Two Years of Coddiwompling Along

I first started blogging in mid-2009. Like many of my other social media endeavors, I was pulled into it by a friend and had no idea what I was doing (still don't). Through the years I've gravitated from one blog to another. Sometimes it's hard to grow when you're stuck in the shadow of your younger self, and sometimes I just get the urge to set fire to everything and start over because I'm a perfectionist, and perfectionists want clean slates or you know, perfect ones. So I hopped from Where the Sun Shines to Scattered are the Writer's Thoughts to Trying to Fly to Coddiwomple with some months of absence in between.

I have had my ups and downs with blogging, but I'm not sad I started. It's not so much about this little corner of the world as it is the individuals I've come to know through joining this community. I mentioned in a post awhile back about one specific girl who influenced me most in my writing journey. Sadly, I lost contact with her, but her influence drastically changed my writing. Before I started following her blog and chatting with her, I had dabbled here and there in writing, but with her encouragement, I finished the first draft of my very first book. She even read some of my writing and overlooked my spelling and grammatical errors to see my potential #saintrightthere. If she hadn't given me that support, I'd probably have never written seriously and never reached the point where others could look at my writing seriously. There are no words to say to fully express my gratitude.

Without blogging, I also wouldn't have found GoTeenWriters, the second most important writing influence. I wouldn't have done a three-month writing mentorship which brought my writing up another level with its fine polishing. I wouldn't have found a fellow writer who was willing to read the second draft of my most important book so far and sweep me away with encouragement (and maybe I'm brave enough now to let others into my worlds). I wouldn't ever have known that my makeshift poetry wasn't just the stuff you write and hide in the bottom of some drawer. And I wouldn't have met a kindred spirit.

And that makes me glad.

Thank you to all who have read my blog, left comments, and loved my words. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you to Vanessa for being the first one to find my little corner and for sticking around the longest <3

A Post from Long Ago...

So I said I was going to post my first ever blog post, and I would have, but it's...it's beyond unepic. Essentially I talk about a jukebox I had installed at the bottom of my blog, and I thought it was the most awesomest thing ever. I pretty much used that first blog as an online diary under an alias (and I gave all my siblings 'code names' because my parents were careful about privacy. Ieuan, Sunaro, Brusselsprouts, etc. [I bet you can't guess which one was my sister]). It's great, in a very, very painful way. And I was faithful, more faithful than I am now, but oh, if only content was that easy to create :P. I finally settled on a post from my first blog (7 years back, not the whole 9) that had a little more substance. I hope you enjoy!

*Comes dashing in*
Imagine that! I haven't posted a post for a whole two days, unbelievable. Of course, I blame it on my book, ahem, a couple books to be specific.

Have you ever set about to type up some of your really old story stuff onto the computer? I mean the really old stuff. The days before you used line paper, punctuation, spaces etc. And when you look at the page you get this feeling of being real lost, and your eyes wander so that you keep on losing your place and sometimes you don't even know whose talking or what you meant when you typed this strange word. If you haven't then, *sigh* you don't know what I'm going through.

I'm typing up all my writing collection onto the computer for safe keeping. I am a pretty fast typer, when the pages are lined and understandable. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. So I usually spend a whole bunch of time typing up stuff on the computer, and by the time I'm finished my eyes are blurry and I feel like going absolutely crazy. So, I've been only getting a page of story in a day, plus a page of Beyond the Border that I wrote the previous day.

How is Beyond the Border coming? I'm losing some of my steam. Writing two pages (around 500 words) a day is starting to burn me out. I've reached the 57,000 mark and I'm puttering along. Today I left my character literally hanging, and she won't stop hanging for at least another 1,000 words (we hope more). The poor girl, what misery she has to go through for my sake. At least she has to be glad that I slightly changed her ending so it wouldn't make me cry. But this Damask Ofar guy is going to prove some trouble in the end. Oh yeah, and I'm contemplating about switching one of the numerous notgoodformuch guys into a girl so she (meaning Bethclaire for all those who are in confusion) isn't so alone in the world. I think I have the perfect character too.

Don't ask me about my story idea, it isn't coming along very good. Of course, I'm still recovering from my cold and I shared it with my brother so I was spending my days playing computer games with him (after I finished my writing of course) after all it was his Spring break. *Sniff, sniff* Only two more days till he goes back to school...and we have to put up with him going on about his classes (he's taking English, Spanish and Chemistry...or was it Biology?).

Oh back to the book. Twilight still won't let me into her world. So I decided I could only handle one complicated girl at once, so I put her on hold till Bethclaire's stories first draft is written out and then I may be able to have some brilliant idea about her.

I've also come to the conclusion that Beyond the Border can be a really good book with a lot of work.

Oh joy! *Looks at the clock and sees it is way past her bedtime*. Don't think I've surrendered to the late hours of a normal teen. This week has just been a little late. But I will get in bed earlier next week because my brother will (he has a bad habit of distracting me when I'm just about ready to go to bed). Besides I wanted to go to bed early today but we watched "Sense and Sensibility" The 2009 version.

Goodnight all! I hope you have a great weekend.

(Who is this person? Why does she seem so dramatic and energetic? Oh...but this person also put 'optimist' on her 'about me' page. So...yeah...)

Top Posts 

(These aren't the ones that appear on the sidebar BECAUSE my mom confessed she had saved my blog on those two music posts...so...)

I'll Take You to the Mountains

The Safest Place to Land

Music (January 2018 Edition)

Personal Favorites

(These are just a couple of the ones that are especially close to my heart. It was hard to choose. I'm proud of a lot I've posted on this blog, and that's something nice to be reminded of) 

Dear Anxious Heart

To Love Well 1 & 2

My Loss of Words

Random Questions

(I asked for random questions, and you delivered. Well, mostly my Twitter pals delivered)

1. Where is your favorite place to buy shoes?

Amazon! So...I know that's not an exciting answer, but I usually buy Keen hiking boots and live in them until they fall apart. And my feet still hate me. 

2. What's your current favorite song?

Definitely 'Between You and Me' by Brandon Flowers. That song <3. I've been playing it on repeat, and I hardly ever do that. 

3.If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

Somewhere with a castle! Or the Swiss Alps because I do so love mountains. 

4. If you could star as a character in a book or remake of a movie, which character would you be?

Hmm. Maybe Muggles from The Gamage Cup. She'd always says funny things that actually make complete sense. 

5. Favorite food?

Anything cooked over the campfire on a camping trip. It can be so simple, but it tastes soooooo good. And you never seem to be too full when you're eating out beneath the stars. 

6. Favorite artform (applied?) Favorite artform (to consume)?

Probably writing, with playing instruments a close second. And I love listening to music. Somedays it's my only lifeline <3

7. Favorite genre of books?

Speculative fiction! (Or Christian non-fiction)

8. Thoughts on space?

I love space, although my knowledge of it does not equal my love of it. For some reason, other than the fact I have too many hobbies, I've never studied much astronomy, but I do love the night sky. Besides being in the mountains, nothing else fills me with such peace as lying outdoors at night and gazing into the sky and just looking at the moon.  

9. Favorite time of day?

Evenings/night! Especially in the Summer time when taking moonlit walks is easier. The high-elevation desert has cooled some. The world is stilled and so silent. Sometimes there's an owl hanging out in the neighbor's trees. The coyotes passing through. If I'm outdoors during that time, then all the trying and rushing inside my head pauses. I never want to go back inside.

10. What are your mornings like?

Not as peaceful as I'd like. For a great portion of my life, I used my nights as the time to get most of my creative work done, so subsequently, mornings became tough. I'm slowly working on setting my days to have more reasonable perimeters. If it's a good morning, I'll get up, take the dog on a walk, read my Bible/devotions, eat breakfast, and do some daily work at my Grandma's before heading to my job. 

11. Things that annoy you?

As the youngest, I didn't exactly get the luxury of being annoyed so there are very things that do annoy me. However, people who say they'll do things and don't do them get to me, and people who won't initiate. I'm trying to learn patience because humans are humans, but...ugh.

12. If you could talk to someone, living or dead, who would it be? 

Maybe Joni Eareckson Tada. She's been a lady I've admired since I was in my preteens, and I've read so many books by her/about her, including the devotion I'm reading through right now. She has been given so much wisdom through her suffering, and she has let God use her in so many ways. I think just spending time with her would be refreshing and edifying.


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What are some of your answers to these questions? When did you start blogging? Have you stuck on one blog through the years? What's your favorite part of this community? Thank you! <3