Initial Post and Status Update

While I'm not new to blogging, I am new to blogger.com. So please bear with me while I learn the ropes of an entirely new system.

Why did I choose blogger.com? To put it simply, I have a gmail account. I love gmail and see no reason why the people there would endorse something that I wouldn't love as well.

I am not affiliated with any site, at all. None. Period. My love of gmail is based on personal experience I've cultivated in the last five or so years.

That said, I will not post excerpts of pieces that are not published or that are not under contract for publication. All posts containing my writing will be posted with permission from my publisher, they are copyrighted. Any theft of said works will be documented and the person(s) involved will be prosecuted.

There are an endless stream of ideas out there, if you need one or some or enough to last you a lifetime, I'll give you some. Make them your own, use your own twisted sense of reality and bend the rules to keep your readers captivated. Don't take mine, please.

I am unsure how often I will update, but when I do, I will have something to say. Its not my intent to bombard you several times a day with hollow entries.

Note: I have enabled ads for this blog. To put it simply, times are tough and any money that can be gained helps. When the economy is on a down swing, the first things to go are dining out and entertainment. As a writer, I fall in the entertainment category. You're not required to click on any ads, though I would certainly appreciate it if you find something interesting enough and click on it. By terms of contracts, no, I cannot click on the ads placed myself.

Also, I have no control over what ads are displayed. Hopefully, they will be pertinent to the contents of this blog.

I think that's enough of that. "Now for something completely different." (Zebra Cake if you can tell me where that's from.)

Currently, I am deconstructing and reconstructing the piece that I worked on for nanowrimo 2008 (Yes, I participate in that. It is a lot of fun and I've met several wonderful writers in the process). It is a bit harder than I thought. I went with a new approach last year and did absolutely no pre-writing or world building before November 1st. It's also taken me this long to decide that it is necessary for me to write what I consider to be a decent first draft.

I find myself tweaking things, like names and locations, and changing other things all together, like the role of a certain character. Taking a step back and re-evaluating what goes into the novel has allowed me to consider roads I would never have taken while pantsing (writing by the seat of your pants with no outline or plan as to where you're going). It has also showed me that I have several areas that I need to do research on.

Which brings me to the nugget that I found today. It's something we never really think about unless we run out: soap.

Did you know that soap is made from fatty oils (either plant or animal for you PETA members and vegans out there), water and ash? Why I find this endlessly fascinating I don't think I will ever know. The miracles of modern alchemy, I suppose.

At any rate, the site I pulled from is http://www.alcasoft.com/soapfact/historycontent.html. It is no where near the amount of research I'd like to do on the subject, but its enough to get me through this particular part of world building. If you'd like to order some of their soaps, their a US based company and if you scroll to the bottom there is a link to their catalog.

I am considering buying some of their soap. I am a curious little kitten today.