Memoirs of an English Major

    As a writer, I’m always on the look for a good way to keep track of my thoughts and when I get them. My brain is contently day dreaming and coming up with strange ideas that I know if I don’t write them at that moment, I will lose it. So, how I do it? It all depends on where I am.

    On the computer side or when I’m out and about, I’ve been using Evernote theses days. It’s a great program to write notes on and keep track of stray thoughts. Plus, since it saves to the web, I can access it from anywhere, even my iPhone. It’s been an valuable little app and I’m so glad I signed up for it. Well worth a try if you’re in need of an application just to jot down thoughts.

   If I’m at home and not near a comp, I turn to my trusty notebook. Though it sits by my bedside, it helps at those stray moment of the night to quickly write down an idea, thought, or simply a quote for a character in a story. As I tend to have ideas at the strangest moments, I’ve learned to be prepared.

   I know this post was short, so as a bonus, I’m making my short story ideas public. Check out what strange thoughts go through my head at http://www.evernote.com/pub/vincent404/story-ideas. Check it out.

   Tonight’s posts are simply going to be a couple of plugs. First off, I have a new blog I am part of. For me, I’m looking at it as a tech blog where I think most of my tech article will be. If you’re interested in reading what my friends and I have to say on Tech, check out the Moon-cast blog. If you are familiar with my old podcast, some of the writers will seem familiar. I should have an Entrecard for the blog up as soon as the rest of the other writers are on board.

   As for the second plug, one of my short stories was sent to a contest a while back. It is almost over, but the winners have yet to be announced. In any case, my short work is up at Bebo Author. Feel free to comment, read, and state whatever you wish. Any comment will be read and accepted as such, so please try to be constructive.

  That is all for now. I should have a better post this week.

     One of my professors always said the thing he gained from college was how to study. What I gained from my college years was my work ethic. Most of my friends are aware of this, but if it’s not apparent, I procrastinate. I’m what some may classify as a slacker. I can’t name the numerous times that because of this, I not only had numerous papers stack up, but was probably late on more things that I would like to admit. I can’t name the amount of times that I was up at two in the morning finishing three papers, fooling myself that if I cycled through each of the papers that I could keep any energy I had at a level that I could at least get the papers in a state that I would be proud of before collapsing for the measly four hours before waking up only to skip the class to finish the paper for that class. Some would call it simple procrastination, but it would become more for me.

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     This is completely out of my normal post and also out of the usual posting time. In fact, I should be sleeping at this moment. But I had the strangest dream and felt like sharing it. The odd thing is, I think I could work this sort of thing into a story. And since I’m writing it and analyzing it, it should help. I know who the people are in the dreams, but to avoid the issues dealing with people in my dreams, I’ll omit the names. If you would rather not read about my dreams, feel free to skip this post. If you’re curious what my strange mind creates in my waking mind, venture on.

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It’s amazing what strange thoughts run through one’s mind while traveling. Take my brain for instance. Throughout the course of any one of my journeys, I tend to write more while I’m in movement that when I am sitting here in front of my keyboard. It just seems that the my mind fires off on all cylinders when I am traveling. I’m still not quite sure why or how, but it is a fact that I have come to understand and harness.

Take this little blurb here. This was a little thing that popped into my head while waiting for a flight back to DFW. I wrote it after I caught an older guy trying to catch a glimpse at what appeared to be a young mother. She looked like she was single, though I have no idea. This has nothing to do with the thought at hand. This is actually written from the perspective of some other girl. I may work this into a larger piece of fiction or spin off this sort of thought into a full blown character. As of now, I’m not quite sure how to handle this and I am willing to take any suggestions. Anyway, keep in mind that this is a stray thought I did not want to lose. Enjoy

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NOTE: This is the first draft and will be revised within the coming weeks. I just felt I needed to post the follow up part. I will revisit this next week, add some more, and tighten up the description.

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Since I am going to enter Claire’s short story contest, I felt it was time to re-look at how I write and see if I can find a better. These days, I tend to write sporadically and non-linear, capturing whatever comes from my mind when it comes from my mind. With this in mind, I am trying out PageFour, a word processor made specifically for fiction writers. Even though I have only lightly touched it, I love it. It feels entirely different, allowing me to organize my sporadic thoughts within folder structures and pages, allowing my mind to keep thinking the way it is. Even though it is currently in demo mode, if by the end of the week I’m still in love with it, I will make a purchase. Possibly within the week, I’ll write a full review of the product, but so far, I am recommending it. I know tonight’s post is shorter than expected, but I am some what written out. The first draft of the short story should be done by this week and I will share it with everyone here. The basic concept actually comes from a bigger concept that I hope to write soon. What Radical Dreamer’s did for Chrono Cross is what I hope my short story shall do for mine.

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"I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I’m going to take a stand. I’m going to defend it. Right or wrong, I’m going to defend it" - Cameron Frye

    Thought I would open up tonight’s post with a plug. One of my good friends recently posted his Nine Inch Nails remix online and I figured it was appropriate to plug the link. Check it out at http://remix.nin.com/member/CloudedRealm. Well worth a listen.

    Recently, mainly due to Entrecard, I’ve had an influx of traffic and it occurred to me. Some of my better posts are deep within the archives and are extremely hard to locate. This week should mark the new theme and with that will come tagging of all of my posts and the removal of categories. I feel with the amorphous writing style, it is best organized in the cloud structure, which isn’t one at all. The cloud should also illustrate where I concentrate on and where I am lacking in, encouraging me to continue with my goal in exploring how I write in various mediums. This will happen by the end of the week. Once complete, there will be the cloud widget on the sidebar, ready to show the work in a very strange style. So without further delay, I will now reveal some of my better posts. Feel free to comment on each post or if you’re coming from Entrecard, comment on my card. I will take any and all concerns.

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