tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27042721293621094402024-03-05T21:09:37.066+01:00My Lines. My Life.... where I post about my experiences as an aspiring author - from writing and editing, over querying agents and looking for a publisher, to things that really help(ed) me on my way. I'm looking forward to this unpredictable journey.Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.comBlogger231125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-16441768586248609922016-07-01T13:00:00.000+02:002016-07-01T13:00:00.174+02:00Turning The Page To A New Life Chapter<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">It's official! </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As of today, I'll be freelancing full-time as <a href="https://pianewman.com/deutsch/copywriting/" target="_blank">copywriter</a> and <a href="https://pianewman.com/home/english/" target="_blank">virtual assistant</a>. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My current mood swings back and forth between excited elation and knee-jellying terror. It goes something like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><strong><em>Squeeee!</em></strong> I'm free! I will make a living with my writing and VAing! I can work from home! I can work from anywhere! Except...</span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><strong><em>Yikes!</em></strong> What if I don't earn enough? What if I can't pay my bills or health insurance? What if my clients drop me? What if I fuck up? What if I'm just not good/organized/disciplined enough? And yet... </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><strong><em>Squeeee!</em></strong> I can start novel-writing again! I can set up a passive source of income! I can work on my balcony! I can get a dog! </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'m going to make an educated guess that everyone who takes the leap from employment to freelancing also takes the same or a similar ride on the emotional rollercoaster. It's scary and exhilirating all in one. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's probably also one of the most courageous things I've ever done, even though it doesn't feel that way (yet?).</span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">O</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ver the past year or so, things have kept falling into place in my life, things that I let happen and guide me, things that brought me here without me having to pull and push and shove and fight. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yes, I worked hard to get here. I'm sleep-deprived, my to-do list is a mile long, and I can't remember the last time I had a proper work-out. </span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I don't feel drained, or stressed, or like the ground might suddenly break away from under my feet. I don't have to fear that I'll die of hunger alone in a gutter somewhere if this doesn't pan out. I have several backup and contingency plans in place, in case something goes wrong. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm as prepared as I'll ever be, and I know it. I feel safe in taking this step now, at this point in my life. And I'm happy and immensely grateful to be able to start this new life chapter in such a positive way. </span>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-83708472249936152492016-03-28T10:15:00.002+02:002016-03-28T10:15:59.553+02:00Dead Skin - Fourth Poem<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Dead Skin</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am filled</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">with a void of nothing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Disoriented</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">at a crossroads</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Which way to take</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">from here</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So many options</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">none feel true</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So many obstacles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">all my own</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Escape is paramount</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">yet here I stand</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Immobile</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unable</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To shed my skin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">with the void inside</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To leave it behind</span><br />
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-22575613930825090212016-02-14T13:00:00.000+01:002016-02-14T13:00:05.734+01:00This Is So Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1643095/hMvhD-kU3rkr65hqhyZdBLjGgsU/medium_Jacqueline_Wilson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1643095/hMvhD-kU3rkr65hqhyZdBLjGgsU/medium_Jacqueline_Wilson.jpg" width="420" /></a></div>
<br />Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-6685307057020798352016-02-07T13:00:00.000+01:002016-02-07T13:00:09.951+01:00Remembrance - Third Poem<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Last one... for now. ;-) )</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Remembrance</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">nugget of knowledge</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">whisper of wisdom</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">heard for the first time</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">invokes a tremor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">not as if it’s a novel thought</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">but as if I’m reminded</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of something lost</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">long ago</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">hidden treasure </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">from deep within</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to be discovered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">recaptured</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">unearthed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">set free</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">when time </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and my spirit </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">call for its remembrance</span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-30045253647689498132016-01-31T13:00:00.001+01:002016-01-31T13:00:17.833+01:00How I Built My Own Workout Desk - My Write Bike<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoE8Nyjd-zsx0k75aBE9eYNCJVanWoxok8iMz6qSUZrjh9gN6mVUxNL9mp8XMWDUpXyqI_EWJYB4myWRQ9eEhEWGcR3SNjT4f-8W03xsKGPoH0DTSeuQYwtqzePLQhEJuC1K4q0Yj9Ks/s1600/Bild1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFoE8Nyjd-zsx0k75aBE9eYNCJVanWoxok8iMz6qSUZrjh9gN6mVUxNL9mp8XMWDUpXyqI_EWJYB4myWRQ9eEhEWGcR3SNjT4f-8W03xsKGPoH0DTSeuQYwtqzePLQhEJuC1K4q0Yj9Ks/s400/Bild1.jpg" width="287" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Sedent<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ary Lifest<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">yle - <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not Ideal</span></span></span></b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For years now, I've been coming home after my day job, and sitting down at my desk, dining table or couch to write. What I write varies, but one thing doesn't: I'm sitting. I'm comfortable, and so are my flaccid muscles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Instead of using the time after work to exercise my body and straighten out the kinks in muscles, bones and joints that have accumulated over my desk-job day, I sit some more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A healthy lifestyle this is not. But I'd rather sit and write than work out and not write. If only I could come up with a way to get some exercise <i>while </i>writing...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>How to Get Moving </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'd heard of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/LifeSpan-Fitness-TR1200-DT5-Treadmill-Desk/dp/B006M2PJV0/ref=pd_sim_200_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=415ACtrtr1L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=15BY7FSGA23HK5WQXPBD" target="_blank">treadmill desks</a>, obviously. But not only do they take up a lot of space, they are also rather expensive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then I stumbled across the so called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/DeskCycle-Exercise-Pedal-Exerciser-White/dp/B00B1VDNQA/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1453910571&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=desk+peddler" target="_blank">desk peddlers</a> and thought <i>maybe... </i>They're smaller and cheaper than treadmill desks, to be sure. And that's when it hit me! I own an exercise-bike for home use, gathering dust in the corner behind my bedroom door<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">M<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">aybe I didn'<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">t have to spend a lot of money on something I already <i>had</i>, and could possibly as<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">semble myself.<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">..? All I had to do was add a few parts to the bike, after all. What parts exactly <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">was the variable in need of exploring. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>"Ingredients" for My <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bike<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> Desk</span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So I rummaged around my own inventory - what flat surface object did I own that I could somehow attach to the handle-bars of the bike? I got lucky almost immediately when I unearthed this old laptop lap-shelf thingy that I hadn't used for a while:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP8lKz-QJcBgVbJ154dZmLkphpXFexkZwgT26fF7b9ExPIpd_SxkC0G-wKV75OP6xVhcH6bWFEHxxzGzZ3kWT_tP2JKp6_IKceOP6nlHml77FfL6z9VqD94Ty7TQUV9zZufqiz_g2fVA/s1600/Bild2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP8lKz-QJcBgVbJ154dZmLkphpXFexkZwgT26fF7b9ExPIpd_SxkC0G-wKV75OP6xVhcH6bWFEHxxzGzZ3kWT_tP2JKp6_IKceOP6nlHml77FfL6z9VqD94Ty7TQUV9zZufqiz_g2fVA/s320/Bild2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Suddenly, I was excited - its shape would make my rookie tinkering so much eaiser than expected. All I had to do was hook it over the bike's handle-bars, and presto! I had an easy, flat surface to put my laptop on, without too much danger of the entire contraption sliding off, or my laptop slipping off the desk. It was almost too good to be true. <br /><br />Of course, it was, if only a little. The angle this left the laptop at on top of the handle-bars was a bit too steep for comfortable writing. I soon got cramps in my wrists when I tried to type out any serious-length text. So I had to elevate the front end of the shelf away from the bike's control unit - but how? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Perfecting The Raw Material </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I figured some sort of wedge between the shelf and the control unit would do the trick, so I cut up an old moving box and experimented with folding different shapes into triangles and wedges. It had to both elevate and straighten the shelf to a comfortable writing-height, while being sturdy enough to hold the weight of my laptop as well as my hands while typing on it. <br /><br />I finally found the perfect sturdy wedge-shape that helped make writing while riding the bike almost as comfortable as when sitting at my desk<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. I </span>tried it out that same night. It worked wonderfully, just as I'd hoped and imagined. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One Last Thing...</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since functionality was now perfected, I also wanted to make sure I wouldn't accidentally knock the entire thing to the ground - my laptop is the one thing out of all my possessions for which I'd run into a burning building<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> (I'm a writer. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Nuff said.)</span></span>. So, unwilling to subject it to my clumsiness, I ordered two <a href="http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B001W7GXLK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00" target="_blank">velcro-straps</a> on Amazon. They arrived two days later and, after a few more minutes of testing, found their ideal positions<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">:</span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now, unless I knock over the entire bike, my laptop is no longer in danger of<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span>flying off the handle. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">*s</span>nerk<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">*</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yes, I know <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ent<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ire <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">setup looks a bit makeshift.<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> I'm not exactly a master tinkerer. But it's stable, secure, and comfortable <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">enough to </span></span>use for an hour <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of writing. And it didn't <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">cost me much aside from about half an hour of e<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">xperimenting and a few euros. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Cost Break<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">-Down</span></b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">B<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">uilding my own Write Bike (as<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> I <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">c</span>all it)<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> was way cheaper than buying anything specifically designed with the purpose of</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">moving whil<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">e writing. </span></span>All in all, the co<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">sts broke down to the following:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What I had to buy</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">- 2 ve<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">lcro straps<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> for <b>11,02€</b></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What I found at home</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">- 1 home exercise bike, ori<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ginal price (2012) ca. 100€</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">- 1 laptop support, original price ca. 4€</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">- 1 moving box, original price <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1,50€</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This amounts to a <b>total of 116,52€</b>, of which I'd paid 105,50€ </span>years ago. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Final Result</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> so here it is: My Write Bike in all its glory. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I use it almost every night and am loving it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAGbFRWoqUmNRRKGL2uhFYi3Ni2Gx3wBq-vgchnl10o9PYUJCpZwuDXEvWK_kSWXPNfa9CVd8shDrAM-611iiwza44HFdSvv4azHVl3eIngFiXLIxKTCxl0fCAf8qY3slBeMBKAaSUVU/s1600/IMG_7147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAGbFRWoqUmNRRKGL2uhFYi3Ni2Gx3wBq-vgchnl10o9PYUJCpZwuDXEvWK_kSWXPNfa9CVd8shDrAM-611iiwza44HFdSvv4azHVl3eIngFiXLIxKTCxl0fCAf8qY3slBeMBKAaSUVU/s400/IMG_7147.jpg" width="266" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Do you have a way to work out while writing? What other options are there? <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I'd love to hear about your ex<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">per<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">iences</span></span></span> in the comments. </i></span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-15531049096880379752016-01-24T13:00:00.001+01:002016-01-24T13:00:08.997+01:00What Would It Take - Another Poem<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(Apparently, I'm on a roll...)</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>What would it take?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What would it take<br />for you to bid farewell <br />to your mother and father<br />your sisters and brothers<br />indefinitely<br /><br />What would it take<br />for you to walk<br />thousands of miles<br />through heat and cold<br />through hunger and thirst<br /><br />What would it take<br />for you to carry<br />your beloved children<br />through fever and fear<br />towards the unknown<br /><br />What would it take <br />for you to prefer<br />the uncertainties and insecurities<br />and foreign hostilities<br />to all that is familiar<br /><br />What would it take<br />for YOU to leave home<br />Not because you have somewhere to go<br />But because you have nowhere to stay<br />Because 'home' has ceased to be<br /><br />What would it take?</span></span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-54973652302302930082016-01-17T13:00:00.000+01:002016-01-17T18:13:55.719+01:00Waste of Words - A Poem<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: start;">(My first in many years...)</i><br />
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<a href="https://snap-photos.s3.amazonaws.com/img-thumbs/960w/RQQMTMI7Z1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://snap-photos.s3.amazonaws.com/img-thumbs/960w/RQQMTMI7Z1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>waste of words</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">people talk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">back and forth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">interrupting</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">repeating</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in circles</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">round and round</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the chatter of a million empty phrases</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unheard</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unfelt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">over and over</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">saying nothing new</span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">nothing bold</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">nothing true</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">again and again</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">listening</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and wish for silence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for looks between souls</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for truths without words</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here and Now</span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-77749225481265921222015-12-25T13:31:00.000+01:002015-12-25T13:31:07.439+01:00Merry Christmas! <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wishing you Happy Holidays with an overdose of cuteness! Have a wonderful, relaxing time with your loved ones, and may you recharge your batteries for an all new and exciting 2016.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Merry Christmas!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT4jf4Y5BrlQduZXC0GWXnAYWCZYlNr2VhBknur3A5LsurbnaBcZLOdFM-iDoTQumsKPloxg4rceSeQWhUXnqmVIROjpk7F5l4mcnESQmILMA-pHUiwg05reLhXEXr8rxPaojZbv5ox0/s400/12391832_10156441183765193_4484894121521854096_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SpokAnimal/?fref=photo" target="_blank">SpokAnimal C.A.R.E.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT4jf4Y5BrlQduZXC0GWXnAYWCZYlNr2VhBknur3A5LsurbnaBcZLOdFM-iDoTQumsKPloxg4rceSeQWhUXnqmVIROjpk7F5l4mcnESQmILMA-pHUiwg05reLhXEXr8rxPaojZbv5ox0/s1600/12391832_10156441183765193_4484894121521854096_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><br /></div>
Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-67976449441472098042015-12-20T13:00:00.000+01:002015-12-20T13:00:18.278+01:00Interesting Tidbit about Debut Sales<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Interesting post on The Huffington Post the other day: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-warner/what-should-authors-expec_b_8755642.html" target="_blank">What Should Authors Expect to Earn? </a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">According to The HuffPo, 25,000 copies is a "sensational" sale for a debut novel. 15,000 copies will garner enough attention to get a publisher interested in the second book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For someone working in the automobile industry, selling 25,000 copies sounds like peanuts. Most car companies wouldn't even fire up their production lines for such a measly number of units. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">[I guess that proves it: books ain't cars. Just in case you weren't sure.] </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The following comparison might put the above-mentioned author sales into a more relatable perspective: Madison Square Garden seats up to <a href="http://www.thegarden.com/faq.html" target="_blank">19,830</a> people during a basketball game. So if you sold your book to every spectator during the next Knicks game, you'd make a publisher sit up and take notice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So the question all debut authors should ask themselves is... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When's the next Knicks game? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">:-D</span><br />
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-72442353418305449562015-12-15T20:00:00.000+01:002015-12-15T20:00:25.586+01:00Taking my Writing to the Next Level in 2016<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hard to believe 2015 is almost over. It was a busy year for me, writing-wise. I finished a novel and started querying agents for it (one has already requested a full. Yay!). I almost finished the first draft of the next novel in the series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So - busy. Busy busy bee. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2016 is about to become so much busier. Not only do I plan on finishing this second novel and a first draft of the third (and last in the series), as well as hopefully *fingers crossed* selling the first. I'm also going to start a freelance (copy)writing business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Gulp. Did I just post that out loud? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I guess I did. Does that make it official? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm going to start small - as part-time next to my day job, which will remain my main source of income. For now. ;-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To get started, I created a website about my copywriting endeavors, called <a href="http://pianewman.com/" target="_blank">Word for Word</a>. The first blog post on the bloggy page of this site goes live this Sunday, and explains <a href="http://wp.me/p2a9V7-36" target="_blank">How to Prepare for Going Freelance as a Copywriter</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm also launching an entirely new blog, called <a href="https://blushersblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blusher's Blog</a>, dedicated to all things erythrophobia - a social anxiety that leaves people afraid to blush. Sounds harmless, right? Except it isn't to those afflicted. Living with erythrophobia can severely restrict and confine your life. I overcame it several years ago, but it's still a topic close to my heart that I'm finally ready to talk about. And maybe help a few people through it in the process. The first post also goes live on Sunday, and describes <a href="http://wp.me/p2aa8i-Q" target="_blank">How Fear of Blushing, aka "Erythrophobia", Affects People (Besides Blushing)</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you're curious enough to check them out, I'd love to know what you think! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Phew. These have got to be the loftiest aspirations I've ever had. It's scary, exciting and exhilirating all in one. And I know it's a little early, but maybe you already have goals for 2016, too? If so, I'd love to hear about them. Maybe we can be scared, excited and exhilirated together?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-15545901625204890252015-11-22T13:00:00.000+01:002015-11-22T13:00:00.946+01:00The Hero's Journey in a Nutshell<br />
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<a href="http://www.novel-software.com/CMS/IMAGES/mainarticlespics/theherosjourneyinanutshell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.novel-software.com/CMS/IMAGES/mainarticlespics/theherosjourneyinanutshell.jpg" height="640" width="411" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.novel-software.com/herosjourneyinanutshell.aspx">Source</a></div>
<br />Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-56172172018627576342015-11-15T13:00:00.000+01:002015-11-15T13:00:03.935+01:00On NaNoWriMo, The Hopes Of<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img07.deviantart.net/0068/i/2009/279/a/5/nanowrimo___poster_vi_by_pianochick66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img07.deviantart.net/0068/i/2009/279/a/5/nanowrimo___poster_vi_by_pianochick66.jpg" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
<br />Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-82301546297990569542015-11-08T13:00:00.000+01:002015-11-08T13:00:06.165+01:00On NaNoWriMo, The Frustrations Of<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Or not. Yep. I feel you, Mimi.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Write on!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-86583993109959625672015-10-25T13:00:00.001+01:002015-10-25T13:00:08.329+01:00Writer Comic #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1475489/1c1HoivUrtNDYfIGP-7rHaLTSOY/medium_passive_aggressive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1475489/1c1HoivUrtNDYfIGP-7rHaLTSOY/medium_passive_aggressive.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-76851076166918524332015-10-18T13:00:00.001+02:002015-10-18T13:00:00.760+02:006 Habits That Got Me Through NaNoWriMo Successfully<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've participated in <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/">National Novel Writing Month</a> four times so far, three of those times successfully. This year, I'm going for it again, my goal being to finish the first draft of the novel I'm currently working on. At the moment, I'm 35.000 words into the manuscript. If I manage to add the 50.000 NaNoWriMo-words in November, the first draft should be as good as done. It'll probably be a mess, but it'll be words on the page that I can improve. The first hurdle taken. <br /><br />So that's my goal for this year's NaNoWriMo. And the general conditions appear to be in my favor. I have no big travel plans this November. I started on the manuscript just two months ago, so I'm not burned out on it yet. And this manuscript is the second in a series, the first of which I'm currently querying agents with, which provides additional motivation to get the second one done asap. <br /><br />But, I also tanked my last NaNoWriMo attempt two years ago. Okay, conditions weren't ideal that year, since I was backpacking through Peru during one of those weeks, but I didn't even manage my personal goal of 30.000 words in the previous three. So I thought back on how I managed 50.000 words those three times before, and realized I did adopt a few habits in those years that helped me get through. Maybe those can help you, too, so here they are:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>1. Write. Don't Edit. </b><br />It's like vomiting words onto the page. Toss them out there as you're thinking them. Don't hesitate, don't look back. Editing, improving those words, can wait. As Nora Roberts said, you can fix anything but a blank page. <br /><br /><b>2. Create an Outline. </b><br />Tossing those words out there is easier when you have a good or even just a general idea of where your story is headed. <br /><br /><b>3. Ignore the Outline.</b><br />If at any point you have a lightbulb moment about the plot that conflicts with your outline, forget the outline. Follow the lightbulb. Then adjust the outline accordingly for your next writing session.<br /><br /><b>4. Write before Work / you start your Daily Routine. </b><br />Set your alarm an hour before your usual wake-up time. Take this time to write, and only write. No Emails. No Facebook, no Twitter. No kids. Just a cup of coffee, your laptop, and you. <br /><br /><b>5. Write on your Lunch Break. </b> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Or on the bus or train. During the kids' nap time. Basically, write anywhere and anytime you get the chance. <br /><br /><b>6. Forget about the Word Count. </b><br />At least until the end of the day, when you can sit down and check how many words you've written. If you wrote in the morning, and every other chance you got, you might be closer to those 1.667 words/day than you think. You might even be over. If not, now's the time to finish them. Just don't distract yourself from your writing by worrying about the word count. <br /><br /><br />I'll be trying to get back into those habits and mind set this November. But what works for me, might not work for you. I'd love to hear about your own tips, tricks and habits that have helped you reach those 50.000 words in 30 days. Tell me about them in the comments. <br /><br />And good luck to anybody attempting NaNoWriMo this year. Let's do this!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-422566998806156342015-10-11T13:00:00.000+02:002015-10-11T13:00:03.571+02:00Awesome Writerly Quote #3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Burn, Baby, burn!!! Mwahahahahaaaaaa</span></span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-55740036545158344942015-10-04T13:00:00.001+02:002015-10-04T13:00:04.462+02:00TBR Pile Time<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I love book nerds. They come up with the coolest things...</span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Do you have a To-Be-Read pile as high as Mount Everest? Well now you can calculate how long it'll take you to read all those books (under the assumption you won't aggregate any more), with this <a href="http://www.readitforward.com/tbr-time/">TBR Time Calculator</a> from Read It Forward. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I immediately let it estimate when I'll have decimated my TBR pile at the rate I'm going: four years. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Four. Years. My pile will be razed to the ground by Augst 27th of 2019. Twenty. Nnineteen. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I guess that time-frame indicates I either have a million books to read, or am just a really slow reader. To be honest, it's a bit of both. If I'd used this calculator when I was a teenager, it would probably have told me I'd be done in two months. Alas, these days I'm lucky if I have 30 minutes a day of reading time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Teen-me would want to kick threen-me's ass for that. Then again, threen-me sometimes wants to kick teen-me's ass for not realizing how much free time she had. So I guess we're even.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Has anybody else tried the calculator? When will you be done with your TBR-pile?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-18776814610315978722015-09-27T13:00:00.001+02:002015-09-27T13:00:05.228+02:00Book Country's Genre Map<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ever asked yourself which genre your WIP actually fits into? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ask no longer. Consult <a href="http://www.bookcountry.com/ReadAndReview/Books/GenreMap/">Book Country's Genre Map</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a map! With <i>genre countries</i>! Click on any of the countries, and the map will tell you all about its genre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Awesome sauce!</span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-78412264257404196102015-09-20T18:54:00.000+02:002015-09-20T18:54:00.061+02:00Awesome Writerly Quote #2<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">- Joan Didion</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-68188600567243630372015-09-13T13:00:00.000+02:002015-09-13T13:02:25.386+02:00On Nerds, The Pride Of<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/09/02/why-star-wars-matters-to-me/">This post</a> by Chuck Wendig moved me to tears. Okay, one tear, but still. A blog post about Star Wars, not even Star Wars itself, made me choke up. At work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ahem. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Mr. Wendig should have labelled it NSFW, lest your colleagues look at you funny and you have to come up with a bogus work-related reason why you're all misty-eyed. Only fellow nerds would understand. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Which brings me to my point. Chuck Wendig's post is an amazing testimony as to why nerds are nerds. It represents nerddom at it's finest. Whether it's Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Avengers, Buffy, Hunger Games, Final Fantasy or *insert chosen favorite here*, the emotions Chuck Wendig describes are the reason why we immerse ourselves into these fictional worlds so fully. It explains why we are labeled as nerds, and label ourselves as nerds with such pride: </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"It [Star Wars] gave me characters I love and a simplistic, elegant view of both
narrative and morality that inevitably you push back against while
simultaneously reaching for it. It made me friends. It was a love my
family shared then, and it’s a love my wife and my son share now. It is
the universe that keeps on giving. It made me feel like I could do
anything,..."</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It means friends and family. It means the power of story. It means the power of possibility."</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bull's eye, Chuck. Just... bull's eye.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-90933590795466263862015-09-06T13:00:00.002+02:002015-09-06T13:00:02.580+02:00Query for Nightmare City<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's finally here: Query Time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the version I'm entering the race with. Hopefully, it's compelling enough to entice an agent to ask for more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Deep breath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Et voilà...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In 2042, dreams come true. So do nightmares.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ever since a shift in reality
thirty years ago, peoples' dreams and nightmares come alive, bringing with them
chaos and destruction. Monsters ravage cities, bottomless chasms split roads,
houses shrink, and gold rains from the sky. The possibilities are limitless,
unpredictable and often deadly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Eden Maybrey is a Los Angeles
based dream hunter whose job is to eliminate these ’shades’. When longtime
friend Sean tasks her with hunting down an evil doppelgänger of himself, Eden
soon finds she is outmatched. She teams up with Vaughn Taylor, a hunter who
goes to dangerous lengths to kill every shade he encounters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Before they can apprehend him,
the doppelgänger kidnaps Eden's sister. He threatens to kill her unless Eden
publicly exposes her deepest, darkest secret: she herself is a shade. If this
information comes to light, being chased by every shade hunter in the city will
be the least of Eden's problems. Her 'sister', the young woman to whom Eden
owes her very existence, will be sentenced to life in prison for harboring a
shade.</span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To save her sister and keep
her own secret under wraps, Eden must pit her hidden inhuman abilities against
the doppelgänger. Her only ally is Vaughn Taylor - the man who won't hesitate
to put a bullet in her head should he find out the truth.</span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">NIGHTMARE CITY is a standalone urban fantasy novel with series potential, complete at 95.000 words. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm a bilingually raised German whose dreams thankfully don't manifest in reality, but do occasionally come true in the more original sense: I recently had the good fortune of having two German short stories included in BACKNANG STORIES (publisher: Leseratten Verlag), an anthology with stories of my home town, Backnang (Germany), published in October 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you for your time and consideration. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sincerely,</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pia Newman</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neuköllner Strasse 8</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">71229 Leonberg</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Germany</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Phone: 0049 / (0)1578 - 77 66 818</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Email: newman.pia@gmail.com</span></div>
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Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-55627818023766489252015-08-30T13:00:00.001+02:002015-08-30T13:00:05.418+02:00The Best Time to Write Your Novel<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">Drumroll please...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><i>The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.</i> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">– Chinese Proverb </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">'Plant a tree' = write your novel</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">Ta-daa!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">Yeah, right. Took me years to figure that out. Maybe not twenty, but enough to sometimes wonder where I could be today if I'd just been more serious about my writing sooner. But, since the second best time to write a novel is now, I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm going to write. Right now. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;">You going to join me, or what?</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.5636348724365px;"><br /></span></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-56223339033524270362015-08-23T13:00:00.000+02:002015-08-23T13:00:04.856+02:00Effective Query Letters à la Query Shark<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://queryshark.blogspot.de/">The Query Shark</a> is my go-to agent when it comes to composing queries. Now she's written her master-piece by distilling all the advice she's ever given on her blog into one post, <a href="http://queryshark.blogspot.de/2015/08/wpa.html">Effective Query Letters</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The timing is perfect, as I plan to start sending out queries in September. I'll see then how well I followed the Sharkiest One's advice...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-22963444082428042592015-08-09T13:00:00.000+02:002015-08-22T10:20:19.871+02:00Awesome Writerly Quote #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1527806/igoT9nPG4RJmtTQJJQIvH0GIx0U/medium_John_Updike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://phaven-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/files/image_part/asset/1527806/igoT9nPG4RJmtTQJJQIvH0GIx0U/medium_John_Updike.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2704272129362109440.post-54921097157311171212015-08-02T13:00:00.000+02:002015-08-02T13:00:03.032+02:00San Diego Comic Con coming to Stuttgart in 2016<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Guess what I'm going to be up to on the 25th and 26th of June in 2016. Yep, that's right, attending the first ever <a href="http://www.comiccon.de/en/">San Diego Comic Con in Germany</a>, which also happens to be my first ever Comic Con in general. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Squeeeeee!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I might not be the biggest (or even big) comic book fan out there, but I do get my geek on for a lot of TV-series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, anything Star Wars and Lord of the Rings... so I've always loved the thought of attending one of these cons. Trouble was, they've been so far away. Until Now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now, it's not just happening in Germany. It's happening in Stuttgart, the greater area of which I live in. The Con grounds will be a mere 15 kilometers away from my house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Double Squeeeeee!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There will be panels with guest stars. There will be lectures. There will be merchandise and exhibitions. There will be photo and autograph opportunities with actors, writers, directors. There will be cosplay, including a cosplay contest and parade! I probably won't be taking part in those, but I do plan on dressing up. I still need to determine as what or whom. Soooo many options...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Anybody else from the area planning on going? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Piahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11886415246691211067noreply@blogger.com0