My 11 Somethings for February

Hey friends!

Sorry ‘bout not showing up last week. I got a job, and, well…more on that later.
Anyhow, here’s how last month panned out.

Something Fun (and Slightly Painful)

Do you like sleeping on concrete? Cause I do.

Sort of. For a good reason.

Apparently, I’m a missable person because last month my sister invited me to spend the night at Cedarville with her and her roomie (who’s also my crazy friend).

It didn’t occur to me that college students don’t have room to store extra bedding for guests, so I ended up sleeping on about an inch of blankets and however many feet of concrete sits under the dorms.

So. Awesome.

But seriously, it was great to spend some time with my girls. The night was full of tired college girl logic and laughter. The next day I dragged my aching body off the floor and hit the bookstore and Panda Express with my girls.

Yum.

Something Epic

This music video gives me chills when I watch it.

Something Related to Writing

*squeals in excitement* I didn’t fail! For the most part.

I actually finished enough worldbuilding and plotting to start my next draft, which was my main goal. I still have some things to figure out (I made my world too complicated. Go figure), but now I’m working my way through the second draft of Rook! Whoop whoop!

I did fail to send in my Beta project on time, so that’s depressing. Oh well. Can’t be perfect, can I?

My goal for this month is to finish Rook’s second draft.

Something Weird

Have you ever been in a sword fight in your PJs? No?

You guys need to live a little. Seriously.

I ran into a brainstorming wall at about ten at night last month. I was about to plot the climax and had no idea how it was gonna go down.

What else was there to do but pick up a sword, pace my room, and talk to myself?

No, I didn’t actually act out a sword fight, but I did wave Kindness around as I figured out where my characters were going to be and what they were going to do. And it actually worked!

It was all in the PJs, I’m telling you.

Kindness

Something Cool

I think my subconscious is planting hidden messages inside my art.
I innocently created this cool dragon.

That’s pretty sweet, right? Pretty normal? Look at the next dragon.

That’s the same one, upside down. Do you see the difference? He’s looking up now.

The first way you saw it was the way I made it. The second was not intentional. At all. Kinda freaky, if you ask me.

Something Related to Reading

For some reason, I thought it was a great idea to start reading The Count of Monte
Cristo after finishing my book on dialogue.

As you can imagine, I did not finish any other books last month.

Oh well. I’m enjoying COMC (when I get the time to read it), so I don’t regret it too much.

I think finishing COMC is a sufficient goal for this month, don’t you?

Something Adult-like

I got my license! Well, my second one.

Your second driver’s license is not celebrated like your first. When you realize you spent twenty-something dollars of your hard earned cash on a plastic you-can’t-get-me-in-massive-trouble-when-I-speed card, it hurts.

I also registered to vote, so I suppose that’s great as well. Now I can single-handedly change the course of America.

Something Childish

My escapades using sharp, pointy objects as playthings continues.

I like archery, but shooting at a stationary target can be pretty boring.

Draw arrow.

Notch string.

Twang.

Draw arrow.

Notch string.

Twang.

But, add a few variables, and suddenly you’ve entered a new world.

These variables included:

1. A wet, epic forest that smelled like Narnia in the spring.
2. Five-inch thorns and nasty briars that are out for blood.

Wrap all that up with imagination and you’ve got a clumsy adult stumbling around the woods with a bow and some arrows, trying to keep her gear from getting caught on branches and thorns while shooting through the tangle of trees.

It’s lots fun, I promise. Especially without shoes (no worries. I avoided the thorns).

Something New

I went all Mulan and chopped off my hair with a sword.

Not really. I don’t think the ladies at the Walmart hair salon use swords.

Anyhow, half my hair is gone, and I kind of like it.

Something Responsible

I got a job at a deli. Hip. hip. Hooray.

It’s not necessarily as hard as my last job, but it’s still draining. Slicing meat for hours on end isn’t necessarily a walk in the park.

It was supposed to be a part-time job, but this month I ended up working seven days in a row without a break (which is why I didn’t make last week).

Ah well. It’s calming down a bit. I hope.

Something Entertaining

You know, getting a second license has some perks.

I got to drive a bunch of my younger friends to see some little known Marvel movie called Black Panther.

It was pretty dang sweet, y’all. And a nice tie-in to all the worldbuilding I had been doing.

WAKANDA FOREVER!

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How was your month? Did you play with any sharp objects?

See you on the flip side (whatever that means).

-Gabrielle R. Pollack.

P.S. I’m planning a new series for you guys about storytelling!

Well, about storytelling from the perspective of a villain.

Stay tuned, friends.

*disappears with an epic cape swoosh and lots of mysterious fog*