I Write Like An Artist

Let's talk about sensory description.

You know the basics, there are five senses: touch, sight, taste, smell, and hearing. Each of these senses is unique and important on it's own, but they work in tandem with each other. The age old example: Scientists say that roughly 80-90% of what we taste is actually derived from smell.

As a writer it is extremely important to pay attention to all of the senses in order to envelope the reader in the world you have created. For living in a world where no one ever feels what it's like to touch something feels surreal, just sort of 'off'.

Now lets back up a little bit and talk about how artists (of the visual sort) create sensory experiences.

An artist uses images, and thus they get one sense: Sight. That cuts them down to 30% efficiency right off the bat. They learn how to bend and play with sight to create illusions of other senses, and even more powerfully, they learn how to connect images with emotion. Thats the big one: Creating an emotional cognitive response from the viewer, that's what an artist does.

They get very good at this, and essentially are attempting to master the sense of sight.

Now, hand that artist a word processor and a keyboard. Tell them to describe something. I guarantee you that they will primarily focus on the visuals, they will try to explain every intricate detail of what this item or place looks like. They will likely forget about the other senses, or at least pay far less attention to them. It's in their nature, it's how they experience the world.

What happens when this artist decides to write a book?

You can see the problem. An artist who is arting is all just fine and dandy, but an artist who is writing is at a disadvantage. It takes extra attention to remember to describe things in their whole, combining the senses takes more work.

I write like an artist.

Damn.

Procrastination Station

Guys, don't procrastinate.

Don't do it, it's not worth it in the long run. Sure, that project might be big and scary, or just a pain in the ass, and your email client is far more interesting...

But don't procrastinate.

I spent 12 hours yesterday finishing a project. Twelve. Hours. I worked from noon 'till one in the morning, with two half-hour breaks to clear my head and get some food. This is on top of school. (Admittedly, I did skip a couple periods at the High School. But I went to all the hard classes and my NIC course because I couldn't afford to miss them).

The end result is not the best work I could have done. There are some areas I know for sure could have been better. It's not bad; it's still quality work. But it's not my best and I am fully aware of that.

By procrastinating I short changed myself and what I could have learned, and I short changed my professor and what he was trying to teach me. Procrastination is more than me being fickle, it's also a loss of respect.

It's saying that you do not respect your teacher, professor, mother, instructor, boss, enough to give them the quality and attention they are asking of you.

Don't procrastinate, it's not cool.

And, on a completely unrelated note... I still want a camera. ;___;

Take Your Best Shot

I want a camera.

God Day-yum I want a camera.

I would like a decent camera, with good specs or whatever. But in all honesty I would be just as ecstatic to get a little easy 10 megapixel point-and-shoot baby camera. Why? Because I really want a camera.

Last Kumoricon I borrowed my Dad's camera to take pictures at the convention (see below, I never did finish those blogs...). I loved it. I loved figuring out lighting and angles and the art of transferring a moment of life into a little rectangle of representational visuals. I absolutely loved it.

I would be a fiend with my camera. I would be the sort of fiend that annoys the crap out of you because she's always snapping shots when you're not looking and would you PUT THAT THING AWAY. Yes. That sort of camera-toting, picture-taking fiend.

Sadly, a camera costs about 100$. That's a lot of money, a lot of hours. A purchase of this magnitude must be weighed and thought on before any decisions are made.

I've been looking around online, and so far this is what I've come up with:

Casio Exilim EX-Z16

This camera is a fairly new model out on the market, fresh out as of this September. It's 12 megapixels, a 2.7 inch display, and shoots video at a youtube affordable resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. It's also got that sleek sex-apeal thang going on with it's rounded off corners, small size, and general shinyness. Price wise it clocks in just barely under the hundred-dollar mark at 98$ and free shipping from Amazon.

Unfortunately, I'm not a camera person (yet) so I haven't a clue if that's a good deal for a point-and-shoot. I 'unno. We shall see.

Things That Make My Life Worth Living

Things that make my life worth living:

Singing along way too loudly (read: badly) to Lady Gaga.

Arguing whether Kesha or Lady Gaga write the more sexual songs.

Gay couples can get hitched in California again.

My dog.

Whipped Cream.

Swiss Rolls with Whipped Cream on them.

Chocolate bars with Whipped Cream on them.

Granola bars with Whipped Cream on them.

More Whipped Cream.

Secretly cashing checks in order to surprise my mom with an AWESOME birthday gift.

School plays.

Free paper.

My bangs curl naturally and it actually looks good.

The MP3 player I want to buy to replace my lost one is on sale this week.

Scott Pilgrim.

New toilet seats.

Bathrooms that no longer smell like vinegar.

FRC kick off is only 89 days away.

NaNoWriMo is even CLOSER.

New characters that pop up in my brain uninvited but loved nonetheless.

Manga is still as crazy and ridiculous as it's always been.

Apollo Justice is a good game, even if Investigations wasn't.

Eating YanYan for the first time ever.

Coworkers who pull their fair share.

Coworkers who pull their fair share and then some.

The new copy of Jump has a special on the war in One Piece.

My hoodie finally went through the washing machine, so I can wear it again.

Discovering awesome French singers: Yelle.

International music in general.

I've got a jar of dirt (two of 'em, actually).

Buttons.

Card flourishes.

The fact that I don't live in a third-world country.

Origami cranes.

Winning an argument against my dad.

The smell after it rains.

And most of all, my Faith in God.

You know what? It's OK if you have a bad day. It's OK. You know why? Because there are still a million and one reasons life is worth living.

And I'm thankful for every one of them.

Scott Pilgrim (The Comic Books)

Y'know what? I love Scott Pilgrim. I *LOVE* Scott Pilgrim. It's a comic book, if you're wondering. Six books long. I picked up the first in a book store the other day, and like, I had no money so I didn't get to finish it. This led me to... uh... *not* pirate all six volumes through downloading them off of a torrent's mirror. Anyways.

Let me say it again.

I LOVE SCOTT PILGRIM.

I just finished it? Can you tell? I love it, by the way, if I haven't mentioned that already. I mean, I didn't like the art at all at first. And I have to admit the art really was kind of sloppy in the first volume, but it was different so I thought I'd give it a try. And the writing is good. Really good. Like, it's this weird clash between a story and a comic and a video game, yeah? It's sort of crazy and rediculouse while manageing to feel real and worthwhile at the same time. That is a really odd and possibly unique mix.

My favorite character is Wallace. ♥

I think the ending was perfect. ♥

*spoiler alert*

I totally didn't notice when Stephen Stills came out in Volume 5, I mean, I had my suspitions, but I didn't give it much thought because I was so engrossed in Scott's head (and he was having other issues). So in that last scene with Stephan Stills and Joseph at the end of book six? My face mirrored Scott's. I had a total fangirl freak out, and then I laughed my ass of at the last panel of that page ("God, I hate your friends." ... "Seriously, get new ones.").

Yes. So. go read it. If you need a download link just ask. |D I can not give one out on my blog for fear of the legal implications of such an act.

On a related note, I really love fiction with legitimate gay characters. I mean, fiction that ISN’T Yaoi or Yuri by trade, but just happens to have gay characters in it as well as straight characters. They tend to have more realistic portrayals, and I love that. Love love it. ♥

It’s late, I’m giddy on comic-high, I need to go to bed. XD Ciao.