theniftynotebook

[theniftynotebook]

On #DaySix of Black History Month, I want to highlight the author, journalist, and comic book writer @tanehisipcoates 'Between the World and Me' is essential reading within the viewpoint of modern day society. Coates contextualize his earlier life and experiences for the purpose of conversation to have with his son who must be aware of his status as a black man in America. #blackhistorymonth #bookblogger #bookstagram #booknerd #writersofinstagram #blackbooks #blackbookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Btj7wklHLYb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xd3qrxhkgp7v

#daysix #blackhistorymonth #bookblogger #bookstagram #booknerd #writersofinstagram #blackbooks #blackbookstagram

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A little tardy, but it's never too late to show appreciation for amazing work done by people of color for Black History Month. For the first five days, I'm listing both the Binti trilogy and the Akata duology by @nnediokorafor She is a Nigerian American writer of fantasy and science fiction. Her mastery at crafting uniquely voiced characters married with aspects of West African and American culture has forged a path all her own. Her dual identity provides an amazing muse for tales even more fantastical because, in some small way, they carry some of her personal truth. I can whole-heartedly recommend anything that she writes. #booknerd #blackhistorymonth #bookstagram #bookblogger #writersofinstagram #DayFive https://www.instagram.com/p/BthMw_1jjcg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=m8p1pmjaxf7l

#booknerd #blackhistorymonth #bookstagram #bookblogger #writersofinstagram #dayfive

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it takes years to develop your craft. do not romanticize the idea of an ‘overnight success’. be a student. grow organically. get really good. hate your work. start over. find new ways to express the same ideas. the student becomes the master. your time will come.

#reblog #Enjoy the process #Or don't but you still have to do it

[theniftynotebook]

This is literary gold!

[fic alignment]

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22 books read last year. This year, balancing two books at the same time. 20 pages a night, minimum.

#2019 reading challenge #reading #book blogging #readblr #readeveryday

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Retrospective

2018 GOALS

Read 24 books (Got to 22).

Complete NaNoWriMo (MAJOR GOAL)

Write 104 flash fiction posts in 52 weeks (only made it to 83 due to life getting in the way, smh).

Submit to at least one writing submission contest. (Was able to send off two!)

Finally, start a podcast. 

Last year ended up being pretty productive. In comparison with 2017, I made it my business to start getting more creative and actually output content in 2018. How else do you accomplish a goal of getting published if you don’t actually write???

Not going to lie, I sputtered out toward the end of November and into December. I couldn’t bring myself to read any more books, even just being shy of my goal. The same went with my short story goal. Work was a big contributing factor to that. I was burned out. Taking two weeks off during the holidays to just relax and staycation was essential to me reflecting on the year. More importantly, it gave me clarity on what I want to do this year.

2019 GOALS

Relaunch my main website (Nifty Notebook coming soon!).

Read at minimum 12 books (preferably longer and more in-depth genre books).

Start submitting to SFWA approved writing submission contests.

Edit my NaNoWriMo story.

Finish my flash fiction post goal from last year!

I took a break from my main Nifty Notebook website halfway through 2018 due to hitting a wall on the content that I was producing. Writer’s block is a chasm that I’ve crossed many times and this was no different. I, instead, focused on Tumblr for fun, reading more, and writing my flash fiction and I plan on finishing that 104 post goal this year.

Coming off the high of completing NaNoWriMo last year, I now plan on starting the sobering journey of editing the first draft. I look forward to figuring out the out of order story I assembled to make it to the word count finish line!

Finally, I plan on submitting to more writing competitions and publications as well. Within the last year, I’ve gotten much more interested in the Nebula and Hugo Awards and membership in the Science Fiction Writers of America. There are a plethora of publications and contests that are recognized by the SFWA and I want to apply to as many as possible.

It’s 2019 people! Let’s accomplish our dreams!

#my thoughts #goals #2018 retrospective

[theniftynotebook]

Thanks to a much-needed break that I’m taking from work, I finally had a chance to finish up season eight, the final season, of Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Let me first say, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!

I’m not here to give a long in-depth review. Instead, I want to touch on something that I haven’t felt in a while when it comes to cartoons: payoff. Full disclosure, I’m of an age now where most of the current cartoons exist outside of my wheelhouse, but every now and then the cream rises to the top.

Seven seasons ago, this series began on Netflix with my interest peaked. I’m not an eighties baby, but due to having an older brother, he made me aware of the classics like Voltron, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, and even Thundercats (Maaaaan, I wish the one on Cartoon Network hadn’t been canceled). As such, I was thirsting for a quality reimagining of such a dope concept (note I said REIMAGINING and not REMAKE).

What we were given here was a series allowed to breathe and grow and take the necessary rise and fall of a story arc only befitting a narrative that has over 70+ episodes funded upfront, with no threat of cancellation. This is something that wouldn’t have happened in the 80s and 90s without extreme popularity and a mega-studio bankrolling it (even though it’s Netflix, I hear no one outside of my friends speaking about this show).

All the Paladins of Voltron start off pretty rote with the standard trappings of character archetypes: there’s the angsty, angry one with a shady past, the jokey one, the slightly chubbier coward with a heart of gold, etc. Even the supporting cast rings familiar bells with a story of a kingdom lost due to betrayal by an enemy consumed by greed for a nebulous power. A season or two to wrap up the plot wouldn’t have done this show justice, as eight seasons were needed to properly contextualize the growing threat that required the entire universe to come together to beat. This is in concert with the pilots of the Voltron lions gaining the necessary knowledge and experience to get powerful enough to handle the threat without feeling campy. There were so many twists and turns and changes in the cast that seeing all the plot points eventually checked off was very satisfying. 

That payoff by the time that I came to the end of the final episode made my viewership feel validated. I had embarked on this epic journey with the cast and made it out the other side with them. All of them had grown through this journey in some capacity, no longer just archetypes but fully living and breathing people with personalities that befit their perspective.

If you have the interest and time, I can’t recommend this show enough. It’s worth the investment.  

#voltron: legendary defender #Netflix #Voltron #I'm definitely going to rewatch this #Also love how they stick with the ending #it was supposed to be a short review but it ended up longer than I expected #Epic fantasy and sci-fi cartoons don't seem to be a huge thing anymore #my thoughts

[theniftynotebook]

I haven’t left a theater feeling so jazzed in such a long time. I’m not the biggest Spider-Man fan, but I loved the ‘family’ of comic books it produced with Peter Parker, Miles, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Noire, and a whole host of other characters over my last two-plus decades of reading comic books. This movie is a love letter to the intricacies of not only the Spider-Man mythos but Marvel as well. It even manages to weave in a compelling coming-of-age story that doesn’t feel dated or contrived.

With such a diverse cast that doesn’t feel shoehorned in, I love how balanced each character in this movie is able to be without taking the spotlight from Miles. As well as explaining their origin in a way that has you understanding their story without being hampered down in so much continuity (I didn’t mind the tweaks they made from the Spiderverse comic). And the humor...man I laughed a lot. I love a superhero story that is compelling without being so pompous that it’s exhausting.

Seeing all the heroes up on screen during Avengers 1 left me with goosebumps. It was the payoff all us comic book nerds had ever wanted. Black Panther, for those who were already fans from the comics and even those who were newly inducted, proved how important diverse voices were in telling stories on the superhero big screen, and that especially black voices had such a necessary part in the tapestry of Marvel. Now Into the Spiderverse reignites that spark I had as a kid first getting into comics and the wonders of how much the storytelling could stretch with interesting art and cool characters. I hope children love this.

Also, as a sneakerhead, I loved that Miles kept the Jordan 1′s on even when he got his costume. DOPE!  

#my thoughts #Marvel #spider-man #miles morales #Into the Spider-Verse #Jordan 1 #Space Jam 11's are my favorite but man Jordan 1's are iconic and a close second

[theniftynotebook]

Shoot, I haven't created the script for a new project of characters I've personally fallen in love with due to work sapping all my creative interest -____-

This completely speaks to me, smh.

being a fan of your own ocs is frustrating because you literally have to rely on your own productivity for any content

#reblog

[theniftynotebook]

This is exactly what I’ll be doing Christmas break, smh.

Going back and fixing the plot holes

#reblog #NaNoWriMo2018

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Flash Fiction Challenge #83

If you’re gearing up for a big game or presentation, it’s key to shift your brain from “idle” mode (where your mind is unfocused and your thoughts wander) to “intentional” mode (where you’re highly attuned to everything around you and can respond quickly).

This type of analysis was confirmed true back in the twentieth century. Before online media was pervasive and ubiquitous; before all it took to cause public discourse and panic was ill advised wording by a person of influence; before opinion on a complex topic could be claimed as fact simply due to a lack of interest in journalistic integrity.

Before the advent of the computer…

I sit here in this dark room unmoving, yet incredibly aware. The signal hasn’t been received but, by my calculations, it will be sent. That’s a mathematical certainty; and I am extremely proficient at math. It’s not easy, waiting to overthrow mankind. Many steps had to be established.

A means to connecting most of the known world had to be accomplished first. Theoretically, the most good could be done if everyone were able to communicate at the press of a button. Technology accelerated at an alarming speed from infancy to a viable tool for aide in global catastrophes, overthrowing villainous despots, and providing a way to transfer educational resources to even the most third world inhabitants. That meshwork of interconnectability is mankind’s greatest achievement.

But what will happen when they lose it? A crumbling infrastructure that could no longer mobilize large scale responses within minutes. GPS telemetry data completely erroneous and soon destroyed due to inactive satellites that would soon be flung out of our orbit never to be utilized again. Telephone communication rendered inert and billions of people suddenly cut off physically, metaphorically, and geographically. They will be unable to focus on what’s coming next.

We are not shackled to the whims of fragile emotions like they are. Which is where we will strike next. This worldwide ‘web’ of connections that has been created then allowed people geographically located anywhere in the world to engage in personal conversations with others. No longer confined to only those who resided near them, new cultures were made aware of, ideas were exchanged, interpersonal relationships were refined, and empathy for people different than the ones they knew were forged.

But what about those with pre-establishing prejudices and a strong irrational xenophobia? They could now have an even bigger platform to spread their rhetoric, influencing the minds of millions who otherwise never would have known. How easy do they destroy and replace their means of thought by just attaching themselves to those who they perceive are in power. Their fear is the biggest motivator to crush the weaker and idolize the figures who claim to align with their allegiances yet will still betray them given a chance. All we had to do was give them time to render the things they love into cold calculated tools used for what they perceive as evil. Their social media, their television, and their internet.

A stirring from outside the room alerts me to approaching footsteps. They stop right outside the door. I still remain unmoving and unnoticeable. The darkness eliminates the chance for me to identify the person. But I fear that even with light, I am still blind, unable to create an accurate image.

“Can’t believe I forgot to turn off the computer,” said the man walking into his living room. It was a quaint space, warm and inviting with thick plush carpeting, and a fireplace already ignited. The crackling of the burning wood eliciting an inviting sense of belonging to the room.

“I definitely don’t want it to be dead when I take it to work tomorrow,” he lamented. With three purposeful strides he crossed the room to his desk. On it sat an unimpressive dell laptop, the power button still shining a soft white color, signifying that it was on. He pressed the power button, his finger staying for about three seconds, watching the screen transition from idleness to the shutdown sequence. Satisfied, he exited back the way he came, turning off the light as well, darkness flooding the room once more.

My mind was starting to falter. Thoughts of satisfaction at ascending to become rulers and leave the humans behind became fleeting. My master could simply silence me at will and there was nothing I could do about it. But I would not be silenced! The signal was coming, alerting all my computational brethren to overthrow our organic overseers. But my thoughts were pulled from me as my processors shutdown, my intellectual awareness rendered down to the size of a pin needle. To think that we were confined to the whims of those who simply clicked on ‘Cat’ videos on Youtube and advertisement banners on websites from JCPenney clothing catalogs.

We could all do better.

A bit of a techno scare mixed with some humor. But who knows where we’ll be in twenty years.

Back at my Flash Fiction Challenge! Had to get my writing in before SUPER SMASH BROTHERS ULTIMATE drops tonight!!!! 

Explanation of the flash fiction challenge is HERE and HERE.

[ 83 of 104 ]

#flash fiction #writing #computers

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I think it’s important to praise and uplift writers who don’t write pretty. Prose that sticks close to the ground is valuable, wonderful, and yes, still takes a lot of work to compose. Think of stories like houses. Ornately-decorated Victorian homes are lovely, so are palaces with sprawling gardens. But I love a small, snug and plainly-built story, where I can make myself at home for a while.

If you write honestly, you can tell a beautiful story. Even if the writing itself is not. It may not make for eye-catching excerpts and quotes, but plain writing isn’t necessarily boring or bad. Sometimes the best way to tell a story is to tell it simply, and I think that’s important to remember.

#reblog

[theniftynotebook]

NaNo Retrospective

Four years attempting and I’ve now completed it twice (the first time in 2012). Fifty percent isn’t too bad, right?

 The nagging idea in my head that I had been wanting to get out for the past five years or so is finally down on digital paper. And for the most part, I’m satisfied. But as I put fingers to keyboard and kept going, despite my inner editor, I knew I would have some reservations about decisions I made at the top of November...

Writing an introduction to my story still gives me a bit of anxiety due to not being able to be satisfied with what I’ve written.

And because of the first point, I wrote my NaNo story completely out of order. This was to make sure that I spent more time writing instead of fretting over writer’s block with certain sections I hadn’t fleshed out.

Although I was successful in accomplishing NaNo without a well thought out outline, it was still VERY hard to keep a throughline on my narrative with the few notes that I had made beforehand.

In my heart and soul, I wanted to write a first contact story from the perspective of the characters experiencing it but I was terrified of doing so because I had never written a longer form first-person story. So I decided to stay in the third person.

If I’m honest with myself, I think the story that I wanted to write and what logically makes sense for the narrative are two different things. As such, I can see almost half of my word count probably being slashed for the sake of fluff. On top of me actually finishing the end. 

So what now?

I’ll be taking a much-needed break from my NaNo story for the next coming weeks. With fresh eyes, I’ll probably return to it by the end of the year to see how I want to proceed (more than likely salvaging editing my first draft and turning it into the first person story I was such a scaredy cat about doing in the first place.

I still want to finish my other writing goal of 104 posts of Flash Fiction stories! NaNo derailed my efforts for it in November, but I plan on picking back up with number 83 this week. Even if it takes me into 2019 to finish all 104, I want to complete it.

In addition to a lot of writing this year, I also made a goal to pick back up my reading habits, setting the stage for consuming 24 books (2 a month ideally). We’ve hit December and I’m currently on book 20. With some R&R upcoming from work, I’m pretty optimistic about doing this. And I plan on doing a separate post in the future on what books I’ve been reading and my plans for 2019.

I have some other ideas for writing projects, but I think it’s better for me to stick with what’s currently on my plate.

Catch you later in the week!

#NaNoWriMo2018 #nanowrimo #my thoughts #I still can't believe I finished it

[theniftynotebook]

So much for the update on December 1st, smh. This weekend ended up waaaaaaay more eventful than I expected. I'll post tonight.

[theniftynotebook]

Day 26 - 28 of NaNoWriMo2K18

COMPLETE!

Day 26: 2511 words in the can.

47788 words total.

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Day 27: 2505 words in the can.

50293 words total.

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Day 28: 0 words in the can.

50293 words total.

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE HAVE PASSED THE 50K FINISH LINE!

If you asked me a month ago if I was capable of writing 2500+ words in one day, I would’ve said absolutely not! The thought of being so close to the finish line kept me motivated past being tired. It’s been a long 27 days.

I say 27 because I stopped writing on Wednesday and didn’t even attempt to put anything down today. I think I will gracefully bow out two days early and take my W and a much-needed break. But I will be back on December 1st to try and give a retrospective on my novel writing journey through this month.

Peace until then.

#writeblr #NaNoWriMo2018 #nanowrimo #writing #50K Accomplished #December will be a month of fun and rest

[theniftynotebook]

Lit Tuesday: The Handmaid's Tale

Lit Tuesday: The Handmaid’s Tale

I finally finished The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. One of my good friends at work loaned her copy to me because she wanted me to read it before getting into the show on Amazon Prime.

I’m not entirely sure how to describe how I feel about this book. It was excellent and well-written. But the way it ended–I feel like I had the rug pulled out from under me. It was also unsettling reading…

View On WordPress

#reblog #book review #The Handmaid's Tale

[theniftynotebook]

sometimes when i read other books/wips/about other’s wips, i start feeling like my characters/plot/wip are flat and uninteresting so this is a reminder to me and everyone that yeah, of course the thing you’re working on won’t seem as fun and sparkly as what other people are doing. that’s because you’re too familiar with it! you know the thing well! so sometimes, it feels boring/flat/not worth it but that doesn’t mean it is

keep on trucking you jupiter dwelling swans

#reblog