Vacation: Love The Beach & Hiking, Don't Love The Absence Of Bookstores

Around this time last year, I was out in Oregon on a family reunion.

It was my first time visiting the West Coast of the United States, so it was quite an experience.

We flew into Portland and spent a few days there at a hotel. It was a pretty sort of place tucked into a heavily wooded area and it had a courtyard with a pond - which was, for some reason, kind of a dark teal color (I suspect dye). There were a lot of really interesting plants around, most of which don't grow anywhere near Michigan, and I took lots of pictures.

While we were in Portland, we went to the zoo. It was nice, although we moved through it fairly quickly due to some time constraints. They had some sort of a dinosaur exhibit going on and a few of those spit at you, so several of us ended up wet. I took pictures of the elephants, since they had a great viewing area, and I took a picture of a zebra mosaic thing on the ground. We got lunch and then we were off to do other things. Later, we met up with my great aunt and my great uncle for dinner.

After a few days, we drove out to the coast, where we had rented a cabin several weeks in advance. All of us crashed there, instead of doing individual hotel rooms, as staying together is the tradition of our family reunions.

On the way out, we went hiking in a beautiful park and took loads of pictures of the lighthouse, the ocean, and of starfish. It was my first time seeing starfish, too, and I was thrilled that we had managed to find so many.

By the time we got to the cabin, most of us were tired and done being motivated. Unpacking was awful, as usual. Of course, that was less to do with the actual experience and more to do with the fact that unpacking and packing are not my cup of tea.

Then my cousins and I put on our coats and we headed out for a night time walk on the beach. That was a rather interesting experience, given the fact that it was freezing and we got sort of lost. (Note: Getting lost can be avoided in some cases if you happen to know what your cabin looks like from the back.) But we were by the ocean and, as far as I'm concerned, a log would have been a perfectly good place to sleep. We did find our way back that night, though, so we got to be warm, which was also nice.

Over the next few days, I was in a very cold sort of paradise. I am absolutely in love with the ocean and I'm not great friends with the sun (Sunburn, anyone?), so gray skies were fine by me. There were lots of great places to explore and I got to see tide pools for the first time, which was excellent. Also, in town, there were some wonderful little touristy shops and I visited most of those. (Side note: I love small coastal towns).

There was only one part of the vacation that I didn't love, and that was the fact that there were no bookstores on the coast in the area we were located. Sure, there was a small grocery store that sold books, but they didn't sell the sort of books that I was looking for - a few YA books and the second book in a series. I know that it's probably kind of weird to let something like that bother me, but I was really quite disappointed.

So, I filled up the time I would have spent at the bookstore with other things, such as hiking through the hills/mountains and taking long walks on the beach. At one point, I even decided get up at 6:00 AM to go whale watching with my family - not that we saw any, but that's beside the point.

Overall, I had a pretty great time even without a bookstore in the vicinity. But this experience definitely made me realize that I never want to move somewhere that doesn't have a bookstore within half an hour's driving distance, because I'm not certain that I could handle that without having a mental breakdown. (Addicted? Kind of. Yeah.)

However, we went back to Portland, OR for the last few days of our vacation. And, this time, we stayed in the city area. Which was pretty cool for me because I got to go to a bookstore, and it wasn't just any bookstore.

For those of you who don't know, there's a lovely little bookstore in Portland called Powell's City of Books. (Note: This place is not actually little. In fact, it's the largest bookstore in the United States of America). It's pretty much a warehouse. It has new and used books, including ARC copies, and I had some money to spend, so...

I left really happy.

The end.

PS: You can check out Powell's at the link below, and if you ever get the chance to go there, I recommend visiting. It's a pretty cool place:

http://www.powells.com/

Camp NaNoWrimo: Day 5

Well, it's day five and, currently, my Camp novel is going along rather slowly. I've got 4076 words penned, so far. In other words, I'm a bit behind schedule.Oops? Oh well, there's plenty of time to catch up.

How's your Camp novel coming?

I've been working on my cover and on my summary/synopsis. However, one of the first things I work on when writing a novel is the soundtrack, and that is already finished. So, without further ado, here it is (in no particular order, despite the fact that it is numbered):

Half Soundtrack

1. Passenger - Deftones feat. Maynard James Keenan
2. 9 Crimes - Damien Rice
3. Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie
4. Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
5. Pompeii - E. S. Posthumus
6. Wild Child - Enya
7. When I Grow Up - Fever Ray
8. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
9. Alice's Theme - Danny Elfman
10. Satellite - Guster
11. The Chain - Ingrid Michaelson
12. Lullaby - Josh Groban
13. Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
14. Club Foot - Kasabian
15. Teeth - Lady GaGa
16. Gorecki - Lamb
17. Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
18. Stockholm Syndrome - Muse
19. Time Is Running Out - Muse
20. The Saltwater Room - Owl City
21. Creep - Radiohead
22. Break Me Shake Me - Savage Garden
23. She's So Heavy - The Beatles
24. In The Shadows - The Rasmus
25. Prison Sex - Tool
26. You're The Only One - Maria Mena
27. Cherry Waves - Deftones
28. What If You - Joshua Radin
29. Flame - Bell X1
30. Nara - E. S. Posthumus


I find it only slightly creepy that those are somewhat in alphabetical order despite being put onto the playlist at random...

Anyway, the entire soundtrack is hooked up to links, if you'd like to listen to any of the songs. I probably don't need to say this, since it's pretty obvious, but I don't own any of those songs. And, since I don't own those songs and I didn't create the videos attached to them, I make no guarantees on the appropriateness of said videos.


Do you use a soundtrack when writing? If so, what's on it?

Bet I'll beat you to 12,000 words!

Catch you on Monday with a not Camp related post.

Camp NaNoWriMo: Day 1

Well, it's midnight on August 1st and the second round of Camp NaNoWriMo has just begun. This month, I've let everyone know that writing is the number one thing on my schedule. So, with any luck, I'll actually make it to 50,000 words or more by the end of the month.

As you may have noticed, I've changed the background on the blog to what I imagine my Camp NaNo tent looks like. The background will remain this way until the end of August, when I'll switch it back to normal. The background will now also be changing during NaNoWriMo.

Anyway, I promised that I would document my Camp NaNo experience this month, instead of doing traditional blog posts. Let's move on to that, shall we?

August's Camp project is: 

Working Title: Half
Genre: Fantasy (urban/high)
POV: Third person, numerous views.
Summary/Synopsis: Yet to come.


I could ramble on here for a while, or check my bag to make sure that I have all of the necessary supplies for novel writing, but that's not going to help me get any writing done. And, besides, I'm supposed to be winging it anyway, right? So, enough of this. For now, it's into the woods with all of us.

Best of luck fellow Campers; I'll see you on Friday!

Camp NaNo: Cabins, Questions, And Updates!

Beginning August 1st on Camp NaNoWriMo, the cabins feature will become available to campers. It has been announced that we're doing genre cabins - which is not quite what I thought was going on, but still pretty cool - and that announcement has both made me excited and put a thought into my head. For all of you reading and/or following this blog, this is the official cabin role call!

What cabin will you be camping in this August?

I am going to be camping in the Fantasy Genre Cabin. (Anyone joining me?)

XOXOXOXOXOX

I have some questions about Camp for my fellow bloggers/blog readers. Because I am lacking in both time and information, at the moment, I was hoping you could answer some of these.

1. Does anyone know whether or not a 'friends' feature will be introduced at Camp?

2. Are we, at any point, going to get forums? Or are we just going to use the NaNo ones permanently? 

3. Are the cabins going to receive fun names, as they were in the beginning phases, or has that been edited out?

4. Are we going to have a participation user badge feature like what we have on NaNo?

XOXOXOXOXOX

 

 

Updates!

I've got some blog updates regarding next month. During Camp NaNoWriMo (August), the blog will be turning into a somewhat different place. Namely, a Camp Site. Every Monday and Friday, instead of doing a normal post (with exception of one or two), I'll be doing a 'Camp' post. Meaning, I'll be posting updates about my Camp novel and what sort of Camp related stuff is going on.

I'll probably post things like a book cover (loose idea), a Camp novel soundtrack, a novel summary, word count updates, competitions, and various other things.

 

Anyone else care to join me in this Blog to Camp Site transition?

XOXOXOXOXOX

 

 

Last thing. Next year, I'm totally making a tent for Camp and posting pictures of it.  (This may or may not be just an excuse to build another tent...)

Norway

So, this post is off schedule, but I didn't feel it was appropriate to wait until Friday.

Over the weekend and for a good part of today, I was without internet access (Both my Friday and Monday post were scheduled posts this week, due to my planned absence.). I am also not an avid news-reader or a TV-watcher, so I heard/read nothing about the events that took place in Oslo, Norway.

For those of you who also haven't heard, there were terrorist attacks in Oslo, Norway and on Utoya Island in Norway last Friday. Explosions downtown injured and killed numerous people. At least eighty people were killed on Utoya Island.

More information can be found here: Oslo Norway attacks

There really aren't words for events like these. At least, not proper ones, and nothing that can ease the pain or terror. But, for what it's worth, my thoughts are with all of you in Norway and all whom were affected by these attacks.

We - my family, friends, and I - send our love, well wishes, and condolences.

Be strong, Norway.

Things will be well again in time.

Hugs and best wishes,
K. L. Stevens

Camp NaNoWriMo And The Brick Wall

Okay, for those of you who don't know already, Camp NaNoWriMo in July is kind of a beta test run. As in, you participate and the people who run this gig - Office Of Letters And Light - look for bugs and what not in the site. (They've already fixed the stats page - which was, apparently, glitching up. I don't know. I didn't see it, but thanks for taking care of that problem OLL!)

Anyway, here's the deal.

July has become extremely busy for me. I'm still participating in the beta Camp NaNoWriMo, but I'm not holding many illusions in my head. There's a pretty good chance I won't finish this month.

The thing is... there's another Camp NaNoWriMo next month! As in, another chance to try my hand a writing 50,000 words in a month. I'm pretty happy about this and I am nearly bouncing in my seat with excitement for the new features coming to Camp NaNoWriMo. Cabins, anyone?

Okay, so, I don't actually know what cabins are, yet, but they look like possible fun.

Hopefully you'll all be joining me next month. 

Now, moving on.

Ever have one of those days where you stumble into a realization that feels more like a brick wall than a thought? And then, for quite a while afterward, you just sit there thinking about said 'wall' and wonder how you failed to notice it before? 

Today was one of those days in my writing world. Except, I think I might have known the brick wall was there and I was, quite possibly, just refusing to look at it.

You see, earlier today, I was watching this video I'm Goin To Summa Camp! Word! and I realized something. 

I have never had a traditional NaNoWriMo experience. 

This is sad, mostly because I have participated in NaNoWriMo three times (four if we're counting this month) and I have never done it properly. The point of NaNoWriMo is to write a lot and fast with "literary abandon". I write a lot... kind of slowly and with a lot of editing in the mix, which is not supposed to be happening. To accentuate my point even further, during this month, I've been working on a rewrite! Which I have a deadline for and it is supposed to be in perfect form... yeah, not a great choice.

So, shout out to LaurenLiterally, because you have inspired me to try something new.

Next month, I'm handing myself over to a real NaNoWriMo experience.

Music Recommendation: Pompeii

And... action! Or war, rather, but you get the point. This week I've been writing action scenes and I was lost for what sort of music to use as inspiration. Nothing I was listening to seemed quite right, so I went on a search for new music and I found this wonderful group.

Pompeii – E. S. Posthumus

For anyone who hasn't heard E. S. Posthumus yet, I highly recommend them. They're very talented and I've found them to have a flare that not many others groups have.

Happy listening!

The Nightly Goodness

Most people have an addiction of some sort.

This is mine. 

What's in that cup?

- hazelnut coffee

- steamed milk

- caramel topping

- and a nice, fluffy layer of whip cream

I realize that it's a bit stereotypical, given the fact that writers and coffee are often synonymous, but it really is wonderful.

In fact, it might be true love...

Harry Potter

A long time ago, in a sticky third grade classroom, there began a so-called era. (Truthfully, I don't care what they call it. It was amazing.)

It was a warm day. The windows were open to create some cool air flow, given the fact that the air conditioning in the building was faulty. My third grade teacher called all twenty-six of us students over to the reading rug - a special area of the classroom, where the teach sat on a stool and all of us students gathered around to listen to her read.

Usually, reading time was relatively uneventful. We enjoyed it, but we rarely asked for more. That day was different. On that afternoon, she opened a book with a colorful - almost jewel looking - cover that had a boy on it. All of us were intrigued. As if the cover wasn't interesting enough, then she started to read. And, for the first time in a while, nobody wanted to stop reading.

That book was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone.

And on that day, I fell in love with a story.

If I am completely honest, the Harry Potter series was a great influence on my life. It is part of the reason that I am writing today. The story wove its way into my head and I began to daydream of magic and fantasy blended with everyday life. I began to wish that I was the one attending Hogwarts, so that I could have my own magical adventures. Harry Potter made me realize that I could reach into my imagination and create.

I couldn't make a toy wand light up or fly on a broomstick.* But J. K. Rowling made magic out of words, and if she could do it, then I could make magic, too.

Today, I bring sad news...

Harry Potter is ending.

The last movie is currently in theaters. I'm going to see it on Monday. And, after I return home from the film, that will be the end. Sure, I own all of the books and all of the movies thus far, but the last movie is really the close. 

Harry Potter is not going on any more adventures - and, if he is, we, as fans, are not invited. 

It's true that Pottermore is coming out in the fall, but even that will not be quite the same.

So, today, I wrote this post as a final toast to something great. 

Dear J. K. Rowling,

Thank you. 

My cousin and I bought every single one of your books past the first two on the day it came out. We usually read them within the next three days, sometimes a week if we were trying to make it last. 

Your words have made me laugh, smile, and cry. 

You have changed my outlook on certain aspects of life. I and many others will miss the magical world that you have created. But, I'm twenty years old now and I suppose it is about time that I, and all of your other fans, start branching out and making our own magic in whatever ways we can.

Cheers and best wishes!

Sincerely,

K. L. Stevens**

*My cousin and I made wands out of wooden dolls, ribbons, sparkly wire, and metallic paints. We bought brooms from the cleaning aisle in the grocery store. My aunt made us invisibility cloaks, which very nearly work. Our cats were carted around as 'familiars' on more than one occasion (much to their chagrin). We bought spell books, which were much more like arts and craft books. We had wizard hats and potion bottles. And we probably had other things, but I cannot quite remember.

**A fan who may or may not have made a parachute out of garbage bags and sticks, taped it to a small branch, tied more twigs to the end of the branch to make a broom, and tried to jump off the roof...