Ramblings of an Australian Writer

This week: thirteen songs from a playlist for one of the things I'm working on. And I've chosen some of the playlist for the Archangel novel which still needs a title. I fail at titles and I can't think of anything that fits this at all. Anyhoo, here you go, thirteen songs with YouTube links. Enjoy!

1. What do I Know About Pain - Gyroscope.

2. You - The Pretty Reckless.

3. Throw Your Arms Around Me - DAAS.

4. Dancing - Elisa.

5. Mercy - Paul McDermott.

6. Ablaze - Armchair Cynics.

7. Dear God - Avenged Sevenfold.

8. Devils and Dust - Bruce Springsteen.

9. Crossfire - Brandon Flowers.

10. Carnival of Rust - Poets of the Fall.

11. Waiting - Renee Cassar.

12. Yesterday, Today, And... - Yoo Seung Jun.

13. Africa - Toto.

Today's Thursday Thirteen is thirteen things I can't do without. In a general sense certainly but definitely in a writing sense. So here we go, in no particular order.

1. MS Word.
Sad but true. If there was no Word with its nifty track changes feature, I'd be flailing trying to find a program that did everything that I wanted it to.

2. Dropbox.
This is an awesome tool to back up your files. Having had the blue screen of death and panic over losing works in progress, Dropbox is that extra insurance to ensure peace of mind for backing stuff up. I wish I'd had this years ago too when I accidentally deleted a 50K word novel and nothing I tried could recover it. Sad face.

3. The internet.
Oh man, the internet. The internet has made researching so much easier. No more getting a headache trawling through microfiche in tiny, stuffy little rooms. No more hunting for books only to find they've been stolen or 'lost'. No more going through periodicals and discovering the article I really need has been torn out. The internet has also made social networking so much easier, made the whole publishing and promotions part of writing more accessible and easier to understand. Sure, the internet can be a great time waster but it's also a tool and an awesome one at that.

4. Google Earth.
Google Earth is... amazing. The clever clogs who invented it have made plotting destinations and the like so much easier. Plus, clever clogs who know how to code such things have made overlays that you can load up in Google Earth and learn all sorts of things. For "City of Jade" that I'm working on, I was pulling my hair out trying to find a good map of the Silk Road in 1131AD. I stumbled on a Google Earth board where a very clever gentleman had made an overlay that covered the Silk Road and it's offshoots with notes and photographs for each point that a traveller or merchant would stop at. The overlay covers the Silk Road up to 1500AD and the data on this overlay is truly amazing. In short, when writing something that you need to know destinations, locations, surroundings, Google Earth is irreplacable.

5. Music.
Music is my life. I have so many playlists for pairings, stories and the like, it's not funny. I find writing to music incredibly rewarding and I'm more productive with music playing in the background while I'm writing.

6. Notebooks.
For all that I use Word, Google, the internet, etc, I have several notebooks with scribbled notes and details that come to mind. I also use them for things that I might otherwise forget. My notebooks are fairly illegible as my handwriting is atrocious!

7. Sleep.
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Generally, yeah. I have problems with sleep schedules based on medications for things I don't like talking about (how's that for nice and cryptic?) so my sleep is always broken. I don't remember the last time I had an uninterupted eight hour sleep. On a good night, I get five hours then it's up and medication time. On a bad night, it's up every second hour. I tend to try and write a bit in these periods, but writing definitely works better after I've had a good amount of sleep, even if it is broken sleep.

8. Books.
Someone once said that writers are readers and it's so true. I love my books and I love reading. All being well, my birthday present to myself this year will be an e-book reader. Reading broadens everything, I think.

9. Roleplaying.
I know this isn't something that works for everyone, but I've found roleplaying a character I've created and am not 100% confident with to be really helpful. It puts the character in situations that I don't necessarily think of, talking to other characters that I don't have any control over. Figuring out how my character reacts and interacts in these situations is enormously helpful to me.

10. Editors.
A good editor is worth their weight in gold. I've been very lucky to have some amazing editors and my writing has improved so much because of their assistance. So, thank you to the wonderful women who have edited my work. You're awesome.

11. Coke.
My beverage of choice! With green tea a second.

12. The bathroom.
You're probably reading this and wondering what the bathroom has to do with anything. The bathroom has come to be nicknamed the Room of Wisdom, aka the RoW. And why? Because whenever I'm in the bathroom (and I'm not the only one who has discovered this inexplicable phenomena,) no matter what I'm doing - brushing my hair, brushing my teeth, changing cat litter, whatever - I have an idea for something. Or I think of a way to write myself out of a corner if I've written myself into one. I do not know what the esoteric power of the bathroom is that it has this effect, but it does and consistently. Cue eerie music!

13. Writer Friends.
People to bounce your ideas off, who bounce ideas back, who can give suggestions and help you out when you can't see out of the box of your own ideas. Invaluable. And you guys who've done this for me - thank you. You're awesome.

Today's Thursday Thirteen is brought to you by cold, having a cold and being in pain, so I fear it's not anything terribly earthshattering. Still and all, it's something I've been thinking about for a little while, so I thought this would be a good time to have at it. Without further ado, today's Thursday Thirteen is LJ communities that are awesome/interesting/great resources.


LJ Communities: Thirteen of My Recs.

1. little_details.
Little Details is one of the greatest resources I've ever come across. Got a research problem? Need some information for that story you're writing and Google is failing you? Ask here and get some amazing and helpful answers. From the userinfo:

Welcome to little_details, a community that helps writers with their research and fact-checking. We have a large, diverse membership that can answer questions such as:

"If I hit my character on the head like so, what will happen?"
"Will this destroy the Earth?"
"Can guys have freckles on their penises?"

All types of fiction writers--professional, amateur, fanfiction, original--are welcome to post questions. Our focus is on factual accuracy rather than general writing advice. If you're still not sure what we're about, reading our recent entries page should give you a better idea.

(The answer to the last question, by the way, is "yes.")

Subjects range from history, language, culture, and small details like, "How would a receptionist for a CEO answer the telephone at his office?" This is a fascinating community, and I can't recommend it enough.

2. abandonedplaces.
Abandoned Places is a remarkable, fascinating community for the posting ofphotographs of places that are abandoned. Everything from abandoned buildings (factories, hospitals, prisons, etc) to homes and houses, to military sites to vehicles, to cemetaries, anything abandoned is welcomed. I have learned so much from this community and the posts are always fascinating. I've never been bored browsing here. Posts come from all over the world and give a remarkable insight into how quickly nature reclaims humans empty spaces and how beautiful urban decay can be in its own right. Some of my favourite posts:
Sutro Baths, San Francisco, California.
Near Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK.
Grebno, Moscow, Russia.
Fort near St. Petersburg, Russia.
Beelitz Military Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
Peter III's Palace, Russia.
Home in Portugal. - Which I would love to own and live in!
Trona, California.
Fancy Cat House, New Jersey.
House of Wills (Funeral Home), Cleveland.
Home in Portugal. - Another one I'd happily have - furnishings and left behinds included!
Revolving restaurant, Moscow, Russia.
Belchite, Spain. - This town is just stunning.
Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. - A perfect example of nature reclaiming the landscape.
Church, Detroit.
Veteran's Hospital, Baltimore.
Renaissance Fair, Virginia.
The Fairytale Forest, Oak Ridge, New Jersey.
Estate homes, Portugal.
Church, Russia.
Raratonga Hilton, Cook Islands.
Labor Party Headquarters, DMZ, Korea.
Castle, north of Moscow, Russia.
Okpo Park, South Korea.
Pioneer Camp, Russia.
Castle, Kubinka, Russian Federation. - I would live here in a heartbeat. Some paint, power, and you're golden.
Gunkanjima Island, Nagasaki, Japan.
Centralia, Pennsylvania. - I love this place. I'd love to go back.
Nile Pub, Nile, Tasmania, Australia.
Giralong Shops, Canberra, Australia.

3. inclusive_geeks.
This is a good fun community with some great discussion. From the userinfo:

inclusive_geeks is a community for people who support anti-oppression ideologies. We are "inclusive" in the sense that this community serves as a positive space for groups that are typically marginalized by geek communities, such as women, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBT individuals, etc. If you are averse to political correctness, this likely isn't the community for you.

All content in this community relates to the various facets of geek culture (with the exception of a Friday open topic post made by one of the mods). This includes gaming, science-fiction, fantasy, tech stuff and comic books/graphic novels. One can post articles and blog posts from places like The Border House or Kotaku, snark racist, sexist, ableist, etc. stuff on other geek communities (on LJ and off), provide thoughtful analysis about cultural texts, ask questions, or submit anything else that's relevant to geek culture. Posts do not necessarily have to deal with anti-oppression ideologies, and general discussion questions are more than welcome.

Sometimes there can be spirited discussion, but trolling is generally stomped on quickly by the mods.

4. sinful_graphics.
A comm devoted to icons, headers, banners and wallpapers of a 'sinful' nature. This is a very NSFW comm and very explicit. It's entirely GBLT and het friendly and no flaming or trolling is tolerated. I've found it a great resource for m/m icons.

5. fanmix.
If you're like me, you make a playlist for your novel/novella/short story and have it end up as your unofficial soundtrack for your work. This comm takes it one step further and compilers of mixes make up cover art as well as give tracklistings and other things. The comm is members only locked, however, but it's a great place to see what others are listening to as their own playlist for a story.

6. art_nouveau.
Dedicated to everything related to Art Nouveau. Art, sculpture, architecture, writing, fashion, you name it, it's here. And so many beautiful things!

7. fatshionista.
A size-positive community for plus size men and women to discuss all elements of fat politics and fat fashion. From the userinfo:

Welcome, fatshionistas! We are a diverse fat-positive, anti-racist, disabled-friendly, trans-inclusive, queer-flavored, non-gender-specific community, open to everyone. Here we will discuss the ins and outs of fat fashions, seriously and stupidly--but above all--standing tall, and with panache. We fatshionistas are self-accepting despite The Man's Saipan-made boot at our chubby, elegant throats. We are silly, and serious, and want shit to fit.

This comm has been a godsend for me. If you're in any way overweight, this is definitely the comm for you.

8. kittypix.
Pictures. Of cats. All cats, any cats. All adorable.

9. vintage_sex.
This is a comm for images of vintage sexuality, that is, photographs/art/lithographs from before the 1950s. Predominantely het, but there are a good collection of GBLT images as well.

10. what_a_crock.
I love my crock pot. I love this comm because it has amazingly awesome recipes for the crock pot. So if you have a crock pot/slow cooker, this is the comm for you!

11. ihearttattoos.
Exactly what it says on the tin. Posts about tattoos, tattoo care, advice, art suggestions, tattooists, everything.

12. medievalcooking.
Although this is aimed primarily at those of us who live in the Southern Hemisphere who love history and historical recipes and cooking, I highly recommend it for anyone who loves to cook and is curious about what was eaten in the middle ages. Great recipes, hints, suggestions and advice for anyone with a love of cooking and the history of food.

13. danielcraig.
What? Mr. Craig is a perfectly valid interest! XD


And that filled up quicker than I thought it would. There were a good half a dozen more I could link, but oh well. Thirteen is thirteen!

Shamelessly stealing the idea from the lovely xakara - Thursday Thirteen is thirteen things on a Thursday that fit a theme pulled out of my head. And my theme for this Thursday is purely shallow. I have the flu and a kidney infection and looking at pretty things/people/places makes me happy. So this one, first of my Thursday Thirteens, is: Thirteen Celebrities I Enjoy (With pictorial support because pictures make everything better.)

Onward ho, beneath the cut. (And click the thumbnail to embiggen.)

( Thursday Thirteen )

It was difficult to narrow down to thirteen. I wanted to include others like Ewan McGreggor, Natalie Dormer, Craig Parker, Dave Wenham, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Eliza Dushku, Alexei Chadov, Bruce Boxleitner, Shahid Kapoor, Christopher Meloni, and, and, and...