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Journal entries of my life as a writer. |
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This is a journal of my writing life since I joined the Writing.com community of writers. This is such a different place for me, I think it's a good idea to document my new writing adventures. |
June 9 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  I can. I will. End of story. Today's prompt seems to be about carrying on and pushing through difficulties. I have felt this way for much of the time I have worked on my yellow website. https://www.edonyourown.com This work in progress has carried me through many difficult times. I go to my website to make myself feel better because it shows all of my effort to help others with my educational resources. Teachers help teachers and that's what my websiye is all about. I want to help make lives easier in the world of education. People can pick and choose what they want to use. I worked so hard to come up with these odeas and to get them into an easy to use format. I love looking at my statistics to watch which resources are the most popular. It amazes me how popular my divisibility rules worksheet is. It's almost always in the top ten. It makes math easier. Who doesn't want that? I live my life by these words of I can and I will. I'm a fighter and these are the mantra of a fighter. |
| June 8 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" June 8 is Send A Postcard Day. The US Congress approved the penny postcard on June 8, 1872. Choose someone and write them a postcard message. How do you feel about others reading your message. People do read postcards on their way to the recipients. Dear Mom, I'm having a great time in Seattle. Of course it's raining. What else did I expect? I'm going to visit the Space Needle. Maybe I can figure out how the aliens use it for sewing. Take care. Love, Janine Hopefully someone will get a chuckle out of that message. Or maybe they will think there's something wrong with me. Have fun with public mail... |
 I'm still working on evaluating writing software programs. I spent hours and hours working with Scrivener yesterday. I went through the tutorial and liked how it was all segmented out into small chunks of information. It felt like it really fit with my short attention span writing concept.WriteItNow also breaks things up into small chunks, as do others. But Scrivener allowed me to save my work and really take it for a test drive. I'm finding that it gives me a way to work with scattered ideas to weave them into something very organized and professional looking. I see the organizational functions of these software programs to be the big draw for me. I'm used to organizing everything in my head, but for longer pieces of work, it seems better to write all of the details down in places where I can find what I've collected. It seems to be a matter of getting everything out in front of me so I can see where I am and how close I am to my goals. Just having ideas floating around in my head that I may forget doesn't work well for the projects I'm looking at right now. I feel like choosing one or more than one of these software programs is the next step for me in my writing. The time is right and I feel ready for this change in my writing life. I know I sound like this is earth shattering for me, but in a way it is. This represents a major shift in my writing style and habits. I have assembled pieces into entire books and it went so well that income is paying for the software. Maybe it would have been easier if I had these programs to use. My Beginning C++ Programming book was very frustrating when it came down to pulling it together for a book format. I was angry by the time I finished that project and now I have writing income for my efforts. |
| June 7 Blogging Prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends " A Pulitzer-winning reporter is writing an in-depth piece about you. What are the three questions you really hope she doesn't ask you? I find this to be a very difficult prompt. I have had so many private parts of my life exposed to the public having to do with the rumor mill involved with my stalking situation, so I have had to get used to writing about very personal details in my own defense. So those questions wouldn't be on my list because it would be a chance to clear the air. So I guess I would look to questions about my teaching lesson planning as I follow a strict syllabus, but am off the cuff with my lectures for a more relaxed setting in my math classes. I'm sure this would rankle many people and have people wonder how I was so successful with just a syllabus for lecture notes. I just didn't have the time the other teachers had and teaching math comes easily to me. Just folow the book... easy... I would probably have trouble with questions about my writing. I have my own way of doing things and even though I've taken classes and read books and actually follow some of the standards, questions and answers in this area would make people wonder how I ever achieve any success at all. I get reviews that are all over tge place from telling me they love my writing to telling me they really don't like it at all and everything in between. I would probably also have trouble with specific questions about my painting and drawing, since I'm a self taught artist growing up doing arts and crafts projects and specializing in sewing crafts. I like my art and so do others and there are some things I could explain about layering colors with acrylic paints, but I don't have the life drawing experience and my landscapes look like they hark back to elementary school in their simplicity, yet people think they are beautiful works of art. I just have my own style and a colored pencil artist said I had a very good eye for color on my geometric pencil artwork. So I do have sensitive points having to do with technical issues in my areas of talent because I just don't fit into the box with everyone else. Maybe that's why I got the interview in the first place. Why interview boring? |
| June 7 Blogging Prompt for "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" In 300 years, if you were to be named the patron saint of X, what would you like X to be? Places, activities, objects all are fair game. I have a book called Chickidoodle Chronicles sold on https://www.LuLu.com by searching for Janine Bouyssounouse or the title. So I would chhose to be Saint Chickidoodle, patron saint of Public Transportation. This would be to honor me for all of those months I spent 12 hours a day traveling all over Los Angeles County searching for good photos and good writing spots and good eateries as well. People actually sent people to ask me for help in finding the Silver Line at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. It was a bit of a walk and you can't even see the train station from the stop. I told all kinds of people about the interesting and beautiful artwork at the Metro train stations. This is a newer form of public transit in Los Angeles and they are still building onto the system. It's been wonderful to watch over the progress and be one of the first people to try out the new routes. The bus lines are quite amazing as well. The bus trip out to Malibu is fun and the ride down Sunset is fun, too. I was amazed with the different kinds of people on different routes at different times of day. Most people are going to work or other errands. Being a tourist made me stand out in the crowd. |
| June 7 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" What book would you like to see made into a movie or miniseries? Who would you like to see play the main characters in that movie/miniseries? I would say the herald series of books by Mercedes Lackey, but maybe they would just seem like the horse-riding version of the X-Men movies. So they may or may not play well for money coming in for them. But the dragonriders of Pern would make wonderful movies. It would be hard to do the dragon flying, but they have such grwat special effects these days that it would work out just fine. I'm not good at choosing who should star in movies and such. I guess you have to go to school to learn about casting. Maybe my problem is that I can't remember names and maybe I could point at pictures, like looking at mug shots. Head shots and mug shots have things in common. |
| June 6 Blogging Prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends " Favorite board game... Pente is my favorite board game. My algebra teacher taught me how to play five in a row tic-tac-toe on graph paper and it was an instant success for me. Part of Pente is trying to get five stones in a row. But an added bonus is being able to capture pairs as an alternative way to win the game. This makes the game even more fun than the graph paper X and O pencil game. There is a lot of strategy involved and you have to be concentrating the whole time. This is not a boring game. |
| June 6 Blogging Prompt for "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Do you have a secret place to avoid real life? If not, do you need one at times? I try to find random places to sit and relax or get some work to do. If I make it a regular thing, then sometimes things just don't work. That's upsetting to me. So I feel better having a whole list of places to go so that something will work for me, instead of feeling bad that my one spot isn't going to work. I feel like I have to be flexible in where I go to take a break from reality in order to make sure it's a positive experience. |
| June 6 Blogging Prompt for "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Do you have a secret place to avoid real life? If not, do you need one at times? I try to find random places to sit and relax or get some work to do. If I make it a regular thing, then sometimes things just don't work. That's upsetting to me. So I feel better having a whole list of places to go so that something will work for me, instead of feeling bad that my one spot isn't going to work. I feel like I have to be flexible in where I go to take a break from reality in order to make sure it's a positive experience. |
| June 6 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" What if calories cost money? Do you think charging per calorie would change people's eating habits? Why or why not? I think people going out to eat are going to eat what they want. But if their favorite items are too expensive for their budget, then they might make different choices, including eating more at home just to save the money. Eating out might not seem the best choice anymore, especially when grocery stores have so many ready made foods and easy to cook options. I think it would make restaurants cry for the old pricing. |
 So I was wondering what the word count was for a novel. I wanted to know the break point between novella and novel. Then I found out about novelette. There are differences in the exact word counts, but a guidline I can use is:Short Story - under 7,500 words Novelette - 7,500 - 17,500 words Novella - 17,500 - 40,000 words Chapbook - 16,000 words Mystery - 60,000 - 80,000 words Thriller - 100,000 words So, once I saw the word counts, I wondered how I would get there. Especially since Flash Fiction has been my mainstay. I have an outline for the first two chapters, so I will have a better idea of what it will take to tell the story when I've fleshed out those two chapters. Description of setting will have to be on my mind, since most of that is dropped in Flash Fiction so only the bare essentials are left and the reader's imagination takes over to fill in the gaps. |
 I found out I have money coming in that wasn't expected, so I've been researching writing software today. I've decided to try WriteItNow and I've jotted down notes for a book to write using the program. I'll have to see how it goes. I think I will just start with the notes I have and learn how to use the different features of the software and see what I end up with after a while. For now I'm just waiting for the money to transfer to me so I can buy the software. But my ideas and notes can happen in the mean time. This shall be interesting. |
| June 5 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Pivotal historic event... I feel like The Great Depression changed things for people that last for generations. The concept of waste not want not is heavily played in my family. Reusing items is just part of how our family does things. Canning was done for years when my grandparents had fruit trees. We ate food from the garden for years. My family came from a farm that's still in the family. I feel like a farmer girl who grew up in movieland. The concept of using left over fabric to make quilts means the world to me. It's like history in fabric to keep you warm. That's using what could be trash to preserve memories. |
| June 5 Blogging Prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends " What is your favorite WDC activity, besides Blogging Circle of Friends? I like the Merit Badge Project and The Newbie Welcome Wagon. The merit badge project has multiple badges to work towards each month. You pick one and submit your entry. There is such a variety of tasks to do, it is always interesting. I just like the idea of welcoming new people with colorful reviews. I really liked getting reviews when I first joined, so I enjoy doing the same for others. I also enjoy my contest of daily writing prompts. I'm having fun with it. It makes me feel good to help people write by using my prompts. |
| June 5 Blogging Prompt for "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" What is your favorite rainy day movie? I like Avitar and Forrest Gump and the Star Wars movies and the Indiana Jones movies and The Matrix movies and Romancing The Stone and Something's Gotta Give and Pretty Woman and many, many more movies. More movies... Yay movies... Great ways ti tell exciting stories... Don't forget the popcorn. |
 I got frustrated this morning because I wasn't able to create the book I wanted to create, so I ended up going back to https://www.shopmybook.com and using a pdf file to create the book. I also had to make the book longer than it originally was because there was a thirty page minimum page count for the book. The hard cover wasn't very much more expensive, so I decided to get a hard cover. I hope it turns out well in print. I ordered a copy and I'll order one for my niece and nephew when I get more money in my account. I want to make sure it comes out okay. Take a look at it. Go to https://www.shopmybook.com and search for Janine Bouyssounouse to see all of my titles on that site. I think it looks good. |
 I just finished making the text version of a kid's story book with six of my stories in it and some artwork as filler. So far I have it in pdf format. My goal is to have it self published as a photo book if I can figure out how to make it work. I'll tackle step two later. But people can look at my step one version now at https://www.edonyourown.com/english/english.html. It's at the bottom of the page. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far. |
| June 4 Blogging Prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Do you think playing violent video games and watching violent movies make people more violent in real life? Were you allowed to partake in these activities as a child? If you have children did/do you let them have violent media? This is actually a difficult question. You can say that someone could get an idea from being exposed to violence and they could act out on that thought. How many kids have played cowboys and indians or war games? Those games always include stooting someone dead. How many children raised with violence become violent because that is what they were taught? Some could say that playing these games could get out some of the violent thoughts so they don't want to be violent in real life. I think exercise is a better way to release stress. Sign the kids up for martial arts classes. They get to be violent in a different way and it can be used against them if they use it to attack instead of just defend. They teach different ways to think about fighting in the martial arts classes. They are taught how to fight and how to do it properly. So everything is more controlled in this setting. The kids get real training and they learn the rules they have to follow. They learn they have responsibilities with the skills they have. I think this is a better way to address the situation of kids becoming violent because they are exposed to violence. I wasn't too interested in violence. We blew up asteroids and are up dots and ghosts. So yeah, that counts as violence, but it didn't make me want to be a fighter pilot or a ghost hunter. |
| June 4 Blogging Prompt for "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Flip flops or bare feet? What does summer look like in your world? In Southern California, the sand and the sidewalks and streets are just too hot for bare feet. Flip flops for going out to the beach or whatnot, but bare feet on the grass. Summers can get quite hot. People really can get burned if they don't watch out. |
| June 4 Blogging Prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends " If March winds bring April showers and April showers bring May flowers, what do May floers bring in June? The way the joke goes, Mayflowers bring Pilgrims. From one of the ships that used to bring people from Great Brittain to the New World that eventually became the United States of America. As far as something else goes, I think the May flowers bring the June weddings so they can be decorated in such beautiful flowers. What's a wedding without floral arrangements? |
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