Writing My Way Through Life

I am a bad bad blogger! LOL

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:41:00 +0000

So, I survived the storm... almost a year ago. I'm scheduling in more blogging time for this and my new blog about my scrapbooking hobby, so expect to see more from me in the next few weeks. Hopefully.

Have I been writing you ask? I really want to lie, but no, I haven't. I have been doing some plotting, and letting some ideas grow though. I have a very strong plot that I plan on exploring this week, after I complete a few projects for Baby Martin.

I did write a picture book story and I am working on the inquiry letter this afternoon so that I can submit that this week also.

Time management is big problem for me, that and I love television! I've been cleaning up my creative space and I hope that I can get some work done.

That is all for now, but look for a post no later then Tuesday!

Hurricane Ike

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Well, Ike will be here soon. We chose not to evacuate Houston, but I think we'll be okay at home. My mom and Scott's dad will be here with us. I'll update after the storm is over.

I'm still alive

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:11:00 +0000

For all those that read my blog, please don't think I've given up. After several near disasters, namely the broken AC, I've recovered from all the ailed me and will return to pasting regularly.

As for writing, honestly? I'm not. I have all kinds of drive, and ideas, and I can' make myself to do it. The new job hasn't started up yet and I think I'm using that as an excuse. Last summer when I went to Florida, I stopped writing in anticipation of all the writing I was going to get done on vacation, uninterrupted. I think now, I'm just waiting for my new hours to start so I can write mid-day. Isn't it the work when you know these things, and still can't be compelled to fix them.

I'm watching F & H tonight. Going to get some work done for my paying job, and then hopefully write. We shall see.

Life, Writing, and The State of Things in General

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:15:00 +0000

Life happens.

I mentioned before I've been sick and that's kept me from writing quite a bit. I'm spending today with a child I love, DS. He's 1 and adorable.

Earlier, we were on our way to the park, but a quick drive past, and a look at the 100 balloons and the 400 children, suggested we detour to Mickey D's and the Play Place. Do they even still call it that? Anyway, it was fun for the both of us. He's napping now, so I'm writing.

I lost my iPod (horror of horrors, I'm waiting for my tax rebate to get another one.)

I've been working on the outline I talked about in the podcast that no one can listen to. I've been working on fixing the podcasts that no one can listen to. I've been working on a new map.

I've been listening to quite a few podcasts about writing also and I've been hearing quite a bit about editing as you go vs. editing when it's over. I'm undecided on this topic. I do quite a bit of editing as I go simply because as my story evolves, certain things don't work anymore. However, being in the process of rewriting 30,000 words that I put a lot of time into writing and editing, I tend to go the other way. I did ALOT of editing and it all was wasted when I did the rewrite because so much of it didn't work.

I've attempted to write and no edit, but that doesn't work for me either. I think I'll stick to what makes me feel most comfortable and see what happens.

Hello World

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:30:00 +0000

I'm not dead, swear. I've been sick going on three weeks now but I think I'm getting better. I hope. I'll be posting some updates soon.

Podcast Episode 2

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:51:00 +0000

I hope this one works!

Two More Hours...

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:03:00 +0000

and 800 words. Can I do it?

Day 1 - Friday

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:08:00 +0000

Well I got to a late start yesterday, but the current word count is 4,300. I've rescued some good chunks from the old manuscript, and reworked some dialogue that that was still relevant. My prologue is infinitely better and for that this was all worth it.

I'm about to start working on a new scene and I'm pretty excited about it. I've also got to work on some maps. The town in our world is going to play a bigger part in the story than I originally thought.

Ho-hum

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:38:00 +0000

I posted a few days ago that I was going to be writing 500 words a day and I'd tell everyone if I did it or not, right? I was jazzed about it to0, but the truth is: I haven't written more than two paragraphs.

BUT...

I'm off tomorrow, and aside from lunch with Scott I've got nothing to do all weekend. So, I will be writing.

I believe I mentioned that my novel required a massive rewrite and I'm all set to open a blank word document and pretend the other one doesn't exist all weekend. I've set the goal of 2000 words a day for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Wish me luck.

My Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:17:00 +0000

My podcast finally made it in to the iTunes library! It's rough, but it will get better...check it out: Writing My Way Through Life

(Link takes you to the iTunes library)

My Pledge

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 03:08:00 +0000

I've decided that I'm going to publicly pledge a daily word count and I'll post and let everyone know if I reach it.

I've chosen a rather modest number but I think it's an achievable goal at this point in time: 500 words a day. It doesn't have to be on a story either. It can be free writing, blogging, or any manner of writing really...

We shall see.

Kids and the things they say...

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 02:40:00 +0000

At the seminar today we learned about how children develop language. After they learn words, they make links to these words with other words. F* said something one day that really made me pause and consider not only the astuteness of his words but the process that got him there. He said, "Dragons are like bats." He said this in front of his father a few months ago and I think about it often. F is a very bright child and I can see exactly how he might make this connections or link.

When I fist started teaching computer, I taught a little kindergarten girl whose class was in a different building across the street. Every week on our way to class we talked about all kinds of things. She had a very vivid imagination and one day she looked up at me and said, "My brother died." I wasn't prepared for this and I had no idea what to say. Tentatively I asked, "What happened to him?" To which she responded, "He got eaten by a dinosaur."

Her whole demeanor and tone was no different then when she talked about fighting aliens. I've never discovered what really happened to her brother or if anything ever did, but I've always been struck by it.

These two things have always passed through my mind when I start to write for children. I'm not sure if they have helped me any but I think understanding kids is important when writing for them.

*F is a three year old that I know and love dearly.

Reading Readiness and Print Rich Environments

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:53:00 +0000

I went to this very cool seminar today about Reading Readiness and Print Rich Environments. Both my jobs require 15 hours of continuing education each year and as long as I attended their seminars it's free. For seven hours today, I learned some pretty interesting things, most of which doesn't apply to the kids I work with, but it was still interesting. A large chunk of the material can be applied to my children's book writing though. I'm pretty excited to try some of these ideas out in my stories. After I peruse the Internet some, I will hopefully be writing.

Writing My Way Through Life Podcast: Episode 1

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:16:00 +0000

I sure hope this works!

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:25:00 +0000

So I've decided to find out what Twitter is all about. From podcasting I've learned about a few writers who use Twitter and last night I started "following" them.

So now I'm going to geek out.

I got a message from Scott Sigler. I love, love, love his work!

Go me! I rock!

Now, I'm going to go back to being an adult. Thank you.

Oh, who am I kidding? I wasn't an adult to begin with.

Anyway, check me out on Twitter: writingmywaythroughlife

Oh The Things We Did in High School

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:58:00 +0000

I was unpacking some books earlier this morning (yes, I know we moved a month ago and I'm still not unpacked) and I came across my copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird from 1oth grade English. That was the year I learned the word "gregarious" when it was applied to us. That was the year we thought of torture methods for our English teacher who dared call us "gregarious". That was the year we coined "Ginebony." That was a great year.

Back to the book.

I really didn't like To Kill a Mocking Bird. I'm not ashamed to admit it. What I really found amusing was the phrase I wrote so boldly on the side: Fly Birdie Fly! POW.....Thud.

This was completed with a drawing of a bird hitting the ground.

I'd like to think I have a bit more respect for books now but the truth is I saw what I wrote and I laughed. It's funny. I was funny. Common laugh too, you know to wanna.

I'll post pictures later but they aren't very good because I used my phone but you get the idea.

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

Read more about this book...

Oh So Irritated

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:11:00 +0000

I just found out about a SciFi (ConDFW) conference in Dallas this weekend. There's no way I can pull it together to go now... UGH.

On a happier note, I learned about another conference (ApolloCon) right here in Houston! This is exciting, even if I spent five minutes on their site before I was able to determine when exactly the Con is.

Also thinking about going to this one:

Dragon*Con

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 15:50:00 +0000

If anyone wants to contribute to my aspirations of going to Dragon*Con this year feel free.

Click on image to go to link.

Hi Lori

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:42:00 +0000

My weekend mom Lori reads my blog and I just wanted to say hello! See you Wednesday!

Tolkien & Story Time

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:58:00 +0000

My father was a very big science fiction and fantasy reader. I have a half finished manuscript he'd done some thirty odd years ago along with a large collection of poetry. I never knew my father to write so I can't say that this influenced me at all, but I'd like to think it's runs in the family. My mother also read quite a bit of sci-fi and fantasy. Reading was very big in my family and I'm still an avid reader today.

As a child, bedtime was story time. I remember reading lots of books, but I also remember the stories. My parents told epic stories that spanned years in length. My mother told two such epics that I can recall. OF my fathers story I remember very little, except a strong visual of the main character (a young girl) returning home after her adventure. I know it had elves and goblins and the like. IT was my father who was always trying to get me to read The Hobbit, but at the time I had very little interest. We reached an agreement once that if her read The Giver by Lois Lowery, then I would read The Hobbit, but neither of us ever did,

My interest in Tolkien began around the same time the movies came out (though when I started reading them I didn't know about the movies, it was merely coincidence). My father has some very nice editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit published in the sixties. I read The Hobbit first and I loved the story itself, but I never liked Bilbo. I never rooted for him. I never cared if he made it home. I came to that realization about halfway through the book, but I finished it anyway. On the other hand, I loved Frodo. I rooted for Frodo. I cried for Frodo.

As I'm creating my world for my novel, I've been considering rereading the novels. If anyone knows anything about creating a whole world, it's Tolkien. We shall see, we shall see.

The Search for the Red Dragon

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 07:25:00 +0000

I'd be remiss if I didn't give my honest review of the book even though the author may also be reading this.

The writing was by far better in this book. It was paced much more effectively, although I found the journey through the Underneath to be a little quick. I loved the take on the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the true identity of Peter Pan. I won't give to much away in case anyone hasn't read the book, but James does a great job of melding history and myths into his own reality. It was a great book.

However, I wasn't a big fan of the ending. I know there is another book coming, I know the journey isn't over, but this part of the story feels unresolved. I've been mulling it over for the last 24hrs and I still can't place my finger on why.

My other issue with the book stems from my own ignorance. I've compiled a few links for people as dumb as I am when it comes to mythologies used in this book. I'm a big fan on Wikipedia and all these links are directed there. I've put in anything I think might be relevant.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Jason
Golden Fleece
Argo
Medea
Orpheus
Icarus
Daedalus
Dante
Lost Colony of Roanoke

It wasn't that I've never heard these myths before, I just never found much of interest in them. I could only recall bits and pieces of all the stories. Luckily, I live with a human encyclopedia who readily provided me with the answers to all my questions.

My biggest question is for James himself, something that didn't seem answered in the book regarding Artus and Aven. I'd like to run if by you if you get the chance.

Overall, I'd say it's a great book and a good read. I look forward to The Indigo King.

The Search for the Red Dragon (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica): Books: James A. Owen

Moving

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 06:39:00 +0000

We moved last weekend, and I hate moving. The house is still a mess and I don't see that improving anytime soon. I've mostly got my desk set up which is great. I think I might have mentioned awhile back that with the new bed I couldn't get to my desk. Well, I can't use that as an excuse any longer. I purchased new book shelves which I'm very excited about. My old shelves had an an accident several months ago and even before I couldn't fit all my book on them. Now I've developed a great system: 1 shelf for Chick-lit, one shelf for reference(that may need to become two shelves), two for my YA books, 1 for my Crichton books and other novels, 1 for "Real Literature", 1 for my Children's books, one for books that are two big for other shelves, 1 for magazines, and 1 for other books that don't fit into any of those categories. I'm pretty excited about it.

Oh Happy Day

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Thanks James A. Owen: Who took the time to read my blog, and didn't even hate me for talking awful about his book.

Click Here for the "Here There Be Dragons" Website

Here, There Be Dragons: Part II

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:14:00 +0000

I was wrong, read the book.

Finally Going to Post the Link to My Website

noreply@blogger.com (V. B. Carroll) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:03:00 +0000

www.vbcarroll.com

It's not done yet, but it's a start. Check it out!