tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63573232466726136442024-03-13T10:48:18.093-04:00Elorithryn's DiaryThe thoughts and happenings of Cathryn Leigh as she juggles a husband, two kids, a career, and other hobbies with her love of writingCathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-14034201019087248822013-05-28T11:40:00.004-04:002013-05-28T11:46:09.280-04:00Unearthing ConflictOn Mother’s Day weekend I got to take time off. Not jsut
from work, but from the family as well. I took off all my hats, leaving only
that of daughter and writer on, and whizzed away into the Poconos.
It was awesome.
Mountain Spreings Lake Resort, PA - cabin no. 24, already reserved for next year!
My mom and I stayed in a lovely Cabin, with a dock. Hiked
about a forest on well maintained Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-57686222535826129802013-04-16T16:01:00.002-04:002013-04-16T16:01:26.159-04:00Unearthing Chowder
Yum!
I originally wrote this blog back in the middle of March,
trying to be proactive (ha ha right, I know *sigh*). Unfortunately, it’s in a
notebook at home and I am here at the day job, with nothing to do. (I’ve
written myself into a quandary in Unearthing Magic, perhaps more on that later.)
So what better way to amuse myself than to recreate my blog post, since I have
the pictures alreadyCathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-31084021710594648662013-03-13T11:40:00.001-04:002013-03-13T13:02:57.427-04:00Flying Phoenixes Flutter and FlounderI’m late. I’m sorry. Moving on... *grins*
Last month I mentioned I was working on reading though
my Videra Phoenixes. When I started, I was worried because reading and
taking notes on Book 1 was arduous. But once I was past that relic, the reading speed up (as note taking slowed down). Yes, this once trilogy clearly shows
that with practice, even sans reading craft books, my writing has Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-28932179824414421982013-02-15T11:42:00.001-05:002013-02-15T11:42:23.972-05:00Tea and Granny Squares!
January was one of the craziest months I’ve very lived. Very
stressful too. I mentioned in my last blog that my company was undergoing a
transition. Basically they filed bankruptcy and then had the assets bought by
another company. Then, the company that won the auction (that’s right our
company went up for auction!) wasn’t who they’d thought it would be. So now the
original intent to hires Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-91338538900680400752013-01-08T22:00:00.000-05:002013-01-10T13:59:52.049-05:00Jump Start My Blog!
Okay so the song is Kickstart my Heart (by Motley Crue), not Jump Start, but hey it was the tune in my head as I wrote the title. *grins*
So I promised myself I’d write a blog post on Friday (Jan. 4),
edit it on Monday (Jan 7) and post it on Tuesday (Jan 8), but I didn’t find much
motivation. At least not until I kicked my own butt in to gear and opened the
file to do it.
You see, I seem Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-21849492855032781102012-11-06T15:07:00.000-05:002012-11-06T15:07:02.620-05:00In Light of my Sanity
I’m trying to keep it, or what left of it, and as such my
blog is suffering from it. Even now I’m taking time from what I should be doing
to write this post.
But my readers, whether you’re the ones I know and love, who
have been with me from the beginning, or newly discovered friends, you deserve
to know why.
Why I’ve been silent.
Why I’ve written posts and yet not gotten them up
Why...Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-90544484622743258812012-10-11T21:37:00.001-04:002012-10-11T21:37:20.959-04:00The Day We Can All Dress Up
Halloween is my favorite Holidays; hands down. Why? Because
I can dress up, in whatever I desire, call it a costume, and no one will look
at me funny. In fact I suspect envy in some people’s eyes because I was brave
enough to do so. I guess we can’t all keep our inner child. Such a shame since
I suspect the world would be a better place if we encouraged it.
But back to the topic of Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-89811455611846639072012-10-02T16:26:00.000-04:002012-10-02T16:26:21.714-04:00I Hate Ranting But...
I’m feeling overwhelmed. There I admitted it. But I don’t
know if it’s the time of year, or the point I’m at in my menstrual cycle (and
right now we’re in the post stage, though I suppose you could call it
pre-pre-pre stage) *sigh*
So what is making me feel overwhelmed?
Well the first thing that comes to mind is that – my boss is
leaving. An opportunity came knocking and she’s taken it. ThisCathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-21585863257138118742012-09-14T16:52:00.000-04:002012-09-14T16:52:54.738-04:00It’s Just a Stinky Old Diaper...
Figure 18
Or is it? *grins* Today in the interest of something
completely different I bring you step by step instructions for creating your
very own Frosted Diaper Cake. And no we’re not making it out of stinky used
diapers, or baking something. And really all you have to do is look at all the
pretty picture to the right to see what I mean. So without further ado let’s get to
making!
Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-19504405588898814892012-09-01T09:38:00.000-04:002012-09-01T09:38:28.691-04:00To Review or not to Review that is the...
Lemon! No wait, sorry I had a surrealist moment and really, there
is no question. I’m not reviewing a book this month because I beta read Destroying
by Miriam Joy rather than something published. However, sending her my comments
gave me my idea for this post – A review of the edits I made to draft seven of Watching,
also by Miriam Joy (and she gave me her permission).
Now, I’m no expert Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-80362349674705320482012-08-25T07:50:00.000-04:002012-08-25T07:50:07.494-04:00Aieeeeeeee! Says the Specter
At least that’s as close as I can get to her wailing. She
does it a bit, especially in those situations where the systems she’d help set
up 950 or so years ago have fallen into corruption and ruin. But before I say
any more let me introduce her to you.
Tabitha S Era (S is her last name, Era is equivalent to
saying Ms.) was born around 1,000 years before Unearthing Magic begins. Her
history Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-65629128808528308092012-08-17T14:33:00.001-04:002012-08-17T14:33:55.396-04:00Let the Plotting Complete!
Yesterday, I did an unthinkable thing – I completed the
plotting of Unearthing Magic.
But this didn’t happen without hiccups
along the way.
The first thing I encountered was trying to think in terms
of scenes. After all Save the Cat is about screenplays, so of course it’s
looking at scenes. This meant, if I used Snyder’s method, that I would include
on my post-its:
Setting (interior, Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-85071391344666082702012-08-10T10:17:00.000-04:002012-08-10T10:17:11.156-04:00Toujou-ing through the ... Jungle?
So I got double duped into winning the Toujou Blog Award. As
in, two people nominated me for it and as I consider them bestest friends,
despite the generation gap and lack of physical connection, I shall concede to
participate. And besides, when they lavish such praises on me (see below), how
can I not participate? :}
From Charley: “Both on an off-line, she's one of my bestest Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-58392773665924758952012-07-26T17:01:00.004-04:002012-07-26T17:01:33.636-04:00They are Men, Manly Men!
But they aren’t men in tights*. Nope they are the men of
Sherwood Ltd. and Camilla’s gotten herself all wrapped up with them. Okay, just
the one, but her taste in men is slowly improving...
Last night I stayed up till midnight to finish reading the last book of the Camilla Randall Mysteries Set;
Sherwood Ltd. by Anne R Allen. I loved it! But here's a more detailed review. *grin*
It starts Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-10026031912349435812012-07-19T21:59:00.000-04:002012-07-19T21:59:38.252-04:00Unearthing Magic is Like...
...the title of my NaNovel of 2012. No, really it is. *grin*
I was sitting outside, eating my lunch trying to come up
with titles when, *BAM* it hit me like a punch from a Batman comic. I didn’t
even have another contender on the page, and I’ve got the feeling that this
will stick. After all my there will be a few things ‘unearthed’ during the
course of the novel. The most symbolic of Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-15109356025809776022012-07-12T22:15:00.000-04:002012-07-12T22:15:00.102-04:00Loglines, Beats and the Board!
I’ve read three more chapters in “Save the Cat”, but before
I get to them I’m going back to loglines. After all having one might make
writing the story easier, since it lays out the plot. The funny thing is I’ve
been working on my Phoenix Trilogy in parallel with my NaNovel2012, which we’ll
call Trabia. I know it needs a better name, and according to Blake I should get
one before I write the Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-88706747414145882882012-07-05T22:24:00.000-04:002012-07-05T22:33:32.537-04:00Sarah Saves the Cat! I Think...
As mentioned in my last blog post, I was going to read Save the Cat! (The Last Book OnScreenwriting that You’ll Ever Need), which is by Blake Snyder. No, I’m not
writing a screen play. Just because the book is about making movies doesn’t
mean there isn’t something that can be taken away and used for books.
For instance, Catherine Ryan Hyde did a guest post on Anne R. Allen’s Blog on what Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-61213148907132663292012-06-28T22:32:00.000-04:002012-06-28T22:32:38.246-04:00Foibles of Plot Straightening
This weekend I finally did what I kept meaning to do (months
ago). I upload my trilogy into Scrivener. Yes, they are now all in the “Book
with Parts” template. I did this because I’ve become very aware that my plot
needs work. Book 1 doesn’t really contribute much to the overall story and no
one gets anywhere near death...
(Okay I do kill off one of Phoenix’s scouts and one of
Griffon’s Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-82228045576861546572012-06-21T21:38:00.001-04:002012-06-21T21:38:42.841-04:00Two Books in One Week? It’s a Mystery!
I had the rare opportunity this month to read two books.
Even stranger I got to read them both in the span of a week. And each one only
took two days. Yes, I can be a fast reader when I have the chance.
The first book was “Dragons in the Water” by Madeleine L’Engle. The opportunity to read this book came as bitter sweet. Fiona was
sick, and I read while snuggling her and watching her Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-48322615209614308102012-06-15T16:25:00.002-04:002012-06-15T16:25:35.336-04:00Two Days Late and ... 200 Dollars Short?
Tuesday marked the official end of my class with GothamWriters Workshop. I took the Creative Writing 101 class that lasted for six
weeks. Our teacher was great and my fellow students were interesting,
especially the ones who participated in the discussions. In fact, we might even
form a writers group out of it. We’ll see. I already feel as though I’m in too
many. But the question is:
Was itCathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-58839532695787636532012-06-07T21:38:00.002-04:002012-06-07T21:38:34.831-04:00This Delinquent Blog Brought to you by...
THE MAP!
So even though I had this post already to go my brain wanted
to do some coloring. But now on to our regularly scheduled programing... No
wait Look it’s another random blog award!
The Kreativ Blogger
Award has given to me by Miriam Joy. She claims it’s because
I’m creative, but I secretly suspect it’s also because of my occasional kreativ
spellings. And what tasks have been Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-68910908837914747232012-05-30T22:47:00.000-04:002012-05-30T22:47:05.246-04:00It’s so Easy When You’re Evil... If you aren’t humming Voltair’s “When You’re Evil” yet, I
hope you will be once you watch the video because it’s the perfect tune to hum
as you read my answers to June’s Beautiful People: Evil Edition! Mua
ha ha ha ha he :}
For June’s edition I thought I’d take on Whowlaski’s left
hand man, since I used the Good General for April’s Beautiful People. Chester would be Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-70279348152308622012012-05-23T23:16:00.000-04:002012-05-23T23:16:16.387-04:00A Dog, a Pageant and a Play?
Oh, my word, this week has felt crazy!
I finished reading this months novel
I had a short story published
I spent the day at the Zoo with my
daughter’s kindergarten class
I’ve participated in an afternoon of dance rehearsal
We’ve
adopted a puppy
And that’s on top of taking care of the kids, the husband,
the house, going to work and all that. Yeah, I’m feeling a bit exhausted.
Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-40619900722045915792012-05-16T22:28:00.000-04:002012-05-20T17:24:37.799-04:00You Don’t Need Money to be a God...
...You just need to be (no not a doctor, it costs a lot of
money to earn that degree); a writer. You read me right. It doesn’t take any
money at all to start writing. A walk to the local library, plop yourself down
at the public computers and start typing. There are free writing sites out
there (my favorite is Protagonize, of course). Or you could sign up for free
e-mail and send the story out Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6357323246672613644.post-25762571752901440312012-05-10T23:01:00.004-04:002012-05-10T23:01:44.966-04:00A Map is All You Need!
No fantasy book is complete without a Map. It’s your
invitation to go places, and explore. Not to mention it is very handy for
making sure it takes the proper amount of time to get from point A to point
B... something I am a little, erm, obsessive about.
So how does one go about making a Map? Good question! I
suspect I might enroll myself in some cartography classes (or hire a cartographer) Cathryn Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14816869021658935999noreply@blogger.com8