I take that back...

You know when I wrote about how I think super-detailed plot lines suck and how I feel bad for the Erins and anyone else who writes with really detailed plots because there is no element of surprise or guesswork?

Yeah...

I take that back.

Heh.

I'm gonna be doing To Run With Wolves for NaNoWriMo and I think I'm gonna try writing a pretty detailed plot. I even think it will be fun. And easy to write -- no more gaping plot holes to stumble around or fall into and die in.

So, yes. I take that back.

But I might take that take back back by December. We'll see. I like the idea of a long journey of self-discovery, adding things on a whim, and interesting characters with a mind of their own that shape the plot rather than conform to it.

But I also like the idea of only having to fill in the blanks, the descriptive scenes, and the words, when all of that pesky "what has to happen next?" stuff is already taken care of and the direction -- start, ending, middle and all -- of the plot is clear.

So I don't know. But I will. Perhaps. By the end of NaNoWriMo.

It's all about seeing which technique is best, eh?

Heh.

So... in any case, I take that back.

-willow

The Raccoon Skull

Finally, an update! And what's this? Wellll...

This is what me and my dad have been working on for so long. I found a dead raccoon in the marsh near our house last winter/early spring (not sure what month it was, but it was cold and icy) stuck partially under the ice. The tail and rump were frozen, and there wasn't much we could do with it, since I don't know anything about taxidermy or even skull cleaning (well, now I know plenty about skull cleaning!), and the tail was frozen so it's not like we could try and cut it off and do something just with that which was what my dad suggested. So, having seen people with their shiny skulls all over dA, and read some skull/bone hunting/cleaning tutorials just out of curiosity, so I suggested getting the skull to clean/etc.. We watched it carefully as it decomposed, and maybe a month or two ago me and my dad went out to the marsh to draw and check on the raccoon. It was pretty much just a mat of hair and bone, so we took the skull and mandibles and went off to clean it (it's only missing three teeth, too!). We first just put on some rubber gloves and got some scrub/snake whatever things that my dad uses for machines/etc. and scrubbed what dirt we could get off the skull and mandibles off, and then we put each mandible and the skull and the teeth which had fallen out of them into their own containers and went to ask our taxidermist/bone hunter neighbor (who actually found a huge ram skull once) what to do with the skull to sterilize and whiten it. He confirmed that hydrogen peroxide was the right thing to use, so we went off to wall-mart to buy a bunch of the stuff. After probably around two weeks of soaking the bones in the peroxide, they'd whitened up considerably, and we decided they were good enough to be rinsed and dried (along the way we had to use the hose, a wire, and different positioning of the skull in the peroxide so we could get all the beetle pupae out of the brain and nasal cavity). So we rinsed it out, getting the last of the pupae out of the skull, soaked it in water for two days, and set it out to dry in my dad's office. Then we didn't do much with it until today, when we got the super glue, hot glue gun, and everything else together and finished gluing the teeth in (the hot glue was only to glue the mandibles together, and worked like a charm). Now we have a completely clean, 100% genuine, shiny, white, sharp-toothed raccoon skull that's only missing two teeth and in excellent condition otherwise (there's even a healed scar on the bone on one side of the forehead, which, if you ask me, only adds character, not imperfectness).

So, that is the story of the raccoon. And if there is a way to tell the gender of a raccoon from it's skull, I'd love to know. I'll be googling and trying to figure it out, in the mean time.

In other news, I'm gonna be rewriting To Run With Wolves for NaNoWriMo! It'll get 75% new characters, a much more detailed, long, and dramatic plot, and I will hopefully end up with a close-to-full-length-or-full-length novel by the end of November! We'll see, and my fingers are crossed. Should be fun.

-Willow

Late summer, early fall.

Two completely different ways to say it: one an end, one a beginning.

I am looking forwards to the start of long, unending, cold rains, crunchy leaves, cozy nights by the fire, and the first few flakes of snow (and, of course, the last few flights of mosquitoes).

But I am mourning the warm days, green growing things, and bright, wispy summer sunsets as they fade into fluffy, purple things.

And Zucchini. As strange as that is to say. I really do like that fast-growing squash, though. Grilled, breaded, baked into cookies and cakes. Mmmm! And when the fruits get too big, hiding under leaves and growing into huge monsters like Zucchini are known to do, it's always fun to let the chickens have it, and watch them race around with the seeds and worm-like shreds of spongy flesh that I often cut up just for them. Ah, Zucchini. We will be sad to see you go. I will, at least. Well, I won't be sad to say goodbye to those prickly leaves, hairy, spiny skins and that odd, glue-like juice, but I will be sad to say goodbye to delicious fried, baked and shish kebab-ed Zucchini.

And then there is the rain. I'm loving it so far. There's something cozy about sitting up here, even without the wood stove on, while it's grey and drizzly outside. It's been overcast, damp and misty all day, and I just love it (though admittedly it is a bit chilly. Not a summer rain, you see). Hopefully we get some more storms. None on the weekend though, because we're going to Buckhorn! Another thing to look forwards too, and to think I forgot it!

Still, though, I don't like having things to do 24/7. It feels cramped, even though it can be boring. After Buckhorn, though, everything will be back to boring, old, I-have-to-do-nothing-in-particular-at-all-today normal.

Neglect

Waxing and waning,
Inspiration,
Interest,
Enthusiasm.
With just one halting, faltering stumble,
Spirals, spraying outward like spiderwebs,
Shattering like glass,
And rippling like water,
It crashes quickly out of control.
Neglecting,
Stopping,
Pausing,
That carefully maintained diligence fading,
All because of one small slip-up.
One small forgotten day,
Becoming ten thousand it can wait until tomorrows.

How to Create an Original Species (for Lazy People!)

So, I stumbled upon this really easy way of creating made-up creatures (because often I have a ton of trouble creating original, alien creatures).

My thought process was something along the lines of:

"Damn. I'm bored. I hate creating species. Species are so hard to make original. I wonder how many easy ways there are to make something original... you can slap on horns... wings... hold on, lemme get a list going *starts writing down things* Hmmm... you know, lets just write down anything at all... any variables... *rereads list* hmmm... that wouldn't be very useful to write about... but if you were drawing... *starts making a color chart*. Pink is what you'll most likely need to figure out to write, and blue is for drawing... HOMAYGAWD EUREKA! *runs off to make version on computer and share this amazing invention with the world*"

Soooo.... without further ado, the easy way to create original species (for lazy people!)

--

NOTE: I created this only thinking about large mammal-like or lizard-like creatures, but I think it could be adapted for creating sea creatures, marine mammals, and birds, etc..

Step one: The body. Does your creature have a long slender body like a ferret, or big, strong shoulders like a bear, or a big, barrel-like chest, or droopy belly skin, like some cats? Pick a basic body-type, then move on to the next step.

Step two: The head. What shape head does your creature have? Are it's eyes wide apart like that of a prey animal, or is it a carnivore with eyes set forwards. Flat face, fat chin, curved forehead, or long snout? You can also figure out what type of ears, how many eyes, what shape pupils, what type of nose, and if your species is a carnivore, with long sharp teeth for cutting meat, or an herbivore, with flat, dull molars for grinding down grain and grass.

Step three: The legs. Does your animal have paws, hooves, hands? What sort of legs -- Plantigrade or Digitigrade? How many sets of legs?

Step four: The tail(s?). What sort of tail? Long and snake-like, scaly and rat-like, fuzzy and cat-like, short and rabbit-like, long-haired and horse-like... the possibilities are endless. Dose your species have a tail at all?

Step five: The skin. Does your species have fur? Feathers? Leathery skin like a frog? Scales? Nothing but a few hairs, like us humans? This is a pretty important thing to figure out!

Step six: Extras. Does your creature have wings? What type? Does it have horns? Ram horns or long, slender Oryx horns? What about manes or tufts of fur on, say, the elbows? Is your species covered in viscous spikes, with long, curling tusks or fangs like daggers jetting from it's mouth? You decide.

Step seven: Additional details. These are the small things, the not-so-important-seeming-but-still-necessary things. Does your creature have a forked tongue? A big sloppy one like a dog? Does it have long fur, or short, or any at all? What does it eat? Where does it live? Who does it live with? Who does it hunt? Who is it hunted by? Answer these final questions, and your species is pretty much complete! A touch-up here, a little tweaking and fine-tuning... and your finsihed! :D

Late Summer's Poem

Sparrows are chirping outside the window,
Mourning Doves cooing and contented chickens helping to demolish the old strawberry bed,
The smell of cooking tomato sauce drifting up from the oven downstairs.

The air is cool, a slight breeze ruffling the yellowing leaves of the trees.
And, distantly, as if in another world, cars rumble and growl,
And maybe there are even people arguing.

But why argue or feel angry on such a day like this?
With cool, green grass and clover sprinkled about on the lawn and under bare feet.
Sitting in the shade, so pleasant, the occasional, small gust of wind blowing the hair from your face, as you lazily lie upon the grass, taking in this scene of late summer beauty.
Pumpkins half green and half orange sitting alongside hollyhocks, their feathery petals still bright pink and red, not yet faded as they soon would be.

Leaves skidding along the sun-warmed sidewalk,
Squirrels chattering and chasing one another through the treetops,
The cat laying happily in the sun, watching the birds with only a faint glint of cunning in her eye, too content to get up and chase such silly creatures.
Fluffy clouds skitter across the sky, flitting in and out of your view, changing from solid mountains of thunderhead to wispy, ethereal threads of cotton candy, and back again.
Far, far away, dogs bark and run and wrestle, enjoying the wonderful day.

Fish putter around in their lakes and streams, no longer bothered by those who had, just yesterday, sought refuge from the blistering heat in the cool water.
Rabbits and mice nibble on berries and tender young grass shoots happily,
Birds of all sorts; hawks, falcons, vultures, jays, finches, flickers, all enjoy the cool day and warm sun as they glide calmly over the whole scene.
Snakes sun themselves on smooth granite boulders,
Cicadas resting their voices for a bit before jumping back into song.

And whatever worries you may have,
For the future, or of the past,
I can assure you, today, that everything is as it should be. And tomorrow will certainly be the same.