This is one of those fluffy posts, because I failed to have anything more significant to say. You can be assured I’m just pouring all of my brain-power into my fiction. Because if this post were edible, it would be cotton-candy.

Modern songs that remind me of the 90′s:

Silversun Pickups, “Lazy Eye”

They remind me of old-school Smashing Pumpkins! I’m hearing a bit of “Cherub Rock” from Siamese Dream. How about you guys?

MGMT, “Kids”

I don’t know why this one reminds me of the 90′s, but it does, lol! Maybe the animation reminds me of “Paranoid Android“, in that way it’s deceptively childish while actually being nightmarishly disturbing.

Foster the People, “Pumped Up Kicks”

I first wanted to say the sound reminded me of mid-90′s Beck, but then when I actually went back to listen to some Beck it was a little off. Maybe I’m thinking of someone else? The dude’s voice is something else entirely, and I can’t think of who he reminds me of. Totally 90′s though.

Happy listening!

not a musician:

Playing this week, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” by Death Cab For Cutie. (listen here, good guitar lesson here.) I’m in love with this song this week. It’s quiet and beautiful, and it inspired a heartbreaking little story idea.

not a film critic:

Into the Wild: Very thoughtful, and inspiring. Now I wanna backpack through Alaska. I know, the book is usually better, but my “to-read” list is a mile long already. Hubby read it and enjoyed it, and was able to point out where the differences were. I’m wondering if the film might have better suited the visuals of an adventure anyway?

I expected to be bored by it, but I absolutely wasn’t. I mean, how interesting can one guy be out in the wilderness? But the point is, he spent much of his journey meeting very interesting people, making these fantastic human connections that he outwardly rejected. He seemed to have such an impact on so many people, and came to an unfortunate conclusion in the end.

I make myself a promise though – when my kid(s) is grown and self-sufficient, I’m totally going to climb a mountain!

progress report, week of 12/7:

Not much bulk added to the novel this week (a few random lines, a couple good paragraphs). Christmas is starting to happen in a consuming way, hubby is sick… it’s just that time of year.

I did manage to send a story back out into the world again this week, and I wish it luck. I hope I’ve taught it all it needs to know, so that it might stand on its own little feet and prosper. Again, I subbed it to one of my top favorite magazines, lol! If it doesn’t work there, I might try my hand at simultaneous submissions next time. And maybe I’ll cast a bit more modestly, lol! You know, reaching for the stars and all

This week: whatever I can manage, considering it’s the week before Christmas and all. I still like the goal of having part one entirely first-drafted before the new year. It’s still doable, I think.

I’m going to share my first chapter with you all after the new year. (Eeek! I said it!) So I hope you’ll hold me to that

I used to write songs about love, and loss, and God, and the tragic but hopeful state of the world.

Today, Dylan and I wrote a song, and the lyrics go: “Apple tree, apple tree. Apple juice, apple juice.”

I’ll save love and loss and tragedy and God for the novel, I think.

First listen to “Mad World” by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules, which just breaks my heart it’s so tragically pretty. (Also a Tears for Fears cover, for the Donnie Darko soundtrack)

And then, a new song by Sarah McLachlan, “U Want Me 2.” Which let me say, besides being a sub-par song for Sarah McLachlan, I just can’t STAND it when people can’t even be bothered to use a three letter word! Come on! I used to think she was a poet or something!!!

Tell me I’m not crazy. Did she totally steal that beginning piano riff??? I hope she got permissions for that, because it sounds identical to me. Anybody else?

We took Dylan to his first concert last night, Michelle Branch at Detroit’s River Days festival. He was so adorable! He clapped after every song, and in the middle of them, and he sang along, improvising with his own two-year-old lyrics.

I didn’t even know she was playing around here until I saw it on the news earlier in the day. How fateful that just hours after I had posted about my undying devotion to this guitar, and there we were, standing in a small rained-out crowd, watching Michelle Branch play a Gibson Hummingbird. The universe wants me to have one, I can feel it!

Of course, the universe also probably wants us to buy a house and second car first. Oh, priorities…

Two random things. First, is it some kind of biological hardwiring that at not even two years old, my boy child likes to crash his toy trucks into each other?

And second, there is a Google ad at the top of my Gmail page to Meet Vampire Guys: www .GothScene.com Meet Local Vampire Guys Near You. View Profiles 100% Free. Join Now! I just thought I would share that, because you know how hard it is to find a good vampire guy these days.

not a writer:

Novel stats:
32,550 words (~30%)
101 pages
3 chapters down (of 13), and working on ch. 4

Only about 2000 words added to the story this week, but I also worked on the notes for future chapters quite a bit.

Chapter three is drafted! Very shitty first draft, but it’s all there! And I’ve plopped down the intro scene for chapter four! Chapter four is going to be a lot of fun to write, I think. It’s the POV of Samantha, who is one of my favorite characters so far, bold and spunky, but surprisingly sad. It’s the summer after high school graduation and they get into all kinds of trouble

Some fun discoveries this week. On the problem of writing brilliant characters, which I mentioned a while ago. The one I thought was brilliant, the one everyone thinks is brilliant, is actually kind of a fraud! He really isn’t very brilliant at all, which is why I think he’s so determined to make something of himself. What a fun discovery!

That, and I know how the novel ends. At this point, I have pretty much the whole book noted out, and as long as there aren’t any earth-shattering changes to the story, then I think I just wrote what could be the last scene and ending, and I really like it. It’s beautiful and funny and sweet and just a little bit tragic, and pulls everything together in a subtle way, which is just the kind of ending I want.

Still no title though. I thought I had one for a minute, but it’s not quite right.

not a musician:

Playing this week (very badly, if I might add): Babe I’m Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin

My child can strum a guitar really well. I promise I wont turn into a stage mom, but it’s really cute. And since he won’t leave mine alone, I think we’re going to buy him a cute little baby guitar for his birthday. The toy-looking ones are cute, but I think he would know it’s not real when I have mine out. But I think he would be disappointed if it didn’t have real strings to strum, so maybe this one? And look, it’s a baby Gibson!

Speaking of, I gave one of the characters in my novel a Gibson Hummingbird and I am desperately jealous of him! Is that weird?