This is so awesome!!

So, I write.  Quite a bit.  I have quite a few stories going right now as I seem to have some sort of writer-specific ADD.  Some are on the longish side, some barely count as short stories.  Some are funny-ish; one is developing into a pretty decent fantasy novel; and a couple are:

I am not ashamed of my talent for erotica.

 

 

 

But regardless of what I happen to be inspired to work on at the moment, I HATE having something I'm working on read before I'm ready.  Combine that with a family who cannot grasp the concept of privacy in any way, fashion, or form and I'm constantly looking for ways to shield my projects so that prying eyes don't see them and immediately think, "She doesn't want me to read that.......I must read it now!"

So.  Prior to my old laptop dying a hero's death, I simply placed them in a password protected folder/file and went on about my business.  It wasn't perfect.  I inevitably got questioned about what exactly I was hiding that I would need to password protect files on my computer with a password that I hadn't shared with everyone who uses my laptop.  But after I reminded the inquisitive little shits that I don't actually have a life outside of my imagination, everyone would go on their merry little way.  (Or wait until I turned my back and try desperately to break my password)

Now I have fucking Windows 8.  I do not like it.  At all.  I might get there one day, but right now it's the bane of my existence.  And to add insult to injury, you cannot password protect your files and folders in Windows 8.  (Yes, I even googled it) 

So I did a bit more googling and found a geek site that showed me how to do a neat little trick that not only allows me to password protect my Projects folder.......it then makes that bitch disappear entirely!  Fucking A!  No more questions, no more undeserved suspicion, and no more bruised egos because I won't let them read my stuff! 

This shit is the bomb!! 

I can now write a little easier knowing that my horrible unedited works aren't being scrutinized before they've reached appropriate levels of readiness.  And my family can live in blissful ignorance that I have a continued hobby that I don't immediately share with them on demand. 

Ha, there may be hope for me yet.....

When I was little, I became completely enamored with this movie called "Clan of the Cave Bear".  Between the ages of about 7 and 9, I watched "Clan of the Cave Bear" and the "Labyrinth" over and over again every single day.

Can you imagine how long my mother must have had the "Magic Dance" song in her head?!  Sorry Mom.

Once I got a little older, I bought and read Clan of the Cave Bear (and the three books that followed it - Valley of the Horses, The Mammoth Hunters, and The Plains of Passage).  I loved the series.  Quite a few years later, I found and read the fifth installment of the series, The Shelters of Stone.  And for quite a few more years, I've been increasingly disappointed because I thought that Jean M. Auel was going to leave the story unfinished. 

But, lo and behold, Ms. Auel has finally released The Land of the Painted Caves!  Ten years after the release of The Shelters of Stone......and a grand total of 31 years after she first released Clan of the Cave Bear. 

Makes me feel a little bit better about the fact that I've been diddling away at my story for just under a year and only have 63 pages. 

Writer's block is a bitch.

Losing my blog virginity....

I've been dying for a place to use this cartoon since I saved it.

I've never blogged before.  Really really blogged anyway.  I fooled around a little when I first made a profile on MySpace, but never gone big league.  I don't know if I am capable of this type of commitment, but I'm going to give it go anyway.  I mean, why not?  It's actually a lot like talking to myself, which I do a lot, but now no one will laugh at me or try to medicate me.

My main problem will be:   I am super judgmental.  Especially of myself. I love to write and be creative, but I've NEVER been able to finish anything that I didn't have to turn in for a grade.  Mostly because when I go back to edit it.....I second guess everything I wrote and revise it to death.  So.  Even though I'm currently about 1/3 of the way into a story that I dreamed up....I know that it will never get finished if I don't learn to write without berating myself right out of my own ideas.  Especially since I dreamed up this story almost a year ago, and haven't finished it because I can't stop myself from revising what I have written.

This blog will be a lesson in writing without overly second guessing myself.  I will not process my thoughts through my "Diplomacy" filter a hundred times before hitting that big orange "PUBLISH POST" button.  Consider yourself warned.