Short Story Writing

04 Jul

Erin Shanendoah |  July 4th,2010 | Critique, Writing |  Comments Off on Short Story Writing

I’m working on a short story for an anthology. The word limit is 2000 to 5000. Right now I’m at 2300, but according to critique this morning, it needs to expand.

My problem is that while I love writing short stories- I like finishing the story- in my head, the world is bigger than just the one story; there are all these other tangents and characters that I want to explore as well. But my patience with trying to write novels is just not there.

So, I need to tighten and expand, and then submit (actually submitting is pretty key).

My favorite books – The Silver Sun by Nancy Springer

03 Jul

Erin Shanendoah |  July 3rd,2010 | Authors & Books, Nancy Springer, The Silver Sun |  1 Comment »

Let me be honest, this is not a good book. As someone who has taken numerous writing classes, there are flaws– many, many flaws. But try telling that to my twelve year old self.

I loved the Silver Sun. I loved the characters. I loved the dichotomy of one being the end times king and one being the beginning times king. I had no idea leaving the mainland to go to an island with the elves was derivative.

I still love the book because it helps me remember me at the time it was the best thing I’d ever read.

My Favorite TV Shows – Eureka

02 Jul

Erin Shanendoah |  July 2nd,2010 | Eureka, Television |  Comments Off on My Favorite TV Shows – Eureka

I love Eureka. I don’t care if their science is anywhere close to right. I like the way the play with possibility. They have done time travel in a way I believe, had a Groundhog Day episode that did not feel like a copycat, and managed to redeem the characters you thought were bad guys.

The biggest plot hole is that everyone was uber paranoid when the sheriff first showed up but since then, a major character randomly arrived in town, and the sheriff’s sister and showed up, with no one seeming to mind that she learned the town’s secret.

Transitions

01 Jul

Erin Shanendoah |  July 1st,2010 | Work |  Comments Off on Transitions

Tomorrow is my last day in my current position. Starting after the holiday, I will have my first post-MBA job as a manager. I am excited but sad to be leaving my current. I have been in this position for over 5 years, longer than I’ve ever been at any other job.

Today I worked 10 hours without a lunch. Because our company has a long process for getting positions approved for re-hire, my boss will not have my replacement in place before I leave. So instead, I have trying to get all of July’s work done in two days.

D&D Encounters: Dark Sun (2)

30 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 30th,2010 | Dungeons & Dragons, Role Playing Games |  Comments Off on D&D Encounters: Dark Sun (2)

Four encounters in, one more before we level, and Athas is still a dangerous place. I have no healing surges left going in to our final encounter against the first level boss, and of our eight players, I think we have less than four people who still have their daily power.

Our DM, while joking about trying to kill us all, is actually a great DM who tries to introduce the fear and tension without actually playing against the characters and actively trying for a total party kill.

I’m having a good time, and even getting in some role playing.

Great live performances – Concrete Blonde

29 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 29th,2010 | Concerts, Music |  Comments Off on Great live performances – Concrete Blonde

Most of the time at a concert, you expect things to sound a little off from what you are used to on the albums. It’s the vagaries of being on tour, bad acoustics, and the fact that recordings can be touched up, at least a little bit.

Not so with Johnette Napoltiano. Twenty years after their Bloodletting album came out, the lead singer of Concrete Blonde sounds exactly the same live as she does on CD, and trust me, there was no lip synching involved.

They rocked the Showbox, and I was even inclined to forgive the 10:30pm start time.

Great live performances – Flogging Molly

29 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 29th,2010 | Concerts, Music |  Comments Off on Great live performances – Flogging Molly

I got us tickets to see Flogging Molly last summer more for Charles than anything else. I knew he liked them, and I didn’t hate their music, but I could not have told you for sure what their music was. We had an amazing time.

Marymoor Park is an amazing venue. They left the area that is sometimes reserved seating open as “dance” floor so that people could get close to the stage. The band had amazing energy that rivaled that of the dancers (or beat it) from beginning to end. I can’t wait until they come this way again.

Great live performances – LIVE

29 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 29th,2010 | Concerts, Music |  Comments Off on Great live performances – LIVE

LIVE is our favorite band. We have seen them perform live four times. The first time was in Oakland at an outdoor amphitheater. The second was when they were opening for Nickelback in Vancouver. The best part was leaving before Nickelback came on and the look on the bouncer’s face when we left. We also saw them at a casino just outside Vancouver, that turned out to be a great venue, and finally, just two summers ago, at Marymoor park.

They have all been great performances, and I am sad that it looks like their current break might become permanent.

My Favorite Books – American Gods by Neil Gaiman

23 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 23rd,2010 | American Gods, Authors & Books, Neil Gaiman |  Comments Off on My Favorite Books – American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Gaiman is an incredibly talented writer, but he made a name for himself by writing about the dark side of a world disturbingly similar to ours. Read American Gods and you will know why.

The characters are incredibly well drawn and three dimensional. You care about the main character and root for him throughout, but most writers can pull that off. What sets Gaiman apart is the richness of all the other characters- not just the secondary characters but everyone in the background.

His real coupe, though, is to end the book with creepiness tempered by a touch of hope.

Cuteness as a survival skill

22 Jun

Erin Shanendoah |  June 22nd,2010 | Pets |  Comments Off on Cuteness as a survival skill

The puppy is lucky she’s cute. Tonight has been full of the barky, destruction, and peeing in the house. The peeing in the house is our fault. We closed her in our room using the child gate and mistook her scratching as simple desire to escape.

Now that summer is upon us, we have to find a way to keep her in the back of the house without turning our room into a sauna. We have the child gate on top of a giant bin. She may be able to squeeze between the wall and bin, but she hasn’t yet.

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