Informally Yours

Revolations and Resolutions

2011-12-31T16:42:00.000-05:00

As 2011 comes to a close, I can't help but look back at this year with a mix of frustration and pride.

On the more frustrating end, I was unable to follow through with the writing game plan I had set for myself and I barely made it past the 10,000 word mark in NaNoWriMo this year. I was so busy with my life outside of my creative pursuits that my writing suffered. I went through a creatively-depressed period that was so bad, I couldn't bare to even look at a copy of Writer's Digest for fear it would send me into a pit of self-hating guilt.

Okay, I'm being mellow dramatic, but I really couldn't read anything about the creative process without feeling poorly about myself.

But I'm happy and proud to report that I'm on a an up swing right now. I've been reevaluating my interests and have found that while writing stories isn't my primary driver in life - as I've always secretly wished it would be- it is something I still feel the need to do. I would be lost without my journal to pour myself into and board if I no longer told myself stories. What I'm working out now is what I want to write and share with others.

I think my primary misstep in 2011 -perhaps my greatest misstep about writing in general - was not sharing my work. By always being convinced that what I had was too rough or not of interest to others stunted whatever growth or motivation I could have gotten had I been more open about my work. I'm lucky enough to be a part of a great writing group, but have barely been a participant for the last year. That saddens me and I want it to change in 2012.

While I have many half written stories I could work on, what I'm most interest in pursuing at the moment is writing a personal essay about my experience with food. I love reading food writing, so I'm excited to try my hand at it. Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how to go about food writing or about personal essays, but I plan on just going for it!

2012 is a blank page that I'm looking forward to filling. There will be many challenges - I plan to start culinary school possibly as soon as March while still working a full time job - but I feel more confidant than ever that I will find the time and discipline to accomplish what I want in 2012.

Let's toast to the end of good ol' 2011 and raise our glasses to 2012! Cheers to you all and thanks for reading!

A Writer's Game

2011-03-21T21:12:00.000-04:00

When I decided to start writing "more seriously" (i.e. actually write on a regular basis rather than sporadically) after graduating from college, I knew plotting would be involved. From my limited writing experience, I understood that I would have to plot my way from a happy point A to a shocking point B. What I didn't realize at the time was that I would need to plot my own life too.

I’ll spare you the messy details, but it occurred to me recently that if I don’t make some changes to how I approach my writing, I’m never going to get the crappy first draft (and I say that with great affection) done. My writing has been like the caucus race in Alice in Wonderland. You don’t know whether or not you’ve won, let alone reached you’re desired destination. So you keep running until you tire yourself out and drop the project for not better reason than you don’t want to race about with it anymore. And that thought scares me. How can I become a better writer if I can’t even follow through with my stories?

Since figuring out that writing without concrete goals is the best way to guarantee that I wouldn’t be motivated to write, I happened to read Michelle Ward's recent guest post on Writer Unboxed. She wrote about working through obstacles by taking one step at a time and one of sections stood out to me: “…You might be overwhelmed with the scope of an idea.”

*raises hand* yep, that’s me. I’m ¾ of the way through and that’s still me.

In the body of the text was this handy-dandy link that went to her site and something Ward called the Goal Game. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I figured I’d play a round and see how it went.
It ended up looking like this:

Not bad, right? Okay, it’s a bit messy, but it’s a great start. Because of all the long division scribbles, I figured out that if I write 2000 words a week (that’s only 285 words each day!), in seven weeks or so I should have 14000 more words, in which I hope to finish the first draft of my novel and can move onto revisions. I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty big. No, HUGE! If I can win this game, it’ll be my first ever completed novel draft.

And if for some reason I shouldn’t finish in this time period, hey, I’ll be that much closer to finishing. Either way, as long as I play the game, I’ll win.

So, dear reader, are you game?

Wet Paint

2011-03-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

After two tumoltuous years of semi-blogging, I decided in a few whimful seconds that Informally Yours needed a newer, brighter look. While I'll miss the simplicity of the classic blogger template, the soft yellows and greens in this template make me feel calm and happy. I even chose a background that reminded me of vintage wallpaper to make this small bit of space feel more like a home. But I guess that's what a blog is to all who chose to write in the public space of the internet. It's a home and the readers are the party guests.

On that note, welcome to my home and I hope you enjoy your visit! I've set out a big, linen covered table with glasses of sparkling juice (or something stronger if you prefer) for you to drink. Let me know if you brought something for everyone to nibble on, whether it be an hors d'oeuvre of a juicy bit of writing news!

Why Writing Groups Are Like High Pressure Systems

2011-03-09T23:29:00.000-05:00

Today I would like to tell you all that I am grateful for my writing group. I know that I've expressed frustrations about being in this group and not always feeling it fit my needs, but today they were a bigger help than maybe they even realize.

For the past two months I've been trying to work on finishing up my winning NaNoWriMo story. While big changes at work didn't help me have time to write, I struggled with more than just the time crunch: I had hit a wall. It wasn't just the plot or characters, but suddenly anything I wrote sounded flat and left a stale, cardboard taste in my mouth. I was at a transitional, potentially pivotal, part of the story line and I couldn't get past it.

It was the perfect hurricane of doubt: insecurity and perfectionism spinning together with a few key, unanswered questions sitting idly in the eye of the storm right above my head. I wanted to swim away and break free, but the storm was so daunting that I didn't even know which way to go. So I gave in and floated there, stranded at sea.

Today was my first opportunity to attend writing group since the new year (can I just say again that my work schedule in Jan and Feb was horrendous?) and I finally confronted my hurricane of doubt. I started to explain my story to my group members and asked the questions that had been sitting in the eye of my own personal storm.

And you know what? My group had insights that ultimately lead to answers. It was as if they were a high pressure system moving in, lifting my spirits and sweeping my storm away. For the first time in two months, I thought, "I can do this. I can still write this story."

So the moral of today's story is don't be afraid to talk to other writer's about your frustrations. Thinking I wouldn't find the help I needed held me back for months and while I'm not foolish enough to think moving onwards will be any less challenging, I certainly am more clear headed and optimistic about it.

Writer Seeking Writers

2011-02-01T19:55:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but January was a blur of noise and emotion for me, some good and some bad. It moved so fast that I had a hard time keeping up with my life and any sort of writing.

February isn't looking to be any easier. I see a mountainous terrain in my near future, where the obstacles of my work life are steep slopes slicked with ice. However, this month I have pens in my hands and a net book strapped to my back. I'm ready to climb this mountain one journal entry and short writing assignment at a time. Maybe I'll get out of it more sane than I've left January.

And I might not be traveling alone. Though I'm already a member of a critique writing group, I've been struggling for the past few months to produce anything at a stage where it needs critique. If anything, I've been producing fragmented pieces that I haven't felt worth their time and effort to review (and maybe this has been my own fault and downfall). And let me tell you, there is little as unsatisfactory as being in a group and being the only one a) not turning anything in or b) not feeling motivated to turn anything in. That said, one of my major goals for this year is to find another writing group of some shape or form to support my writing.

Maybe that's what I've missed most from my current group: support. While the other members (two wonderfully funny and smart women) are great to work with, I don't feel like I'm being encouraged to produce anything new, nor are they asking me to motivate them. They are luckily motivated on their own. So, I'm working on expanding my writing social circle to find others who, like myself, need and give moral support and encouragement.

I've joined a few groups since January. The first was a motely crew of writers who I found through meetup.com, gathering together for the purpose of having shared writing time each week. While the location and purpose of the group were well within my needs and wants, I felt very little connection with the writers who showed up. My schedule has yet to allow me to go back, but maybe that's just fate telling me something.

The other group I've found seems more promising. The Reader-Writer Roundtable is for writers who read, or readers who write. What's more prefect than that? The first meeting was a mere one hour, but I greatly enjoyed the company I was in. The women were opinionated, but not fanatically so, and we all shared a love for the printed word. E-readers, "the classics", and the merit of graphic novels (of which I'm a fan) were up for discussion. Needless to say, I'll be going back and have optimism for this group's future.

I guess that's a good way to summarize my feelings towards February after a tumultuous January. I'm optimistic as a writer seeking other writers to join her in her climb over this winter's obstacles.

Post NaNo Report

2010-12-03T23:08:00.000-05:00

It's been three days since NaNoWriMo ended. I'm very please to report I had my novel varified at 50,019 words on November 30th at 1:30am. I won by a smidge and couldn't be happier.

So, dear reader, what did I learn this NaNo? In no particular order, here are a few things I think made this year more awesome than last year:

1) having a written outline is more effective than having one in your head.
2) minimum world building will prevent stalling later.
3) organizing write ins and forming a community (mine felt more like a scrappy, amorphous gang, but whatever) keeps you motivated and less likely to fall into a depressed rut.
4) having your family members not look at you like you've sprouted another ear when you tell them about NaNo is more help than one might think.
5) weekends and long car rides with an inverter outlet are key for catching up.

When all is said and done, I feel that I've taken one more step in my quest to write and actually finish a novel. An you know what? It feels damn good! (Pardon my language, as Miss Gratuity Tucci would say) The only downside is that I'm no where near done with my first draft. I'm actually about 3/4 of the way done with the story, so I need to keep writing without Ernestine's "help". (Ernestine, my lovely inner editor, was introduced in an earlier post) It's not going to be easy without a looming deadline over my head, but I have an opaque view of how I want everything to continue, so it shouldn't be too bad. Fingers crossed.

While I was so focused on reaching 50K words and "winning," I never stopped to think about the goodies on the other side of the NaNo-rainbow. Now that I'm standing here by the pot of gold, I have to say they look pretty sweet. I'm not sure when or if I will take advantage of the free proof, but I'm kind of excited over Scrivener. I didn't think much of it until I watched the tutorial video last night. It's pretty cool how it lets you divide your story up into sections, have sections side by side, and integrate outlining with writing. I'm going to give it a try when they release the windows version next year.

On that final note, I'm going back to my word document to pound out a few hundred words before bed. Hey, that's bound to be easier than the 1000 words sprints I was doing just this past Monday!

Trucking

2010-11-22T23:39:00.000-05:00

The writing life is all about focus. I've dedicated the entire month of November to writing a novel (or most of a novel more likely than not) and let me tell you something: staying focused is hard. How do we as writers, keep going back to the page day after day, week after week? To be honest, I'm still trying to figure this one out myself.

I'm writing to you from the week four trenches of NaNoWriMo and I am almost 4000 words behind with Thanksgiving and November 30th on the horizon. I don't love my story any less than I did from day one and watching it bloom from an idea into an 80+ page word document has been amazing (plot holes and all), but after almost a month of pure, unforgiving focus, this is what I have to say: I'm tired.

I'm all for discipline in writing, but is there a point at which one can say they are too focused, so much so that it is detrimental to the work at hand? I'm beginning to think so. This is only my second year doing NaNoWriMo and this is my second time reaching the end of the race and feeling everything pittle out of me. I'm running on empty, but I still want to keep going.

So, how can one recharge their writing battery? Here are a few things I'm trying out and finding some success in.

1) Read. There have been points where I'm writing and I think to myself, "Self, you've used this sentence structure so many times now it's boring me to tears. Why are we doing this to ourselves?!" I've found that reading a short story or chapter of a favorite book has been a good reminder of why I'm writing this silly "novel" in the first place. It's also a great way to pick up some pointers on how to flesh out your own sentences and pad that word count (or insert writing goal here).

2) Write something else. Something short and therapeutic. Like a random short scene or a blog post about how you can't write your story.

3) Keep on Trucking. You've hit a rough patch, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the road.

As always, please share your thoughts and motivational tips. See you in December! *HONK HONK*

Who's Scared of "Revisions"? Removing a Block

2010-08-12T21:21:00.000-04:00

For those who may not know, I am writing a novel. My story got its start as a NaNoWriMo project and for the month of November 2009 it was great. We were best friends. We laughed together, we cried together, we bit our nails at the scary, dramatic bits together, heck, we even went to work and wrote on scraps of paper when no one was looking together. Our relationship was an open book (pun intended) and we daydreamed about having/being a completed novel and getting published. By December we both agreed we needed some time apart and we went our separate ways, fully intending to reconnect in January and pick up where we left off. Only it never was the same.

January and beyond became fully focused on "revisions." And I say that with quotations because within the span of those quotations is this weird, adolescent period where you're caught between writing and editing and not quite sure which it is you are truly doing. Like, is going back to fill in the plot holes and smooth things over writing or editing? It's both, right? Hence my calling it "revisions."

Since transitioning from "writing" to "revision", it has become more and more difficult for my story and I to find time to connect. We tried the whole butt-on-chair routine, but it never felt as thrilling or playful as that first, whirlwind month of writing. What's worse is that I've found myself beginning to doubt this story, it's potential, and my ability to write it. I began to wonder if I really wanted to keep spending my time trying to write something that didn't seem to click the same way it did before.

For the past few months, one of the few things other than guilt that could get me into butt-in-chair mode was my publishing fantasy. It goes something like this: At some undetermined and increasingly far away time, the novel will be finished and queried out to agents and after several hard, tear filled months of agent shopping it will be picked up by a kindly agent who will help polish it into a great YA novel that will be published by a respected publishing house and read by millions of teenage girls who will love the characters as much as I do and everyone will live happily ever after. *deep breath* The end!

Then, last night while reading Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, it hit me: The reason my story has been frustrating me is not because I can't write nor that my story is bad, it's because I have been so focused and worried about having the details of the story laid out just so that I am no longer playing with the story. In short, the pressure I've put on myself of produce, connect, and polish the storyline has made me lose track of the joy of writing.

I am a process person. I like being in the middle of a knitting project more than finishing it. I enjoy drawing and coloring my art much more than planning it out. I like being in the middle of things because ends involve so many details that my detail oriented mind becomes overwhelmed and can't focus. "Revising" has made me feel like I'm finishing my novel rather than still writing it.

Here's what I am telling myself now: I am not finished. Far from it. There's plenty of time to play, I just need to give myself the premission to make mistakes and trust that I can fix or incorporate them at a later time.

Wall

2010-07-26T21:36:00.000-04:00

Gosh, am I an irregular blogger or what? This is a spontanious update on my part, so please excuse my lack of a point besides letting you know I'm still alive and kicking.

I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to say I have. Consistency is one of my greatest advasaries as a writer. Part of that inconsistency is my own creation of barriers via pointless TV binging or internet surfing. Even now I am putting off facing a new story that has hit a wall of sorts.

The story is just not coming out in a way that feels, for lack of better words, good to me. I started out with some strong images and ideas I wanted to incorporate, but the way they've started to string together leaves me frustrated. The plot came from somewhere in me, but I can't identify with it. I feel like the small part of me that connected with this story has fallen out and I'm not quite sure how it put it back in.

So, yeah. Enough about me and my problems. How are you this week?

Censor Revealed!

2010-07-05T21:14:00.000-04:00

I have found my inner critic! Now I can squash it!

Okay, that was a bit of violent (for me, at least). Let me explain.

I read "Squelch Your Inner Censor" by Jacquelyn b. Fletcher last summer in the Writer's Digest Creativity Guide. One of the methods Fletcher suggests is to find a physical manifestation for your inner critic, something you can laugh at, abuse, or physcialy put away to help shut off that annoying little voice telling you, "you can't do this."

I casually collect urban vinyl figures and recently picked up this rather grotesque little creature in a blind assortment box.

Creepy, right? I wasn't sure what to do with her at first, but have come to realize that she is the perfect manifestation for my inner critic. I've even given her a name I despise yet find fitting for such a serious and hard working creature: Ernestine.

With her face on, Ernestine looks kind and helpful, right? Wrong! This is nothing but a cover up for her nasty ways. Look at that little pursed mouth, those falsely pink cheeks and her cute little hat. They're nothing but a sugary sweet cover up for one nit picky, spineless little creature who isn't up to any good.

The only thing she's good at is making confidence shattering comments that keep you down and out as a writer. She'll whisper, her voice lulling and hypnotic, in your ear, "Is that the best you can do? What makes you think you can call yourself a writer?"

Yes, her Umbridge-like personality makes her seem like your best friend, but take her face off -

And you will see her for the pitiful creature she is. She's ugly and unhappy because of her cruel ways.

When she gets too noisy, I can put her under a cup and just watch her frown at me. Like so.

Now I can continue writing in peace.

Okay, okay, I confess, I have yet to actually try this exercise (I'm getting ahead of myself again), but I'm visualizing it working, so it's bound to help, right? I'm forever the optimist to counter Ernestine's pessimism.

So, what does you're inner critic look or sound like and how do you tell them off?

Marathon training starts with 250 words

2010-05-28T01:04:00.001-04:00

For the past few days, I've managed to write 250 words or a bit more each day (sadly today breaks that cycle, but I'll have time tomorrow to make up for it). This may not seem like much to many writers out there, but for me it's HUGE. Why? It shows that I'm writing on a regular basis.

Before starting my current novel, I was one of those writers (heck, you could hardly call me a writer then) who wrote on a very irregular basis. I'd get a very vivid image of a scene or a character and instantly write it down; this was going to be my greatest story, the one that would get me places! I'd write for a bit only to loose steam and leave the project on my hard drive to await the day when I'd discover it and turn it into the novel of the century.

I've recently come to realize that this approach to writing was only getting me closer to a little town called Nowhere - population 1. Now that I have a story I actually want to slave over (will get into my insecurities over it in another post), I've come to realize that what I really need to develop as a writer is endurance. Yeah, being a sprinter is exciting and exhilarating (hence why I write for #fridayflash and participate in NaNo) but it doesn't work very well if you want to write the equivalent of a marathon. Marathons are not usually run on flat roads; they are set along roads full of obstacles like Beacon Hill and the pot holes on Rout 9.* The only way to get over these obstacles without turning an ankle is to know how to keep running no matter what.

I see my 250 words each day as my proverbial marathon training. I may not be feeling the story every day, but if I show up to the page and get in my 250 words, it makes the next 250 words that much easier to write. After writing 250 words a day minimum for awhile, I'll start writing 500 words a day. Then I'll push myself to 1000 words a day. By next November, I'll be able to write 1667 a day (the NaNoWriMo gold standard) without breaking a sweat.

Well, that's 385 words. I'm gonna keep showing up everyday to my stories and just write. Whether or not the words flow or grind against one another, I'll be there. What about you? How do approach your writing routine?

Informally yours,
Lena

*Yes, this is a Boston Marathon reference. I'm a Boston nerd.

I'm a Flasher! (of the fictitious kind)

2010-05-17T22:33:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I found out about #fridayflash on Twitter and immediately jumped in head first (I held my nose, though, so water wouldn't go up it. I hate that.). Since then I've managed to post each week, a minor feat I am very proud of. I generally wrote everything from the ground up Friday late afternoon/night, but it's worked out for the most part.

Having a weekly, concrete deadline to write for is really helpful. It keeps the creativity flowing the way working on the same WIP all the time just can't. And I love my WIP; she's still my favorite (though her brother, my new, possibly future WIP, is gaining on her), but her story building is much slower. Friday Flash keeps things fresh so I can work on WIP 1 and WIP 2 without getting too frustrated.

The only conflicting feeling's I've encountered about #fridayflash have arisen from whether or not I feel comfortable setting my stories free into the wild, sometimes unsafe, internet. I'm the sort of writer that squirrels away her ideas for cold, barren winters. I never give away ideas (like I've seen on the NaNoWriMo forums) willingly and when I do I second guess myself later.

Take last week's post as an example. I posted a story inspired by two unrelated* events and am so fond of it, I'm almost sorry I posted it on the internet. What if I want to publish it, but can't because it's already been "published"?! But as soon as I though this, I realized I never would have written that story in the first place if its wasn't for #fridayflash. When I look at it that way, it seems alright.

#fridayflash is me trying to get away from this secret squirrel thinking, to free myself by giving my stories away without worrying about the bad things that might happen (i.e. stolen ideas!). Will it bite me in the butt? It may, but I'm hoping for the best.

Until next time,
Lena

*a) seeing dragon movies and reading dragon books, b) noticing the fire extinguishers hanging over the gas station and wondering if I should write a story about something on fire at the gas station. a+b = Marie & George: Hatching by Charcoal Grill Incubator.

Taking Care of Business

2010-05-09T23:12:00.000-04:00

Hello all,

I know I haven't been around much lately - okay, at all - but that's going to change. Really *earnest nodding*

What I'm trying to say is that I'm gearing up to make my comeback on the internet, this time fully focused on writing. There will likely be some asides pertaining to food - well, "some" meaning "frequent" - but the focus will be writing.

From now on, I'll be posting on a regular basis both here as well as on my other blog Fictitious Flashes. I plan on writing/venting about writing here on Informally Yours while Fictitious Flashes will feature short pieces of fiction written for the twitter feed #fridayflash.

So, how is writing going? Eh, per usual, unfortunately. I haven't been giving my WIP enough attention this past week, but I was able to write something for #fridayflash in one day.

This week's post was inspired by a Revolutionary War reenactment I watched a few weeks ago. It wasn't the Battle of Lexington (that's at 5am on a Monday morning), but part of the same battle. The Red Coats - known as the Regulars way back when - marched from Boston on April 19, 1775 to Lexington and Concord, where the famous "battle" was fought. The Regulars then turned back to return to Boston and had to fight the Colonial minutemen the entire way back. The battle I watched went from Munroe Tavern through Tower Park. It was the closest I have ever been able to stand to a reenacted battle, so it was very exciting. For a while, anyway. Let me tell you, battles back in the day were slow. Lots of lining up, firing, and not hitting anything (muskets are fairly inaccurate). But still, it was fun despite dismal drizzle and my ears ringing from all the musket shots. I couldn't help but wonder what a minuteman would think of this entire reenactment and thus "The Battle of Lexington" was born.

Okay, I'm off to get ready for bed and to finish reading for my writing group this Wednesday. Goodnight and see you around!

Informally yours,
Lena

New Year Goals

2010-01-04T18:30:00.006-05:00

Happy new year, everyone! I hope you have had a fun, festive, and safe holiday season and are ready for things to go back to business as usual. Or unusual, depending on what you do for a living/with life. As much as I hate for the lazy days of vacation to go, I know that as soon as I get back into the groove of work I'll be fine. Do you feel the same, or do you wish vacation would never end?

I'm currently working on my goals for 2010. Note that these are not resolutions. Resolutions, to me, are promises that start as lucid ideas that become opaque over time until you lose sight of them completely. Goals, on the other hand, are long term and supple. You can change or bend a goal, seeing as they are an anytime thing. New years resolutions are brittle, as you make them only once a year and it feels like cheating to change them after January. Anyway, my goals for 2010 currently consists of a rambling list in my new Moleskine calendar-notebook (plenty of space to make to do lists and take notes!).
Here's what I have so far:
Write at least 3x each week (at least 2x in journal)
Check to do list daily
Act on my kind thoughts, even if they make me self conscious
Save $X overall/for a car/etc.
Go to the gym 3x each week
Be less of a perfectionist

As I said, this is just my first draft. The only one I know I'll keep for sure is the "be less of a perfectionist" because I'm slowly learning that perfectionism is limiting. It's much more productive to make the first run of anything rough and loose and get the details down later when you have more to work with. I'm applying this both to my personal life and work; I'm prone to sweating the small stuff before they become an issue. Thinking a head prevents major issues from popping up, but worrying is like paying interest on something you may never need!

Have you written any of your new year goals? I'd love to hear some of them!

Formally yours,
Darth Formal

Of Local "Grace"

2009-12-18T18:29:00.009-05:00

In my first post, I promised to talk about books and food. Since I have covered the latter, I'd best deliver on the former. (latter and former, I always get them mixed up. I think got it right this time.)

I have the tendency to buy books with the intention of reading them soon while knowing that the pile of books to be read "soon" is steadily growing. Though fully aware of this habit, I buy books anyway. Today was no exception. After work today I headed down to Harvard Square to finish my Christmas shopping. I'm proud to say that I did finish my shopping and only bought one (okay, two if you count that pot of tea) thing for myself: Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

Kristin Cashore was on of the many generous authors who agreed to write a rousing pep talk for this year's NaNoWriMo. I enjoyed her pep talk enough to venture onto her website to see what books she has written. To my great joy, her first book is a YA fantasy, the very genera of my own novel! I'm always on the look out for promising YA fantasy (and welcome recommendations) so I mentally took note of her book for future purchase. It didn't hurt that she is a local author; I'm a sucker for my own Bostonian pride.

I never expected to get her book so soon, but I happened to be in the Curious George Bookstore for old time's sake and saw it on the shelf. Remembering my promise to myself and wanting to support my favorite children's bookstore, I purchased Graceling right then and there. I also wanted to get Shannon Hale's Princess Academy but they did not have it. Sadness!

Even though I'm in the middle of reading The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (which I feel bad about not paying more attention to), I stared Graceling while drinking my tea at Tealuxe. Several hours later, I'm almost 100 pages in and wanting to read more. I haven't been this compelled by a book in a long time, so I'm very pleased. I'm loving the world and the characters, even though some parts are, dare I say, disappointingly cliche. Gracelings having mismatching eye colors? Really? I do like that it's a gradual change that parents watch for wearily, but it's very middle grade. But I guess that's the primary audience, isn't it? My little nit picks aside, it's an enjoyable read so far and I will likely finish it within the week. It'll be a welcomed distraction from the internet.

One more thing I'd like to chatter about, dear reader, is why I name drop the stores I visit so much. Have you ever heard the phrase "think globally, act locally"? (apparently it has a wikipedia page) I first started thinking about this concept in terms of food and supporting local growers because I liked the quality and comfort of knowing where (some) of my food comes from. I have since begun thinking about this phrase in terms of economy. Where does the money go when I buy books from Amazon? To wherever it is Amazon is located. Does this help my local economy? Not really. This is not to say that I don't shop at national chains. I like to buy books and food from local businesses when I can. Though this means I sometimes pay more than I might at a large chain store, I think of it as my silent vote about what sort of shops should continue to do business. I'm not trying to sell you on these places, I just want you to know that they exist. If they interest you, please visit their website, or even better, go into the store and take a look at what they have to offer.

This is all.
Formally yours,
Darth Formal

Mad About Tea

2009-12-16T19:04:00.006-05:00

I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to tea. Ever since NaNoWriMo, I have betrayed my Bostonian roots and have been drinking tea like a colonial loyalist: frequently and without a care. If the tea tax was still in place, I would probably pay it just to get my tea fix.

To make matters worse, not just any tea will do. Like a British loyal, only hoity toity teas will do. No Celestial Seasonings or Lipton teas for me! I used to love the scent of Celestial Seasonings' peach tea, but the taste...uhg. All acid; I was very disappointed.

Anyway, since the revitalization of my tea obsession (to clarify, I have been drinking tea since I was a kid, but my obsession with it seems to come and go. My love of high tea will have to wait for another post.) I have been looking for local tea suppliers that boast quality teas. Yeah, I could get my tea from the local Teavana, but the trendy, fruity varieties don't interest me. Plus, I enjoy supporting local businesses when I can. Luckily, in a city like Boston, I have some options.

Tealuxe is a local tea cafe and restaurant that serves up a good atmosphere and a nice pot of tea. Though their bubble tea is, in my humble opinion, over priced, I splurged and got their caramel creme brulee bubble tea. I was pleasantly surprised. The roasted tea flavor supplied the "brulee" while the caramel flavor (doubt it's natural) blended well with the tea. I also like their Irish Breakfast for a morning pick-me-up.

However, it looks like Tealuxe's Irish Breakfast might be knocked down to second place after I tried the Scottish Breakfast blend from Upton Tea Imports. What a nice, malty and smokey breakfast tea. I'm looking forward to opening the gen mai cha (brown rice tea) I ordered. The real toasted rice in the tea should add lovely toasty, nutty notes to the green tea. I haven't had gen mai cha since leaving school (a scant seven months ago) and I'm totally craving a non floral green tea to balance out all the black tea I've been drinking lately.

I'm off to go drool over some tea blogs and websites. Ooh, I should make scones! Mmmm, lemon curd...

Formally yours,
Darth Formal

Dear Reader

2009-12-13T22:57:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my fist ever stab at blogging. I've drafted this first post at least three times now, going back to edit it at least once after publishing it. I know I shouldn't be so nervous, but I can't help it!

I think what I have struggled with the most even before this first post is what this blog is going to be about. My favorite blogs all focus on one particular topic and a large part of me wants to follow this format. However, I've come to realize that anything you do or write on the internet should be for yourself. There's no guarantee that anyone will ever read anything that I write here, so I'd best write for myself first. If I happen to pick up a few readers, which I very much hope to do, then great! I'm happy and grateful to have you here!

Now, a bit on what I'm about. Out of everything that I'm interested in, I have only two constants: books and food. The majority of my other interests - writing, cooking, comic books, etc. - all starts with these two things. I don't even need to be reading and eating to enjoy books and food. Just looking at or talking about these things makes me happy. The scent of deteriorating pages and fading ink is as blissful to me as the aroma of fresh baked bread and chocolate. I can guarantee that the majority of my posts will be on these topics. I'd have a title reflecting this, but wanted to keep my posting options open.

Thanks for sticking around and come back soon!
Formally yours,
Darth Formal