Category Archives: Journal

5 Things Meme: Favorite Song

by Liana Posted on August 21, 2012
This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series 5 Things Meme

Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.

Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!

From arliddian: Current Favourite Song

I'm supposed to pick? Hm... I wonder if people who ask such questions listen to much music, but for the sake of experiment, I shall try to narrow down my multitude of favorites to something manageable.

My Favorite Things

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5 Things Meme: Goals

by Liana Posted on August 17, 2012
This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series 5 Things Meme

Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.

Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!

From arliddian: Current Goals and Resolutions

The difference between where I am now and where I want to be can be measured in concrete, physical things: earn a decent weekly income at writing, get x stories published as ebooks, get x stories into print, post this many articles weekly, blog about things that matter, finish writing City of Glass, etc. But that isn't how I measure this journey.

See, there's another challenge arliddian gave me, the challenge to write 100 things about creativity. I took that challenge, held it in my mental palm, side-eyed it, set it down, then turned it over until finally I did the inevitable and took it completely apart to reassemble it into something better, something me. The result was I saw a journey I wanted to make, and it had nothing to do with outside goals.

pathway

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Unafraid to Be Silent

by Liana Posted on July 24, 2012
This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series 100 Things

Silence is rarely appreciated by the silent. Creators want to create; writers want to write; the opinionated want to speak their mind. There seems to be a fear that if we remain silent, if we fail to produce, that we are failures; we have accomplished nothing. To many, it is a cultural assumption that what matters most is the final results of our efforts, but inherent within this cultural assumption is that our results must be achieved by busyness and our waymarks must consistently show progress. We must be loud, we must be busy, never silent. We are in an impatient culture and apply that very impatience to ourselves.

...

The fields of our imagination are plowed and planted. Let the fields lie fallow a little while. Let go. Be unafraid of silence.

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Tuesday Tea and the Social Brew

by Liana Posted on July 24, 2012

How about some tea, crumpets, and social brew?

The Tea

I have some guilty pleasures. Bottled fruit yerba maté is one of them.

So.

While I like many flavors, today I want to recommend this refresher by Guayakí: Pure Body Peach. The combination of peaches and yerba maté is smooth and absolutely perfect. It's my favorite of all the bottled teas they put out. Best served cool and guzzled in doses.

The Crumpets

Tried a new recipe this last week and I like it. We shall call it Blueberry Muffin Bread. The bread is dense and thick, so err on the side of too much water rather than too little.

  • a handful of frozen blueberries puréed in water
  • a handful of pecans
  • sweetener and salt to taste (err on the side of generous)
  • all-purpose flour mix
  • a pinch of baking powder

Pour the purée in a bowl and add the pecans and sweetener. Stir in flour until dough is very soupy and all flour is thoroughly mixed. Layer parchment paper two or three times over a baking dish, then carefully pour in dough. Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes1 or until knife comes out clean. If it's almost clean, taste it: it might be done. Allow to set for 15–20 minutes. Enjoy!

The Social Brew

Manuscript Multiple Personality Disorder | on symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment

Diagnosis: Manuscript Multiple Personality Disorder. Often found in writers who are working on multiple projects in the same draft or stage of review, thus utilizing the same muse.

— posted in comments at Write a Book with Me

The Rules of Music | on study and creation

To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must break them.

— Nadia Boulanger, tweeted by Finale Music
a thought which applies equally well to any creative endeavor

My Favorite Online Fiction | on reading

I try to never miss Kris Rusch’s Free Fiction Mondays, Melanie Edmond’s Starwalker, M.C.A. Hogarth’s Black Blossom, or new issues of Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

— posted in comments on Writer at Play

Passive Voice? | on grammar

I do agree that those are weak verbs in an action scene and should be excised, but this sentence is an example of a passive construction. Not all instances of those two verbs are passive, as this sentence is an example of an active construction.

— posted in comments on The New World of Publishing

Show 1 footnote

  1. The recipe is for high-altitude cooking. Adjust as necessary. ↩
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These are a Few of My Favorite Things

by Liana Posted on July 17, 2012

We all of us have favorite things. Mine are primarily words, tea, fiction, and music. Cooking, organization, and analysis tend more to be guilty pleasures. What can I say?

Tea

tea • noun 1. the second-most perfect beverage in existence, the first being water; 2. nature's pharmacy for the soul.

My favorite current tea blend: CHICORY MATÉ SPICE

For an entire teapot:

  • 4 tbsp. yerba maté herb
  • 2 tbsp. stevia leaf
  • 1 tbsp. chicory
  • 1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp. ginger powder

For one cup:

  • 2 tsp. maté
  • 1 tsp. each of chicory, ginger, cinnamon, and stevia

Use a coffee filter to strain this tea! A regular tea strainer will get gunked up with powder and you may lose some of your tea. Steep in almost boiling water until a dark, rich brown. Strain and enjoy!

Books

writer • noun 1. a reader who decided if you want something done right, you must do it yourself; 2.a reader who ran out of books; 3. a reader inspired to immitation.

Unseen by Rabia Gale

A collection of two previously published fantasy short stories about magic in unexpected places and about the loss of that magic. I had read the second selection—about a pudgy, ordinary man who has forgotten his own incredible origin and former life—before Rabia asked me to proofread this collection, but the first story—about a Pakistani girl who can see into a fantastical world others are blind to—was new to me. Both are enjoyable, full of choices between modern safety and wild beauty. Recommended to avid readers of Beneath Ceaseless Skies or Lightspeed's fantasy selections. [ ebook ]

Other Impressions of the Author:
Shattered

Aphorisms of Kherishdar by M.C.A. Hogarth, voiced by Daniel Dorse

Being quite fond of flash fiction in the first place, Hogarth's fil ekain, or incense stories, drew me from our first introduction. The Ai-Naidar are a graceful alien civilization who value the society more than the individual; thus they seek to find the place of each in the fabric of the whole, that none endure separation. These are beautiful stories, "short and lingering," as the narrator tells us, and the reader does justice to them with his warm storyteller voice. If you have never tried audio before, this is a lovely place to begin. [ audio ]

Other Impressions of the Author:
Spots: the Space Marine
The Case of the Poisoned House

Bread

hardtack • noun 1. a boring, edible substance made from flour, water, and maybe a pinch of salt; 2. a base for creating simple, mouthwatering breads.

SALSA BREAD

  • a bowl of all-purpose flour
  • a large jar of salsa
  • water

Combine all ingredients until all powder is thoroughly mixed in and dough is slighty soupy. Layer a baking dish in parchment paper and pour in mixture. Bake between 350 and 400 degrees until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!

[Note: I live in high altitude and it seems to take roughly about an hour for the bread to be done.]

What are some of your favorite things?

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Meme: The Big Read

by Liana Posted on July 15, 2012

From in_the_blue:

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
1.) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2.) Italicize those you intend to read.
3.) Underline those you LOVE.
4.) Put an asterisk next to the books you’d rather shove hot pokers in your eyes than read.

And my own addition:

5.) Strikethrough those you tried to read and put down.
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Tea-Time at Ficlet o'Clock

by Liana Posted on July 9, 2012

THE TEA

Chicory Ginger Maté

2 tsp. yerba maté
1 tsp. roasted chicory root
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. stevia leaf

Add ingredients to one MiniMinit filter (see left). Steep in a 8 – 16 oz. mug of hot water, not quite boiled. Steep for 5 – 10 minutes until a rich brown.

Remove filter, slide off its bar, and discard. Enjoy!

THE FICLETS

It's prompting time. Give me a character, pairing, fandom, or storyworld and a favorite poem or quote. Ficlets will be linked here after completion.

The World Turns 'Round

Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Prompt:  arliddian, Revolving Days by David Malouf. Also whipsy, dancing.

He pretends he hasn’t been exiled from his wife for the last ten years. She pretends her husband hasn’t been in a coma for the last seven. They pretend they aren’t two of the loneliest people in the world.

The Cloths of Heaven

Storyworld: Vardin
Prompt: in_the_blue, Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by Yeats

He hesitated at that, the way she said it so simply, like it meant everything and nothing to her all at once. "Color blind?" he asked, but even as he said it, he realized he already knew the answer.

The Veil Between You and Me

Fandom: Awake
Prompt: lithiumlaughter, the meaning of apocalypse

"You're crazy." Bird stepped away abruptly, didn't look back. How many times had they come to this point before? Talk to me, don't act like everything's the same, you're my partner.

Yeah, well, reality's sometimes hard to take.

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5 Things Meme: Siblings

by Liana Posted on July 8, 2012
This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series 5 Things Meme

Comment to this post saying "FIVE!" and I will pick five things I would like you to talk about. They might make sense or be totally random.

Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself, hopefully for the rest of eternity!

From arliddian: Siblings

When it comes to family, they are one of the most important things in both my life and my fiction, a fact not everybody may be aware of. Sisters, brothers, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents...

But today, let's talk about siblings.

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