Irony, darn you!

My mom also has Walking Pneumonia. :P Aren't I so nice? I gave it to my mom!
I'm feeling very guilty for not posting, so I'm posting an excerpt of my new book, 'C is for creative'. It's actually a book on writing, check it out if you'd like.

WRITING PROMPTS
1. Think of twenty things you could do with a box.
2.  The squishy ball bounced down the hall while. . .
3. I hate Ace.
4. Opal and Penelope were. . .
5. I missed the train and that's how I met him.
6. The scandal was. . .
7. What is something that is completely unbelievable?
8. Write about writer's block. Write about being unable to write.
9. Listen to your heart and let it tell you what it wants to say. . .
10. And the tree rode the Ferris wheel. . .
11.A parcel arrives at the doorstep of a museum curator, asking him to keep it safe but never to open it.
12. What should you do if your computer starts talking to you?
13.  I like Ike.
14. In South Africa there is a hippo named. . .
15. Genies are so. . .
16.  The hippos were suggesting ways to kill me. That was one scary dream.
17. Valentine's day sucks. Why? I'll tell you why!
18. He keeps falling down because. . .
19. Create a new human-esque race.
20. I broke a promise and killed someone in the process. Oops.
21. I hate the circus. . .yet I'm in one. Touche.
22. The handwriting on the postcard was familiar.
23. The moon glimmering in the night sky. . .

P.S. The link is on the right side of my blog.

Oh. . . I didn't expect that

I have Walking Pneumonia and so that's why I've been feeling like crap lately. :) At least my spleen is fine! :) LOL. But anyway. . .I have tests coming up so I have to go for a day and then I can rest until the next test. WHOOOOOO!!!!! Sorry. . . So yeah, I'm doing much better.
At my choir concert last Tuesday (if you didn't know this) I lost my voice and sounded like a guy. I couldn't hit the high notes so I lip synched all of the songs. Genius? I think so.
Alright, I am going to post an excerpt now of my newest novel! It's called 'Just a Dream'.

Remember, you plagiarize, you stupid.

CHAPTER 1

    Wings. . .black wings. They beat slowly, rhythmically in front of me. I backed away, trying to avoid being hit by them.
     "Who are you?" I asked, shielding my face from the stinging light.
    "None of your business."
    "Ah! What are you doing?!" I screamed as the figure approached me and ropes were tied around my frail, fragile hands.
    "You weren't supposed to see me. For that you'll pay." He breathed in my ear.

    Rain pelted down the side of the house as I opened my eyes to see no sunlight. Another dreary day in a dreary town with honestly, nothing to do. I hated living in a small town with a small college, with everyone knowing everything about each other. Do you know what it's like on the first day of school and you walk into the room and everyone says 'Hi Gwen? Of course you don't because you don't live in Green Wood.
I had been having those same dreams ever since I had settled down in Green Wood with my best friend, Bea. We were both enrolled at Green Wood College of Arts and that's how we had met. Bea was taking dance has a major and art has minor, and we had the exact same schedule.
    The reason I had settled down in Green Wood was because of my very elderly Grandma Elizabeth who enjoyed the company that I was forced to provide her with during her last month among the living.
    My other grandma, Grandmother Charlotte (or just Grandmother or short) had been my guardian since I was fourteen. My parents had both died in a car accident that year and I was forced to choose between Grandmother and Grandma Elizabeth. Naturally, I picked Grandma Elizabeth, but the state said that she was too ill to take proper care of me and so I was sent to Grandmother Charlotte.
    Grandmother forced me to live here and enroll in at the college, she lived nearby in a large mansion that over looked Big Moose river. I had to visit often or she would get suspicious keep calling me, threatening me that if I didn't call, I wouldn't get a penny of her inheritance. I didn't really care about the money, I just cared about having her not breath down my neck.

Pictures #1

Here are a few pictures I took in various places. :)

A sign in WV of some random sign. I thought it looked a bit pretty.

Also in WV. It looks like a volcano!

In Ashville, NC at Biltmore Estate.

My favorite picture ever at Myrtle Beach. Epic right?

Such a wonderous thing it is

I have a cold and possibly another form of mono so I feel like crap. :) My mom feels like crap because her legs are swelling up because of her heart medication and my dad feels like crap because he has a tick bite and might have Lyme disease (he's going to the doctor's office soon). So my whole family just feels horrible, except for my dogs, yeah I know. Well I have a choir concert on Tuesday and rehearsal on Monday,but my voice is all raspy and sounds like this one girl's voice and she doesn't have a pretty voice. :P
I'm going to go take some more cough drops (ugly cherry flavor blugguhagh) and have some good ol' coffee. Then, I'll try and write. . . I'm not sure if I should start the makeup work I got or what. I have an excuse. . .

Mr. M: Why didn't you do your homework and make up work?
Me: I felt crappy

Mrs.K: Why didn't you finish your project?! I gave you extra time!
Me: I felt like crap. How can I write a good paragraph when my mucus is neon yellow with a hint of gray? Mmmmmmhhhh? Did I mention that I had to get blood drawn? Yes my test for mono was negative but the other one isn't. . .yet.

Yet again, I'm super sorry that I haven't gotten plot bunnies out. :( I feel crappy and I haven't really gotten on the computer in ages.
Love ya'll to pieces,
Anna Swanson
P.S. When I get better I MIGHT put up a little podcast sort of thing. :)
P.P.S I was asked if I could upload pictures of my work (photos) and I'll try!!

What's dat flash?!

Last night tons of people in the town I live in lost power including my house. Some people weren't affected for reasons unknown. It is not because of flood waters. I do not even live near the Mississippi river (I spelled it right!). But yeah, anyway. I looked out side and saw the moon and I was like 'Ohhhhhh it's really nice out there! I'm gonna take a picture!' So I grabbed my camera and ran outside in my gym shorts and random t-shirt to take the pictures. I took a pic with the flash on and all of a sudden I hear a lady from down the street say 'What's that flash?' I almost burst out laughing on the porch! She had like a southern accent and it was so darn funny. :P
Now onto something else equally important! I was sick on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday so that's why I haven't been on. I was so sick I didn't go on the computer or do anything besides sleep and barf. *not fun*
Also, I have something new that I'm doing that will appeal to the people of the web who can not make their own book covers! 'Colored on Covers' is my new little blog/company/unpaying job. I make *pretty* good book covers for you and you really don't have to do anything! It's. . . FREE. :)
Link: http://coloredonbookcovers.blogspot.com/
If you want a super nice cover I will ask you a favor. :)


Toodles,
NCIS Special Agent Anna

Oh yes and. . .

And Nation Cow Week is coming up! Mercy (one of my blogger friends) posted this on her blog so I copied n' pasted the info, so here ya go!

Now, you may be thinking, "What the heck is National Cow Week? And what the heck does it have to do with me?" Well, my friend, if you're reading this then it has everything to do with you. We need your cow story! Whether it be a story about cows being somewhere they shouldn't, cows doing something unnatural, someone being scared of cows, we want it! If your story is even remotely related to cows (including the stuffed or Chik-fil-A kind) we want you to share it.

"But Mercy," you say, "I have no cow story! I've thought and thought and thought, and I can't think of anything that's ever happened to me that's at all related to cows! What can I do to help the cow cause?" 

Never fear! If you don't have a story to share about cows, ask around and you might find one. If you still can't find one, well, make it up! We're writers, that's what we do. We want your participation. Please?

 

 

THANKS MERCY!!

100th post!!! And plot bunnies 14

This is my 100th post and my fourteenth issue of Plot Bunnies!!!! WOOOOOOO!!

CREATIVE WAYS TO GET TO KNOW YORU CHARACTER
1. Interview the character's neighbors, family members, and/or friends.
2. Interview one character about other character
3. Write a diary or journal for the character
4. Spend a day with your character
5. Build a family tree for your characters
6. Write a biography and/or autobiography for your character.
7. Bring them to the grocery store and let them pick out their favorite foods.

CONTEST FOR MY BLOG
Contest subject: Fifteenth Follower or Twenty-fifth Commenter
Contest details:
Do not spam in order to become the fifteenth commenter.
You must enter by 5/30/2011
If you're from the nano young writer's site then please tell me. This has no effect but I would like to know.
Make sure that if you win, then give me your email in a comment or your username on the nano young writer's site so I can PM you your prize.
The prizes are two book covers or icons decorated by me using GIMP and Photoscape. :) I think that's a pretty cool prize. You can tell me what you'd like in an email!
RULES
Do NOT spam, you will be disqualified.
Do NOT write this as your comment 'hey lol. ur blog is funny. here's my blog: link' That disqualifies you also!
Do supply a creative comment.
Do have an email address.
Start commenting!!!

HOW TO STICK TO WRITING A NOVEL
By: Anna Swanson

This always happens to me. I love the novel that I'm writing and a day later a find a better, new inspiration/idea. It sucks. Here are a few tips and tricks that might help you love your novel and not dump it later (you know how they are, you dump them, then you want it back, and it acts cranky and rejects you).
First of all, don't slack too much! If you slack, then you have more time for ideas to come and sit on your brain. Try and write for at least an hour a day. No less than two hours a week of writing!
Then, find a suitable place to work. Coffee shop? Book store? Park? Or you desk? If you picked your desk or any other place where clutter can happen, make sure to keep the area neat. Some people, to avoid writing, will clean their writing area in the middle of their writing session.
Last but not least, make sure you love the idea! I don't think you'd want to lug around a stupid idea but have to write about it.
HOW TO WRITE A BRIEF YET DETAILED CHARRIE SKETCH
For this sketch, I will be using Violet from my current novel 'This ain't the fifties'.

1. Get to know your character. What does she like? Puppies? Guns? NCIS? Know what you are going to be writing down on the paper.
2. Start with the basics.
Full Name: Violet Sora Powelle
Age: 14
DOB (date of birth): April 20, 2086
Physical appearance: Violet has long, flowing blonde hair that sits just above her waist. Her observant eyes are a clear, emerald green color. The genes that she inherited from her father, Tarry, make her the tallest girl in all of her classes, but the genes from her mother make her the thinnest and most beautiful.

3. See? It was simple! Now, it's time for the hard part, getting into details. . .
Likes: Dogs, Cats, monkeys, fish, Avery (her future boyfriend), her comfy bed at home, lavender (color and smell), pop music, ballet, Kittyman (her cat), her phone, texting
Dislikes: garbage, the dishwasher, plain milk, water bottles, gnomes, the oceans, marshmallows

4. Those two lists could go on and on forever, but I'm stopping them there. Some authors actually create characters using sketches of what's in their room, house, office, etc. Others create lists of what the character likes, dislikes, has in their room, etc. What do you prefer?

I'm neglecting my blog!

My mom had a heart problem thingie and we had to go the the ER so they could giver her some stuff to make her heart rate to go down. While I was there, I saw a convict in a bright orange jumpsuit yelling in his room to the police officer, "Hey! Hey Ray!" Yeah, I almost died. I was like 'Oh my god. PRISONER!! OH MY GOD!!!' :P Over reaction, of course I didn't say that cuz I didn't want to freak everyone out. Then they kept asking my mom while we were walking to her room if she needed a wheel chair. It was really funny.
Anyways, I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my Bin Laden post, I'm just saying that now we can feel better and know that 9/11 probably won't happen again and that the 9/11 families now have closure.
But yeah, oh and I have a poem for ya'll! It's short, but awesome (in my opinion).


THE NEWS

My little pale toes
Hang over the edge
of the large green sofa
that sits in front of our
huge T.V.
I wait. . .
Silently and ever so
patiently for the news to come on
Minutes later
Robin Meade's face greets me
She signals the start of my day.

Ding Dong Bin Laden's dead!

*starts randomly singing* He's dead everyone! Osoma Bin Laden is dead as George Washington (only I don't think GW is in hell).  I was actually at my kitchen table when I learned what had happened. When they said a Navy SEAL killed him, I started yelling "Hoorah!"
Alright, well today, I started to call my crush 'The Park Ranger' because he was reading a book called 'The Ranger's Apprentice'. :) My crush is super cute and lovable!
Since I haven't been on too much, I'll post up a poem for ya. I love ya'll just that much!


LONE PAS DEUX
Step step, brush brush
All without a partner
No person to hold hands with
To help the slender dancer
With the difficult turns
This what she lives for
Challenges and dancing

Gracefully she glides
Across the gleaming, polished floors
All with out a partner
No strong man
To hold her frail hand
As she dances the day away
The dancer so lonely
She dances anyway
All without a partner