Another week down.

It was actually a pretty decent week. Did a nice little training session today that went very well. Its always nice when those go well because then I can feel good about the job I'm doing. So the job is still going well. Hopefully, things will continue that was. We'll see...big changes on the horizon. I just hope nothing too dramatic.

This weekend is going to be pretty busy as well. Tonight was a nice easy bum night. I finally watched Moonlight and so far I'm pleased! Finally, a show featuring a nice vampire. Oh how I love my obsessions. Relationships have been repaired as well. I finally realized that to expect someone to put in some effort, I was going to have to return the favor. So I'm trying. But things are good.

Tomorrow I'm going to go play in a haunted house. I get scared easily but love it. So it should be fun. Interesting group going too. Fun! And Mom's birthday is this weekend. I'll be busy. Actually, all of October is looking busy. So for those of you who are actually paying attention to things...updates will be slow this month. I have lots going on.

I'm walking in Race for the Cure to raise money for breast cancer research. I'll post the details at some point. So you all can see and maybe even sponsor me?? Its an important cause and one I'm excited to be participating in.

Well life lately is suck, suck, and more suck...

Not really, just parts of life. My family is still great and friends are wonderful. More so in times like these. Long story short, I'm having relationship troubles and they are wearing on me heavily. And, after tonight, I don't know where we stand.

Needless to say, I'm not on top of my game. Usually I deal with stress by writing or drawing. But, this is the big time, so I'm distracting myself by getting away. Hopefully things clear up one way or the other soon and I'll be back to myself.

What can I say about today?

I wrote a couple paragraphs for The Promise of Shadows. However, they will most likely be scrapped. I know I want to take the lead with a female character but she is fighting me all the way. I don't want to rush it for fear of her being overshadowed due to my lack of development. So, I'm taking some time to get to know her before I jump right into her life.

I did a bit of storyboarding last night. Or, my idea of storyboarding. I have a very clear picture of where I want to take this and am beginning to work out the details of how I'd like to get there. It is all just very new to me at this point. I normally just jump head first into my writing and let it take me wherever it wants. But those all end up as introductions, nothing more, and I quickly lose steam. I'm trying to keep up the momentum with this one...so lots and lots of thought is going into each part.

I only hope it pays off in the end.

On a side note, I've been discovering a lot of talent around dA lately. I'm actually taking the opportunity to look around and really appreciate the work of others. It has been an exciting experience. And, I've been well pleased at finding other talented members, people who actually accept a real critique, and those who take the time to respond. Its been nice.

Look, I'm updating semi-regularly. Don't get used to it though because I'm certain to disappoint. So I've moved on to yet another new author. I absolutely loved Karen Marie Moning. But, I accidentally started in the middle of the series. I was so captivated by that one book that I've settled on purchasing the others. Not only is the series about the fae, (and lets face it, they are my new favorite obsession) but her writing was so phenomenal it had me blurring through a series of emotions and left me utterly sated by the end. I can't wait to read more.

But that is beside the point. I started a new book, a new author. And, this usually leads to an upspring in my writing. So keep your fingers crossed that I will be inspired. I'm hitting a lull in my writing with the start of a new week. Work is being a little crazy to me so hopefully later in the week, when things settle down, I'll have a chance to get cracking at the actual story part of The Promise of Shadows. Its tempting me. But I know if I start hacking out it when I'm dull and in a creative slump the pages will just get jumbled, I'll stray from my story line, and end up scrapping the whole thing. I really want to stay focused on this one. So, I'm giving it my best effort

PS- While my fantasy football team still got me the win this week. They lost me the top score, which I had been holding for the last two weeks. So boo for that. (Its funny how easily I got sucked into all this, seeing as I have no clue what I'm doing)

I really shouldn't be writing this late because who knows what kind of things will come out of me when I'm this tired. But it seems that, once I push past that exhaustion stage, I can write easily. Though, my editing does suffer when I'm stretching out the hours before I finally give in and sleep.

So I've picked up writing again. I guess I can't really say 'again' since I never seriously attempted it before. Well, poetry I did. But, I never really put great effort into my fiction pieces. Which I don't understand. I've always had a mind that likes to wander when I give it the chance. Great stories play out in my mind all the time. I suppose its a way for me to escape the stresses of life. Which is one of the reasons I'm such a big fantasy lover. Give me something that has nothing to do with everyday life and has no chance of getting confused with it and I'll be perfectly happy.

So - getting back on track - I can't understand why I wouldn't have taken advantage of these stories earlier. But I never took note or tried to remember them. Just enjoyed the escape in my mind and dismissed it. I'm taking advantage of these things now. I sit down and write out character introduction after character introduction. It's the beginning that is simple. Now I just need to work on learning how to really harness all this creativity and take the time to start planning out plots and twists and character interactions so that I might be able to take these introductions a little further.

Which brings me to my recent flare up of RP. To all of my RP partners, I am truly grateful. These people have helped me so much in developing my writing. They're helping me to develop those next steps. It is so much easier to carry on a story when you have more than one imagination running wild with it. And, the interaction is really enjoyable. Not to mention, I'm getting to meet some really great people in the writing community.

Things are so much nicer when you have other people to work with and talk to. Especially when you need a little feedback every now and then. So thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to interact with me, give me some pointers, or just talk with me. I really appreciate you all.

--Rae--