The Beginning

And in the beginning there was a post.

And here it is.

Honestly, I dithered on names for this account most of a weekend. I gave hard thought to it, and, eventually, decided that I needed a blog that is truly about my writing. And to do that, I needed it to be mine.

That probably makes no sense, but I'm not trying to make sense to you. Not yet, anyway.

Eventually, though, I'm sure you will understand my circular reasoning, and hopefully, come to understand what is here.

For now, let me give you an overview of what you will, and will not see here:

Will:

- Anime reviews
- Talk about being a mom and writing
- Talk about word counts and editing
- Talk about publishing, e-publishing, Triond, and others
- Book reviews
- Occasional snippets of stories

Will not:

- Fanfiction (sorry!)
- Talk of children, by name
- Personal stuff

Eventually, I'm going to get up a post about current projects, my feelings about them, and possibly a synopsis of what they are about. I will definitely give you a run down of the 'headpeople' as I like to call them and what they like to torture me with.

So. Here I am: Cat Rood, the writer.

Magic

This is an old post, but I really want it accessible for me. So, here it is:

Magic. What's the first thing that that word brings to mind? In recent years, it's probably Harry Potter and, maybe, Gandalf. Possibly, given recent events you might even think of Mr. Robert Jordan.

However, magic has been in stories since people began telling them. Whether it was divine (god-given), or a special "gift" that the person had, magic has often been the explanation for the unexplainable.

The trouble with magic in writing is that it can become a crutch (or dues ex machina) for the writer to lean on, and not have an actual story. If you put magic in your writing, you have to be very careful not to "demonise" it -- meaning making it the reason that all bad things happen -- or make it, again, the crutch upon which everything depends.

So what do you do? How do you stop yourself from doing things like that. Well, actually, I have been thinking about this (namely because I do use magic a lot, and need to know for myself) and have come up with a few fast and loose rules that might help someone else when using magic:

( Da Rulez )

Now, this is not to put you off from using magic. Absolutely not! Use magic! Magic can be a fun, and funny, plot device. Just be aware, when you do, that there are those of us, who see magic as a tool, and a weapon -- or a science -- rather than as "magic."

A post with content

So, in the beginning, I told you what you will and will not see.

Here's one of the things you will.

Firstly, I'm going to blather on about the writing I will be talking about.

( Works in Progress )

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Now, onto more general things:

Last week, I signed up for an online 'class' and tonight it started. The class list is here and the classes are conducted through Yahoo Groups. I'll, most likely, be talking about these in the weeks to come.

I hope they actually do work out, because despite being nervous to speak up and unwilling to be the first to step up, I really would like to do something with them. Plus, they just look interesting.

I'm pretty sure I had a few more things to say, but I'm running out of steam and still have RP tags to write (why yes, I do RP, and have fun with my writing, rather than just sweating bullets!) so I'd better get on them.