Yay Yay Yay!
I am finally done with my short story to enter in the Writer's Digest competition, and still have three days left! Wew hew! After rewriting it so many times, I was beginning to think I would never finish... I do my best work under pressure though, and the fear of not making the entry deadline definitely helped me.
I can't wait to enter and see how I do! To any fellow writers entering the contest, best of luck to you all, though I sincerely hope you don't win! :-)
Which came first, the Dream, or the Dreamer?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Beauty of Avatars
Honestly, I used to think using an avatar for you picture was, well, silly... And in the case of this blog, it probably would be. I have no reason to hide my face here. In the past, I have actually looked at the use of avatars as deceitful, just being honest here... I no longer feel that way though.
On things like youtube, metacafe, or other websites of a similar venue, I realize that the use of avatars has actually opened my mind... When you see a picture of someone, you instantly get a feel for them. As much as most of us would like to deny this, first impressions are hugely significant. With the use of avatars though, we can project what we want others to feel from us.
Because of the use of avatars, I have now communicated with people all over the world, of all different creeds, social status, race, and I have found something that has blown my mind away...
WE ARE ALL THE SAME! :-)
Can you believe it???
You see, without a face to associate with, you are left purely with what that person says and how they portray themselves. I have found so many cases now where I was conversing with someone about a topic, only to find out they are not what I thought. Or better explained, not what I was conditioned to think they were.
It is so easy to label people; fat, bimbo, money grubber, dirty, religious, punk, goth, jock, geek, whatever the case may be, all from a simple picture. What we look like, whether we like it or not, has a huge impact on the way people see us. With avatars, we have no way of knowing what each other looks like, what our sexual preference, financial status, etc. is. We are simply friends...
Looking at things from this perspective, it kind of makes me wonder why we judge so much on looks anyway. Or why we care what others wear, or how they eat, or live... If we judged one another simply on the energy we are emitting, like we do with avatars, wouldn't that be a much better way of doing things?
I know even as far as humanity has come, we still have work to do. But befriending people not knowing what they look like, or even what gender or how old they are, has really made me a lot of friends. Ones that I see eye to eye with. We are friends because of common beliefs, similar interests, and sometimes, just to get fresh and different perspectives. People don't have to put up walls, because no one knows who they are in the body. In some ways, avatars allow us to be more real, because their is no preconceived notion of who and what we are.
On things like youtube, metacafe, or other websites of a similar venue, I realize that the use of avatars has actually opened my mind... When you see a picture of someone, you instantly get a feel for them. As much as most of us would like to deny this, first impressions are hugely significant. With the use of avatars though, we can project what we want others to feel from us.
Because of the use of avatars, I have now communicated with people all over the world, of all different creeds, social status, race, and I have found something that has blown my mind away...
WE ARE ALL THE SAME! :-)
Can you believe it???
You see, without a face to associate with, you are left purely with what that person says and how they portray themselves. I have found so many cases now where I was conversing with someone about a topic, only to find out they are not what I thought. Or better explained, not what I was conditioned to think they were.
It is so easy to label people; fat, bimbo, money grubber, dirty, religious, punk, goth, jock, geek, whatever the case may be, all from a simple picture. What we look like, whether we like it or not, has a huge impact on the way people see us. With avatars, we have no way of knowing what each other looks like, what our sexual preference, financial status, etc. is. We are simply friends...
Looking at things from this perspective, it kind of makes me wonder why we judge so much on looks anyway. Or why we care what others wear, or how they eat, or live... If we judged one another simply on the energy we are emitting, like we do with avatars, wouldn't that be a much better way of doing things?
I know even as far as humanity has come, we still have work to do. But befriending people not knowing what they look like, or even what gender or how old they are, has really made me a lot of friends. Ones that I see eye to eye with. We are friends because of common beliefs, similar interests, and sometimes, just to get fresh and different perspectives. People don't have to put up walls, because no one knows who they are in the body. In some ways, avatars allow us to be more real, because their is no preconceived notion of who and what we are.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Just a few thoughts...
You know you are working to much when ~
you dream of spreadsheets
speaking of children has nothing to do with actual children
checking your email at 2am to see if everything is okay at work becomes a nightly habit
you begin speaking to friends and family in work lingo
your boss knows the name of your soon to be born child before your family members do
sleeping in your office becomes a welcome event
(I sincerely love all of my friends and family, even if this does apply to many of them! :-) )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It really annoys me when ~
a friend deletes you from facebook because you got in an argument
a friend deletes you from facebook because your spouse got in an argument with them
people feel the need to race a minivan when the light turns green
drivers assume a minivan driver will drive 10 under the speed limit
people do something stupid and blame it on a witch casting a love spell on them (this really happened)
someone claims to teach about spiritual things, while charging you through the roof
you pay 20 bucks to see a movie and it sucks
you pay 20 bucks to see a movie and the girl next to you is crying because Taylor Lautner took off his shirt
a beautiful picture is posted on facebook of your newborn and a family member responds by typing in bold letters, "JESUS IS OUR ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR, WE SHALL ONLY MEET OUR MAKER THROUGH HIM" (paraphrased or course...)
someone avoids you because they think you are mad at them for avoiding you
you ask a question about a product at the grocery store and the clerk responds by rolling their eyes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things I love to see ~
parents who actually parent
people who wait for you to pull out before proceeding
a yummy starbucks in the hands of my husband with my name on it
those who can forgive
those who love divinely and unconditionally
people getting involved in issues they see around the world
someone picking up trash that isn't theirs
*Please, feel free to share your thoughts as well! :-)*
you dream of spreadsheets
speaking of children has nothing to do with actual children
checking your email at 2am to see if everything is okay at work becomes a nightly habit
you begin speaking to friends and family in work lingo
your boss knows the name of your soon to be born child before your family members do
sleeping in your office becomes a welcome event
(I sincerely love all of my friends and family, even if this does apply to many of them! :-) )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It really annoys me when ~
a friend deletes you from facebook because you got in an argument
a friend deletes you from facebook because your spouse got in an argument with them
people feel the need to race a minivan when the light turns green
drivers assume a minivan driver will drive 10 under the speed limit
people do something stupid and blame it on a witch casting a love spell on them (this really happened)
someone claims to teach about spiritual things, while charging you through the roof
you pay 20 bucks to see a movie and it sucks
you pay 20 bucks to see a movie and the girl next to you is crying because Taylor Lautner took off his shirt
a beautiful picture is posted on facebook of your newborn and a family member responds by typing in bold letters, "JESUS IS OUR ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR, WE SHALL ONLY MEET OUR MAKER THROUGH HIM" (paraphrased or course...)
someone avoids you because they think you are mad at them for avoiding you
you ask a question about a product at the grocery store and the clerk responds by rolling their eyes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things I love to see ~
parents who actually parent
people who wait for you to pull out before proceeding
a yummy starbucks in the hands of my husband with my name on it
those who can forgive
those who love divinely and unconditionally
people getting involved in issues they see around the world
someone picking up trash that isn't theirs
*Please, feel free to share your thoughts as well! :-)*
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Entering a Writing contest
One would think that writing a 5000 word short story for a writing contest would be fairly simple... NOT! Maybe it is just me, but holy manoli! Trying to fit an entire story, with a beginning, middle, and end, also character development, an interesting plot, twists in the storyline, villains and hero's, all in one short and tiny package, is truly quite challenging...
Since I have never entered a contest before, I decided this current Writer's Digest contest would be for me. After all, the do have a 5000 word max. Where others charge an arm and a leg to enter and only allow 2000-4000 words. But writing this piece has not been easy.
Usually, I am the winner at the baby shower or bachelorette party who ends up with the funniest or most entertaining short story using "x" amount of words with certain keys like, "diapers, oil, store, gas, arrested, etc..." Everyone gets a laugh, and I get to put my skills to work under the pressure of the 5 minute timer on the table. But this, this is a whole new ball game.
I started by picking my topic, which was actually the easy part, and dove in. Since I really get to know my characters, (they are like my own personal friends inside my head) the draw to this new addition came natural and she seems to flow right from my thoughts and onto the computer. The more I write though, the more I wonder just how I am going to tie this bad boy up in the end. With such a short limit on words, I keep going back to take things unnecessary, or that go into too much detail, out. To be honest, this is great experience for me! :-)
For now, I am still working at it to get the story in perfect shape to enter the big contest... But after all is said and done, I will post it on here (if I am allowed to do that), to give you all the result to what will probably be many rantings on the issue. I know I can do it, so I will keep working until I do!
Much love to you all for sharing my thoughts!
Since I have never entered a contest before, I decided this current Writer's Digest contest would be for me. After all, the do have a 5000 word max. Where others charge an arm and a leg to enter and only allow 2000-4000 words. But writing this piece has not been easy.
Usually, I am the winner at the baby shower or bachelorette party who ends up with the funniest or most entertaining short story using "x" amount of words with certain keys like, "diapers, oil, store, gas, arrested, etc..." Everyone gets a laugh, and I get to put my skills to work under the pressure of the 5 minute timer on the table. But this, this is a whole new ball game.
I started by picking my topic, which was actually the easy part, and dove in. Since I really get to know my characters, (they are like my own personal friends inside my head) the draw to this new addition came natural and she seems to flow right from my thoughts and onto the computer. The more I write though, the more I wonder just how I am going to tie this bad boy up in the end. With such a short limit on words, I keep going back to take things unnecessary, or that go into too much detail, out. To be honest, this is great experience for me! :-)
For now, I am still working at it to get the story in perfect shape to enter the big contest... But after all is said and done, I will post it on here (if I am allowed to do that), to give you all the result to what will probably be many rantings on the issue. I know I can do it, so I will keep working until I do!
Much love to you all for sharing my thoughts!
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