Life According to Me » Writing About Writing http://geek97361.com/blog writing...kittens...teaching...math...LIFE Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:35:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Writing Again http://geek97361.com/blog/2008/02/07/writing-again/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2008/02/07/writing-again/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2008 23:05:01 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/2008/02/07/writing-again/ A couple nights ago, when I couldn’t sleep, I picked up a book I hadn’t read yet.  As I started to take in the first few pages, something didn’t feel right.  A character I hadn’t written yet popped into my head, and I thought, what was to lose by giving it a try?

I wrote 13 pages in a spiral notebook.  I know that it’s a long way from readable, but…it just kept coming.  And I added a few more pages onto it last night too, when I couldn’t sleep.  So, maybe I can still write.

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2008/02/07/writing-again/feed/ 0 Specks and planks http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/19/specks-and-planks/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/19/specks-and-planks/#comments Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:16:18 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/19/specks-and-planks/ I found a reading level test page to run paragraphs from stories through to see if I’m being too crazy. The site accomplishes its intended purpose and is easy enough to use. It is, however, funny if one pays attention. At the bottom, it has a “List of sentences which we suggest you should consider to rewrite to improve readability of the text.”

Um, yeah…how about a “List of sentences which you should consider rewriting to improve readability of the text”? Would that be too readable?

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/19/specks-and-planks/feed/ 0 Artistry, Sort Of http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/14/339/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/14/339/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:26:55 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/14/339/ This made me feel a little better about how I’m just not ever going to be able to be in NaNoWriMo:

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/11/14/339/feed/ 2 Holy crap! http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/07/16/holy-crap/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/07/16/holy-crap/#comments Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:55:01 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=282 Classmate in online class: “This last year at school every time I turned on the computer it seemed as though I was not allowed to go to sight to so research for a topic on health do to the filter on the district server” (emphasis added).

Aside from the bold stuff, there should also be a comma between “school” and “every,” and between “computer” and “it.” And maybe an a before “sight” so that I don’t end up reading it with an accent.

This…genius…is finishing up a masters in elementary education and I believe still planning to go into teaching. AARGH!!!

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/07/16/holy-crap/feed/ 0 Scamming the Scammers Update http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/21/scamming-the-scammers-update/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/21/scamming-the-scammers-update/#comments Sat, 21 Apr 2007 18:33:22 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=203 I still haven’t gotten back The Acceptance Letter yet…but I’ve got the next poem ready to go just as soon as I get it. Thanks to our latest two contributors, 60.50.251.61 and 82.178.134.63.

gdorexswm ivunegmz ymxao uqesmlrx

mqghxb
yhtusvd qgwlxckpa
axofjt qknlyzgj
mlijbpsg xjcduqnkm
zsgb
jbkpx awuiqyepm sywj
mrzjdp wgzlfuhkj
hirzxmc

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/21/scamming-the-scammers-update/feed/ 0 Scamming the Scammers http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/scamming-the-scammers/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/scamming-the-scammers/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2007 05:06:45 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=196 An announcement:

I’m declaring an indefinite period of anmesty on a certain kind of spam. Because I’m launching a project to use the random-character spam to create Poetry.com poems and eventually a PublishAmerica sting manuscript, I find that I need that kind of spam.

So, those spammers who can restrain themselves from posting pharmaceutical ads and porn, and just keep it to random nonsense words, you’re welcome to help out. Oh, you still won’t get actually onto my site, but I won’t IP ban you either and you’ll get contributor credit on this project’s page. And the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing that you’re accidentally helping do something good.

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/scamming-the-scammers/feed/ 3 Spam Filter Poetry http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/spam-filter-poetry/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/spam-filter-poetry/#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:54:30 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=195 I had the idea last night while BSing with Teresa about writing and literary scams like PublishAmerica and Poetry.com [links go to exposes, not the actual organizations' sites, because I refuse to promote garbage]…random nonsense spam as an entry to see if they’ll take it.

At 7:37 AM Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -07:00 if anyone cares), this (without the line breaks I added “for poetry’s sake”) got caught by Akismet. Just now, I submitted it to Poetry.com. And used a spamgourmet e-mail address for it, of course.

buwdiz nryfs

sgdtxi mvut meztvbj
miognfvx
kapnqh msyoidapz wcdjtfq

So…let’s see how this goes. I’m also going to see if I can gather enough for a PA sting manuscript, ’cause why not?

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/04/15/spam-filter-poetry/feed/ 2 416 http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/416/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/416/#comments Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:19:43 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=151 And not a lot of fighting to get them out, either, though I kept getting interrupted.

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/416/feed/ 0 538 words http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/538-words/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/538-words/#comments Sun, 25 Feb 2007 11:12:43 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=149 Plus I got a really cool line written down, without sticking it in the “scraps to put in order” file. I’ve relied way too much on that file in the last few years.

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/25/538-words/feed/ 0 Not an all-time record, but a recent one http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/12/not-an-all-time-record-but-a-recent-one/ http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/12/not-an-all-time-record-but-a-recent-one/#comments Mon, 12 Feb 2007 09:08:07 +0000 Avrila http://geek97361.com/blog/?p=141 I wrote, in total, 1428 words today (well, counting the 11th)–not counting forum posts, chat, or blog entries. That’s 1428 story words.

]]> http://geek97361.com/blog/2007/02/12/not-an-all-time-record-but-a-recent-one/feed/ 0