New News!

Couple pieces of exciting news:

        Re-opened my Etsy store!

        Nanowrimo's started!

Nanowrimo:

I'm currently at just over 7,000 words out of 50,000.  For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is a challange in which one writes 50,000 words during the month of November (hence, National Novel Writing Month).  In theory, writers work on one story that stars with nothing more than an idea, or - perhaps - some planing and plotting that was worked out in the months or so before.  The original challenge (about 20 years ago) said that writers had to be working on a totally new project (it also had a different word count goal).

In practice, a lot of people use this to work on stories that they've already started.  Some of them use this time to do something else entirely - it's called being a NaNo Rebel.  I'm working on a few projects, but the primary one is one that I've mentioned before on my blog during Camp WriMo's - small mini (or not so mini) challenges where you pick your end goal, whether words or hours.  It's a fantasy story with a humorous element where the narrator has gone missing, and the main characters - including the villain - are left on their own to write the story.

The biggest idea for Nanowrimo is NO EDITING.  Wrote a scene you don't like?  A) Why are you re-reading?  This isn't the time for that, and B) Re-write it - but don't delete it.  Both versions will go towards your total word count!  Afterwards, when you're editing your novel (hopefully with the end goal of publishing) you can take your pick of the versions, or even create a new one.

Since Nano starts on November first (midnight), any get-togethers naturally start on Halloween, so, yay! - excuse for costumes! Here’s a picture of what I wore:

In celebration of starting another Nano month, I’m doing a promotion of my book Glimpses on Amazon – from today through November 8, download it free! (See sidebar for a link.) And leave me a review! :)

In other news, and adding to the crazy business of my life this past week, I was asked to make some

cakes for my church’s seventh anniversary (and the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, when Martin Luther posted the infamous ninety-five thesis’s). Specifically, I was asked to make cake for 250 people, which is a lot of cake. Plus they were also having other deserts at the picnic, so I ended up making cake for only 200 people. Here’s the results:

 

Came out nice, I think. The frosting is a type of whip cream (so no having to spend forever trying to smooth the frosting out) and on the sides of the rectangle cakes, I pressed on rock candy pieces.

I was going to place little swirls of the frosting on the top of the sides of the cakes, but apparently thirty-three cups of frosting only just covers five cakes. :)

For my last bit of exciting news, my Etsy store (etsy.com/woolranch) re-opened on October 28^th. Here’s a sample of some of my items up for sale (as well as what you can see in the sidebar):

 

Besides what I’ve been selling for years (books, bookmarks, crocheted items, earrings) I’m including items made with my embroidery machine and bead loom. I’ll explain the last in more detail next time. :)

Word Count: 7,414/50,000

On stage in October!

I think I mentioned in a previous post (or I meant to, anyway) that I'm in a play. Like, on the stage. In a theater.

It's called The Prince, and while I think the story itself is a little odd, I'm overly ecstatic about being in it. I've only got a small part as the Lamplighter (turning a light on and off on my tiny, tiny planet that's only big enough for one person), but like I said, I'm pleased.

I think this is the fifth play that I've auditioned for, and this was the first time I'd ever gotten a callback, (and from there, the first part I've ever had). I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the email offering me the part. Rehearsal is now in full swing (and I love my costume! - even if it's a bit itchy, it looks adorable) and we'll be opening on October first. Squee!

I said it was a bit of an odd story. The Prince is about a prince who lives on a planet all by himself until a Rose grows there. The prince is all confused about how she makes him feel, so he goes on a journey to find answers. He goes to a variety of planets (including mine) and finally makes his way to Earth. On Earth he meets several people, one of which is the person who is actually telling this story - an aviator whose plane crashed in the Sahara. The aviator used to draw, when he was a child, and when the 'grownups' didn't understand his drawings, he stopped drawing. Until he meets the prince.

The ending's the odd part, since the prince has to 'die' to go back to his planet. Or he doesn't; I'm not sure. Anyway, it's a kid's story, but there's parts only adults will actually understand, and a love story (I think, though I don't think that's the main plot), and it's probably more the aviator's story than the prince's. Anyway, it's a cute story.

As an Christian actress (not actor, I'm female, thanks), I'm poking my head into a world that a lot of Christian's have abandoned, and as such a lot of what's out there for me as options for me to get involved in isn't Christian in nature. I really, really wish there was more out there. A lot of shows (on stage and film) are filled with characters that I wouldn't want to play. Kinda stifles me. And training is interesting... if there's a Christian university with a theater major, I'd love to know about it.