In Absence of Writing

Well another NaNoWriMo has come and gone and this year things are a bit... odd in the aftermath of it.  Let me start off by saying that this was my fifth year doing NaNoWriMo (whaaaaa?) and this was my fourth win.  Several times today, though, I thought about "when I write tonight" and then I was like "wait, no that's over, thank god."

I'm not sure but I think it was my story this year.  I liked it at first, but then I realized I should have been doing a ton more research in October.  I had three weeks and I wasted them.  Now I've been a "pantser" every year I've done NaNoWriMo.  I've never written more than a few character facts and a few events that I knew I wanted to happen, maybe an excerpt or two of those events.  I never start with what writers are supposed to start with like an outline.  I fly by the seat of my pants, hence "pantser".

So I was off to a horrible start.  Fine, but then it got boring.  I took to bitstrips to vent my frustrations.  (Sorry if you hate bitstrips but I love them IF the creator actually edits it to be more than the boring panels that are the default message).

So then I threw in some real villains rather than just the bitchy girl antagonist and it still just wasn't enough.  There were times that I was like oh I like this scene but previous years?  I LOVED scenes.  I cried, laughed and cursed at my characters and their story.  This year it was pretty much all cursing and not like previous years where I was like "you idiot don't do that!" it was more like "could you be any more one-dimensional and awful??"

I honestly hate my first draft and not just a little bit.  With a passion.  I now have 4 rough drafts and only three are interesting enough to me, the writer, to touch again.  In fact I almost have a second draft for one of them if I'd sit down and work it all out.  I guess I feel like I wasted the month.  This year's NaNoWriMo doesn't even feel like a win really.  I wrote but... that's it.  I wrote.  I guess that in itself is an accomplishment having written 56,169 words but it just feels like a hollow victory.

*sigh*

Bitten by the Cosplay Bug

Okay so honestly I was bitten a while ago by the cosplay bug but I've finally decided to really run with it.  Until now everything has been modified pieces of clothing I own or can find in stores or even just clothes I have, like my Luna Lovegood in regular clothes that I wore for the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2, which I REALLY wish I'd have gotten pics of because it actually turned out really cute but now I'd have to get a wig (the dangers of ever-changing hair colors) and I wouldn't fit in the clothes anymore, especially now with the baby bump, haha.  Plus I wish I'd have gotten better pics of my Ravenclaw school outfit and even the Rebellious Ravenclaw that I did for Nan Desu Kan last year.

*sigh*

For being a photographer you would think I would be more concerned about getting good photos of such things, huh?  In fact I need to remake the fake lashes for my NDK cosplay I made this year before I change my haircolor again, haha. (I did get a few shots though which I'll share with my NDK wrap-up post)

For years I've been trying to really get into cosplay and failing, largely because I'm a procrastinator queen of the procrastinators and tend to wait until the last minute for everything so things always fall apart.  In fact, I've been working on my Neo-Queen Serenity cosplay for almost 2 years now and still haven't gotten past having my wig half done (mostly because I didn't realize I need TWO wigs to correctly modify it and create one wig, haha).  So now I've decided to start working little bit by little bit all year long in order to get things done.  Plus it's not like I can just run out and buy this, that and the other all the time because I have a family that comes first (not at all complaining, js).

So from now on, I'll try to post on my progress and I'll be keeping tabs on what cosplays I'm working on and how far I am with each one with the little cosplay section over there. ---->

I'll also probably add a page to the blog of cosplays I'd like to do, which is a long list I'll have to add to over time.  Not to mention always finding new kickass characters that I want to cos so it'll always be growing faster than anything will be completed because my goal is only to finish one cosplay a year.  If I finish more, awesome, but for now one a year seems more than enough.

^w^

Love It or Hate It: Heroes of Cosplay

The last couple weeks I've been hearing speculation about the show.  Will it be positive or negative for cosplayers/geeks, etc.  Then it aired and OMG my cosplay friends and cosplayers I love and follow EXPLODED with opinions.  Like whoa y'all, simmer down.  Though I get a little riled up in the following "review", lol. (Er, that means I cuss, I do that when I'm riled up, lol. Or just talking, haha!!)

Tonight I finally got a chance to watch it, no thanks to Hulu's ridiculous ads that don't load correctly so instead of a 102 second commercial break it ends up being more like 400-500 seconds despite the fact I pay these jerks for their service but I digress. #firstworldproblems  Now I feel like I need to preface this by saying that I have not read any online reviews short of a status here and there and after cosplayer Charmedseed mentioned something on facebook about a nasty article everyone seemed to be sharing, I avoided them because it sounds like this particular reviewer was downright NASTY and I don't need that shit.  In the world of cosplay there is entirely too much nerd on nerd hate and I'm sick of it.  We all love what we love and if we love it enough to dress up as a character then we should be able to.  /this particular rant. For now.

First of all I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I would have liked to have seen more of the costume making processes but this is reality TV so they're not going to focus on that despite that cosplayers, people who enjoy seeing others cosplay or want to start cosplaying are their audience.  They are going to focus on the DRAMA.  Which brings me to my first annoyance- people are judging these people on the show with "OMG she's such a bitch" blah-de-freaking BLAH.  Syfy hasn't been the same since they were Sci-Fi for one and two this is reality TV and drama is their priority.  Drama brings in viewers or the reality TV fad would have died when it should have years ago.  (Ok not ALL reality TV should die but crap like the Bachelor, Big Brother & Survivor? WHY IS THIS SHIT STILL ON??)  Someone had commented on a friend's fb status that they knew someone that actually knew one of the people on the show (or something along those lines) and said she really wasn't that nasty in real life.  Here's the thing you need to remember when watching reality TV: It needs to be taken with a grain of salt.  They're going for views.  The crazy lady who flips out on everyone around her is more interesting than the girl that calmly gets her cosplay together. 

Second:  Cosplay can be freaking stressful.  Anyone who has ever cosplayed knows this, so going on about how crazy someone is being is ridiculous.  These people are at the level where most are perfectionists.  I'm a perfectionist which is why I have so few completed cosplays because unless it's perfect I won't do it at all with few exceptions (ok, one exception).  Some people are like that.  If you can throw something together last minute and be cool with that?  Good for you, but don't judge someone for wanting their craftmanship to show how much they love what they're cosplaying as or to show just how hard they've worked on it.  This is also for competitions so there is an added level of stress and needing to be the best for some people.  Which again adds the the drama I discussed in the previous paragraph.

I've heard that people are upset with the show because they chose to follow "ugly" cosplayers.  Stop right freaking there.  This is bullshit and it makes me stabby.  As Becky says in the show, the internet is unforgiving.  Fat versions of characters, etc.  This is the kind of shit in the nerd/geek world that pisses me off the most.  Now I'm not comfortable cosplaying as say Winry from Fullmetal Alchemist with her stomach showing which is my choice. If you're a curvier gal and are comfortable with it?  Good for you!  This body shaming crap needs to stop.  As nerds we've all for the most part spent a pretty good chunk of time being bullied by non-geeks and the fact that we have so much nerd on nerd bullying is flat out sickening. Now I understand that some are upset that majority on the show is white females, which I can understand, but saying the people they're focusing on are ugly is beyond ridiculous.

All in all, I liked the show and I'm excited to see more.  I think it shows reality of cosplay.  Cosplay is hard and stressful when you're at the level where you're doing competitions and not just for fun.  Hell it can be stressful even when it's just for fun.  Things fall apart, plans fall through, bodies change shape and require costume alterations, and that one thing you thought was going to work could fall apart last second. *sniffles while thinking about her OC: Sailor Mimas' staff breaking in half*  Really as of this first episode it's real and also all in good fun so I honestly don't see what people are getting butthurt about. :D

Hey Strangers!

Well obviously my plan to update regularly fell apart.  Such is the life of a SAHM me.  LOL.

I fully intended to write up a nice post on so many things but by the time I have time I'm too tired, haha.  I'm not sure where these mommy bloggers get the time to write every single day.  Then I tend to put way too many irons on my little fire.  Damn me and my too many interests.  Seriously it's always a struggle when I need a bio for something and there's a character limit.  I'm like I can't fit everything!!  WTF am I supposed to sacrifice??  Haha!

One of my larger unnecessary time sucks is gone though.  I used to play SimsSocial and SimCity Social a LOT.  Now the game is being closed come June 14th and I decided to stop wasting time on it.  It wasn't until then that I realized exactly how much time I was spending on those games.  And for what?  Fake stuff that won't exist past the 14th of June.  Now that's not to say I won't spend time playing the new SimCity game, which I love, but I have honestly disliked facebook games for a while now and played very few.  My husband told me to play Farmville, which I do but I refuse to let it turn into the time suck that SimsSocial and SimCity Social did.  It was ridiculous.  Plus I can't stand Zynga.  They're greedy pricks IMO.  Haha.  Though I know a lot of people feel that way about EA too.  In fact some people are flat out livid about SimsSocial and SimCity Social closing.  Why? Mostly because they spent hundreds of dollars on fake stuff.  Umm I think that's more of a personal problem.  I could go on and on about where I think they went wrong with stuff and lost money *cough* weekly updates *cough* but I think the most upsetting thing is all the people they had to lay off which is what closing these games was a result.

Then again..... I just wrote a huge paragraph about crap that doesn't matter... so uh, yeah.

I've started crocheting amigurumi and I LOVE it.  I'm obsessed and I started an etsy shop, but get this... I'm too busy with outside orders to add anything to it!  O.o  Hell of a problem, I know but I'm super excited.  I'm nearly caught up too, though so hopefully in the next few weeks I can get some things added soon.  In the meantime I have a whole two scarves in the shop, but I'm going to be adding my original creations the Gothique Girls, lots of nerdy and geeky themed cell phone charms, coffee cup coozies and custom dolls where you can pick out what you want!  The shop is Bitten Designs and I have a Facebook page where I'll be doing facebook exclusive giveaways so be sure to like the page so you don't miss the goodies!  And I promise I'll be changing the icon and banner to something less wintery soon because I don't know about any of you but I'm beyond over winter, haha!

On that note does anyone else go through redesigning kicks?  I meant to change my banners through the seasons for my shop but I've changed my mind but still I redid the family blog and put a different template on this one and I'm finally ready to get to work on Bitten Photography's layout too.  Talk about a wild hair, I guess, haha!

Well the boy is restless so I better wrap this up and make dinner before he throws something at my laptop. -_-  Hope you all are well.   Let me know what kind of games you've gotten addicted to in the comments.  Or even what kind of stuff you hope to see in my shop.  I'm always open for ideas and am currently working on a pattern for a Moogle from Final Fantasy. ^w~