Happy Halloween, Everyone!

How was everyone's weekend? Anything exciting?  

Saturday morning, long before going to the karaoke bar party, I went to a class on "Writing and Publishing Your 1st Book (or 7th)" at the nearby community college. I hope to write more about this later.  Upon coming home, I was tired and took a nap.  I then woke myself up by walking around the block.  Then it was off to the bar.  Then on Sunday I went to see the Madea Halloween movie.  It was a pretty fun and exhausting weekend, so I did not feel like doing any blogging then.

I don't know how many kids to expect tonight..

Hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Halloween tonight!

Here are some photos from Saturday night:

I took this one myself.

Our karaoke DJ as the the transvestite
from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Costume Pictures

The first two pictures were selfies.

Unfortunately it rained off and on today and very few people came to the work party at the behavioral health center.  My boss was off today (I did not know she was going to be).  Maybe tomorrow night at the bar will be better.

My Graveyard Cake

I made this from two frozen pound cakes covered in chocolate frosting.  The "dirt" was Oreos crushed in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin. The decorations are Ghost Peeps, Tombstone Peeps and Mellowcream Pumpkins.

I wasn't sure how many packages of the ghosts I should get, but decided one would be enough (and I was right). The tombstones came three to a pack so I got two of those.  After seeing how much space was left on top of the cake, I decided to place the remaining ghosts and tombstones on the side of the cake and put some of the remaining frosting and "dirt"  and some of the pumpkin candies on the side.

This will be for may work party tomorrow.

Pop Culture League Challenge: Here Comes Halloween!

About four years ago, I discovered the site Cool and Collected and its feature The League of Extraordinary Bloggers, a team of bloggers who posted on a different topic each week. Participation was optional each week. After a while I stopped posting, and then discovered the League had been discontinued, only to be reborn under a new name, The Pop Culture League. I decided to try posting to the site again when I can.  Click on the links above to see how to participate.

The topic for this week is Here Comes Halloween:

Here comes Halloween!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Do you agree?  Or is that only true of Christmas?  Actually, in the past years the start of the fall season has become the start of the holiday commercialization season. I hate how how Christmas displays seem to over take the Halloween ones even before the calendar switches over to October. 

Right now,  Christmas is the last thing I want to think about, as I still have some last-minute work to do on my harem costume for this year. Upon seeing this one for sale on different websites, I chose this one for this year:

I didn't want to buy this since it would be close to $30 or more. Instead I opted to search for thrift-store items to piece together into a costume.  I could not find any of the necessary items in purple, so I chose to do one in red. I used the picture as a guideline. I need to make a hat like that one in the picture, then I'm done :-)  Going to look for some cheap poster board to make it with.

Then I have to make a dessert to take to my party at work on Friday. I already have an idea, will post pictures when done.   Then off to the annual karaoke bar party on Saturday night!  

Here are posts from other Leaguers so far:

Alexis's Universe

Retro Ramblings

The Toy Box

Spyda Man

Toy Break

Cassie Winters

Mr. Smith's Plastic Bubble

What Makes You a True Writer?

The newest post on Writerslife.org is titled:

10 Signs To Show You Are A True Writer

Here are a few points from the article I'd like to comment on.

The opening paragraph asks:

Do you ever wonder whether you can class yourself as a real writer? What makes one? Do you have to be a published author, or can you call yourself a writer if you only sit down to write once a month for an hour?

There are so many factors that go into what makes a writer great. Deep down inside however is the only way you’ll know if writing is your calling. It is never too late to start writing, so if you think you might be a writer, here are a few things to look out for to be sure you are a one at heart!

I have often had some ideas for stories, but have often had trouble writing them down. Sometime I've even been afraid to do do. This is something I'm trying to over some.

I agree that it it's never too late to start writing. Some people may not publish their first book until they are well over 40, which is true of me [I'm just going to leave at that ;-)].

  

Did you write as a child?

Many writers are often able to recall their passion for writing starting very early on. Did you always write stories when you were younger? This could be a sign that you were meant to write!

This is true of me. I recalled this in my memoir. Only some people I know knew this to be true of me. I began slacking off on the idea for some tine, thinking I'd never do to again. But recently I found myself wanting to do more writing, so I guess I was meant to do so. As I said it's never too late to begin writing, or in my case, begin again.  I'd begun my blog in 2008, but only now I have really gotten more into blogging and writing.  I guess it was in me all along.  Sometimes it takes some people longer to realize these things.

Do you love to read?

Always having a book on the go may simply be a hobby for you, but if you actually love reading, and can’t help finding yourself analysing the writing and story structure perhaps you want to give writing your own book a go.

Absolutely! Now I may try to do more analysis of the writing than I already do.  I didn't think too much of this until now.  Reading other people's is what made me want to write as a child, and I believe I still feel that way. After all, it was reading another person's memoir of depression that made me want to do my own. 

What points of the article do you agree on most?

Does Writing Make You a Loner?

More than a year ago, I wrote a blogpost in which I admitted that I've been more of a loner.  I've also been more introverted and shy.

Today I saw this article on writerslife.org:

Does Your Personality Type Change The Way You Write?

If you're a writer, do you agree with what is said in the article?

In one paragraph on personality types:

Calm and laid back types are brilliant to work with, they don’t get stressed out, are dependable and work consistently. However, this can be a problem when it comes to self-motivation. This personality type tends to dislike change so if significant edits are required this can also be a problem!

 I have considered myself a bit calm at times, but I do tend to get easily stressed. I have quick tendencies of anxiety. So where does that put me, I now ask myself. 

And then I saw this earlier post on that same site:

Are You The Kind Of Writer Who Is A Loner?

In this post, the author says:

Maybe you don’t want to be part of a crowd, you don’t want to go to workshops, you don’t think of writing as a group activity. 

Maybe social media is not your thing. The thought of promoting your book gives you hives. You don’t want to be a speaker or a blogger or a Facebook expert. 

Even though I tend to be more of a loner and introvert, I am active on social media, posting whatever I wish to share. So I can be selective, but there have been things I've not been afraid to say, such as admitting to being on Prozac and writing a memoir of such. I've made several Facebook posts on beginning and working on my memoir. And of course I've mentioned all this here on blog (those who have regularly read my blog) and some on Twitter as well.

For all the emphasis on critique groups and workshops and conferences, we recognize the reality that not all writers are cut out for all that. 

 While this kind of involvement does offer terrific advantages for those who are able to do it—and there are some people who would never find success if they didn’t avail themselves of every possible resource—all is not lost if you can’t.

 I have gotten some people to read my story, sending it by email as a pdf.  Some are people I knew in school and others are people I've known for years. I'm also in local women's book club, one member of which was especially eager to read my story.

I've also been searching high and low on meetup.com for writing groups in my area, but to no avail. The closest I've found is several miles away and meets on Monday and Thursday nights at 6PM.  Earlier this year, I spotted a flyer at a local coffee shop for a local writers group in my town, but there have been no meetings so far.  I have signed up for a community education class at the local community college titled "Publishing Your 1st Book (or 7th)," taking place a week from this Saturday. And the other day at the coffee shop, I spotted a flyer for an upcoming event at the shop in which several local writers will be offering advice. I plan to attend this as well.

I'm still not certain, but I don't think I'm going to try the self-publishing route. The bar owner in my hometown who published her memoir went this way. Incidentally in her book she stated that she was "never a loner." She couldn't even stand to go to the store alone. Yet she had to go by herself to the nearest Al-Anon meeting.

What do you consider your writing personality?

Humor Reading Challenge 2017

Humor Reading Challenge 2017

I've never seen a humor reading challenge offered, so I thought it would be a good idea to start one.  Over the last year or so I've read a lot of books that fall into the humor category, including memoirs and graphic novels. I'll also be doing a Memoir Reading Bingo challenge and an Epistolary Reading Challenge,  and I have participated in the Graphic Novel Challenge for the last two years, so I expect to find some crossovers among the books I read for each of these. 

I've decided to do levels on this one (unlike in two of my other challenges). You may go up a level, but not down.  The levels are as follows:

Cartoonist: 1-5 books

Humor Columnist: 6-10 books 

Comedy Writer:  11-15 books

Stand Up Comedian: More than 15 books 

Guidelines for the Challenge:

• Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2017. Books must be started on or after January 1 to count. Re-reads are allowed as long as they are read during the specified time frame.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.
• Any book (fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, graphic novels, poetry collections, plays, picture books) labeled as humor counts. As such, all book formats (paper, audio, electronic) may be read.
• You do not need a blog to sign up. You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge. Or sign up on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. 
• There will be no checkins, nor do you need to post reviews.

Need some reading ideas? Here are some links to help you get started:
Goodreads Humor Book Lists
Popular Humor Books--Goodreads
A Comprehensive Guide to the Best Humor Books Ever Written
Humor Books Best Sellers--New York Times
Amazon Best Sellers--Best Humor

Above all, have fun. I look forward to seeing what you choose to read.

NOTE: I have been having issues with Linky, so I will now have those wishing to participate sign up below in the comments. If you've already signed up via the Linky, please leave your sign-up link in the comments. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Epistolary Reading Challenge 2017

One year I did a reading challenge that had a postal/epistolary theme. It hasn't been offered since, nor have I seen any similar challenges.  So I decided to try putting one together for 2017.  I want to try writing a diary-based book, so I want to try reading more such books and any other books in epistolary formats.

Epistolary Reading Challenge 2017

Definition of an Epistolary Novel (from Wikipedia):

An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries,newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use. The word epistolary is derived from Latin from the Greek word ἐπιστολή epistolē, meaning a letter (see epistle).

The epistolary form can add greater realism to a story, because it mimics the workings of real life. It is thus able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator.  


The challenge, then, will be to read books written in the form of letters, diaries, blogs, e-mails and such, either completely or partially written this way. Here are some links to get some reading ideas:
Goodreads Best Diary Novels
Goodreads YA Diary Novels
List of Fictional Diaries
7 Variations on the Epistolary Novel

Guidelines for the Challenge

• Challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2017.  Books must be started on or after January 1 to count.  Re-reads will be allowed as long as they are read during the specified time period.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.  
• Fiction (all genres and subgenres) and nonfiction that fit the challenge description may be read.
• All book formats are allowed (paper, audio, electronic, graphic novels/manga, picture books). 
• Please link back to this blog, post about it on Facebook, Tweet about it, and so on to help spread the word.
• There will be no levels.  I will let you choose how many books to read.
• You do not need a blog to sign up.  You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge.  Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter.
• You do not need to post reviews, nor will there be any check-ins.

NOTE: I have been having issues with Linky, so I will now have those wishing to participate sign up below in the comments. If you've already signed up via the Linky, please leave your sign-up link in the comments. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Memoir Bingo Reading Challenge 2017

Since I have been reading many memoirs and am in the process of writing one of my own, I decided to create a memoir reading challenge. I opted for a bingo-grid format, pictured below:

You may complete as many squares as you choose. However, you may only count one book for one square. For the Free Space, you may read a different book for one of the categories listed (that you have already completed). Or if you find one on a topic not listed, you may count that one towards the Free Space.

Guidelines for the Challenge

• Challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2017.  Books must be started on or after January 1 to count.  Re-reads will be allowed as long as they are read during the specified time period.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.
• All book formats are allowed (paper, audio, electronic, graphic novels/manga). 
• Please link back to this blog, post about it on Facebook, Tweet about it, and so on to help spread the word.
• You do not need a blog to sign up.  You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge.  Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter.  
• You do not need to post reviews, nor will there be any check-ins.

Need some reading ideas? Here are some links to help you get started:

Goodreads Memoir Book Lists
10 Famous Memoirs Everyone Should Read Once
17 Memoirs By Women
Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time
Fictional Memoirs

You are by no means limited to what is suggested in the links. Any books you find that fit the challenge description may be read.

NOTE: I have been having issues with Linky, so I will now have those wishing to participate sign up below in the comments. If you've already signed up via the Linky, please leave your sign-up link in the comments. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Above all, have fun. I look forward to seeing what you read.