(DA) Learn to roll

Lately at work and in my every day life I've been witnessing people take on stress over events that are out of their control. Some of these events were avoidable, which is where all the stress and frustration comes from, but after they happen I watch people as they try to continue their day but still hold on to their problems.

Today it seemed like everyone else at the office woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Tempers were high before we came in, then when events didn't go according to plan the tension got so bad it was almost tangible.

My mantra for the day was simply "roll with it" or "sometimes you just have to roll with the punches". Events change, things happen and if you can get over the inconvenience and continue to the next task every thing will go a lot smoother and your attitude will be a little better.

I know I let things get to me but today I decided to be the example and showed my co-workers how to roll with it. I was in a very good mood all day, and by the end of the work day a couple others had gotten over a few of the hurdles we had faced.

It's a skill and a talent to learn to let things go and work with what you have, but I think it's a skill worth acquiring.

-Brandolyn

(DA) A little (or a lot) about me

I am a 25 year old creative writer. And I've recently been told that makes me "closer to 30 than to 20", which makes me laugh.

I am a dabbler, meaning I've done almost ever kind of job I can think of and tried almost every sport. I am an actor, model and facility manager. I enjoy winter and summer sports including but not limited to: Snow skiing, water skiing, paint ball, squash, archery, curling and bowling. 

Whenever I can I like to walk, run, bike or roller blade wherever I go; which are very hard to do in the winter. I like skating but I don't skate as much as I'd like to. 

I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, best friend, friend, confidante and the co-owner of a 13 month old Golden Doodle named Washburn. 

I'm a Nerd. 

I enjoy TV and movies and some of my favourites include sci-fy, fantasies, comedies and romantic comedies. 

Everything makes me cry; Gladiator, Finding Nemo, Tim Hortons commercials, Homeward Bound... Sometimes I get embarrassed by how much I cry. I also laugh at everything. I love to laugh, sometimes I laugh so hard I cry. 

I went to school to become an Actor. During school I realized how much I liked working backstage and set my sights away from acting before realizing that I really like designing. It was a tough adjustment when I realized I'm not a very good designer, but I did learn I'm organized and creative and love working with people. I graduated with a focus on Theatre Management. 

I love to doodle which is why I started the Weekly Art Club on Facebook. I love to write, so I joined Duelling Amateurs and because of my love of movies and TV I write for ALTERNATESCREEN.COM.  

I love to read, but I'm a very slow reader which is why my "to read" pile is always so big. I feel like I never make a dent in it.  

I started my first novel in grade 9. I now have 7 novels in the works and 10 short stories. Two of my short stories are published in books, 3 more are published on line. I have 3 stories published on line in the Fan-Fiction genre. 

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at 16 when I went blind in my right eye. 

The main character of my first novel is based off of the person I used to wish I was. As I grow up, she develops, but her core is a person I have always striven to be. 

The main character of my second book is based off of the person I feel I am; strengths, weaknesses, broken bits and everything. If you read it very carefully her powers affect her much like MS has affected me.

I am scared of the dark. 

I have a phobia of Zombies and hate squishing spiders almost as much as I hate seeing a spider on the wall. I also struggle with blank pages; I never know what to put on them.

One of my favourite feelings is to feel wind rush through my hair. My least favourite feeling is greasy fingers; I eat pizza with a knife and fork. 

I have the best family and friends any one could ever ask for; we throw the best parties and events.

I love the smell of peppermint and fresh laundry and love the taste of blue raspberry or watermelon  candies. 

If I have to choose between ice cream or cake I'll always choose cake. If it's ice cream or pie, I'll always choose ice cream.  

If I'm asked if I want whipped cream on a desert or drink I'll always say yes. 

And if you ask me for help, I will do whatever I can for you. 

-Brandolyn

Fears and aspirations (DA)

I've always known that I've wanted a family; not necessarily a big one, but a fun and functional one would be ideal.

But after getting diagnosed with MS that idea has seemed unreachable. I'm terrified of getting sick and not being able to take my kids to the park, or feeling like a burden to my family.

I have an amazing support system, my husband, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends and I know I'm not alone. I know they'll help me if I need it, but the thought keeps me awake at night.

What if I push myself too hard and am so tired I don;t wake up to the baby crying? What if I'm home alone with the baby, or young children and my legs stop working or I need to go to the hospital? I have hundreds of "what ifs".

I got my diagnosis 9 years ago, so I've had a long time to think about it. I've managed to whittle down my number of "what ifs" to hundreds from thousands. I am aware that most of my worries are easily handled. I have gotten to a place where I know that I want children someday, no matter the sacrifices.

I still stay awake some nights agonising over it, but it's getting better, and it's creative and amazing parents that have shown me why I know I want to be a parent. To watch a child explore and grow every day of their lives is a blessing, a gift and a miracle. To teach them, learn with them and create with them is incredible and I aspire to be like them.

I had the best role models anyone could ask for. My parents taught me, learned with me, created with me, supported me through childhood, adolescence and even now into my adulthood. But some people didn't have the same experiences and hopefully the two creative parents below can help inspire you.

Dresses out of Paper

Fun Baby Nap Time

-Brandolyn

The Human Body as a Giant Muscle (DA)

Everyone has heard the saying "it's just like riding a bike."

That saying means "it's easy" or "you'll pick it up quickly" because once you've learned how to ride a bike you never forget how to ride one, no matter how much time has passed.
This is true with most of what we ask our body to do. Most people walk without thinking about it, we jump, we write and we dance. Once you've learned to waltz, you can waltz. There's obviously a learning curve, but the idea is that your body knows it and will remember how to do things faster than you brain. These are learned movements that after repetitive training have become second nature.

This is one reason why some people with memory issues follow similar patterns. If they encounter a problem, their body takes over and tells them how to deal with it before their brain can figure it out. For example: I wake up and see my driveway is covered in snow. I've forgotten how to start my snow blower (or that I even have a snow blower) so I grab a shovel and get to it.

Today I experienced it as I walked my dog. We used to take amazingly interactive walks, by that I mean, mentally stimulating and challenging for me and the dog. Our walks could vary in pace throughout, or feature sudden stops or changes of direction, or even multiple terrains; my dog knows every inch of the jungle gyms in my neighborhood. However, this winter has been so cold and the sidewalks and parks have been treacherously icy that it's been difficult to do anything more than the typical walk around town. It's awful! and my brain had forgotten that we used to love those walks, but today I found a deserted side street that was clear of snow and icy and my body remembered how to make our walk interactive and stimulating. The street wasn't very long, but we took 30 minutes just playing up and down this street.

It was an amazing feeling and a very real example for me about how amazing our bodies are, and what they are capable of if we train them properly.

-Brandolyn

Editing is the hard part (DA)

Editing is the hard part.

I know I've said it before, but editing isn't the creative bit. It's the boring bit and the part that hurts.

"The part that hurts?" you ask. 

Yes. My husband and a few of our friends refer to part of this process as "killing your darlings". This name may have come from another writer, I don't know. But the idea is that when you edit something you have to pick and choose the pieces of your writing to keep and the pieces of the writing to throw away. 

Killing my darlings is complicated. I grow attached to my stories, or characters and have a very hard time letting go of things that I have put so much time and effort in to. Characters are especially painful to cut out of a story, but if they're no longer helping the story grow, then they have to be cut out. I hate it. 

I'm in the process of writing another short story and am struggling with a couple parts of the editing process. 

1- I have some imagery that is very obvious, and I feel like it's too obvious. I want to include allusions to it, but haven't figured out how to do it yet. (This one's not particularly challenging, I've just been indecisive)

2- I couldn't decide how to end the story so I wrote multiple endings. Now, I have to "kill off" all my endings but one. They all have things I really like, and I'm sure I'll end up with a weird mash-up ending that includes parts of each, but I am not looking forward to tossing out so many pages of writing. 

Editing, or killing your darlings is such a painful process I'd rather just keep writing new stories to avoid ever getting to that point. But then I'd never be producing any of value would I?  

-Brandolyn

Hobbies and the people around you (DA)

Everyone has hobbies; whether it's writing, drawing, reading, horse back riding, model building, painting miniatures etc. But we as the hobby enthusiast have to remember that this is (more often than not) one person's hobby and, when we focus on our hobbies there are people close to us who are being left out of this part of your life.

We don't do it on purpose. We use reason like "this is fragile, don't touch" with kids and model planes or model train sets, or "we don't want to scratch the paint" with model cars.

I get it. When I'm writing I shut down because I'm concentrating. But I need to remember that there are people around me who want to share in my time. One way that I'm trying to include the other people around me is to ask them questions. "What would resonate with you in this situation?" etc...

It's easy to include others in your hobbies. Walk them through what you're doing, and suggest that they get one of their own so you can build, paint, draw together. Make it a community event.

If no one responds to your efforts, then at least you tried!

-Brandolyn

Laugh everyday (DA)

Laughing, even fake laughing feels good. It puts me in a positive place.

Today I'm sick and looking at a long shift at work; it's hard to feel positive right now. So before I leave I will be watching stuff  I find funny to make me laugh. Some of my favourites are cat videos, or puppy videos on youtube or bloopers from my favourite shows.

This way I will be feeling positive as I walk in to work and won't bring my negativity with me. I apply this to early mornings, challenging dog training sessions and even to getting stuck with writers block.

If you're feeling down, force yourself to laugh. I've forced myself to laugh so hard I started genuinely laughing at how silly I felt. I'm sure I looked like an evil genius who'd just lost their grip on reality, but it felt good.

Try it next time you feel down and let me know what you think.

If you need help laughing, here are some good videos:

Kitties!

Friends Bloopers!

-Brandolyn

(DA) Focus

I often find myself wishing for "more". 

I don't need a new car or a bigger house. The things I wish for are; more time, more ideas, more creativity, more skills...

If I'm a writer, shouldn't I be able to write about anything? 

Well, yes. But I could also spend my time going bigger, deeper and truer with the ideas that I already have.

I struggle with content. Tonight for example; I could write another movie review, or the half finished blog I started about hobbies, or the other half finished one about laughing every day. My biggest problem is focusing, not coming up with ideas. 

I have 7 novels and all of them are partly written because I get distracted and jump story to story, blog to blog. It's like a tangled web of ideas. If I don't write something down I'll lose it, and sometimes ideas hit me all at the same time like a barrage of kids ganging up on me at Laser Quest. 

Right now, all I wish is to have more focus, so I can sit down and write something start to finish. Or more time to write down all my ideas. Or more time with my husband. 

Or cake. 

What was I saying about focus? 

Mmmm. Definitely more cake. 

-Brandoly

Guardians of the Galaxy- Trailer Review (DA)

Today my Duelling Amateurs writing can be found at ALTERNATE SCREEN.

The Guardians of the Galaxy trailer has been clogging my Facebook and Twitter homepages and I thought it was such a well designed trailer that I had to analyze it and share my thoughts.

Find my "Trailer Review" HERE. 

Even if you don't read the review, please check out the trailer. It is funny AND dynamic, with a great theme song. 

Enjoy it HERE. 

-Brandolyn

Getting back to Fiction cont'd. again. (DA)

The next bit in the excerpt. I hope you enjoy it.

Corilian cont'd. again.

“If I’m causing you grief and making you worry, then maybe we shouldn’t be on the same boat.”

Seth waived his arms about frantically trying to pull Blayze back into the original conversation. “That’s not what I said at all! I don’t want you to transfer ships; I want you to be more careful.” Still sitting on the curb of the road Blayze looked up to Seth skeptically. He crouched in front of her and asked, “Please, just try.”

“Fine. I’ll try.” She agreed, dusting off her pants and standing on the side of the street. Seth wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight.

He whispered, “We’ve done everything together since we were kids, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Blayze tried to relax; they’d hugged a million times before. They were old friends, but this hug was different. She could feel his heart beating quickly and blushed when she noticed her own mirroring his. She inhaled his scent; wind, old books and olive oil. Her heart fluttered and she hoped he didn’t notice. She hugged him back and felt his heartbeat quicken. She looked down at him, a smile starting in the corners of her mouth as the whistler on the Mary-Ellen Windchester sounded. The pair broke apart at the signal and looked back to the ship.

”Damn old man sure can unload a ship quickly.”

Seth laughed. “Not to mention and load the new cargo. But we’d better get back quickly. Captain Montag’ll leave without us.”

Blayze tossed her jet black curls out of her face as she laughed and bent at the knees. She counted aloud to three before racing down the street out of sight. Knowing that her reaction would be to want to race back to the ship, Seth had started running on the count of one. Blayze was faster than him, and he needed every advantage he could get to beat her. They split up when the road forked, losing sight of each other.

At the ship Blayze came to a skidding halt. Seth was nowhere in sight. Could he have beaten me here? She wondered searching the docks. A couple seconds later she heard his laboured breaths as he sprinted around a building in view of the ship. His shoulders drooped when he noticed his competitor already standing beside their ship. Seth hung his head in defeat. He heard Blayze laugh victoriously and looked up to watch her step deliberately onto the gangplank and walk nonchalantly on to the ship.

A thin line of smoke rose from a pipe in a corner of the cargo hold; Finn had been waiting for them. “So, relieve any tension while you were out?” He laughed at his own joke, but cowered in his chair holding his temples when Seth stepped on board. “You were supposed to relieve the tension. Not increase it! I need some calmer air.” He yelled “We’ve got ‘em Captain,” as he reached the deck.

“What’s his problem?”

Seth pulled her in close, half teasing. “I always tell you just to ignore Finn. He gets crazy when emotions run hot.” His hand lingered around her waist for a moment before he followed Finn up to the main deck.

“I believe he was referring to sexual tension again.” Izek appeared at Blayze left shoulder. She spun in surprise, fists up, ready to strike him. Realizing her mistake, she stood her ground and did not drop her arms. “Put those down. Save your strength for the fight.”

“What fight?” Her head looked upward trying to listen for the signs of a struggle.

“We’re headed to Trav’oc with a shipment of ores. We need to be ready to defend this ship.” Izek, who often tired of Blayze’s boundless energy, found the smile that spread across her face contagious and started smiling too. “You really like this job, don’t you?”

Blayze nodded as she walked over to her locker and pulling out her bow, quiver of arrows and twin scimitars. She attached the two swords to the belt at her waist and put the quiver and bow over her shoulders. As she walked past Izek to the ladder she said, “I love my job.”

That's it for now! Thoughts? Constructive criticism encouraged. 

-Brandolyn

Getting back to Fiction con't (DA)

The rest of the excerpt from yesterday.

Corilian cont'd

The Windchester’s healer, a middle aged man with a round belly and a hyper positive outlook on life named Finn, climbed down the cargo hold’s ladder. He looked around the room pinching his temples trying to fight off a headache. “I can feel the tension in here. What were you doing?” He looked at Blayze with a cheeky smile. They had never seen eye to eye and Blayze struggles to be in his company. His humour, especially, was lost on her.

He noticed Seth’s quick retreat and cooed raising his eyebrows, “I see! That’s the good kind of tension.” He bowed to Blayze, laughing, and walked off the ship empty handed.

Blayze’s foot stomped on the floor as she watched the back of his head bob away. “What the hell are you talking about?” Blayze called after him. Finn laughed as he reached the dock, refusing to answer her.  

Having witnessed the fight between Seth and Blayze and then the altercation between Blayze and Finn, Izek boarded the ship again and tried to shed some light on the situation. “He was alluding to sexual tension.”

“Why would you think that?”

Izek shook his head as he levitated the pile of fruit out onto the dock. “You can be very oblivious Blayze You might want to think about letting your human half out once in a while.”

Confused, insulted and bothered Blayze picked up Dax’s second trunk by herself and slowly followed the wizard off the boat. “You think I’m oblivious?”

“No,” Izek shoot his head, “I know you are. But that’s not my point.”

Standing on the dock with the wizard, in front of a half unloaded cargo ship Blayze’s nostrils flared as she tried to hide her frustration. “Then what is your point?” She forced her voice to stay even.

“Seth’s upset.” Izek said pointedly; he knew this answer would bother her and he was trying to help, but Blayze had teased him, so he wasn’t going to make this easy on her.  

“I know that!” She huffed. Her cheeks went pink in frustration. In that moment she looked more human than normal; colourful and emotional. “But he wouldn’t tell me why.”

“Yes he did. You just didn’t understand him.” Izek laughed to himself.

Unaware that Izek was making their conversation difficult on purpose, Blayze wished that the people around her would stop speaking in riddles.  She blinked blankly at Izek until he continued with a sigh. “Do you fear death?”

Again she felt confused. Why would he ask such a stupid question?

“Do you?” He repeated.

“Of course not!” She practically scoffed at the question.

“Well, Seth does.”

It wasn’t funny anymore. The stare Izek got from Blayze was as blank as ever.  The wizard leaned against one of the carts lining the dock and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Have you two ever talked about his beliefs?”

“No.” She admitted. “Does he actually fear death?” She pondered the idea aloud.

“You are guided by the Raven Queen. Seth is not. It is only natural that he doesn’t understand why you don’t fear death like he does.”

“That’s ridiculous.” She started to refute, but Izek interrupted her thought with a raised hand.

“It is not ridiculous if you believe as he does.” He raised a single eyebrow and looked down at her like she was a child learning a lesson. “Now go speak to him.” Blayze looked from the half full cargo hold to the end of the pier when she had seen Seth disappear. She hissed under her breath.

“Just go.” Izek had his fill of drama for the day and was tired of her. “I’ll finish unloading. Just buy me a drink later.”

The moment he had said he would finish unloading the ship Blayze had run off in search of Seth. She ran passed the other ships in the harbour, along the dock, on to the shore wondering where Seth might be sulking. This is Nain. Nain is small. Where would he go on Nain? She wondered. Seth liked trees, they reminded him of the Standing Lands far beneath them, but Nain was small and only held small clumps of young trees. It had been deforested by its inhabitants years ago and now relied on ships like the Windchester for the island’s supply of lumber and tree grown fruit; there were no forests for him here.

Seth missed the Standing Lands, he never got the same enjoyment that Blayze feels when she looks out into the expanse of sky and sees the distant silhouette of another floating continent looming in the distance. So, if he couldn’t be surrounded by trees, he would be inland as far as possible, and likely seeking refuge in a library.

Brushing her long dark curls away from her face Blayze approached a nearby couple walking arm in arm asking how she could get to the continent’s largest library. The couple laughed politely and directed Blayze to Nain’s only library.

The directions were easy to follow and brought her quickly to the front door of what looked like a brick shop with the word Library painted in blue on the small window. Blayze hesitated with her hand on the cold brass door knob wondering what she would say when she found Seth. She didn’t have long to wonder. The door knob turned in her hand and the door opened away from her. She looked up to see Seth coming out of the building.

“What are you doing here?” He asked. He didn’t sound upset, simply curious. He was standing in the doorway, absentmindedly flipping through the pages of an old book. Seth wasn’t a scholar like his parents, but he had always seemed comforted  and calmed by the presence of old books. He had beamed with pride when he showed off the small collection of books he kept in his trunk on the Windchester.

“I was looking for you.”

Seth closed the library door behind him. “And?”

“And you were upset and I still don’t understand why.”

Seth took a seat on the curb of the road and motioned for Blayze to join him. “I’m upset because you act recklessly. You’re impulsive and act without thinking of the consequences of your actions. I’m not surprised,” he sighed, “you always have been, I just always hoped you would grow out of it.”

Blayze listened intently and stayed quiet as Seth started flipping through his book again. “The dangers out here are real.”

“The dangers were just as real back home.”

“You still don’t get it. Jumping ship to ship or standing atop the mainsail. You think because you’re half-elf that you’re invincible, but you aren’t. Accidents happen and you could get yourself killed. Today you nearly fell off the ship. If I hadn’t caught you, you would have died, and wouldn’t be here right now.” His cheeks were red but his fingers were white around the spine of the book in his lap.

“That’s your problem? That I almost died?”

“Blaezandra please!” Seth shouted. Blayze’s lips pursed together and her nostrils flared again at the sound of her given name. She looked furious, but when she spoke her voice was surprisingly soft.

“I have no control over when I die. No one does. It is a fact of nature that everything must die, I know this and so do you. So why live in fear? One day the Raven Queen will mark me for death and I will die. That’s the truth of it.”

“So you aren’t scared of dying?”

Blayze shook her head calmly. She still looked angry, but she moved slowly and deliberately. “No.”

“What if I died tomorrow?”

His question caught her off-guard and she felt a tightness stretch across her chest and heat rise up her spine. She had never considered that the Raven Queen might take Seth first. She felt a prickling sensation in the corner of her eyes and stood up quickly. She turned her back on Seth embarrassed; it wasn’t often she felt embarrassed and she hated the feeling.

“I know you aren’t afraid of when you’ll die, but I am. Today I thought it was that day. I didn’t know if I was going to get to you in time. It was terrifying.”

“Should I transfer to another ship?” Just as quickly as snapping fingers together Blayze’s emotions were replaced by her logical side.

“What?” Seth shouted. "Why do you want to transfer ships?" 

***

That's it for today. More to come but I've had a long day and my bed is calling. 

Comments and critiques welcome :) 

(I promise not to read them while tired and grumpy)

-Brandolyn 

Getting back to Fiction (DA)

Here's a long excerpt from a chapter I'm re-writing from one of my novels. Working title is "The Daughter of the Raven Queen".

Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions!
Comments and critiques are always appreciated.

Corilian

While the great metal cargo bay door lowered on the Helium filled airship called the Mary-Ellen Windchester, two members of the crew; a female sentry named Blaze and her partner a deck hand trained in close range hand to hand combat named Seth looked out onto the small floating continent of Corilian. In the growing gap of the opening cargo bay door they looked out onto the Corilian Skydocks and the little town of Nain surrounding it. This island was barren of trees or tall structures; the highest points on the island were the masts of the ships docked around them.

Seth listened to the far off shouts of their Captain above deck as he skillfully maneuvered the ship into its’ space in the harbour. He inhaled the air happily as he looked out to Nain. Growing up in the Standing Land city of Isherra surrounded by too many people and buildings Seth was much more at home in the small community of their ship, however he still found himself longing for life on land. Nain offered the balance he was looking for.

“If you weren’t on the Windchester, you would settle here. Wouldn’t you?”

Seth turned to the woman on his right who had remained silent watching the pier grown closer until now. By human standards Seth is considered an attractive man; he’s tall with brown hair that falls into his eyes when he hasn’t combed it to the side. He has round blue eyes, and a strong, slim build ideal for a quick hand to hand fighter with the mind of a scholar. Because he is usually considered attractive, and has a slim build Seth is often underestimated, unlike his partner Blayze; it is hard to underestimate her.  Slim, fit, recklessly impulsive and intense in every sense. Blayze is first to a fight and goes by the idea that you should act first and ask questions later. She stands a few inches taller than Seth, with dark curly hair, narrow green eyes, a body full of curves that draw the eyes of strangers and intense pale features from the elven half of her bloodline.  

She didn’t look at Seth when she spoke but looked beyond the Skyport to the village as well.

“Without hesitating.” He sighed. “Wouldn’t you?”

She shook her head, loosening a few curls from behind her slightly pointed ears. “Life on land isn’t nearly exciting enough for me.” With her face framed by dark curls Blayze smiled sweetly at Seth, but her eyes held a hint of apology.

The slow cargo bay door was nearly finished opening, but the ship hadn’t completed docking yet. They could still see a 4 meter gap between the hanger door and the end of the dock. Sensing a change in the cargo hold Seth looked to Blayze and saw her bending at the knees as another smile spread across her face. Her narrow green eyes shined intensely as she looked out at the expanse of sky between the ship and the dock.

“Don’t even think about it.” Seth cautioned, but Blayze had already lunged forward and was racing across the lowering hangar door as he finished his sentence. Too late, he thought to himself watching as she propelled herself from the ship into the air and safely into the middle of the wooden dock.

When she landed Blayze stood gracefully, turned and smiled back at Seth. He stood still, arms crossed over his chest watching her from the shadows of the ship. When she landed Seth relaxed and yelled for her, “We’re supposed to help unload the cargo!”

Blayze waived her hand in a noncommittal fashion, “You and the old man can handle it without me!” She called back. “I’m going to help tether the ship.”  

Seth shook his head jokingly as Blayze jumped away as if she had been startled and ran out of sight calling to the men and woman on deck for an anchoring line.

“Did she mean me?” A harsh voice asked from behind Seth surprising the younger man slightly. He jumped too and immediately understood why Blayze had disappeared so quickly. Izek, the ship’s Quarter Master and wizard had a personal distaste for Blayze and had appeared in time to hear her call him “old”. In the past her offhand references to his advanced age had prompted him to threaten her with eternal life as a swine. She enjoyed teasing him, but she knew as the man in charge of discipline on board the Windchester that he had the ability to make her life miserable at the snap of a finger, and she believed he would do it.

Seth smiled innocently at Izek, “Of course not.” But he knew the wizard wasn’t convinced, his hulking figure stood taller in response to her comment. He was a tall, strong man with shortly cropped black hair, a pale skin and light blue eyes; paired with his magic abilities and title, Izek was a very intimidating man. It was odd to Seth that Izek was so bothered by being called old when everything about him; his black hair, 6’-4” stature, broad shoulders and lean physique emanated “intimidating youth”.

Rolling his shoulders back Izek climbed the ladder to the deck of the ship, leaving Seth alone in the cargo hold once more. He watched the wizard’s retreat thinking that it was his own fault Blayze called him old. During their first term aboard the Mary-Ellen Windchester Blayze had curiously confronted the superior officer with the question of his age. Foolishly he had admitted that it had been so long that he had stopped keeping track.

Unfortunately for the wizard Blayze had found that information incredibly exciting and had run around the lower floors of the ship calling Izek a senile old man- a comment that had resulted with her having a prehensile tail for a day; another short lived mistake by the wizard in an attempt to punish his tormentor.

Above deck the ship’s bell rang twice signalling to the crew that the ship was safely docked in the harbour. Seth secured the gangway onto the pier and started hauling cargo off the ship crate by crate. He wasn’t the fastest crew member to unload the ship, but the Windchester had a limited crew and most crew members did multiple jobs and so most of the crew were currently busy on deck.

On his third trip off the ship Seth deposited a crate on a merchant cart waiting patiently nearby  and took a moment to look around for Blayze. He found her standing tall, balancing one legged on a fence post at the end of the pier. The wind curled around the end of the island and whipped her curly hair around her head.

“Are you crazy?” He called to her.

She shook her head and replied without opening her eyes. “Not today.”

“Get down and do your job.” Seth turned on the dock back to the ship as Izek crossed the gangway behind a load of fruit he was levitating before him. Izek stayed on the dock to talk to the man receiving the shipment as they waited for the Captain to arrive and deliver the papers to the merchants.

Seth ignored the men talking business and ran back to start unloading some of the lumber when Blayze ran past. Ignoring the gangway she leapt from the dock, into the ship’s cargo hold. She landed gracefully just like she had earlier and spun on her heels to show Seth another bright smile.

“Blayze!” Seth scolded. She hadn’t touched him as she ran passed, but he felt like he could lose his footing at any moment. She tossed her head back and laughed at his terrified expression.

“I’ll never get tired of that look.” She teased, looking at the remaining lumber, fruit, saplings and trunks that had to be unloaded. Izek and Seth hadn’t unloaded as much as she had expected without her.

On deck the Navigator, a fragile looking old man with a thunderstorm for hair named Dax peered over the railing and yelled down to Seth and Blayze. “Make sure my boxes make it to shore safely won’t you?”

Although she couldn’t see him from inside the ship Blayze looked back at the cargo and recognized the trunks as Dax’s personal belongings. Being mindful of the fragile luggage she picked up the nearest box. It was heavy, and she heard glass jars rattle around as she tried to lift it. If she had to she could lift it, but if whatever was inside was as delicate as she thought, it would be safer if Seth helped her carry it or if Izek levitated it off the ship. She picked up the smaller of the two boxes and carefully carried it to shore. She dropped it a little harder than she had meant to and heard the same rattling noise of glass hitting glass and wondered what Dax might have hidden in these trunks.

“Seth, I’m going to need help with the other trunk. Feels like he’s dealing in rocks again!” Seth nodded and walked the gangway into the ship. 

Knowing that Blayze would ignore the easier and safer route on board Seth kept his back to her, attempting not to encourage her careless behaviour. His back was turned as if he was ignoring her, but his ears listened to her every movement. He heard the soft leather soles of her boots scrape against the wood of the dock as she took her running start. He heard her small intake of breath as she jumped from the dock followed by silence as she soared through the air and then heard the thump as her feet landed on the wooden floor of the ship. But instead of her usual soft and tidy landing, he heard a squeak and scrambling footsteps follow the initial thump.

He spun quickly to see Blayze struggling to keep her footing. She was balanced precariously on the edge of the ship in danger of falling backward into the nothingness of the sky. Seth threw a hand out to her and pulled her away from the edge of the ship. His legs, arms and hands shook fiercely as he looked at her. He held on to her arm to steady himself a little, but more to confirm that she was actually safe and standing in front of him. He looked up at her and noticed with a knot in his stomach that she was smiling, He did not return her smile. He was looking at her very seriously. His glare was so intense that she was almost taken aback and would have lost her footing again in Seth hadn’t still been holding on to her.

“Seth? Are you alright?”

“Are you crazy?” He yelled. He focused on her eyes and she stared back defiantly.

“No, I’m not. What’s wrong with you?” Blayze tried to pull her arm free of Seth’s grasp but he was 

holding on too tightly. His grip was strong, but it wasn’t hurting her.

“You almost died!” His grip held fast.

“Yeah, I noticed. But I didn’t.”

“How are you so calm? If I hadn’t caught you and pulled you into the ship you would have fallen overboard and been lost forever! This isn’t like a ship over water Blayze. When you fall overboard here we can’t save you!”

“But you caught me and I’m fine.” She replied. This was not the answer Seth was looking for. Her calm remarks in response to nearly falling to her death were causing Seth to get increasingly agitated. 

“Seth you caught me. What’s the problem?”

“You could have died!”

“So?”

Seth let go of Blayze’s arm in his surprise. “You really don’t see a problem here? You can be so frustrating!” He started pacing the width of the cargo hold, running his hands nervously through his messy brown hair. “I hate watching you run around like your life doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“That’s ridiculous.” She put a hand on her hip. “I care for my life.” Her eyes were soft and sincere but Seth wasn’t looking at her. Her attitude was frustrating him. On the dock Izek had turned to watch the altercation. He seemed slightly amused by it, as if he were watching children fight over a game board instead of two adult fighting about reckless behaviour.  

“You don’t act like it.! You do these things, tempting fate with no care whether you live or die.” Seth’s face was red with anger.

“And?”

Seth stopped his pacing to stare at Blayze. Watching her vacant expression he realized she hadn’t understood anything he had said to her. He snarled and marched off the ship leaving Blayze alone in the shadows of the cargo hold thoroughly confused.

[To be continued.]

Did anything stand out to you positively or negatively?

-Brando

DA- Growing Characters

I usually don't have trouble sleeping. I can sleep almost anywhere; lying down, sitting up, in broad daylight, in a car, during a movie. You name it, I'll sleep through it; once I even slept through a fire alarm. 

However, I recently got back from vacation and the time shift has made it harder for me to fall asleep on time. So I've had to come up with something to do until I fall asleep. So I fall back on "Old Faithful" and write. The problem is that the story I'm writing has really grown and developed lately and I'm still figuring out how my "grown up characters" will react in new situations. If you think about it, you react differently to someone sitting in your seat in the lunch room than you did in grade school. As you grow up, your reactions change. 

One of my characters: Jane, is being particularly difficult to figure out. When I first created her I was in high school. Jane was a quiet, self conscious, older sister. She was a natural athlete, and a loyal friend. 

But not she's changed so much I don't know how to write her reactions. She used to be very emotional, and now she's got such a thorough and traumatising back story that I've made it difficult to write a particular scene. 

How do you write the reaction of a tough woman who has just lost everything for a second time. The first time was easy. Devastation, pain, tears, mental break down. But now, a second major traumatising event occurs to her and I can't see her reacting the same. I haven't written her as the kind of character to go in to a rage. I think she almost has to react with shock and disbelief. 

And this has been my nightly challenge. I go to sleep playing through the same scene with Jane reacting differently every night, and somewhere through the scene I drift off. It hasn't been very helpful in trying to find a way past the challenge of "how would she react now" but it's helped me get back to a normal sleep schedule!

Haha! However, I feel like it might be a bad sign that a scene in my book is consistently putting me to sleep... 

Do you ever run into character "continuity errors"? What's a good way you've found to get past them or solve them? 

-Brandy

Don't forget to be Thankful for the Little Things- DA

Far too many conversations start and end with complaints. 

"I don't make enough money." 

"I worked three weekends in a row." 

"Rent is so expensive." 

"I can't get enough hours at work." 

"I have too much homework." 

"This is my last beer." 

"Ugh. There's no WiFi." 

I've heard enough. 

My husband and I recently made an effort to complain less. After a night out we wondered why that night wasn't as much fun as usual. It wasn't until we realized that although we had been talking the entire evening, we hadn't done anything but complain. 

Complaining makes you upset and enables you to dwell on problems. Where's the fun in that? 

There are so many things in a day to appreciate and to be thankful for that if you just think about them, it makes most situations brighter. 

"The weather is really clear today. It makes the snow on the trees look incredible." 

"I got to see my sister today and spend some time with family. I don't see them enough. It felt really good." 

"I had a really positive experience at work. It was a small thing but I got to prove myself and my boss was impressed with me." 

"A stranger smiled at me on the bus, it made me smile."

"A girl at work likes me new hair cut." 

"My husband made me dinner today. That was really thoughtful of him." 

"Tonight was a clear night. It was nice to see the stars!" 

Think of it. Simple things, little things, big things. The positive things are what you should be spending your time on, or at least, don't forget to acknowledge them. 

My In-laws have this tradition that I love. Everyday before we eat dinner we go around the table and say one thing each of us are thankful for. Sometimes one of us are thankful for an afternoon nap, or a good day at work. Sometimes we're thankful for seeing old friends. The point is that everyday we are forced to come up with at least one good thing that we are thankful for from that day. 

It makes for very positive dinner conversation topics and for a positive attitude over all. It's a tradition that I've kept with me even when I'm not over at their house. If you're finding yourself or your friends complaining a lot, try to break the tension by focusing on the positives. Take a look, I bet you can find lots. 

-Brandolyn

DA- A poem for my Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day to those who are celebrating. To those who don't Happy Friday!

This is an excerpt from my nerdy Valentines Day card to my husband.

As you can tell from the photo below, I`m a huge fan of Doctor Who, and I've got him hooked on the show too. 

Jason and I at our wedding reception, or should I say 'leaving' the reception

Rose isn't Dead, 
(only trapped in a parallel universe)

The T.A.R.D.I.S is Blue, 

You are my Sweetie,

and I Love You. 

Funny, simple, nerdy and sweet. Perfect.
By the way, he loved that the poem started with Rose isn't Dead.

-Brandolyn

DA- Another Article for ALT SCRN

Are you excited for the next How to Train Your Dragon movie? 

Have you seen the trailer and the promotional posters?

Did you know there are 3 movie shorts and a TV Show about Hiccup, Toothless and the Vikings and Dragons of Berk? 

Go check out everything in this article for ALTERNATE SCREEN.

Let me know what's got you the most excited. 

-Brandolyn

DA- My "Writing Process"

Yesterday Jason got nominated for some silly video/ drinking challenge, and as a wonderful man, he nominated me to do the silly thing too.

So we both chugged an "F Bomb" which is Fireball Whiskey and RedBull on camera.

Once the sillyness was complete Jason turned to me; shaking a little from the RedBull, and asked if he could go complete his writing assignment for the day. Of course I said yes, but then he jokingly asked "Is this your process? When I'm not home, do you just chug an energy drink or get drunk before you write?"

I laughed at him, told him "No" then stood in the kitchen wondering what my writing process actually is.

I noticed that I don't have a structured "writing spot" which I'm told I should find and make a habit, so I'll work on it, but I do have certain things I do to get creativity pumping through my veins.

99 out of 100 times I set myself up in a room with noise. I very rarely write in silence. I can remember 2 instances where what I was trying to write was so complex and detailed that I had to barricade myself in my bedroom away from every distraction until I had completed that scene. However, I usually prefer to have 1 of my many movie scores playing softly in the background while I write, or a movie that I know so well I won't feel the need to look up and watch it to know what's happening playing in the background.

I like having simple distractions around to help me focus on my task. Music helps me tune out the world and fall into the story I'm writing. As I write this I have Season 5, Episode 13 "The Big Bang" of Doctor Who playing on my computer.

I've also noticed I like to have snacks around. I have also noticed, unlike my auditory distractions, snacks slow my productivity, at the same time, when I get stuck I can nibble a bit and not feel as "helpless". I'll usually find my groove again during a moment of snacking.

When I write I like to be warm. I currently have a cocoon of 2 duvets and a fleece blanket on my bed which helped me write my movie review yesterday. Today I'm huddled close to the radiator in my fleece PJs. Fleece is a favourite of mine. So is the Canadian spelling of 'favourite'.

Other than keeping warm and having my music playing I haven't figured out any other parts to my writing process. I do however, tend to get inspired at night and have often written until the early hours of the morning.

I know that one of my biggest distractions is my dog. I can be on a roll, writing pages and pages but his bladder doesn't know that. Oh well, c'est la vie!

-Brandolyn

DUELING AMATEURS Day 1- Movie Review- GRAVITY

Day 1 of Dueling Amateurs.

Late last night I started this review, and finished it during a sick day at home today.

Read my review at ALTERNATE SCREEN http://www.alternatescreen.com/gravity-i-couldnt-resist-falling-for-it/

That's it for today!

Check out what Jason's producing today on his blog http://jnjbrennan.wordpress.com/

Check out what Alex is writing at http://alexadams365.wordpress.com/


-Brandolyn

No more excuses

I've taken a long enough hiatus from my blogs to focus on "real life" and I'm sick of it.

Yes I'm still writing, and I have been rather busy planning a wedding, getting married, raising a puppy etc, but every day I think "I should write a quick blog post." But never do.
I have hundreds of posts in the dusty corners of my brain but they're not as much use to me there than they would be sharing them with friends, family and strangers online.

A few months ago I created a group on Facebook called W.A.C- Weekly Art Club, where I post small weekly assignments for the members of the group to complete however they interpret it. It's just a small weekly thing for people who love to doodle, draw, paint or take pictures to keep up their skills and share their work. I love it. I've missed completing a couple assignments myself, and have missed posting tasks in a timely manner, but I'm getting better and the group is having some really positive feedback.

I kept talking about W.A.C with my husband, and he said he wanted something similar so that he could improve his writing skills. He liked the idea of being responsible for your own work, but also keeping up with something as a group. Committing to something and doing it.

Out of a desire for something, he came up with an idea and challenged me to it. It's called Duelling Amateurs. The idea is that we will write something, anything, everyday for one year. 365 days of writing. We can write poems, short stories, descriptions, reviews, articles, biographies, plot lines, a haiku, anything we want, as long as we write something.

I think it's a brilliant idea. Everyday I write a little blurb in a journal about one of my stories, but now I'll actually have an excuse to share them, get feedback on them and improve my work.

I will be posting everything I write on this blog, or placing a link to it here. For example, when I have a review I have written for the movie and TV review site ALTERNATE SCREEN, instead of rewriting it here I will make a blog post with a link to that site. I will also try to remember to put DA. somewhere in the title of the post if I am considering it part of the challenge.

I hope you follow me along this journey. I know my husband Jason and I and one of our friends Alex have committed to Duelling Amateurs and we're excited to see where it takes us!

Our 365 days start February 11th, 2014.

-Brandolyn

If you could commit to doing something everyday for an entire year what would it be?

What's stopping you?