Rock.

Anberlin at the House of Blues tonight was probably the best concert I've been to in a while. And it wasn't even their tour, and they were the opening act with only 30 minutes to play. But it was a great 30 minutes. Imagine what they could do with a full set!

(No really. I am not being a fangirl. I speak truth. Great times.)

Also randomly met Jamie from To Write Love on Her Arms too, another good thing about tonight. Nice guy. Check out his writings and, if you don't know what TWLOHA and those shirts are about, their website too.

A fun fun night. Kinda cool to go to a concert on Halloween and see so many fun costumes wandering about. I wish I hadn't left my lame, homemade kitty hat in the car... heh.

But now October is coming to an end, and that means NaNoWriMo is upon us.

I'm scared. D:

I think I finally know roughly what my novel is about at least... going to finally get going with the so-called "epic" novel that's been turning around in my mind for the past... oh... five years or so. Not much of a plot yet. Not sure if it's a story in itself, or just part one of a trilogy or something. Not sure if I've got enough to go on for 50,000 words or if I will even have the ability to write anything worth reading or if I'm about to write the worst novel in the history of literature.

But that's okay. I'm going to finally spend some time with the characters and let them tell me their story. And I'm going to work toward something I've been dreaming of doing since I was old enough to really appreciate the power of a good story. That's the thing. That's what counts.

It will be fun, and probably a little stressful. I will probably use this blog to vent a bit of that stress for the next 30 days. Consider this a fair warning.

Out of my mind?

Yes, I am.

Today I remembered that November is National Novel Writing Month (affectionately known as NaNoWriMo). Last year I learned about this wonderful attempt of thousands of writers around the world to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, but it was too late in the month to even dare to try.

So I tracked down the NaNoWriMo website and read up on it. Interesting. Thought I'd give it a shot, so I signed up. I have no earthly clue what to write, but I'm telling the world right here that I'm going to try.

Did I mention I'm out of my mind? :)


Any one else ever entertain the idea of writing a novel? You should give it a shot too.

The Creative Process

Or: How to be a (semi-convincing pseudo-) Writer in 10 Easy Steps.

1. Journal a bit about the rain, and how you want to write. (be sure to complain about television and having no time to write at some point in the entry).
   
2. Stop to solve another person's computer problem, eat cookies, and watch the last ten minutes of a MASH rerun.
3. Plug in laptop. Plug in noise-canceling headphones. Cue up obscure, artsy music to send you floating into a creative reverie. (Sigur Ros, or some other quirky indie music for example)
4. Freewrite about nothing for a bit. Make a checklist of things to accomplish. (Edit this essay, write this draft, etc.)
   
5. Open essay draft you wrote a month ago. Change two words in the first paragraph.
6. Pick something from creativewritingprompts.com. Write a page and a half rant about something in the paper that ticked you off, that eventually turns into moody self-examination in the end.
7. Create blank Word document. Type date and working title at the top. Save.
8. Surf the internet. Play with Facebook. Get a glass of water.
9. Stare at the wall for a bit.
10. Write a tongue-in-cheek blog about your amazingly brilliant and productive creative process and how it can help anyone be a writer just like you. Congratulate yourself on a job well done. Yay!
    

Well, at least something got written in all of that...

Sigur Ros is really lovely though. Lovely, sweeping, artsy Icelandic ambience.
Just sayin'.

Musical Time Travel

Last weekend, while doing a bit of cleaning, I found a cassette tape. A little Sony blank with the simple title "Favorites" scratched on the front and side. With a list of unrelated titles and artists scrawled inside, along with the date, Nov. 15, 1997.

Yes, friends, an authentic 90's radio mix tape!

So I'm listening to it right now... some of these songs I haven't heard in years. All from the local Christian radio station that I had newly discovered at the time. All some of my favorite songs at the time, because these were the days before you just hopped on iTunes and bought the great new single you liked for $.99. And as I listen to the awkward segues, prematurely interrupted DJs and jingles, and the hissy, occasionally warbly audio, I feel like I'm 14 again.

It's pretty sweet.

Kind of ironic that now I get to work at the very same station I used to listen to with my finger poised at the record button. Now that I'm a radio geek-in-training, I kinda wish I'd let more of the radio stuff in there.

Anyway, here's the playlist with commentary where appropriate... if anyone's interested and can't read my 14-year-old self's chicken scratches. :)


Side A:

1. Michael W. Smith - Live the Life (ah, I well remember waiting so long for this album to come out. I still maintain that it's one of his best.)
2. Bryan Duncan, Crystal Lewis, and Anointed - One Voice (whatever happened to these people? Today, this song makes me want to grab somebody's hand, sway and sing "We Are the World")
3. Clay Crosse - Savin' the World (I remember the video. It was kinda weird. This mix is going to get better, I promise.)
   
4. Steven Curtis Chapman - Not Home Yet
5. Crystal Lewis - The Lion and the Lamb
6. Tammy Trent - It's All About You
7. Sarah Jahn - Drinking Water (Jeff and I were talking about this one just last week! It's still really cool. I wonder what happened to her?)
8. Lifeform - Jesus on Your Side (Who? This is actually still pretty neat too)
9. Rhonda Gunn - Forgiveness (And not too long ago, Tim and I were listening to her CD and reminiscing... I forgot what a lovely voice she had)
10. dc Talk - What Have We Become (you can't have a 90's CCM mix without rockin' the dcT, right?)
11. Keaggy, King, and Dente - River of Life (That would be Phil, Wes, and Scott, the original CCM guitar heroes, I guess. Fun stuff. Too bad it cuts off early.)
    

Side B:

1. The Waiting - My Pride (Jeff and I were talking about them last week too. Such a great song with great lyrics. I still <3 The Waiting)
   
2. Church of Rhythm - I Believe in God (yes, something besides that "Free" song! I'd forgotten this one. I like it even more now. Oh, and it's Max Hsu the Superchic[k] Guy's old band, in case you didn't know...)
3. Carolyn Arends - Big Deal (aw, Carolyn. I haven't heard her voice in so long... she used to be one of my favorites. Now I want to go find some more of her stuff.)
4. Sarah Masen - Come In (I recently re-discovered the awesomeness that is Sarah Masen. I love her so much... such a sweet voice. Oh yeah, and a little bit of the next song's intro sneaked in there... I think it's Israel.)
5. Cheri Keaggy - Heaven's on My Mind
6. Clay Crosse - Sold Out Believer
7. Jennifer Knapp - Undo Me (I remember hating this song when it first came out, but then she won me over in the end.)
8. God's Property - Stomp (oi, Stomp. Probably the only one on this list that I can say I've heard on the radio in the past year. :P Hey, that DJ sounds familar...)
9. Out of Eden - It's Me
   
10. The Waiting - How Do You Do That? (The "Coo-coo Song"! :D Yep, really really liked The Waiting)
11. Big Tent Revival - What Would Jesus Do? (I'm really glad this song is here to immortalize that bracelet fad. Truly 90's. :))
12. Pam Thum - There's a Future for This World
13. Geoff Moore and the Distance - Only a Fool
    

Finally Fall

Year after year, there's one thing that never gets old... stepping outside on an autumn morning, feeling the brisk coolness in the air, and realizing that for the first time since the long summer started, you just might need a sweater today, if only for a few hours. It's a little like sunlight cracking open the clouds after a week of horrible stormy weather.

This morning was like that... bright and cool and lovely and alive. But I suppose serious excitement at the first real signs of autumn are a side effect of living here in the Land of Sunshine.

Nice day to be off to working the Southern Women's Show in about an hour. Let's hope I don't get lost on I-Drive.... :P

never forgotten

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will
forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them
feel." -- Maya Angelou