friend's edit letter, and the editor had a fantastic insight: every scene should add a minor turn to the plot. If it doesn't, it's unnecessary."

- The hell with research. Just make it up., March 8, 2011

See what I mean? What she said makes perfect sense. She also posts little tidbits of her writing, which is really good and right up my alley! Both are what keeps me coming back for more!

In which the blogger tries to be coherent, but is not

I've been holding off on posting the review for Angelfire for about a week. Not because I didn't have time. Not because I hated it, quite the opposite really! I held off, mainly, because I really want to be coherent and not squee through the entire thing.

Let me start by saying that I've been waiting for this book to come out for awhile. I'm not quite sure when or how I heard about it, but the premise is just so intriguing! And quite refreshing after so many vamps and ghouls, unicorns and Fae! That being said, it took me until the teacher dying to really get into it. After that, I devoured it!
* The thing I really, REALLY love about Courtney Allison Moulton is that she is amazing at writing action scenes! I could picture exactly what was happening. The pacing felt natural.

*I loveloveLOVE the relationship that is Ellie/Will! It's not overly simpering and it feels real. Ms. Moulton has a great feel for the teenage voice!

*A white Audi named Marshmallow? Uh...yes, please!!

*I really wish the mini-storyline with Ellie's dad could have been more fleshed out. It felt like he popped in, got angry and yelled, then left. There was a brief sentence or two about when he started, but that's about it. My theory is that he's been kidnapped/killed and replaced with a vir (a powerful shape-shifting demon). At close to 500 pages, I can see why some things might have to have been cut. I hope we get more elaboration in the next book.

Other than that, I have nothing bad to say about this book. In fact, after I finished it, I couldn't pick up another book for a couple of days! All in all, I will recommend this book to everyone I know! I have a feeling it will be on bestselling list soon!

Frustrations

It's funny, how during the day when you're at work you can be so amped to go home and write and all throughout the day you're super-pumped to get started. Then you get in your car and all of these sweet, sweet nuggets of ideas and plots and characters and actual paragraphs pop into your head. But you can't write them down! 'Cause you're driving! And you get home, you say hi to the dog, race to the bathroom (hey! it was a long drive!), grab your beverage of choice, then finally sit down at your desk to gather all the pearls of awesome into one giant masterpiece. Aaaaand you face a blank page (or screen) and sit there for hours slack-jawed and unmoving. Everything is gone when faced with the soul-sucking whiteness that is an empty page. It's funny... and very very frustrating.



This happened to me. I did, however, manage to salvage this little tidbit from a whole day's worth of brainstorming. Here it is:

Clementine Mitchell's hair was the bane of her existance. The sable no-nonsense curls took no nonsense from her and did as it pleased. Including letting the light breeze pull it in front of her eyes, effectively blocking her view of a man racing toward her through the parking lot in a dark SUV.

Well, it didn't take me long to drop my resolutions, did it? Honestly, I'm not too worried and I'm not beating myself up about it. I knew it would happen and all I can do is keep on keepin' on, right? So, I've decided to get back on track by posting a little tidbit of writing. I'll post a couple of short reviews from some books I've read next post.

In 2005-ish, I had this idea about three Warriors of some Goddesses that are created to save the world, blah blah blah. It's been done, I know, but this was written more for character than plot. The characters are going through their own various emotions but the primary one they share is guilt. This is about the first, Merusia.

All Merusia wanted in life was love and all men saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of her. Merusia was sweet, giving, and beautiful, but naïve. Her heart had been broken and discarded many times before, but this was the last time; her heart could take no more. Sadness sang a slow lament through her mind and anger burned in her heart. Merusia walked down the sandy bank, along the beach and into the sea. A fierce wind whipped her long black hair against her blank, pale face and a massive, angry storm started to form on the horizon. Holding her arms towards the darkening sky, she sang her spell to the growing storm.

“Goddess Koro, Earth-mother Han’na; save me from a broken life.
I give my body, I give my life; save me from my heart’s strife.
Abused by love, Koro, I appeal to thee; I give my life freely to the sea.
My body, my soul, my mind, my heart; all for eternity.”

As Merusia sang, a thin wall of water formed around her. The last verse rang for the third time through the atmosphere and the faint silhouette of Merusia’s body dissolved into the sea. Everything was quiet. The storm grew intense, the sky darkened, and the sea heaved. Swirling masses of black clouds twisted down, gathering up the tortured sea and advanced toward the small island. Then the wind came, shrieking and shredding the foliage of the island as Merusia’s song heralded her wrath. The storm lasted throughout the night, as Merusia enacted her revenge.

The morning came bright and sunny and beautiful. All that was left of the island was a bare, rough rock. Merusia lay exhausted across the rock, naked and grief-stricken. The horror of the night before was forever etched in her heart and her memory. She sat up and sobbed, tears burning her flesh. “What have I done?” she whispered over and over. Finally spent, she looked around her.

As she looked across the ocean, a salty breeze whispered around her and pulled her hair gently to turn her head around. The goddess Koro rose out of the sea. She had hair like a waterfall, constantly flowing off her head. Little fish swam through the currents of her locks and made it seem alive. Her round full face was young and playful, her eyes kind yet ancient. Her expression now was remorseful and wise. She looked down on Merusia. “You know, now, that revenge is not the answer,” her voice trickled like a quiet stream.

Merusia nodded and her quiet voice answered, “Then why did you help me?”

The goddess Koro sighed and lifted her gaze to the sky. She glided over the water to Merusia and sat next to her, her form becoming almost human. Koro was silent for a moment then, “Even I must follow Fate's course.” Her gaze came down to her hands as they stroked the head of an otter that appeared in her lap. It gave a barking laugh as it disappeared back to where it came from. “My sisters and I are quite close. We hold a counsel every season. We discuss plans; settle problems, sometimes we just catch up on the gossip.” She laughed a little at that. Koro looked across the sea and the sea grew a little choppier. “Our last counsel was three weeks ago. A young seer had called on Han’na. It was not good. Trouble is brewing, something is growing and it doesn’t look good for us.” Koro turned to Merusia. “We need warriors. You are the first of three.”

Do you need a doctor's note to take a day off from writing?

Instead of writing tonight, I'm going to just do a quick post.

I've been meaning to address this, but I wanted to give it a couple of tries more. Phew. Here it goes: I don't like this writing from a prompt thing from A Writer's Book of Days. I like the book, it has great tips and quotes and advice, but I don't think I'm good at writing from mind to paper. It feels like practice, but it's not making me think; I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. I know, I know. I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks. That's why I'm going to keep doing it until the end of the month. Then I'm going to talk myself into doing it for the next month. I just need a new source of prompts; I'm not feeling the ones from that book. So, mainly, this post is just a promise to myself that I will keep writing, but find a new way.

By the way, this song is what I play the most when writing. I played it in my High School Band and fell in love.



My favorite part starts at 1:28...it really makes me think of Hobbits!

Piles of to-read

Even though I worked in the Children's department at a bookstore, I didn't read as much of it as I would have liked. I did get to keep up with the new releases and the trends and got pretty good at picking out the popular ones. My favorite section had to be the teen section and fortunately I had the chance to be there for some of the most brilliant/popular/amazing titles to come through. From the vampire comeback (think L.J. Smith's early 90's The Vampire Diaries) to mashup novels (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) to dystopian novels and just the whole supernatural genre, I wish I could read them all. I did get to snag an ARC of The Hunger Games and didn't put down until I sadly came to the end.

Well, anyway, I'll get to my point: I've made a list of books I missed out on. For the sake of brevity I've listed the top 5.



1. Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments Series: I'll admit, I'm a sucker for book covers and these are amazing! They are intriguing and pull you in almost as much as the first chapter!
2. Heist Society by Ally Carter: I really love Ally Carter's way of writing. In her Gallagher Girls series, it's almost like you're listening to Cammie tell you her story. I love reading books that I feel invested in.
3. Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher: I snagged an ARC of Incarceron also, but let a friend borrow it and never got it back. I first discovered Fisher through her Oracle trilogy (Oracle Betrayed being the first) and fell in love instantly with her style.
4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: I'm getting so many recommendations for this one!
5. Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett: Seriously, one can only take so much of waify gorgeous vamp chicks. Finally, a vamp who shares all real women's woes.

This is just the tip of the Titanic-sinking iceburg of a pile of to-read books I have stacked against my wall right now. My goal is to finish at least half of these this year.

Wish me luck...

Momentum

Normally I don't do resolutions. I never keep them and end up feeling guilty for not sticking to them. This year, I'm going to try it again. I gave myself some slack though...there's only three.

Resolution #1: Write more. I know I'll never get anywhere if I don't practice. Hopefully I won't be so horrified by what comes out on the page that I don't stop!

Resolution #2: Take things slow. I find myself rushing through things, whether thinking through a problem, working on projects, or making decisions. This does not help my anxiety problems!

Resolution #3: Make healthy decisions. Not just regarding my eating habits, but my spending habits, my living habits, and my social habits. Being that I'm broke, this shouldn't be too hard.

And, to snag an idea from a blog I follow, here are 5 scenes I'd like to write this year:

#1: A scene involving deja vu and a practical joke in a beach setting.

#2: A scene with a motorcycle race through a downtown metropolis.

#3: A scene where a character is recalling a humorous anecdote that another character reveals as false.

#4: A scene where a character has to deal with a woman in labor at an unconventional place.

#5: A scene where a nervous breakdown leads to a first date.

Hopefully I can do these justice and get a little practice in while I'm at it!


Well, that's it for my first post of 2011! Happy New Year Everyone!!