I have been taking an online writing class at Gotham Writer's Workshop. One of the students was getting confused about similes and metaphors. It so happened that while I was reading this hilarious blog called How to Write Badly Well, a commenter suggests the author attend Simile School.



I watched that video and it was pretty funny.  I then stumbled upon this gem, made by a couple of dopey yet brilliant high school kids: Metaphor Man & Simile Man.

Twix. All the battles of Troy, in my mouth.

undays are the best. Why? Because even though my life consists of days blurring into one another, with me rarely aware what day it is...Tuesday? Friday? I don't know, they're all the same to me! But when Sunday rolls around, even if I was thinking Saturday was actually Thursday, I can tell. Sunday feels different than the rest of the days. The birds sing sweeter, and most importantly, coffee is no longer a performance drug - it's just delicious and relaxing.  And it makes me want to write.

've said it once, and I'll say it again. Edward Cullen would make a perfect boyfriend for a bipolar or otherwise mentally unstable girl. He's rich, indestructible, hot, never sleeps and he's freakin' sparkly.

Rich: Who wouldn't rethink suicide plans when faced with a shopping spree?
Indestructible: Neither fists of fury nor flying dishes have ill effect on the undead.
Hot: See: never sleeps.
Never sleeps: Exactly. Who has time for tears?
and..Sparkly! Diamonds are a girl's best friend. What could be better than a sparkly boyfriend? Not much. 

o, I've been hard at work designing new business cards for me, the writer, so I don't seem like a total hack at the Festival of the Book next week when I meet important people.  Word on the street is that writers, apparently, should have basic, boring business cards. I tried to design a boring card, I really did. But in the end, it was impossible.
  
Hopefully I will not be scorned for my madness by people who matter. What do you think? Too crazy?

 
ook what I found! Daily Drop Cap's fantastic typography designer, Jessica Hisch creates a daily drop cap that is up for grabs to use in your blog posts! So cool!  There are about three full alphabets on there so far, I think.  I really wish I was as cool as Jessica - I think this is one of the most awesome daily projects I've seen in a long time. Two of my other faves are my hubby's self-portrait-a-day blog (N8 365) and Noah Scalin's Skull-a-Day blog.

 

'm quite certain nobody on planet earth is visiting this blog anymore due to my...um...break. BUT. I am back. With a vengeance. Here's the deal with me. I am on a rampage to finish a book or two this year and find an agent. I'm taking a writing class at the moment, which will last until March. I am currently working on two stories. One is titled Demons et Merveilles/Demons & Wonders. The other is titled Switchwife. I'd tell you about them, but I'd have to kill you.

 

ear Readers,

I apologize for my absence. Firstly, some good Stuff: the Haiku Kung Fu Champion is Cheri! Congrats to her, and thanks to all of you for playing.

Secondly, some very sad Stuff: I just returned from an eleven day surprise trip to San Diego. My sister, who was six and a half months pregnant, lost her baby in a mysterious way- her baby's little heart just randomly stopped beating. It was an emotional weekend, as my sister had to be induced into labor and deliver her baby.  Just heartbreaking. Apparently this happens more frequently than most people realize, and medically the doctors can't usually find a reason for it. The doctor said that occasionally there is something like a knot in the cord but usually, it's just this totally mysterious thing that happens, and they just don't have any answers for it. I was surprised to hear that.  It's just so sad, and seems so wrong and unfair. My sister was so happy to be pregnant and was so healthy, as was the baby. It makes no sense. We will all miss the chance to see little Sofia grow, and are hopeful that maybe her spirit will return when my sister is ready to try again. Any prayers for Sarah and her husband Tony will be appreciated. They need all the help they can get to make it through their grief and be ready to try again.

UPDATE: Almost exactly a year after my sister lost little Sofia, she and her husband were blessed with Adrien Victor Benelli. Isn't my nephew adorable?! Congrats to Sarah & Tony! 

Thirdly, some more sad and scary Stuff: Valena, a dear friend of mine gave birth to her baby girl, Olive, just a few days before my sister lost little Sofia, and little Olive is now fighting for her life. She was born full term, and thought to be totally healthy, when at the last minute just before Valena and hubby John were about to take her home, a nurse had a funny feeling and wanted to give Olive a quick ultrasound. Turns out she found bleeding in Olive's brain, and they discovered that she was having these strange invisible seizures. Olive stopped breathing in Valena's arms at one point, and has been in the NICU ever since. The doctors have found no reasons for any of this- Olive is otherwise healthy. They are hopeful for Olive's full recovery, but it has been pretty taxing on Valena and John, and on Monday, Olive's two week birthday, they just recieved word that Olive will need to have some sort of tube dealy put in her head to drain some of the fluid out. This is sad because Valena had been told that Olive was doing great and may be able to go home on Friday. Now she's about to get another round of MRI's CT scans and the like. I can't imagine how frustrating the waiting and wondering is for them. My heart just aches to think of it.

Valena & John and Baby Olive need all the prayers  they can get at the moment. They are the sweetest family, and have already had their share of medical hardships, as Valena has been battling Lupus since she was nineteen. Get strong, little Olive!

UPDATE: A year later, here is Valena & John's gorgeous little Olive: 
In my time away, I will also be writing as much as I can. It is a goal of mine to finish a manuscript this year and submit to/ get accepted by an agent or publisher before the year is out. I find that I spend more time messing about on this blog than I do writing, and that ratio needs to change if I am to accomplish this goal.

I appreciate you all, and thank you for sticking with me on this little journey so far. I'll be back soon, and if you should ever care to get in touch, just leave me a comment or send me an email at 88words (at) gmail.com. I will respond immediately.

Cheers, Hugs, and Happy Almost Spring!