Failure, Black Friday, and New Books

It disappoints me to have to admit that I failed at #NaNoWriMo.  I gave it a good shot, but honestly, I was too occupied with other things in life and I did not give it the dedication and time it deserved.  I made it about halfway to the 50,000 word mark and I am proud of the words that I have written.  I'm not giving up on my novel, I am just disappointed in myself for not being able to complete the 50,000 word goal for November.  It's really tough to do with a full time job, other projects, and personal issues going on in life.  I admire everyone I have met online in my NaNo region who did meet their goals as well as the ones who did not meet the goal.  I learned a lot about myself and about writing in general.  I will finish this project and it will be the first novel I publish.

I have a lot going on this week in my day job and personal life, so I am getting back into reading before bed to clear my mind and help rid my brain of some of my anxious thoughts.  I wasn't sure what to read next, as the last book I read was about a month ago.  Fortunately for me, Amazon had some awesome sales for Black Friday on Kindle Books.  I picked up "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn, "Gray Mountain" by John Grisham, "The Write Stuff" by Tiffany King (you've seen me post about this before and I'm excited to read it), and "Redeemed" by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast.

I chose to begin reading "Redeemed" tonight.  It is book 12 in the House of Night series.  It may seem like I am probably too old to be reading this, but I have been reading this series since the first book, "Marked" came out quite a number of years ago (I believe somewhere around 2007 or so).  It was my first vampire series after reading the first "Twilight" book and I enjoyed it much more than "Twilight."  Part of the way through the series, I lost interest for a little while because I felt the characters were not developing and the storyline was flat, but then the next book came out and everything changed for me.  I was hooked right back in.  I am both excited and saddened to be embarking on the final book in this series that I have followed for so long.  I'm only on the second chapter and I have no idea where the story is going to go, but I hope I am not disappointed.

One thing I've not mentioned in any of my book review posts is that I keep a stack of index cards next to my bed so that if I read a really good quote in a book, I can write it down.  I have quotes scattered all around my apartment, my car, my purses, and my office at work.  Only two chapters into "Redeemed," I found the perfect quote for myself.  This quote stuck out to me because I have been feeling like such a failure lately.  I failed at #NaNoWriMo, which was supposed to be fun and bring me joy.  I have failed at a couple of friendships this month.  I have failed at love.  I have failed at various work projects.  I have failed at self-control on my diet.  I have been so hard on myself because of these failures and I have been afraid that I will let these failures cause me to fail at the things I have coming up this week that are so very important to me.  Just overall, in the last couple of weeks, I have felt like a 100%, Grade A failure.  As I was sitting here in my room partially paying attention to the book I am reading and partially contemplating my failures, I came across this quote in the final book of a series that has never once given me a life lesson:

[Sylvia Redbird talking to Zoey Redbird while Zoey is explaining all the ways that she has failed everyone] 

"Failed - that is past tense, and you should leave that failure in the past where it belongs.  Learn from your mistakes and move on.  Do not fail again . . . "

That quote was exactly what I needed to read.  So I've failed.  So what?  Everyone has failed at something.  Probably more than one thing.  If I leave my failures in the past and learn from the mistakes I made, I can succeed in the present and in the future.  Fate had me choose "Redeemed" over the other books I purchased for Black Friday.  I was really leaning toward the John Grisham book because it's about a young lawyer doing pro bono work in Appalachia against the coal companies and it's a topic that captures my heart and one of my passions, but for some reason, I knew I needed to read the end of Zoey Redbird's adventure.  

Hopefully one of you will benefit from this quote or from my rambling about failure.  And if you also enjoy writing down meaningful or fun quotes from books, don't be afraid to share the quotes in the comments section of this post.  I love quotes.  In fact, I have affirmation and Buddhist quotes written on post-its affixed to my desk at work to look at when I feel like all hope is lost.  As cliche as it sounds, quotes really do help get us through tough times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spoiler Alert:  This is not about books, film, or any type of fictional character whatsoever.  It's real life.  It's another Thanksgiving.  A day for us to all be thankful for everything we have, have acquired, and have experienced over the last year.  Recently, I've been studying the power of positivity and the art of gratitude.  Really, we should be thankful each day because everyday that we wake up, we are only promised that moment.  I have been guilty of not practicing gratitude and of overlooking all of the things I should be thankful for each day.  Since starting my new job a year ago and moving to a place where I did not know anyone, I've gotten even worse at taking things for granted and not realizing what I should be grateful for.  Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself for allowing the slightest negative thing to enter my brain.  I get consumed by the bad thing that happens and I fail to see the beauty in life.  I have worked on changing all of that as of late, and hopefully will continue my path of thankfulness and gratitude.

Today, and everyday, I am thankful that I have both of my parents.  They have been divorced since I was really young, and I have not always had the greatest relationship with them, but I am so grateful that both of my parents are alive.  Just in the last month, my mom has had surgery that could have resulted in a finding of cancer.  I am so thankful that there was no cancer and she is just fine.  My mom is one of my best friends and I have no idea what I would do without her.  At the same time, my dad got really sick and was in the hospital for awhile.  Though he is home, he is still a pretty sick guy and I am worried to death about him.  I am grateful that he is alive -- his illness could have been the end had he not gone to the hospital when he did.  I am also grateful that we talk more often now.  Even though we go lengthy periods of time without talking because life gets in the way, he's my dad and I love him.  I am grateful that he is on the path to recovery.  I am so glad that I did not lose him.

I am grateful for the friends I have in my life.  Lately, I have had people walk in and out of my life.  I have had my heart broken, I have met new friends, I have lost friends I care so much about.  I am thankful for each one of these people.  The ones who have hurt me, taught me a good life lesson.  Through the duration of our friendships, I have learned so many things.  The new friends I have made have taught me that sometimes it is okay to trust people again.  The ones who have left my life for good have taught me that friends are valuable and I should work my very hardest to make sure they stay in my life.  I have also learned that even if I try my hardest and they still leave, not everyone is meant to be in my life and that is okay.  I cannot control everything.  I am grateful for these life lessons because I wholeheartedly believe that they make me a stronger and better person.

I am grateful for my experiences, opportunities, and achievements.  I have spent so much of my life feeling like I am not good enough and that I have nothing to offer anyone.  That is untrue and I am grateful that I realize that now.  I have so much to offer the world.  I am very educated.  I have a wealth of knowledge that is beneficial to helping those who need it.  I have worked so hard to acquire three college degrees.  I have always worked hard to ensure that my career has centered around helping a population of people who are underrepresented and need a voice.  I have had amazing job opportunities and in those jobs, I have had the ability to help clients who desperately needed someone like me to assist them in standing up for their rights.  I am an activist for women's rights, domestic violence prevention, bullying prevention, and children's educational rights.  I love to write and have had the opportunity to meet some amazing authors.  They have given me the self-confidence I need to begin my own writing projects. I have some great peers and friends who encourage me to keep up with my writing and are willing to bounce ideas around with me.

There are so many things I am thankful for that I cannot even begin to write all of them down.  The point is, we should not just limit our gratitude to one day, simply because it is called "Thanksgiving."  We should practice gratitude and thankfulness everyday.  We should be proud of our achievements and abilities.  We should appreciate the people in our lives.  When we get the opportunity, we should tell the people in our lives that we appreciate them and love them - even if we do not believe that they appreciate and love us back.  Maybe they do appreciate and love us the best that they can, it's just not in the way that we want.  We should keep our hearts open to new possibilities and give chances to people and opportunities that we would not normally give chances to.  They may surprise us if we give them a fair chance.

Stepping off my soapbox, I just want to say that I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful holiday.  I am thankful to everyone who takes the time to read my blog posts.  You all rock and I appreciate the encouragement I receive from you.  Happy Thanksgiving!

NaNoWriMo . . . Nearing the End

So, NaNoWriMo is over in 8 days.  I wish I could tell you that I have been doing so awesome at this venture and that I am crushing these 50,000 words.  Honestly, I'm not.  I was on an excellent stride in the beginning and then I hit a wall.  For weeks, I couldn't write a single word.  I could not figure out how to get from Point A to Point B in my story and I couldn't make my characters do what I wanted them to do.  So I did what I do best, I procrastinated and pretended the problem didn't exist.  I played endless hours of Harry Potter Movies on QuizUp (I'm in 1st place in Kentucky this month and 8th in the U.S. currently).  I daydreamed.  I texted my friends.  I went to basketball games.  I reconnected with people I have not spoken to in many years.  I danced in my living room to Taylor Swift's 1989.  I spent time with my neighbors.  I never went back to my laptop to write.

Yesterday, I had a really terrible day.  From the moment I walked out my door, it seemed like the Universe was against me.  My coffee slid off the top of my icy car and splattered all over my favorite shoes and my only clean pair of work pants.  Clients had crises.  Friends lied to me.  I forgot my lunch.  I was disrespected.  I was so angry at everything and everyone, I paid someone back for sending me clown/mask pictures at Halloween (hey, I warned you guys I would get revenge if anyone did that to me).  Was it mature?  No.  Am I sorry?  No.  I needed to release some of my anger and disappointment, so I finally said yes to a guy who has been asking me out for 6 months.  I had very low expectations because I'm not really into dating right now.  But in a shocking turn of events, I learned what it felt like to be treated like I was the most important person in someone's eyes.  Instead of trying to make someone like me, I didn't have to do anything.  He already thought I was amazing and treated me with respect.  I didn't have to force anything.  It was a pleasant ending to a horrible day filled with ugly crying and smashing things.

What does that story have to do with my NaNo project?  I've been trying to force my characters to do something they aren't meant to do.  I was trying to force them to be someone that they just simply aren't.  Instead of trying to be a perfectionist and have the story turn out the way I had dreamed, I think if I just let the characters tell ME where the story is going, I can end up very close to these 50,000 words by the 30th.  I even took off extra days next week for the holiday just to work on my novel.

Today, I'm holed up in my office at work where the building is silent.  I am blasting my #amwriting playlist as loud as I want.

I've got proper rations.

I even have Huggie Bear and Tom Brady watching over me.

I'm going to go back, kill off the character that must die, and then let the rest of the words flow.  Killing this character is going to break my heart all over again, but once this character is dead, I have a very strong suspicion that my words are going to flow like magic. (Yes, that is a Mischief Managed Harry Potter shirt, and yes, that is Hedwig in the background.  If you want to procrastinate, my QuizUp name is MichiefManaged, of course.)

Behind the Words Interview with Heather Miller Price

As promised yesterday, I have the exclusive "behind the words" interview with the witty and talented Heather Miller Price!  If you missed out on reading "Shotgun Fog," I provided the link in yesterday's blog post.  Go read it and fall in love with her words.

I had fun with this interview and I think Heather had fun answering my questions.  To avoid confusion because our initials are similar, I am KH (KentuckyHeather . . . my screen name for practically everything) and Heather is HP.  You'll get it later.  So, without further adieu, let's get started!

KH:  At what age did you know that writing was your main career goal in life? 

HP:  That's tough. I still get weird about calling myself a writer, but I guess it was sometime in my mid-twenties that I decided full-on that that's what I wanted to do. When I was eighteen and a freshman in college I thought I wanted to be a poet, but opted to go into teaching and write on the side. Of course, teaching high school full time and working on an MA leaves little room for side projects. I took a fiction writing course one summer and then within a year applied to creative writing programs for fiction. I'm a terrible poet.

KH:  Be thankful you aren't as bad of a poet as I am!  Who or what inspired you to start writing?

HP:  I've always enjoyed writing, even just class assignments. But I guess I started writing independently in middle school, mostly journaling and awful teen-angst poetry. So I guess I have those boys who broke my heart in middle school to thank for getting me started. Or the wonderful teachers who encouraged me to keep writing. Let's go with the teachers.

KH:  That reminds me of my favorite meme:

KH:  And trust me, many a heartbreaking boy has made it into my creative writing, but that is a story for another day.  What authors inspire you to work harder to become a better writer?

HP:  So many, ranging from my MFA classmates to authors who have been dead for hundreds of years. But you want specifics, so I will just mention a few that have inspired the short story collection I am currently working on. First off, Harper Lee. Reading To Kill a Mockingbird in high school stuck with me and is still one of my favorite books. That Lee wrote it at a young age and it was her first (and only novel) blows me away every time I reread it. Its accurate and unflinching (yet loving) portrayal of the American South reflects my own conflicting views of Eastern Kentucky. This book was and is important, and I want my writing to matter to at least someone somewhere. Some of my more recent influences have been fantastic contemporary short story writers, like Bonnie Jo Campbell, Dan Chaon, and Alan Heathcock. Read their books and you'll see why. 

KH:  To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my very favorite books.  Because of your work, I have become more interested in short stories, so I will definitely add the authors you mentioned to my TBR list.  Apart from your current short story project, what writing projects are you interested in pursuing in the future?

HP:  I'm interested in delving into the world of fantasy writing, though I'm not sure if I want to do fantasy for adults or teens. Some of my favorite authors and books are fantasy/dystopian, and I feel that this is a very important genre, as it tells us things about ourselves and our current world without hitting us over the head with them. I like subtlety. Plus it's fun to escape and go on journeys with unlikely heroes and heroines. 

KH:  I completely agree with you.  I love reading fantasy and dystopian novels.  My NaNoWriMo project is a post-apocalyptic/dystopian story.  Unfortunately, my brain does not work the correct way to create a fantasy world, but I enjoy reading about the ones that others create and I would love to read yours one day.  Do you remember the first creative piece you ever wrote?  What was it?  When did you write it? 


HP:  Hmmm . . . I think it was in fourth grade for Mrs. Wellman's class. Maybe a mystery? I really can't remember the details.

KH:  Do you remember going to the writing competition in 7th grade in Ohio where we were not supposed to win anything, we were just there for practice, but I ended up winning 3rd place to the surprise of everyone?  Do you remember what you wrote about in any of the sessions?


HP:  Yes, I remember that trip! Unfortunately, I don't remember anything I wrote about there. I'm apparently bad at remembering these things. Haha.

KH:  For some reason, I remember that one of my proctors was a nun and in that particular session, I wrote about Joan Osborne and the song "One of Us."  I am still bitter that they would not let me have a trophy because I was from Kentucky.  That's state discrimination!  Does anyone know a good lawyer I could call?  haha

Anyway, back to you:  What was your first published piece and how did you go about getting it published?

HP:  Technically my first published piece was a poem about the American flag published in an anthology in fifth grade--probably the same one you mentioned in your write-up yesterday. As an adult, my first published piece was a short story, "Under the Pines." To get it published, I submitted it to a bunch of different literary journals that I thought would be a good fit. And then I got rejected by every single one. So I tweaked it some, then sent it back out to others. Then got another wave of rejections. I submitted this particular piece and was rejected ten times before Sawmill picked it up. 

KH:  Oh, that wonderful poetry anthology.  My poem was proof they probably did not read the submissions before publishing!  "Under the Pines" was a great story.  I admire you for not giving up after receiving rejection letters.  One of my fears in life is rejection.  What advice would you give to someone aspiring to write but maybe they do not know where to start, or maybe they are not the best at grammar or spelling?

HP:  Practice. Just write. It doesn't have to see the light of day, and might be complete garbage, but do it anyway. Then rewrite and edit, which is where the real work comes in. Get feedback from other people (community writing groups are good for this) and take it with a grain of salt--but really examine what they say, especially if more than one person comments on a specific area. If you're not good at grammar and spelling, work to get better. Invest in a book, like White and Strunk's Elements of Style.

KH:  I'm going to switch gears a little bit and ask two very important questions that may make or break this friendship.  First, what is your favorite punctuation mark and why?

HP:  Semicolon, though I don't use it very much in writing fiction because I like to keep my sentences clearer. I enjoy a well-placed semicolon, though, because of how it aids and builds toward complexity within a sentence; also, I love how it emphasizes the importance that two phrases be linked together on the same subject. It's little nuances like that that make writing at the sentence level important.

KH:  Yes!  We are 1 for 2 so far.  I also love the semicolon best; however, when writing documents for children to understand, I rarely get the chance to use it.  (See what I did there?)  Now on to the next big question:  To Oxford comma or not to Oxford comma?  That is the question.

HP:  Oxford comma always. "At the store, please get bread, peanut butter, eggs, cookies and cream." Written this way, it could mean to get both cookies and cream, or something that is cookies and cream--like ice cream or a candy bar. With the Oxford comma there would be no confusion.

KH:  And we are 2 for 2 as evidenced by my favorite thing on Pinterest I have found so far.  Nobody cares about the Oxford comma until it saves JFK from being a stripper with Stalin.  Protect JFK, use the comma!

So, Oxford commas aside, what is your biggest grammar pet peeve?

HP:  This is a tricky question, because grammar and the English language is always evolving. Sure, there are basic rules that should be followed for clear writing, and you need to learn these rules before you can break them--but most of them can be broken. So I guess my biggest grammar pet peeve would be breaking any rule without intentionality so that the language is muddied up. 

KH:  What is your favorite "#amwriting soundtrack"?

HP:  I have a couple of playlists, depending upon what I'm writing. For my short story collection, the playlist is a lot of folky sounding indie, alt country, and bluegrass--think Ryan Adams, Mumford and Sons, Wilco, Old Crow Medicine Show. I also like the Shins for writing. But if I'm really trying to get into something and it's just not happening, generally Wilco's Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot album helps.

KH:  Respectable choices.  Because of my ADD, I cannot listen to music that I know the words to.  I usually either listen to Suicide Silence or another deathcore band on my Spotify account because it numbs my mind and drowns out everything around me.  Occasionally I will just listen to a white noise or brown noise playlist on Spotify.  

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time when you are not working or writing?

HP:  Well, logically, reading. I also enjoy spending time with my husband and friends, watching movies/Netflix, and cooking. I'm slightly obsessed with all things Doctor Who, as well. I like to travel and try out new restaurants.

KH:  You forgot to say "texting funny things and going to DMB concerts with my best friend, Kentucky Heather," but because we've already established that you are having memory loss, I will let that one slide.  (I kid, I kid).

So, I have saved the absolute most important question of all for last.  It's something that everyone needs to know.  Where would the Sorting Hat place you?  Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin?  

HP:  From all the sorting quizzes I've taken, I've received mixed answers. I've never been sorted into Slytherin, though, and most commonly it's either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I think I would want to be in Ravenclaw, and since the Sorting Hat takes the student's choice into consideration, Ravenclaw it would probably be.

KH:  And best friends we truly are.  I just told someone the other day that I would ask the Sorting Hat to place me in Ravenclaw; however, unlike you, I have been sorted into Slytherin before.  I'm probably slightly more bad news than you are.  Plus, I can speak Parseltongue. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of my questions.  I know you are busy with work and writing and being married!  I really look forward to reading whatever project you finish next and I hope you will allow me to blog about it so my wonderful blog friends can find out how wonderfully talented you are!  As an end to this long post, I leave everyone with our fun text from this morning:

 

Shotgun Fog - Heather Miller Price

Today's post is a little different.  This time, instead of film or novels, the spotlight is on short stories and the star is none other than my best friend in the whole entire world, Heather Miller Price.  Now, I know you may think, "Well, if it's her best friend, this will be the most biased post she's ever written."  No.  Trust me.  We've known each other for 26 years.  If anything, I am harsher on Heather than I am on anyone else because I want the new authors to like me whereas I no longer have to try to impress Heather.  She's stuck with me for life.

Heather and I grew up reading and writing together.  I think that is what instantly drew us to each other as friends.  Book lovers and writers tend to always find each other, even at the ripe old age of five-years-old.  It was either that or the fact that we both have the most awesome first name ever.  From class assignments in elementary school to leisure reading and writing in middle and high school, we were both always writing or sharing books with each other.  In middle school, we joined the writing club together.  The club only lasted a year, but we had fun.  We went to college together and continued writing and moved on to editing each other's papers and stories.  After undergrad, as grad students and professionals, we continued to share books and to help each other with our writings.  She is the only person I have ever trusted to read my fiction work.

H-squared, through the years :-)

Being this close with Heather, I have been able to see how much she has grown as a writer over the years.  From starting out in elementary and middle school with small stories and poems to developing characters and plots more deeply, she has come a long way with her work.  She has always been good and I have always desired to be as good as she is at writing. I knew when she decided to stop her career as a high school English teacher to pursue a graduate degree in creative writing that she was about to embark into something that would make her artistic dreams come true.  The work I critiqued for her through her program blew my mind.  I could not believe the degree of improvement that she has made in her writing skill.  I am not a good short story writer.  I am a rambler.  I am wordy.  She can say something in one page that would take me ten pages to say.

This one was actually taken at a writing conference!  UtopYA 2014

Through her improved skills and her perseverance, she has had two short stories published and has been interviewed for a "story behind the story" in literary journals.  I am so proud of her.  My best friend is a published author!  She definitely kicks my butt at my writing accomplishments.  I have a poem out there somewhere in an anthology from when I was in like fourth grade, and I was co-author of a law review article on the constitutionality of the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act.  You know who wants to read those two things?  Nobody other than my mom, and I am pretty sure she did not read the law review article.  You know who wants to read Heather's short stories?  Tons of people because they are great stories and are very well written.

Today I am featuring "Shotgun Fog" which is a fictional short story published in the online short fiction journal, Fiction Southeast.  "Shotgun Fog" is an Appalachian tale based on a story that Heather had heard growing up in her family.  It is a chilling story that resembles many things, both good and bad, found throughout Eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian region:  alcohol, hunting, violence, mental illness, family.  I love that the story is told in second person point of view.  It is rare that you come across a story written in second person because I think it is perhaps the most difficult point of view to write from.  I have never attempted it because I know I could not succeed, but Heather pulled it off flawlessly.  The description, the confusion, the ambiguity, the emotion - I had no idea it was possible to have all of those things crammed into such a short piece, but it worked.

I read "Shotgun Fog" before I read The Story Behind The Story segment on "Shotgun Fog." I already knew that Heather was working on a short story collection of tales set in a fictional Eastern Kentucky town.  I assumed that the stories would be based on things that meant something to Heather or things she experienced.  Despite that assumption, I was even further engrossed in this story when I read her inspiration for creating "Shotgun Fog."  I spent a lot of time growing up with Heather's family, especially her grandparents.  I never knew this story that served as the inspiration for "Shotgun Fog."  I never knew about Gladys or her husband.  It amazes me that after twenty-six years of being closer than sisters, we still have things of substance to talk about and things we do not know about each other.

That is why I am excited to read the remainder of Heather's short stories in the collection she is working on.  Everything I have helped her with so far has been fantastic and I could not be more proud of her.  This girl is my inspiration.  She has shown me so many times that if I put my mind to something and have faith, I can achieve anything.  That is exactly what she does.  When she has her mind set on a goal, she achieves it, no matter how many obstacles are in her way.

You should definitely take the time to read "Shotgun Fog" and the inspiration behind the story.  The links are below:

Shotgun Fog
The Story Behind the Story: "Shotgun Fog"

Stay tuned for "Shotgun Fog" part 2 where I will interview Heather Miller Price, herself, and reveal some of her awesome writing secrets . . . or at create some witty banter that will be fun for you to read!  Now, go read "Shotgun Fog" and like Heather's author page on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/hmillerprice

"Opal" a horror short by Appalachia Collective

"Opal" is the last horror short for this year for Appalachia Collective's Hallouija horror short spree.  I have been looking forward to watching this one since I finished my review of last week's short.  This film did not disappoint.

"Opal" follows a reporter as he goes to a hollow (or holler...however you want to spell it) outside of town to interview two brothers, Opal and Elwood, so he can create the obituary for their deceased sister, Ethel.  After joining them for lunch, the reporter gets freaked out by the brothers and the conversation and leaves.  Before he makes it back to town, he decides to go back because he has a feeling something is not right in the creepy old home and if he can uncover it, it might be a great headline for his career.  So he goes back to investigate and finds more than he bargains for.

This film was all around creepy.  The intro music coupled with the news and articles regarding Satan and cults and murders was absolutely chilling.  It set the tone for the movie.  I liked how Opal was silent and kept the same expression on his face throughout the entire film except for the part where Elwood explained that the burgers they ate were a secret family recipe.  Opal got a creepy grin on his face.  I loved it.

Because the film is titled "Opal," I expected Opal to be the scariest person in the film.  I was more freaked out by Elwood.  He had the dry laugh, the talk about religion, and then the change over to the crazy eyes going on.  If I had been the reporter, I would not have gone back to the house to go snooping around.  Especially not if I had heard rumors of the brothers killing people.  Speaking of the reporter and the bad judgment calls he made, I was such a nervous wreck when he was back at the property snooping.  I kept yelling at my laptop screen, "Turn off your flashlight, moron!  You're going to get caught!"  I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm certifiably insane by this point.  I couldn't help it though.  I just KNEW he was going to get caught by Opal or Elwood.

The death in this film was by far the most disturbing of all of the short films.  It was gruesome and painful to watch.  I imagine the victim suffered a great deal before he finally perished.  It was great!

The only thing I had issue with was the part where the reporter was outside and discovered one of the brothers was up to something out there.  He kept his flashlight on as he walked toward what he saw.  That would have caught the attention of whoever was out there.  Also, it looked as if what he was walking toward at first was another flashlight or just a light in general, but it was actually a fire.  I'm not sure how it went from looking like a light bulb to being a fire, but it isn't that big of a deal.  The actors all did a great job.  Elwood had a great voice and accent.  He played the creepy/sinister role very well.  Opal did a great job of being silent, yet speaking volumes.  The reporter played a great nosy reporter that was so focused on advancing his career that he made careless mistakes.  I'll even say that Ethel did a good job of laying there and being dead.  Speaking of Ethel, I wish I knew more about her and what life was like when she was alive.  When Elwood spoke to the reporter, he said that she ensured that Opal had everything he needed including direction in his life.  I would love to know more about that family and their history.

You can watch "Opal" here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeVunz_SQJw

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching and reviewing these films from Appalachia Collective.  I hope you guys have enjoyed reading about it.  I look forward to whatever this awesome crew comes up with next.

NaNoWriMo . . . Say What?

So, I'm taking a break from NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to blog about my experience so far with NaNoWriMo.  Apparently, my fingers are not sore from typing so many words yet.  This is my first year participating in NaNo and I had no idea what I was getting into when my friend talked me into trying it out.  Basically, you write a novel during the month of November.  50,000 words in 30 days.  Back at the beginning of October, it did not seem so daunting, but now that I am actually trying to do it, I realize what a disaster I am, creatively speaking.

You see, I am a procrastinator.  So while everyone else was planning out what they were going to write, I decided to figure it out later.  I had plenty of time.  I forgot I had to take an exam yesterday.  Studying for that might have been important.  I procrastinated with that as well.  So, yesterday came and I had no idea for my novel.  So I just started writing randomly to see what happened.  I'm still not entirely sure where the story is going, but at least it is moving.  I learned that I am what they call "a pantser," meaning that I fly by the seat of my pants.  That's pretty accurate.

So why did I decide to do this if I am already freaking out on Day 2?  Easy.  Accountability.  I have started so many writing projects and have never finished a single one (apart from ones I have done for school in the past).  I am afraid to commit myself to these projects.  I am afraid of commitment.  There.  I said it.  Once they are completed, I will have permanently tied myself to them and that kind of terrifies me.  I need to get over that if I am ever going to do anything with my writing.  So I figured that if everyone in the NaNoWriMo community can see my word count, I will be more likely to finish this.  The one thing I'm more afraid of than commitment?  Failure.  Especially failure in front of other people.  I am also competitive and there are promo codes for some cool discounts and stuff if you make it to the end and win.  I hope that all of these things will motivate me to complete this little project that has no title and has characters with no names and is sort of just out there and nonsensical, kind of like this blog post.  I do already have a mini-crush on one of my characters, though.  So that's a plus, right?  We love fictional crushes!

If any of you are participating in NaNo this year, feel free to add me to your writing buddy list.  My user name on there is kentuckyheather.   Also during this break I am going to watch the last horror short from Appalachia Collective, so I will post that blog entry in a little bit.