12:04 AM - Prof. Delusional's Writing Competition
Current mood: excited
Category: Writing and Poetry

Hello all!

Yes, I know it's been absolutely ages since I last wrote a blog of any kind (I wonder if anyone reads these still) and I do still have another Spotlight blog to put up. I apologise for my laziness, and promise to try better from now on.

However, that isn't the point of this blog. No, not at all. Rather, this is just to make all the Fictionpress writers/readers out there who may stumble upon this blog aware of a writing competition that is going on at the moment. I'll be submitting one or two of my stories, so if you like them, do go and vote for them. Most importantly, however, is that you go and submit some of your OWN work, or suggest other stories that deserve to be recognised.

The link is on my Fictionpress bio page, if you want to take a look there. However for you lazy lot out there, I've posted the link right here: http://www.geocities.com/prof_delusional_5_category/index.html

So, you have no excuse at all for not checking out the website and at least voting for a story if you're a reader, or submitting something if you're a writer.

Go on! This is a wonderful opportunity for lesser-known slash writers to get a little bit of recognition for their hard work, and to celebrate those 'veteran' writers too. The winners will be hosted on spotlight pages, and each writer will also get a Spotlight blog of their own here on my Myspace blogs.

I expect to 'see' you all voting!  xx

Currently listening : Love Today By Mika Release date: 26 April, 2007

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11:13 AM - Spotlight On...Installment 2.
Current mood: mellow
Category: Writing and Poetry

Spotlight On...the Realist.

So I've finally gotten off my arse, sat back down on it and have gotten going with this again. I have a few of these spotlight blogs lined up, however with real life being a bitch and keeping me busy for a while, I know that I've been a bit slack with updating and such. I do apologise for making you all wait for this long! However, here I am, back with my torch-light to shine on yet another author.

I can distinctly remember the first time I ever read any of Sai's writing. My story of choice was Clandestine- at the time, the only story that she had up on Fictionpress- and by the time I'd read the prologue, I knew that I was a goner. I was hooked; there was absolutely no way that I could not continue reading after an introduction like that. It wasn't a dramatic start. It didn't throw you into the plot or leave you with the cliff-hanger from hell. There weren't any earth-shattering revelations. All you got was exactly what you needed- the bare, untainted truth about the character she had brought to life.

Clandestine is now complete, and I am more than sad to see that story end. Sai has created characters which I have grown attached to and more fond of than I am of many people in real life. She has created people and lives with her words, not just characters and a story, and I know that she will continue to refine her craft and stun us with more creations.

After all, there is just so much to admire about Sai's writing, from the love she clearly feels for her characters to the craftsmanship of her stories. However, throughout all that, it is her level of maturity that shines through the most. It may sound condescending in some respects, but I have always felt that there is a tone beyond her years that resounds through her work. I will freely admit that with every chapter I read, I feel as though Im learning from someone who has clearly a very strong grasp of the art of writing and has confidence in their talent, bountiful as it is. And that someone seems to be Sai.

1) What made you start writing?

I think I've been writing in some form since I was about five years old and making little illustrated storybooks on the floor beneath my mom's desk. However, writing was not a major part of my life until I decided to stop acting, at which point I needed a new outlet for my creativity. I began writing stories down when I was about eleven years old, but I like to consider the "beginning" of my writing career to be a short story called "The Porcelain Robin," which I wrote for a good friend of mine after he was institutionalised for attempted suicide. I feel that it was with this story that I found my "niche" and began to develop my style of writing into what it has become.


2) What do you think are the key ingredients to a great story?

I hold in very high regard stories that are vivid and compelling, because those are the ones that stay with a person and really leave an impression. But most importantly, it's got to be realistic, because if it's not, no one can relate to your characters. Regardless of how bizarre or farfetched a plot may be, if your characters are real, your plot becomes believable simply because on some level people can relate to what is happening and how it is affecting the people involved. I make it a specific goal, when I write, to try to make my readers feel what my characters are feeling.


3) Are you inspired by any authors or writers and if so, who?

I really don't think I'm especially influenced by anyone. Every book I read is kind of like a learning experience for me, to look at the different ways people command the English language and what makes their style effective. However, I can't think of a specific author who's held more sway on my writing than the rest. As a writer, I am an accumulation of every book or story I've ever read, in fairly equal parts. I think that's one of the ways we develop as writers by reading the work of others and picking up the tidbits we like and adding them to our own styles. And that is not so much copying from another writer, but learning through imitation; each little bit we borrow from someone else is taken and reshaped to fit into our own styles. It's all part of the process.


4) What inspires you when you are writing a story (people, places, personal experience, music)?

I draw my inspiration from just about everything. One thing that I have going for me is the ability to take the smallest, most insignificant thing and build an elaborate story from it. For example, my newest story was inspired by a years-old set of truck keys I found in a file at my job. I like to look at things and imagine what kinds of memories are attached to them. I can't say that my personal life hasn't bled into my writing, but I like to take things from my own experience, melt them down, and twist them into things that might look entirely different when I'm through, but still contain the essence of their original form, be it an emotion felt or a lesson learned.


5) What fuels your writing the most- external influence or internal inspiration?

When I write, my drive is taken entirely from what I feel or have felt in the past. It is a release for my stress and my troubles, and a chance for me to sit back and put myself in someone else's head for a while. I like to use my characters to create circumstances in which a certain emotion is evoked, and then examine that emotion in every way possible. Through writing I try to understand people as a general whole and what makes us all tick, and I think that it's my need to explain things that happen, things I feel, flaws I notice in myself and others, that keeps me at it so diligently. It's the chance to simulate any situation I want, whether I've experienced one similar or not, and have the chance to think it through and understand how it will affect people.


6) List five songs that are must-have's in your writing playlist (ie: songs that you listen to when you are writing).

I get too easily distracted if I try to write when I have music playing, unless it's entirely instrumental...being a pianist myself, I'm particularly fond of classical piano. But other than that geeky little habit of mine, my top five songs are:

1. Theres No "I" in Team - Taking Back Sunday
2. Moshi Moshi - Brand New
3. Disguising Mistakes With Goodbyes - Emery
4. Cross Out the Eyes - Thursday
5. So Impossible - Dashboard Confessional


7) Out of all the characters from the stories youve written, who is your favourite (and why)?

Oh, this is a really hard one. I get very attached to all of my characters, because I put so much work into each one of them and his or her development throughout a story, but if I had to choose just one, I would have to say that its Abrahm, from the Sadame (Destiny) Series (Part One being "Keys and a Cassette Tape" and Part Two being its currently untitled sequel). Although you won't get much of a look inside his head until Part Two, you'll see that his story is just so tragic, but by the end of the series he has developed and overcome so much. Hes the most broken of all the characters I've written so far, but somehow that makes me love him even more.


8) If you could recommend just one of your stories, which would it be and why?
Definitely "Clandestine." I think that whereas my other stories all tend to have a focus on one particular thing, "Clandestine" has so many facets and, if you look hard enough, hints and clues just about everywhere that all point towards the end result. I really tried to make every sentence count with this story, and I tried to make it mean as much as I could. It's not just a story about a boy. It's about love, fear, acceptance, friendship, family, loss, responsibility and consequence, the prices one must pay to keep a secret safe, but most importantly, it's about growing up. And I think that all the work I've put into it has really paid off, because I can honestly say I'm 100 roud of the whole thing, from the beginning straight through to the conclusion.


9) Recommend one story from Fictionpress and tell us why everyone should read it.

"Sons and Daughters," by Eire Rain. I am in love with this story just for the imagery and the descriptions, the intricacy of the plot, the attention to detailits beautifully well-written, and the characters all just seem to come alive as you read. Everything about it is just incredible.


10) Any parting words of wisdom?

Dance Dance Revolution will eat your soul.


You can find Sai's stories at:

www.fictionpress.com/~lithiumred

Currently listening : Extraordinary Machine By Fiona Apple Release date: 04 October, 2005

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12:43 PM - Spotlight On... Installment .1
Current mood: accomplished

Spotlight On...the Artist.

For my first spotlight blog, I wanted to choose someone really special to write about. Honestly, it didnt take me long to decide exactly whom was deserving of this supposed honour- none other than my dear friend, Jack.

The whole purpose of my blogs is to recognise the gifted authors whom I like, as well as to draw attention to the talented writers out there whom, for reasons unbeknownst to us, are overlooked. And there could be none more overlooked than Jack. I admit to having only recently discovered Jack and his creative talents but with every chapter and story that he writes, he dazzles me with the beauty and fluidity of his writing and most of all, the pieces of his heart that he lays out on the table in doing so. It is rare that you will find such raw talent and such a beautiful soul in one person, but with Jack it is there and always will be.

Not only do I have a lot of love and admiration for him as both a person and a writer, but I know that there is still a lot more to come from him. Brimming with potential for even greater things, I know that we are only scraping the surface of his capabilities.

Theyre no fairytales, he says of his writing. That much is evident from the gritty themes prevalent in his stories, which portray characters that are nothing short of some of the rawest, most honest forms of humanity that we could ever hope to see upon the page. Or screen.

 Just one example of the many talents Jack keeps hidden up his sleeve!

1)  What made you start writing?

I've always been a person with ideas, and when I decided to start writing my ideas down, I thought of more ideas. Though I always thought drawing or painting might have been my thing, I wanted to try something new. I think it was inspired by my friend Derek who died a couple of years back. I wanted to do something for him, so I wrote him a story. Though I've only shown one person the story, it means something to me.


2) What do you think are the key ingredients to a great story?

First of all (it took me a while to realize this), a story takes a lot of planning. A good suggestion before you start writing your story is to plan it out in your head, and write out some ideas for the plot. Before you write it, it's a good idea to have your conflict in mind, and your conclusion, or you'll end up getting stuck pretty often. Other than that, a story needs feeling, mood, visual, and some sort of theme. If it's something personal, there will be a lot of people who can relate to it.


3) Are you inspired by any authors or writers and if so, who?

Hmm. I'm often inspired by Music, but I can't say I read all that much. I'm busy a lot of the time, so I can't get around to reading. When I can, I try to give as much feedback to other writers as possible, but you're often busy with your own ideas. However, when I get around to the library, I see all these books that seem so interesting. On my last visit, I picked up a memoir for a change, and I think that's what inspired me to write my own.


4) What inspires you when you are writing a story (people, places, personal experience, music)?

A lot of the time my writing is really personal, whether it has anything to do with my own life or not. I feel like my main characters usually are some form of myself. Of course, a lot of my inspiration does come from outside of me. The music I listen to effects my writing a lot. Or, it helps me write, anyways. Things I see in my own life might catch my eye, so I spread an idea from that. Writing is one of the most important ways I express myself, so it lifts the weight from my chest sometimes.


5) What fuels your writing the most- external influence or internal inspiration?

Internal inspiration, I'd have to say. So much goes on in my life, and a lot of it is stuck inside me. Writing, as I said, is my way of expressing what I have to keep inside. Sometimes we have to keep things to ourself for the better of us or people around us, but when I write, I feel like I can say anything, and no one can stop me.


6) List five songs that are must-haves in your writing playlist (ie: songs that you listen to when you are writing).

I can't pick songs anymore, I usually just set up a playlist. It depends what stories I'm writing too, but I'll try my best.

The songs I've been listening to probably the most lately would have to be...

1. JK - Go On
2. Panic! at the Disco - But it's Better if you do.
(I hate to love that band..)
3. Within Temptation - The Forsaken
4. Sex Pistols - Should I Stay or Should I Go
5. Pilate - Into Your Hideout.

7) Out of all the characters from the stories you have written, who is your favourite (and why)?

Okay, well, I haven't added this character to my story yet seeing as my room is a clutter of papers and clothing, but in the new story 'A Silent Promise' my favourite character is soon to come. He's really laid back and open minded, though his character can be shifty sometimes. I'm not sure why he's my favourite character, but he seems like a really strong, laid back guy, who can handle things easily. Some time, I'll have his character show maybe a softer side.


8) If you could recommend just one of your stories, which would it be and why?

Again, it sort of depends on the person, but I'd probably choose Brutal Honesty in the Form of Lies, because it's so personal, and I think everyone can relate to it in one way.


9) Recommend one story from Fictionpress and tell us why everyone should read it.

I absolutely have to pick 'Untitled Song' by Limited Edition. It touched me, and haunted me for quite a few months. I don't think a story has inspired me so much, either. It was the main reason I started writing Born in a Burial Gown.


10) Any parting words of wisdom?

NEVER trust toasters with faces.

You can find Jack's stories at:

www.fictionpress.com/~partymonster

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12:17 PM - One Foot Forward
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Blogging

I am not starting a blog to talk about myself. In all honesty, I don't really want to talk about myself here- if you want to know about me, then you'll have to talk to me privately about that and not wait for a blog on the matter.

For now, here are the basics. My name is Alia. For the past six years Ive spent my time flitting to and from the UK for school and will hopefully continue to do so for university, come September.
I love music.
Even with a wonderful family like mine, I still manage to find myself angsting over things I know I shouldn't. I can't help it.
I 'forget how to sleep'. If all is going well, this usually results in me spewing out some strange one-shot on a whim or a particularly long chapter, or if things arent going so well, this means that I end up staring at my bedroom ceiling wondering if I dare check what time it is.
I write; more specifically, I write slash fiction of the m/m genre. Am I any good? Well, that's something for others to decide. I write at Fictionpress.com, under the pen-name of Collar de Espinas.

Really, it's because of Fictionpress that I'm starting these blogs. There are so many amazing writers out there, far too many of whom just aren't getting the recognition that they warrant for their talents. I remember how long it took for me to get noticed and thus I want to help other slash writers to get the reviews, critiques and fans that any budding author deserves.

However, it isnt just the fledgling writers that deserve to be put into the spotlight; of course not. I'm not going to exclude the writers that are well-known or have a solid fan-base from this. Not at all. After all, why should I, when they too have talents to be showcased and minds to pick?

Anyway, there really is nothing else to say- it's probably time to let the writers and their words speak for themselves.

My blogs will hopefully be in conjunction with another little project that the wonderful Winterbridge and I have up our sleeves, should all go well.  Watch this space.

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8:43 PM - [Repost] Pro-Family Values
Current mood: determined
Category: Life

I

Am Part of an American Family, And I Am Valued There.

I

Have Parents, Siblings, Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Nephews and Nieces Who Love Me For Who I Am.

I

Am a Homosexual, or Know Someone Who Is.

I

Am Sick of a Segment of Society Who Feels MY Existence is a Threat to THEIR Existence.

I

Am Fed Up with the Hatred and Intolerance of This Current White House Administration, and Their Cohorts in the Houses of Congress.

I

Support Equal Rights for ALL Americans, Including the Right to Have my Relationship Valued Equally by MY Government as It Values Heterosexual Marriage.

I

Will Not Accept Being Told I Am Worth Less Than You.

I

Have a Voice.

You

Have a Voice, Too.

We

Can Let Our Voices Be Heard.

We

Can Send An Echo Through the MySpace Universe That We Do Not Accept Constitutionalizing Discrimination.

We

Can Cause Others to Think About This Issue.

We

Can Change the Mind of

One

Person today.

The goal?  There isn't one, really.  But if I can cause one person to think about how they would feel to be marginalized by society at large, we may change an opinion.  How do fat people feel about paying for two seats on an airplane?  How does the person in a wheelchair feel about not having access to a home or business because it isn't wheelchair ready?  How does the person of whatever color feel about be relegated to the back of the bus?  How does the Native American feel about being relegated away from their sacred homes to a reservation.

Discrimination, while a lesser evil today than in days past, is still with us.  And it

Must.

Stop.

Sometime.

The day it stops is when enough of us band together and let our voices be heard.  Maybe we can't change the world in a day, but we can change the mind of

One.

I will not be responding to comments in this blog.  I ask only that you copy/paste it into a blog on your own page, with the same title.  Together, we can evoke at least a debate, if not change itself.  Put your picture in my place, if you can, or edit it out, or leave it in if you'd rather. Thanks.

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