Banzai!! And Some NaNo Stuff

So this past Saturday, Daniel and I went to Anime Banzai in Salt Lake City. It was loads and loads of fun! This was my second anime convention, but Daniel's first. The only other one I've been to was in Atlanta a couple years ago. We only went on Saturday because we both worked Friday. We got there around 9-ish and didn't get home until about 1:30 am. It was a long day, but fun.

And no, we didn't dress up. We thought about it, but we didn't have enough time to put something together. But we were seriously thinking about going as Ichigo and Rukia from Bleach. Daniel would make a good Ichigo if he had the orange hair. We did see a lot of cool and sometimes scary cosplay though. I didn't get a lot of pictures. I was too shy to ask people to pose; plus, I'm sure they got tired of it after a while.

The best part for me was the shopping. The exhibit hall with all the vendors wasn't very big but there was some pretty good stuff. I managed to get myself three purses. I got a book bag/purse of Mokona, which I've been wanting for years, and two very pretty messenger bags with Chinese dragons embroidered on them. Daniel got the first season of Bleach on DVD and a wooden replica of Ichigo's bankai sword. Plus we bought and consumed lots of Ramune. (I'll put some pictures up once I actually get them off my camera.)

Oh, and also we went by the Artist Alley and met some really awesome people, here are their dA sites: http://sk8rccd.deviantart.com/ (who drew a chibi of Daniel and I, way cute!) & http://anonymous-j.deviantart.com/ (who was really cool and nice)

My second favorite thing was the dance/rave afterward. We stayed until the very end and had a blast! We got lots of glow sticks and Daniel and I were kickin' it on the dance floor. Several times I saw people stop and just watch us. Daniel was spinning his around like they were numb chucks and I just flailing my arms around and hoping it looked cool. We were so tired by the end though. Daniel had to carry me to the car because my feet were hurting so bad.

All in all it was way fun and we'll defiantly be going back next year!
Oh and some things I learned for the next convention:
1) If you're going to be staying for the dance and actually plan on dancing, have comfortable clothes to wear, including shoes.
2) Bring a camera and make sure it has fresh batteries.
3) Don't be afraid to ask for pictures of people.
4) It's way more fun to go as a big group.
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And now a quick blurb about NaNoWriMo.

I've got most of the story outlined/figured out. This in of itself is pretty cool for me. I've never really planned a story this far in advance and I'm really excited to get started! 2 more days!!!

Here's a short synopses of the story.
What if all the creatures of myth and legend were real, just living in another world? Gwen is about to find out as she steps into the forgotten realm of Avalon!

Well this has been long enough. Back to work on said story!

~Kricket

November=NaNoWriMo!

National Novel Writing Month
November is National Novel Writing Month!! And this is the first year that I've ever heard of it. Basically, it's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel between Nov. 1 thru Nov. 31. Sounds nearly impossible right? Well it just be, but I'm going to try it anyway.

I only found out about this a week ago, so I haven't had much time to prepare. But I've already managed to do something impossible, I've actually outlined about four chapters of my story. I never outline. I'm usually a make-it-up-as-I-go-along type person. But I figured that since I only have a month to get the whole thing on paper, I might as well know what the heck I'm going to be writing about.

I'm doing a fantasy story that has a lot to do with various mythological creatures. It's been requiring some research, but at least it's fun and something I'm interested in. So far, I feel pretty confident in my ability to accomplish this. The story is forming nicely in my head. I feel like I've got some pretty good, concrete characters. I'm really hoping that the story is good enough that, once it's edited, I can start trying to get it published.

Just getting a whole story down on paper in one's lifetime is hard enough. If I complete this challenge, that will be a huge accomplishment. And I will finally be able to say that yes, I have, in fact, written a book!

Throughout the month of November, I'll be posting parts of the story. Either entire chapters or just sections that I thought were pretty darn good. So look forward to seeing those. Also, if I seem scarce here on the Internet, you now know why. I will be at my computer, but not on the Net.

And that's all folks!
~Kricket

Some Seasonal Poems

So I've finally gotten back into my poetry! I've been so busy lately that I just haven't made the time to sit down and write a good poem. But I manged to get out two this month!

This first one I write while at my in-laws house watching General Conference.

The Seasons Round

A rainbow born of Earth,
Little jewels aching for the Sun;
Joyous cries of birth,
A new breath of life;
‘Tis Spring.

Shimmering emerald heat waves;
A blazing orb high in the heavens
Raining golden life,
Igniting the world with light;
‘Tis Summer.

Flames through the trees;
Embers drifting down to Earth,
Smoldering in piles,
Crackling with laughter;
‘Tis Autumn.

Crystal lace in the air;
Doilies lay upon the ground
Lining every edge with white;
Fragile glass figurines;
‘Tis Winter.
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My favorite stanza is the one about autumn, that's the first one I wrote. And Daniel actually helped me with the arrangement of the poem. I wasn't sure which season to start with. But it works no matter what way you put it, because each stanza just flows into the next. I wrote it that way on purpose. You can also find this poem on my dA page here: The Seasons Round

This next one I wrote about a week ago and then edited it today. I submitted this as part of the WordSpill Project on DeviantArt. wordspill.deviantart.com

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Spill

Autumn forgot about me
I left her home of evergreens
And flames
Blindly fled into the arms
Of Winter
That cold beautiful
Distant lover
Blanketed in sleepy white
Dreaming of the distant
Dawn of Spring

Autumn forgot me
She past me by without a glance
Witer quickly followed
And stayed longer than I liked

Autumn forgot me
In this land of endless winter
She has no place to rest
No where to leave drop leave her
Drops of burning color

Autumn forgot about me
Forced to make room for
Winter’s elegant train
Autumn is a simple creature
Not as dramatic as her sisters
Seen only as a predessor of Winter
She is forgotten so quickly
Dissmissed as a time of passing

Autumn forgot about me
Or did I forget about her
Did I leave her
Does she miss me
As I miss her

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The Scrub

Autumn forgot about me.
I left her home of flames
And blindly fled into the arms
Of Winter.
That cold and
Distant lover.

Autumn forgot about me.
In this land of endless snow,
She has no place to rest;
No where to leave her
Drops of burning color.

Autumn forgot about me.
Forced to make room for
Winter’s elegant train.
Seen only as a forewarning
Of Winter’s tragic beauty.
She is forgotten so quickly,
Dismissed as a time of passing.

Autumn forgot about me.
Or did I forget about her?
Did I leave her?
Does she miss me
As I miss her?
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I'm pretty proud of how the final scrub turned out. You also find this poem on my dA page here: Autumn Forgot About Me

And That's it for my writing update!

~Kricket