I haven't really done very much writing in the past few days. My writing partner has been gone on a several week long vacation, so it's a little hard to find time to write with her. So, mostly, I've just been reading. My grandpa gave me a new mystery to read yesterday, so I'm going to read it. I'm really not much of a mystery fan, but, I just recently started reading Sherlock Holmes, so I might as well read this mystery too, right?

There isn't much to write about today. It was overcast and chilly in the morning yesterday, though it seems to have warmed up some. Summer seems to be taking its time, and being indecisive. Some days it's swelteringly hot, others its almost chilly, especially at night. This is why I hate summer. Fall is just so much gentler, and more decisive. Once it decides to be fall, it's fall. At least, more so than in the summer. Honestly, there isn't much of a difference between the seasons in So Cal. We've had summer days in the middle of December before. I ought to move somewhere where there are actual seasons. Maybe even some light snow every once in a while!

Sorry about my rambling. I'm still half-asleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll post another poem or something.

Until then, dear reader, farewell.

- Aimee

Moon, Girl and Wind --

By Aimee

(Standard requests to keep your hands to yourself and leave my writing alone apply.)

The moon hung low in the dark, midnight sky
The wind howled mournfully ‘cross the dark moor
And the silent maid stood, with a tear in her eye
Alone in the small cottage door

And the poor maiden cried at the moon in the sky
“Alas, I yearn to be like unto thee
For you must have seen the whole world, but I-
I sit alone, and afraid, for you see,
That he’s gone, and I fear he may die!”

The moon heard not the girl, and beseeched the wind
“Cease your dread howling, you fiend!
Can you not see that my progress you hinder”
But the wind ceased not to keen

On that cold, windy night when the girl, wind and moon
All communed for a moment, though slight
The wind spoke up softly, its feelings quiet hurt
And asked of the heavens a boon
“Oh, moon,” The wind moaned, wrapping ‘round a dead tree
“I beseech thee to, please, treat me kind.
The clouds and the birds would be naught without me
And you’d grow to miss me, I think you would find”

The moon, girl and wind soon parted ways
The moon slowly fell, and the sun soon awoke
The wind turned gentle in the sun’s golden rays
And the girl was abed, like all normal folk

Here, dear reader, is an original poem by myself. It's just something I wrote in the middle of the night, when the words refused to leave me alone. I hope you enjoyed reading it, as I enjoyed writing it, and found some meaning in it.

My writing has been slow for the last few days. I haven't done anything productive in days, mostly because all my time has been spent away from the house. But, tonight, I have all the time in the world to write. I intend to do something productive, such as working on my fantasy novel. I've reached a crucial part in the plot, where the main character finally tells his love interest a terrible secret about his past. It's exciting! I've been waiting twenty some chapters for this to happen! Want to know the secret he tells her? Well, too bad! If you want to find out, you'll have to read my novel when I finally get it published!

So, I think I'd best stop updating my blog and get down to some writing.

- Aimee

The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost This is one of my favorite poems. I can't really explain why, but I love it. The flow of the words, the story it tells, it just really speaks to me. In fact, I'm going to work on memorizing it. I already have the first part memorized, so it shouldn't be too hard to memorize the rest. That's it for today, reader. Just wanted to share one of my favorite poems with you. - Aimee

My thought process is fuzzy today, at best. It's almost eleven in the morning, and here I am, sitting at the kitchen table, family activity going on all around me, and I'm still half asleep. I've already eaten a bowl of froot loops. Now I'm looking for second breakfast. Next I'll need elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, and snacks in between. And then tonight, after a fantastical supper, I'll enter the delightful stage known as 'filling in the corners'.

Props to those of you who know that I'm not just rambling randomly.

So lately, I've been stressing about not really having any female friends any more. No offense to any lady readers, but girls are just so hard to get along with. They cause drama, and apparently the only reason for most high school age girls to get along with me is because of my relationship status. Since I'm not single, they don't have to regard me as a threat. Isn't that nice?

Either way, it seems like lately all I've done is hang out with guys. I've started playing Dungeons and Dragons, I'm one of only two girls who attend bible study regularly, and I don't really have a best girl friend. What's a girl without her best friend?!

Sorry about the rambly-ness of this post. I think hunger is getting the best of me.

Before I scare away any of my readers with my angst, let me write about something you may actually care to read.

I'm finally out of my writing funk! I've been working on a novel for well over two years now. Mind you, the first year was mostly getting details worked out: figuring out characters, making up words for my made up language, and finding out where everything takes place. But for the last year or so, I have actually been writing it. I hope it will some day be a fantasy novel to rival even Tolkien himself. It has everything a fantasy novel needs: Elves, Kender, Goblins, Monsters, Adventure, and a Dark Wizard. Keep an eye out for my books some day!

- Aimee

Life has taken an interesting turn. I've run into that phase I absolutely hate. The one where my self-esteem lowers drastically, and I start doubting everything...

But who wants to read about that? No one, obviously!

Instead, I'll write about something cool, something fun. Something like... Books! Everyone loves reading about books, right? And I love writing about (and just writing) books, so, it works perfectly!

I may have mentioned before that I just recently bought Dracula, The Prince and the Pauper, and Sherlock Holmes (volume one). Those are the latest editions to my library, which I have been trying to expand with the classics, things like The Time Machine, Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice (all of which I own) to name a few. I have been trying to broaden my horizons, get a taste of what literature was before monstrosities like Twilight, and the other terrible vampire novels that have come into existence since Twilight got popular. I have half a mind to write my own, amazing, vampire novel and get famous off it, just because I probably could right now. Not that I couldn't get famous for a novel any way. It would just be so much easier with the vampire craze that's going on right now.

No one seems to appreciate the good literature any more. Even good books of today are only mediocre at best, with semi-interesting plots, and sloppy writing styles. Unfortunately, I'm afraid my stories may fall under that category. I constantly strive to follow the example of my role models, Tolkien and Lewis, but it's difficult to model your own writing style after some one else's. I could never reflect Tolkien's own fantastic style in my own... I can't even finish reading The Lord of the Rings any more. They're just too hard for me to get through.

I ought to be a book critic. I'll be able to read books, and get paid for it! And then you'll see my comments on the back, things like this: 'This book was tastefully written, playfully delivered, and jam-packed with everything a good adventure novel ought to have!" Wouldn't that be a great job?

I think it's possible that I've rambled enough. Honestly, I'm not even certain what I just wrote, because it's currently 8:12 in the morning, and I'm half asleep. I have a box of frootloops downstairs (and hopefully milk) and breakfast seems to be silently summoning me.

Thank you, reader, for your patience in reading through this post. Hopefully I'll get a few more little snippets of writing posted soon.

- Aimee

By Aimee -

The world was always a different place on days like this. Heavy clouds lay oppressively low in the sky, brooding and gloomy. The world always seemed so much smaller, more closed in, on days like this. Days when the clouds seemed to hang just above the earth; days when it seemed as though the sky could not decide whether it was angry, or depressed. Occasionally the skies would break open into sporadic tears. Mostly, the clouds just brooded, swirling ominously overhead, not giving a care to the world below.

The world is always a different place on days like that.

--

I've taken a break from writing my mystery. It's pretty much finished, but there are a few historical changes that need to be made. My information was incorrect, so I need to change some of the dates.

Either way, the above is just a little something I wrote a minute ago. I'll probably be posting things like this every so often. I hope you enjoy them, and please feel free to leave comments.

- Aimee

Dearest reader, this is not a post in which I plan to bore you with a detailed account of my day (I saw Toy Story 3 at midnight. You must see it!). Rather, it is a post in which I plan to let you read a little something I've written. It's not a short story, per-say. It is just something I wrote the other day that I absolutely had to write in order to stay sane. Any writers out there should know how it is. So, please enjoy my random writing.

Times --

By Aimee

These were the times she had read about: The times of reckless abandon, when nothing else in the whole world mattered more than them. More than him. They were so madly in love, the entire world could see it. Every day spent apart was an eternity, and the time spent together was perfect. Heavenly. Nothing was more important to her than he was. Nothing gave her more joy than spending every second with him that she could.
“If I had eternity in my pocket, I would choose to spend it with you.”
She had read about these times. And in the stories, they always seemed to end. Even as they spent hours, days together in wild abandon, not giving the rest of the world a second thought, she wondered...

“If I had eternity in my pocket, I would choose to spend it with you.”

All times come to an end. Would this time of reckless abandon end too?

Was their time together meant to cease?

“If I had eternity in my pocket, I would choose to end it with you.”

So, it's been a few days since I last updated. I've had a busy couple days. My boyfriend had a birthday the other day, and then yesterday I was away all day with the awesome-est bunch of people.

You know, I never realized until recently, but apparently it's easy to tell that I'm used to being the only girl in a group of guys. Yesterday I was with at least ten guys from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon, but I was completely comfortable being the only girl. I guess growing up with four brothers has its perks.

On another note, I also realized that I'm kind of doomed to never really fit in any where. I don't fit in with most girls, because I'm a tom-boy of sorts, play video games, and am considering playing dungeons and dragons with the guys. But on the other hand, I'll never fit in completely with guys, because I'm not a guy. I guess I'm just doomed to hover somewhere in the middle. Like a lonely spirit. Or just like a girl.

Either way, enough of my moping.

Have you ever tried writing something with a co-writer? Me and a friend have begun writing a book together. It's an idea I had some time ago, and wrote the first chapter for. But now we've decided to write it together, and let me tell you, it is amazing! We write together really well, using the Google Docs my other friend told us about. Her style is very similar to my own, so everything flows. And I can write a few sentences, get stuck, and have her finish the thought with her own sentences. It's really pretty cool how well we write together. It's like finding the other half of your talent in another person.

I would say more, but I just realized that I'm starving. After breakfast, I'll most likely sit staring at my story for a few minutes before realizing I don't know what to write, and then just slack off for the rest of the day.

Wish me luck!

(I wonder if we have any cream cheese.)

- Aimee

Well, yesterday I had a very exciting day. It started out by going to lunch with my boyfriend and his family. And as fun as that was, the day was only starting! After a short visit to old town (where I did manage to get my inspiration back) I used a gift card I had, and bought a new notebook, and three books: The Prince and the Pauper, The Complete Sherlock Holmes (volume one) and Dracula. I have endless reading material now. I've been trying my best to read the classics. I've read quite a few of them, and I own a few more that I've tried reading, and just couldn't get through. I love updating my library.

So yesterday, after viewing the building where my mystery story takes place, I decided on a title. I'm not going to tell you all until after the contest though, for purposes some of you may be able to see, and some of you may not.

Oh, I'd forgotten....

The other day, I said maybe I was going to write and then post here so you guys could read it. I completely forgot about that, but don't be surprised if you ever see me posting something I've written. It will probably just be a little scene I had to write to get it out of my head, or it may be a poem. I guess you'll just have to see.

Breakfast is an interesting meal. Sometimes, it's my favorite meal of the day. Other times, I can't be bothered with it. My relationship with breakfast depends greatly on how tired and lazy I am feeling in the morning. It is my belief that breakfast should be quick, easy, and sugary, to give you that extra blood-sugar boost you need in the morning. Chocolate muffins spring to mind as a prime example of what breakfast should be like. Donuts, cinnamon rolls, even a sugary cereal, like Froot Loops. As long as it's quick and easy, and preferably sugary, almost anything makes a good breakfast food. The only non-sugary exception I make is pizza. Not. cold. pizza.

What a perfect way to give myself cravings for foods that we never have in the house. I think I'd best go find breakfast before I start going crazy.

Until my next post, dear reader, good bye.

- Aimee

Yes, I know what you're thinking.

What am I doing updating my blog at twelve midnight?

It's a good question, and it has several answers.

One: Some nights, I just don't feel like going to sleep. This is one of those nights.

Two: My friend just introduced me to the wonderful invention that is Google Docs, so I've been writing for the last forty minutes or so. Thanks, Mr. Fox.

Three: I'm super excited, because me and another friend have agreed to try writing a story together! I'm anxious to see how it works out!

So, there you have it. I'm in a 'don't-want-to-sleep-can't-stop-writing-super-excited' mood. I don't plan on going to sleep at least until I've finished writing this blog post. Then again, you never can tell, so I may just conk out any minute now.

I had a very good day today. I spent nearly the whole day with my amazing boyfriend and his sister and best friend. I ate way too much ice cream, played the game Boggle, beat up a level nine in the game Super Smash Brothers (with the boyfriend's help, of course!) and overall just had a very enjoyable day. I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be making a trip to old town, to visit the setting of my mystery story. It should be helpful in getting me motivated to edit!

Here's looking forward to a very good day today! (You know, technically it is today, since it's midnight now!)

I'd better stop writing, before I stop rambling!

Good night! (Or good morning!)

- Aimee

Ho hum.

I've been up late far too many times in the last week. Last night I was away pretty much all day, helping my favorite cousin celebrate her High School graduation. We didn't get home until almost midnight, and then after that all I remember is practically falling asleep while talking to my boyfriend on the phone.

Today, I'm off to watch another friend graduate, which should be fun. Then after the graduation, I'm hanging out with the most awesome person I know. (You know who you are!)

I think before I leave in an hour I'll put some effort into editing my mystery. The problem is, I'm really not sure what to do to make it better. I've already fixed a few problems, but there's one more I need to tackle, at least that I know of, and I'm not sure how to go about it.

It's been cold and gray and gloomy for the last few days. Unlike the summer heat, cloudy days make my inspiration go wild. I may have to write something, because whenever I try to tell someone how cloudy days make me feel, I fail terribly. Maybe I'll even post it here for my readers to enjoy.

For now, I'm off to work on my mystery, and await the arrival of my favorite person in the world (again, you know who you are!). Then I'm off on a day of fun and adventure.

- Aimee

I think I've figured it out.

I think I know why I sometimes feel like I'm not saying anything important, or even remotely interesting when I update my blog.

It's because I've been trying too hard to make it interesting. And as a result, I've switched into "super-formal-awkward-mode" and that makes my posts boring.

Well, no more!

I hereby decree that this blog is going to be interesting! I will no longer strive to write about interesting things, but write about whatever may come to mind (hopefully what comes to mind won't be boring). My blog will be interesting, witty, and a source of amusement, inspiration and joy for any and all of my readers.

My hopes ride high for this blog. After watching the movie Julie and Julia I decided that a blog was the way to make my mark on the world. With the world's technology in the state it is, it is ridiculously easy to reach people, even strangers, and bore them with my daily musings (aka my blog) and so I decided to start it up, and see what happens. I'm not really expecting to get famous like Julie did, but it would be nice if tons of people ended up reading my blog.

I think my readers so far are only people I know. Unless I've got readers who have chosen to follow privately, or just haven't chosen to officially follow. I wonder how many people will end up reading this post I'm writing right now.

Hum...

- Aimee

It's always nice to know your work is appreciated. Any fellow writers/artists should know the feeling. It's a feeling comparable to no other. A feeling that spreads warmth and fuzziness through every inch of your soul. It makes you want to hold your head higher, and reach for new goals.

Now that I know my mystery is good (at least in the opinion of one very highly esteemed person), I feel much better about it. It did require some fixing up. It still requires some editing, and a few more opinions, but for now, I am very pleased.

I have a new goal in mind. It might be a difficult one. Basically, I want to learn guitar. I can play piano. I can even compose songs on the piano. But I have a feeling that learning guitar would help me along in my music writing path. Obviously, I don't think I'll ever be a song writer professionally, or a composer, or anything like that. It's really just a hobby of mine; it keeps me sane, y'know?

I think for now, though, I'll have to stick with my piano, and my writing. At least until I have a steady income.

- Aimee

Blah, blah, blah.

That's pretty much all people say these days.

"My car's more expensive/gets better gas mileage/is a better model than yours!"

"Are you kidding? That top with those pants?"

"Your mom!"

It seems like half (or more) the things we say now adays are total rubbish, and completely unnecessary. I've gotten the feeling, more than once since starting my blog, that even I'm not really saying anything profound, or useful, or even amusing. The art of conversation is lost. And for someone like me, who is not all that fond of conversation in the first place, it just gets easier and easier to deteriorate into a mindless blob that can only converse over Instant Messengers, or text messages.

Blah.

On another note: My mystery.

Editing is still going very badly. I just can't seem to work up the courage to settle down and really work at making my story awesome. Curse my seemingly short attention span, and my fear in the face of editing.

I hope and pray that tomorrow I can make myself do at least a little editing.

- Aimee

Summer

Summer is finally here.

I can't wait for Autumn...

Obviously, Summer is not a season meant to encourage writing. It's too hot to concentrate; I've got the fan running and my window open. Too bad it's only going to get worse from here. And then, after months of excruciating heat and humidity, glorious Autumn will be here again. Autumn lasts far too short a time, in Souther Cali, though.

Writing is almost completely out of the question. I've had far too much on my mind, and besides, it's too hot!

Maybe tomorrow I'll get around to doing some serious editing.

Or, maybe I won't.

I guess it all depends on how hot it is, how motivated I am, and how willing I am to put effort into something.

Has anyone ever tried typing while lying on their side, arms stretched awkwardly out to reach the keyboard? No? Well, don't try it. Not only is it very uncomfortable (I can feel my shoulder beginning to ache) but it makes typing twice as difficult.

So, I leave you on that odd, and random, note.

- Aimee

I really hate editing. It's the hardest, most boring part of being a writer. But it has to be done, or else you're stuck with a half-finished, badly worded, occasionally misspelled story that no one is going to take seriously.

I'm stuck in that stage right now. My story is decent, as short stories go. At least I think it is. But when it comes to editing, I'm stuck. I have no idea how to make it better. Maybe letting a few people read it would help, but choosing who is worthy to read your story during the first draft/editing stages is a hard task, too. You can't just let anyone read it. It has to be someone you trust, someone who is not going to just bash your work, or just tell you it's perfect. It must be someone who can offer constructive criticism, a fellow writer, preferably.

I have a very short list of people who I can trust to read my writing...

- Aimee

"Life is like a roller-coaster. You can either get sick and throw up, or throw your hands in the air and enjoy the ride."

"Life is like a roller-coaster, it has it's ups and downs."

Apparently, both of those quotes are true. I'll give you a dollar (not really) if you can guess who said the first roller-coaster quote.

Life has it's ups and down. Some days you'll be on top of the world. Another, you may feel like climbing under a rock and dying. Or, you may feel like someone threw you down and stomped all over you, just because you're different.

Yesterday was one of those second kinds of days.

As you can probably imagine, I don't feel much like editing a mystery story today. I will try, I guess, but I don't have much hope of doing anything productive today. My greatest expectation of the day is sitting on the couch in my pajamas, watching movies, eating Munchies, and drinking soda. Although how much of that will happen is so far unclear. I can guarantee the movie part, at least. We'll just have to see what happens.

- Aimee

Editing

For some people, making the word count is the hardest thing about writing. Honestly, I usually have the opposite problem: making my ideas fit into a specific word count. Back in high school (I can say that now that I've finally graduated) I remember struggling to fit my ideas into 300-500 word 'Reflection Essays'.

I almost had the same problem yesterday, when I wrote 2,326 words, finishing the mystery story I plan to enter in the contest. Unfortunately, my problems are far from finished. Even worse than the task of matching a specific word count is the problem of editing a finished story. It is tedious, frustrating work. But it is work I must now do.

My title is a work in progress, still, despite having finished the story. I have a few ideas, but I'm having trouble deciding which one sounds better: "Adventure of the Bank Vault", or "The Case of the Missing Cash." Maybe even "Kate Marino and the Bank Robbery"

If you'd like to comment telling me which title you like better, then please feel free to do so! Any opinions are gratefully accepted.

On another note, my epic quest of self-discovery and jubilation was a great success in one aspect, and a great let-down in another. I discovered that I am absolutely terrible at writing short mystery stories. Self-discovery: Check! But, due to my disappointment in my own story, there was absolutely no jubilation. Jubilation: Not check.

Then again, I did create two awesome new characters, with awesome names, and so far undefined personalities. Jubilation: Check! So, if the previous not-check brought my jubilation down a notch, and then my later check brought it back up a notch, I guess I'm still at Jubilation: 0. Oh well.

Mysteries are tough to write. They require a grasp on subtlety and deceit, and attention to details that I seem to lack. Perhaps if I had more than 2,500 words I might be able to write a better mystery. As it is, my mystery was decent, I suppose. After the contest I think I'll post it here for people to read, and judge for themselves whether or not it was a good, amateur mystery.

Now, breakfast calls my name.

Good day~!

- Aimee

Introductions

Life is full of introductions: you introduce yourself to a stranger, and that stranger becomes a friend; Authors introduce new characters, and those characters grow to be loved by people world-wide. You can be introduced to anything, and anyone, and today, you will be introduced to me.

My name is Aimee.

This is to be a blog recording my adventures as I write, and struggle to enter the world of publishing my books. You will hear about the Erle Stanley Gardner writing contest I plan to enter this October, as well as my journey through National Novel Writing Month this November, and any other notable occasions I feel you ought to be reading about. Soon enough I will begin writing a short, 2,500 word mystery story to submit to the Erle Stanley Gardner Short Story Mystery Writing Contest. You can follow my progress as I struggle with that. The subtle plot twists and intrigue of a mystery have always been far beyond my comprehension, but I look forward to discovering whether or not I am capable of writing a mystery.

It is to be an epic quest of self-discovery and jubilation.

- Aimee

http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/contest_rules_2009.pdf

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

(For any fellow writers out there who wish to learn more about these contests I will be entering)