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    Monday, November 16th, 2009
    ellenmillion
         		12:00p
    Writing For Money
     A person on my friendslist today asked her audience what markets they were currently writing to, what deadlines they had, etc.

    And it sort of drew me up short, because a LOT of people on my friendslist are professional or semi-pro writers, or actively pursuing non-traditional methods of publication, and... I haven't tried to sell anything I've written since high school*. I haven't even tried to put out a tip jar, or donate button.

    This is not because I agree with Miss Manners that it's begging. It's not because I can't write, or can't write to spec, don't have time to write, or can't follow submission directions.

    I'm not even sure it has to do with a failing of confidence - I know I'm not an awful writer (Any more. I certainly was. That's another story). And 'not awful' is an awful lot better than plenty of the stuff out there that people pay good money for. I get nice comments from my forgiving audiences.

    I tallied it up, out of curiosity - trying to figure out how much I've written, and what I've done with it.

    Discounting the 8+ years of blogging I've done, I have written nearly 100 short stories and 35 non-fiction articles while not being a writer. With one exception*, I have been paid nothing for this work. I posted them in my Elfwood library, at various fanfiction site (YES, I have an account at fanfiction.net. I'm not proud.), here at livejournal, at my own site, at deviantart, in Woodworks (RIP), EMG-Zine, Epitome... Even if you cut fanfiction out of that total, I've freely shared 75 odd pieces of fiction and non-fiction.

    That's not amazing when compared to some people on my friendslist (*looks significantly at certain members of the padded room society*...), but I've got some staying power. I'm not an awful writer. I like to write. I'm already doing the writing. I am even a self-avowed 'shameless capitalist' who has been selling her artwork since she had to have a parent counter-sign a business license.

    So, why am I not trying to sell my writing? More, why am I not asking anything for what I'm already doing? Why do I find such a chasm between art and writing in my own head? Why does even thinking about this make me feel stupid and stubborn at the same time?

    I don't have any answers yet, only the questions. I might have a really good reason for this somewhere in the weird mental swirl that is my own brain.

    I also find it odd is that after I started drafting this entry up, I got a notice in my email about a gaming site looking for more (potentially paid) bloggers. I have no idea how they got my email, but I suspect it wasn't a personal note. Still, within a few moments, I had an idea for a gaming-type column that I could easily write a post a week on.

    Universe, you have a weird sense of humor.




    *I have sold one piece of non-fiction in this time, mostly by accident, because the market I was writing for changed to a paying market, paid me, and as far as I can tell, ONLY me (because nothing else was published in the interim), before going back to a non-paying market.
    ellenmillion
         		8:28a
    Mondaily
     Liverjournal's autosave offered me: "One of the pie".

    I have NO idea where I was going with that, or when I wrote it.

    Business as usual.

    Packages stacked by the door to go out. Horrah.

    So behind on emails it's almost funny.

    Torn World contest results are up!

    Art and Authoring

    Because of the previously mentioned news, I can post my entry:



    I won in the art category! I'll admit to being inspired by [info]coppervale's amazing inking. My technique is nowhere near as refined as his, but I did push myself further than I may have otherwise.

    Home and Health

    Saturday was snow removal day - we spent a few hours outside moving snow around and clearing the driveway and turnaround. My arms still hurt.

    After that was done, we put up tongue and groove siding in the stairwell until we ran out - it's about half done! Nice to have some house progress. I took before and after photos, which I'll show once we have genuine 'after' photos.

    Planning

    Work. Bleh. And then workout. And then... more orders. And the usual list of Things That Must Be Done. I have a post to post later about writing things.

    Linking

    http://stonetalker.livejournal.com/26057.html - [info]stonetalker is doing a one-card draw until midnight EST.
    ursulav
         		10:34a
    nenethomas
         		6:19a
    My Work Area
     Just wanted to show a photo of my art desk.



    The image on my Cintique is a work-in-progress called Swansong. I started Swansong over a year ago, and have just now gotten back to it. Hopefully it won't take me another year to finish it!
    Sunday, November 15th, 2009
    wendymr
         		8:56p
    wendymr
         		6:22p
    ursulav
         		10:55a
    dhstein
         		7:43a
    I made a girl's weekend! I told her I was drawing characters and she asked if I did insect types. Of course, the answer was yes. She had this alien fellow, based in insectoid types and had never had him drawn - in 7 years of playing the character. Wow. She absolutely loved what I finished for her.

    I met another artist lady down the line who also was at San Diego Comic Con. She was lucky enough to get an artist table. Makes me wonder... She draws pretty. She's drawing Jandari in my Sketchbook. Purpletophat.com

    It's totally fun hanging with Wen all weekend. Talk talk talk - and it's fun to point out the Author Guest of Honor.
    _graywolf_
         		10:11a
    Taxidermy - Peeking kingfisher
     A kingfisher, sitting down after fishing on the river, quickly realizes he's not alone (Dragonfly)

    I held off on posting this one online, since it was entering the championships. But now that the results have been given (sadly, I have NO clue as of yet on how it or the other two did, since I wasn't there) I figured it would be fine to post it.

    Brought in by someone that found it while walking. He said all he wanted was to be able to put it in his display cabinet with his collection. Aside from that I was free to do whatever. I still had a HUGE dried out dragonfly in my cabinet as well, and decided to re-hydrate it and use it in the display base.




    And the other two pieces I had send in;


    Ferret with mouse



    Sparrow
    ellenmillion
         		12:03a
    I hath tweeted:

    • 20:43 Oh my. Very long day - much snow removal and building accomplished. The stairwell is half done! #
    • 20:52 Now that I've stopped moving, my arms are starting to hurt... #
    Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter
    Saturday, November 14th, 2009
    junkyspot
         		7:26p
    New Shipments
     Today brings a restock on some of the most popular dolls ever made, as well as some new dolls from Bobobie!

    All available at http://www.junkyspot.com

    We've restocked on 70cm Weylin and Long, 44cm Song, Ju, and Jun! Also added today are limited quantities of 70cm Feng, 68cm Chun and Lian, and 60cm Dai! Nab em before we sell out, we couldn't get as many as we would like to keep in stock...





    Last week, some of the top favorite 44cms are back in stock, such as Xi-Aleister with Clockwork Extreme Faceup, Fullset Hid, Mo, Megi, and the NEW Aaron and Lola!



    >>>>


    Also back in stock are 60cm Yuu, and the NEW 58cm Girls Morphoa, Beetta, Violeta, and Clovera!

    >>>>
    ursulav
         		8:46p
    ursulav
         		8:07p
    wendymr
         		6:17p
    nenethomas
         		3:34p
    Two Kitties and a Doll
     I wanted to post some pictures of some of my kitty-cats. First up is my beloved Cassiramaithres--aka Cassisaboodles. Cassira is very, very sweet and loving when she wants to be and a right pain the rest of the time! She's also pretty pudgy, because I spoil her horribly and give her krispy-kitty treats all the time. She spends much of her time leaning on my Cintique so I can't work. In this photo she is relaxing on the kitty tree and looks pretty grumpy to have her picture taken!


    Next up is Butterscotch--aka Butterscotchpudding, or as Steven calls her "Sunny side up", or "Biscuits and Gravy". Butterscotch pudding is an outside kitty I brought in several months ago. Her brother was Spot and we think her father is Domino, who was clearly the son of Greylord, and magnificent but wild long haired gray tom who has been missing for over a year now. This would make Butterscotch the niece of Cassira--we think. Stray cat genealogy fascinates me for some strange reason.

    The picture behind Butterscotch is a beautiful print by one of my favorite artists, Jonathon Earl Bowser. www.jonathonart.com



    And lastly, although I am usually pretty terrible at self promotion, I wanted to show a recent product that I am quite proud of. I really, really love how the Queen of Owls doll came out! This doll is based on my 2005 painting Queen of Owls. The doll is made by Bradford/ Ashton-Drake and is available here.



    And here is the original painting for comparison.



    Current Mood: peaceful
    Current Music: Just Dance by Lady Gaga
    _graywolf_
         		12:53p
    Ramblings...
     Aside from my Celtic reconstruction-based religion another important aspect of my life is self-sufficiency. To me, personally, it goes hand in hand with my religious practice, and it is something that gives me great feelings of pride. What better gift is there to offer the deities, spirits and ancestors, than to give something you've nurtured and helped grow.
    What more joy is there to take the autumn fruits, or the spring oak leaves, or the honey from the bees and to create your own wine, beer or cider? And return their seasonal gifts with nurturing so that you may share in their offerings to you for many years to come.

    I strive to one day become completely self-sufficient. With energy harvested from sun, wind and rain. All materials being recycled through food and compost. Rain water collected to irrigate the garden patches or even flush the toilet. Life-stock to take care of 'waste' disposal (pigs) and work along side ourselves until the day comes they'll provide us with food.

    John Seymour, needless to say, is one of my great heroes. His books give me great pleasure and copious ideas for living. Life is hard work, but work is rewarding. I agree with that fact that today's society seems to shy away from work, and when something can be replaced by a machine it is joyously welcomed as 'progress'. What is so wrong about working yourself to a sweat prepping the land for new materials?

    I've been eying the Killowen Smallholding for courses for the next year, but 625,- euro is a bit steep for me. Still, my books are all to me, and with them I feel I'm getting a wee bit closer to achieving my goal each year when another self-sufficient chapter is added to my life.
    renbyrnes
         		1:22a
    Friday, November 13th, 2009
    dhstein
         		10:11p
    Met the gentleman from Big Trouble in Little China - James Hong. Cool!
    lillyxandra
         		2:18p
    Fear News, Faeries, and Fashion.
    Ohhhh it's so nice to rest for a little while. These last two week has been so intense and by far one of the most hectic I've had in a while. Having three different projects overlapping each other makes for no rest and caffeine highs. But its all worth because I'm doing the creative things I love to do!

    Wednesday I was in Ojai California doing make-up/FX on a new news program called "Fear News with The Last Girl" for Fear Net. The shoot lasted all night, Matt and I grabbed 2 hours of sleep then headed back home just in time for Jenny to arrive.

    I did her fay make-up then Vani, Jenny and I headed to Redland California for the photoshoot with Kyle Johnsen as part of the big photo project we have been working on this year. (Thanks you to all the girls who helped out! I <3 U)

    Today I only have a few costumes to make for tomorrows Brawl shoot. Then tonight is the Hello Kitty’s Bats and Cats Masquerade at Royal Tea!! I was hoping to make something to wear but my little black dress will have to do.

    For those of you in Minneapolis I wanted to plug Lolita Fashion Designer Samantha Rei's "Children of the Revolution" fashion show! Its happening tonight at 3022 Hennepin Ave for more info visit Libertine Asylum Judging from the line up of performers and designers its going to be a kick ass event!!

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    PICTURE TIME!
    The make-up and slit throat I did on Reilly


    Ginger flipping out XD
    ginger


    Be sure to check out the news! We will have a new episode each Friday. Post your comments on fearnet!



    <3 JoEllen

    Current Mood: anxious
    ellenmillion
         		11:05a
    Fridaily Finally
     Business as Usual

    Getting more orders than I expected to with the whole giftshop downsize. This is GOOD. I will have very little stock left at the end of the year.

    Art and Authoring

    Got the down payment on a commission (I will still take interesting and well-paying jobs from time to time) and sketched a draft of it and worked further on the Torn World map.

    Home and Health

    Oh, did it snow! It's all pretty again, but it's always too dark for photos when I leave for work and go home at night. I may have to bring my camera to work.

    Planning

    I have work coats to pick up, and a bed to go shopping for, need to work out (did not last night, so lazy!), and go shopping for weekend food.
    ursulav
         		12:03p
    shevanthe
         		9:05a
    people with different opinions
     Article not on gay marriage but on the people who support it.

    On the D-I-C.
    dhstein
         		9:21a
    I have made it to Boston! The numbers for the flight got mixed, so Wendy and I almost missed each other. I've had crab cakes- yum, and we were up all night yackking. Today, I shall look for Nimoy.
    ellenmillion
         		12:03a
    I hath tweeted:


    • 15:44 Where, oh, where has my motivation gone...? Is it in my desk drawer? Is it in my shoe? Have you seen it? #

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    renbyrnes
         		1:01a
    Spooks Friday
     Spooks has finally started up again and, though I missed it the day it aired, I did watch it a bit later. We are now up to episode three and it's on in a matter of hours. Better than James Bond, at least in my opinion. The spies of MI-5 are back and giving us a stellar show once again. To prove it, here's a video by JulietD001 to "Infra Red".


    Current Mood: awake
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