Colour My World THESAURUS

Hello, all you beautiful people!

How goes your day?

So, you know the thing that writers do, that they’re not supposed to do, but they do anyway. Especially when they have to write, but they don’t, they do . . . other things…

Well, I found myself doing just that, but the only thing is,  it was constructive.

I swear!

It’s for the good of all writers, I promise! :)

Often times, I find that when it comes to description, colours especially, I find I’m limited. And the basic, black, white, blue, all sounds very generic after a certain stage.

So for a while, I’ve been compiling a thesaurus of colour shades. And now I’m finally done with it. It’s very basic, but it’s helpful enough. There are colours missing, of course, but its still a useful tool for a writer. Especially when they can’t afford to detract away from their writing to go find a fancy word for ‘blue’ or something.

Just a warning, the colour shades vary in each group, so please don't assume that the 'synonym' colour you choose, is the colour you're thinking off. You'll be surprised.  I suggest you go and find a picture of  the colour you choose, just in case you're not sure.

Some of colours lapse into certain groups, so don't freak out. This happens. Colours mix, and sometimes they're placed in two or more groups because they embody both colours. 

Oh, and helpful hint, don’t over do it now that you have a nifty Colour Thesaurus. ;P 
‘Cause you’ll find your work a few words short of purple prose, and we don’t want that now do we? :P

I hope this helps you guys. 

Instructions: 

It's in .PDF format. 

If you don't have a PDF reader, I suggest getting adobe reader.

If you want I have the .DOC file too. So, just leave me a comment and I'll add up the link for the .doc if there's a demand for it.

When you click on the link, it should open up a new window and prompt up the 'save' button. I've tested this for both, MAC and Windows, and they work perfectly fine. :)
Enjoy.

LINK LINK LINKKKKKK

P.S If you're curious. The link address is from my main site, which I don't update often. So i'm not stealing anything. Don't freak out ;P

xo xo

New habits?

So i'm trying to get myself into the habit of writing without editing.
i'm very neurotic when it comes to editing right after i've written a sentence or paragraph. And I hate it because i'm constantly going over the same things until i've rubbed the thing raw with edits to the point I can no longer stand to look at it. I write semi-fast, when I do decide to write, without bringing out my obnoxious, goddess of procastination half. I can manage 5000 words or more in a day. What gets my goat is my editing process, which I've come to the conclusion is the reason as to why I can never get past my writers block.

If I spent half as much time writing as I do editing, I could write a chapter and a half a day. So with this revelation I shall attempt to do the impossible.Ignore the squiggly green and red lines on Microsoft Word, everytime I make a mistake. *cringes* and curb impulses to edit right after i've written something *cringes with goose bumps*


So today i'm attempting to finish chapter 2 of the novel, and maybe, just maybe get a start on chapter 3. Let's see if I can do this or not.
Okay so todays goal is:

1.  Still, finish first goal: break 5000 word marker.
2. After 5000 word marker, chuck out OCD about 'editing'
3. Finish chapter 2.
4. Praise the lord, because you've done it. 6000 words
5. Attempt to focus.
6. Implement BICHOK
7. Remind self, BICHOK stands for: BUTT IN CHAIR, HANDS ON KEYBOARD.
8. Take a break? Have a KitKat.
9. Wonder if you've edited anything you've written today?
10.  Frown, because everyone around you is asleep, then realize it's past 2am.

So, what's everyone's writing plan for today? ;)
Happy writings!

Holding onto the Muse

Let me tell you something about my mum, her sensitivity frequency is on a constant PMS ride.
I can't keep up anymore. I refuse! I quit, actually.
So today she was feeling disheartened about her writing. I don't know why. Well, maybe I do. But  I can't be sure. Anyway she's been obsessing over the beginning chapter of her manuscript. It's been bugging her nonstop so in an effort to get rid of it, she's been coming up with so many different beginnings, it's starting to bug me. Not in a bad way, more in the sense that, she keeps obsessing over it to the nth degree that she's not progressing forward. And thing is, she's coming up with so many different ideas, she's finding it hard to settle on the right one.

Anyway, she was on the Absolute Write forums, another great resource for writers, and she was looking over her first chapter she'd submitted for feedback etc. This was back in January, when she'd finished the first version of her manuscript. Anyway, she found the chapter and the feedback there, and there was another comment, more recent. And in there, the lady, well, i'm presuming it was a lady, basically reiterated what others had previously said of them wanting to see her revised version because they'd enjoyed it so much. But this particular lady compared her tone of writing to that of one my mum's favourite authors, Sherrilyn Kenyon. That comment alone made my mum so happy, I can't even begin to explain.

Whoever that lady is, I wish I could thank her in person. It's innocent comments like this that can really impact a person. In a most special way, it's amazing. I think writers at any given stage, sometimes go through what my mum constantly goes through, where they doubt themselves so much to the point of wanting to quit. And then there are the tiniest of signs, showing and telling them not to quit.

There's this quote, from one of my all time favourite anime's, Fruits Basket.
I highly recommend it!

Anyway in it, the character, Yuki, he says:

"Even the smallest of words can be the ones that hurt you or save you."

I think that's so true.I mean people can give big inspirational speeches that can help people the world over. But that's not really it, is it? You just need the right words, to set someone at ease.
This lady, that's what she's unconciously done for my mum.

=)

Anyway, nothing else to report from todays happenings.
Hope everyones weekends are going spectacular!

xo

I'm so awesome, it hurts.

Okay, that's a lie.
As everyone knows. hehe.

Anyway, today's been strange, my emotions have been running a riot, and I've also been enlightened on the way, about myself actually. It's interesting.

So, today my mother got me up at the crack of dawn. Yes, passed 8am is still extremely early for me. Leave me alone! I love sleeping. So she'd just deposited my brother off at school, today was his last day of school before he closed for the Easter holidays. When is Easter btw? I should really keep track of these things. O.o
Anywho, she woke me up and told me that my dad was in a rather chipper mood, so he was taking my mum to the post office to get her application membership thingy to the Romance Writers of America (RWA). So she was unbelievably happy, and I was happy for her but grumpy too because I'd been woken up before my curfew. Well actually, there is no curfew, so I might as well strike that out.

A few minutes later, I found myself in the car and on my way to the post office in the city.
We finally arrived, and then the lady-person-thingy-ma-bobber says they don't have International Money Order forms to the USA. So you can imagine it was a bigggggg, WTF situation with my mum since we'd travelled a long way to get here. AND i'd missed breakfast. Note to people: Stay away from me, if I haven't eaten. After four tellers and no progress, my mum and I were both disappointed. Well I was just ticked off.
'Cause turns out, they no longer have International Money Order forms for the USA. They had discontinued it! And it was so ridiculous because first off, the US military is here, as well as loooooots of immigrants from the US itself, so why the heck wouldn't they have an International Money Order form thingy? Talk about infuriating!

Anyway, this is how I ended up being enlightened about myself. Sitting in starbucks in a mall a few minutes later with the parentals, I realized how much I was fuming over incompetence of the people at the post office, and how I hated the word 'no.'
Actually I kind of always hated the word 'no' I'm not spoilt by any means. Well, atleast I don't think so. But yeah I just don't like it. I hate ineffciency too! That bugs me a heck of a lot.So yeah, that's basically what I realized about myself.

Anyway, I found this really useful site after skulking around the Berkeley Sensation website for some reason.
I found this writers resources page of theirs, and let me tell you, its super duper helpful. So I clicked on a random link, and it ended up being the motherload link for all writers. It was chockablock full of links on absolutely everything to do with writing! I almost choked, when I saw that. Okay, no. I fib. I was just amazed into shock. So anyway, I found this link and it lead me to Holly Lisle's website. The woman is a mad genius. She'd invested so much time in creating a writers resource section, I was just blown away. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. From, articles to How-to's, to Workshops etc. The works!

I seriously urge people to check it, especially writers who are just starting out.
Its a godsend. If I ever meet Holly, I'm probably going to jump on her. Someone who knows her might want to give her a heads up! =P

Anyway to conclude this, blog, I'm already in the middle of chapter two of my novel. It's going brilliant! I'm so ecstatic about it. I've set myself a goal of 5000 words. And i'm already on 4800 and something...
I never thought I'd be able to accomplish goals. I always go off on a tangent, but giving myself this itty-bitty goal and being less than 200 words away from it, I can already taste the sound of victory!
Okay that made little to no sense. I just meshed two senses together that are now questioning my functionality as a human being.
Well...it's not like I said I was, or anything.
hehe.

Hope everyone's enjoys their weekends.

P.S if anyone wants the link to Holly's website. Click here!

xo

Well...here I am. The Writer

I find myself with an odd feeling of nausea. I don't know why, really. It's just there. Oh wait! I think I know.
It's because I want to seriously embark on a writing journey. It's been there for quite a while, from around the age of 14. But heck, I was one of those types that abhorred reading. I cringed at the very thought of it, so naturally, I sucked at English. My grammar and punctuation, structure, everything! Was dreadful!
Surely enough though, I got better because I started to read. And with it I slowly built up my vocabulary. Booyah! And I slowly grappled with grammar and punctuation, but frustratingly, I didn't quite succeed. I still have issues with my use of commas when I write. I don't know why. Blergh!! It annoys me. I'm trying to develop a critical eye for it. Hasn't been a great success. =( EPIC FAIL!

Anyway, I've been helping my mum research agents, since she's almost ready to send her book out. It's a rather daunting task. I mean, there's so much information to sift through. I can confidently say I'm my mothers Handler. I do all the nitty-gritty soul searching, finding agents, the do's and don'ts, the hated, How to write a query letter. Pfft, more like, wary letter, from what I've seen. Apparently it's the hardest thing a writer has to do. Condensing their book into a page. Whoever came up with that rule was an idiot, I personally think. I mean, yes, of course it helps the agents, editors and all those wonderful people, cut down on their slush piles and really dig out the next bestseller, but seriously. How do you get the feel for a story when every thing's just composed into a letter? How do you even begin to explain what a beautiful idea you've got going, but hell, it can't be fitted into just a page?! Bahh!!
 I seriously wish everyone who is going through this process a heap of luck. I admire you all greatly! My mum's not too far behind ya'll. =P


Anyway, I've digressed, as is my want. It's something I do often, you'll come to find. =P So right now, I feel I'm to young to write for the genre I want. This annoys me. I mean I've been reading Paranormal Romance, since I started reading, and I guess, I've always been fascinated with the thousands of ways people can fall in love. I'm not a hopeless romantic in actuality, but I just really love the idea of exploring uncharted waters, where love's concerned. I think it's great! And with the paranormal aspect, well, the sky becomes the limit as to what you can create. I've always thrived on imagination. I think we all do. Some more than others. But I'm one of those dreamers. Where every waking moment, people constantly have to ask, "Tana? Are you here?" You know, there's this saying by C.S Lewis.

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world."

I often times find myself seriously contemplating his words. I think a lot of authors/writers/artists/dreamers etc feel this way. I guess we're not alone in that sense. It's...comforting. Maybe not. =P
Anyway, right now, I need to find the courage to write the things I want to. But I find myself at a loss because I'm too young. And there's not enough "life experience" as people tell me, to embark on such a thing. In a way I think it's a bunch of crap, but at the same time, it's kind of true.

I'm kind of lost, what should I do? I've been writing fanfiction for over five years now, and I find myself wearing out those shoes. It's not for me. I can't do it anymore. I've written/started so many original stories, but somehow I could just never equate them to anything other than a first chapter. And yet I know they could be so much more. My friend and I love writing, and we've been working on a spectacular idea for the past three years, every summer. And now finally, we're branching out into it. We're almost done with our first chapter! I think that, for us, is a great sense of accomplishment. And I'm proud.

But there's something else, a yearning, just for me, for something more, deep, untapped, wild. That just wants to jump out on the blank screen I always find myself looking at. Yet, i'm afraid. I have a few months left of my gap year. I should probably try and accomplish something. And this plaguing idea could be it. BAHH!! I DON'T KNOW!!! FAIL FAIL FAIL!

Okay, shut up, Tana!


Relax.

Breathe.

Get over it.

Wow, okay, I didn't realize how much I've written. Show's how in earnest I actually am. *Major eye roll*

Anyway, best be off.

;)