Vivienne's Adventures

  Dungeons and Dragons and Halloween! Yes, these things go together, don't they? Of course they do. As the DM, it's my job to make it so. So! I spent the last week prepping a delightfully Halloweenesque session for my Friday players, and by the time we're done, they wont know whether this actually happened to their characters or not! Muahaha! But honestly, I'm just excited to mess with them a little bit, take some of their assumptions and see how far out the window they can go. ^_^ It's always fun for me when the DM of the game I'm playing in throws us for a loop and my brain goes into rapid-fire confusion and theory and note-taking mode.  Oh! And the part I'm most excited about? We're dressing up for this session! The pic above is a hint of my outfit. (I'll post a full outfit picture next week, as well as on my social media.) For any of you who play or run DnD, what's been your favorite holiday-themed adventure?

  So, we all know at this point that Nanowrimo is coming up, but it can be super challenging. I've been doing it since at least 2013, and I've learned a lot! So much so that when I was asked if I'd be interested in doing an online class to help people master Nano, I said yes! The class itself is online, with short daily videos to help you stay on track and stay encouraged. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and I can finally share the news! As soon as I have the link to the class, I'll send that out. (I'll be honest, I've never had an official teacher job before, but I'm so excited to share what I know with people, and be a cheerleader to those participating in this challenge. Heaven knows I love Nano, and now I get to share my experience!)

  I love tea! You've probably gathered this, by now. For the last several months (since before August) I've had almost nothing but Tortuga Truffle, in terms of tea. However! I recently stocked up on another favorite of mine, Geronimo! From Tea & Absinthe, and yes, it's Doctor Who inspired. This flavor is actually a reference to the 11th Doctor (played by Matt Smith), and his odd love of fish fingers and custard. (Thankfully the tea is vanilla custard flavored, without the fish fingers.)  How about you, my lovely readers, what's your favorite blend of nerdiness and drink? (Disclaimer: Picture was found on Pinterest.)

  There are many ways to get ready for Nanowrimo, like I've mentioned in previous posts, but I am definitely a Planner. Up until this last week or so, I was Not ready for November, but now it can't get here fast enough!  I finally got a chance to sit down and figure out what's probably going to happen in my story. (It's still jokingly called The Goddess of Deletes....I haven't found a better name.) I have the main characters, the bad guys, everyone's motivations and personalities figured out, I drew maps! I even plotted out the storyline and created the world and the magic system, and had a ball figuring out how my poor main character met her demise...seven times. Yes, in her backstory, she's died seven times. She now has a working relationship with the angel of death, who got tired of seeing her die, and took away her ability to die. I'm so excited for Nano, but I'm also losing my mind just a little bit in having to wait to write this story. My solu...

  This week's episode of being an auntie and nanny for my nephew: Meet Mr. Clingy. He's not always insistent on being held while I do Everything, but sometimes, he is. So this was my compromise while I cooked. Cheeky little cutie pie. Every week is a new experience. The Little One is thankfully not walking yet, but he's not far off, so until then, I'm going to enjoy all the snuggles. It's entertaining watching this busy little guy pretend to not be tired, only to pass out before 10pm. ...But of course that's not always the case.  Stay tuned! Because November is nearly upon us, and I'll be sharing my writer/auntie journey through the fun insanity that is Nanowrimo!  Question: Who has written for Nano before, and how was your experience? What was your final wordcount?

As a DM, sometimes my players throw me for a loop, and sometimes I get to confound them with just enough info that they spiral into Conspiracy-Theory mode, and it's so fun to watch. Right now, my Friday players are distracting themselves with traveling to some ruins that are quite a ways away, and we ended in the perfect spot for me to mess with them a little.  We talked a bit, but all they know is that I'm going to do something Halloween-themed for our next game. I have so many ideas! I'm excited! The way I'm going to run next session, they wont know if this happens in canon or not. ^_^ Yay for fun ideas!

  Sometimes, self-care means chocolate and my favorite show (where the episodes are over 3 hours). Other times, it means spending time with my 9mo old nephew, or going to the archery range, but this week, it means going back to the rock climbing gym with my sister, three days after going with my cousin...despite me being Quite Sore (My forearms are burning and my hands hate me!! haha). But I don't get to see my sister and do fun activities with her too often, so I enjoy every minute. Now, apparently we're looking to do this more often! ...my poor beat-up hands. Oh well :) If nothing else, this is an amazing workout because it's fun, forces you to think with your whole body, and it works out muscles you didn't realize you had. :D 10/10 would recommend.

  Sometimes being a writer means drawing out maps. In my efforts to plot out an outline for this year's Nano project, I also set my notes aside and drew a map of the continent that the main story takes place on. Knowing where things are located is important! So then, of course, because I know my main character's backstory, I drew a map for the continent she spent most of her life on. (Because it was fun, and it was also good to know where events took place.) I shared these with my friends, and one of them redrew the maps on his tablet, and they look amazing! ^_^  So of course I drew the third continent that was relevant to the plot, though it wasn't as important to the story...but it was the biggest! I had fun, and even if I don't get to fully utilize these maps, I'm going to save them for another time. (And use this to boost my confidence in map-making!) Above is his version of this third continent, Cyrenie.

  Over the weekend, my cousin and I went rock climbing! We had a blast and spent at least an hour and a half crawling up and down the 15 or so foot tall Bouldering course, falling on our butts occasionally, and generally challenging ourselves. It was hard! The shoes were tight on my toes, there were plenty of grips I couldn't manage to hold on to, and it was difficult to find a path to the top. However, it was fun because of the difficulty. We went in, knowing full well that we weren't great at this, but that didn't matter. We learned as we went, finding the easier section and trying to master that. I also found it amusing how many times I started climbing up, instantly regretted it, thought about dropping down, but then managed to reach a higher foothold, or handhold, and actually did make it to the top. If nothing else, that alone helps me remember to just keep going. Don't stop, even when things look impossible.  (In the pics above, my cousin was working on one of th...

  The sheer glee on the Little One's face as he chews on his baby toothbrush. Oh man, he's so cute! Of course, he's trying to eat Everything, and keeping him out of trouble is getting a bit more complex now that he's standing, trying to walk, and generally getting into everything. ^_^ I've also found that the easiest way to lure him to sleep is music! Last time I cuddled him and played music he was out within two songs from my favorite band. Totally out and limp as an unworn onsie. (Which was great, because the night before, he didn't want to sleep for Anything. Haha! We win some, we lose some.)

  A dirt path runs through a sun-dappled forest, a slight hint of smoke in the air above from recent fires. Where does this trail lead? How far does it go? Is the entire trail this flat and even? Nope! It twists and turns, goes up and down, and eventually leads to a little pool of water fed by a twenty-foot waterfall cascading down rocks. Among the rocks are shallow depressions here and there, just enough space for tiny birds to drink and wash off. I miss traipsing through the trees, listening to birdsong and wondering if it's a bird or squirrel rustling in the undergrowth. This picture makes me want to go hiking again, but alas, we're heading towards late fall, and soon it will be too chilly. However, I have these pictures, and I can use them to fuel my adventurous spirit! (and my stories!) 

All art is art, even fanart, and I've made some fun pieces based on my favorite characters from a show I love. This show airs every Thursday and they have an art reel where they showcase a bunch of fanart from their amazing community of fans. Since getting hooked, I've always wanted to make some fanart and send it in, but never did. Until today. I decided that I was going to submit one of my best pieces, a painting I did for a friend, and just see what happens. I was so nervous! I got knots in my stomach, worrying about what people would think, because my style of art is so different than anything I've seen on the art reel. Then again...different gets noticed. But I submitted my art, and now it's out there! (Eeep!)

  I love archery! I haven't made it to the range this or last week, so I haven't been able to demolish a target or hit the bullseye like this. Last time I went, I did so much better than I have all year! (Apparently practice makes better...who knew?) The reason I love archery isn't to hit the exact center, but instead, to pull the bowstring back, see how long I can hold it, see if I can aim properly, and release for that wonderful Thwang! sound.  Apparently, in Japanese, that sound is called tsurune, and there's an anime about these high schoolers who practice kyudo (a more disciplined form of archery), and it's been utterly fascinating to watch...and it makes me want to visit the range even more. (BTW the anime is called Tsurune, if you're interested.)

  Every now and then, we need some whimsey, wouldn't you say? I recently went through a million outfits for a project, where I needed 30 different, fun outfits. As you can see, my aunt and I had a good time creating interesting looks.  Everytime I wear this little crown, I become one of my several alter egos. This one's named Kidada! I decided to create a character for a princess party one of my friends put together earlier this year. Princess Kidada had a great time. When I put this outfit together, it made me think that Princess Kidada had grown up! So now, of course, I must write her a story!...As if I didn't have enough new stories running around in my head. :D

We all love a good example of shenanigans, right? Of course we do. So, I run two DnD games, alternating weeks. My Wednesday game I'm running from a module, which is great! In terms of prep, I only have to read ahead, which is nice. However, having a module does NOT prepare you for everything your players do.  We just added a new player to the game, and they're running through the last dungeon right now, the party unaware they were being followed by the new PC. Once they angered the wraith in the one large chamber of the caves, I made everyone roll initiative--including the new druid, who was in Beastshape as a dire wolf. Watching my players instantly switch from "Must kill scary shadow thing!" in one turn, to "Puppy! Puppy want treats? Puppy was pets? Can we keep this one?" was freaking hysterical. By the time we wrapped up the session, the party still was unaware this wasn't a normal dire wolf. I'm so excited to see how this ends up!

Happy Friday! What are you drinking this morning? ...Ok, it's not morning anymore, but whatever. It's never too late to have some yummy peach matcha! ^_^  I love tea! I love the whole process of making tea. There's something so soothing in doing each step.  I've also taken over one of our cabinets, right above the mugs, and periodically reorganize it (but it only lasts a few days like that, cause I'm not the only one who drinks tea). I find it amusing, but every time we have guests over, I feel like if I only had one job, it's to make sure everyone who wants tea has some. It's interesting to see who likes what kind of tea, and it's fun to share.

  As an auntie to an 8-mo old, it's always fun to see what new things the Little One gets interested in. Lately it's been "chase me down the hall then play peek a boo!" and "oooh what's this, can I eat it?" Needless to say, I'm usually as tired as he is near his bedtime. ^_^ He's so fun! I can't wait until he starts reading so that I can get him hooked on all kinds of fun stories!

So! Nanowrimo! The yearly challenge to write 50k words in just 30 days. Not a lot of time, LOTS of words! I've been doing this since 2011, and somehow, I've won every year. (Don't ask me how, there are some years I have no idea how I managed it. lol)  This year, I'm excited to write something I've temporarily named "The Goddess of Deletes." This story is actually a mix of my Christian fantasy world and the general world and mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons. Should be fun! I'm so excited to see how the story evolves from the pictures in my mind, and to see my babies (lol, my characters) develop and become something more than just the little images in my brain.  The fun part for me, in Nano prep, is plotting what will most likely happen. There are 3 types of people to do Nano, Planners (like me!), Pantsers, who start Nano with no plan, maybe just a vague concept and their imagination, and Plantsers, who have a little bit of a plan, but mostly want to se...

  I don't know about you, but I sometimes write best when I listen to nothing. And sometimes I need something in the background, so I made a short playlist of "thinking music" (where I usually end up making this face while figuring a plot detail out) with songs like Children of the Sun from Poets of the Fall (my all-time favorite song!), Dangerous--both the David Guetta version as well as the David Garrett version <3, and The 2nd Law from Muse. Add a couple songs from Walk the Moon, and you've got a nice little ambient, not-quite-mellow mix of melodies in the background that makes everything feel ethereal. (...or is that just me?) :D  What do you listen to? ^_^

  This is Sylvia! She's my little muse. She's also the one who pointed out the other day that my chapter numbers were all messed up...as in it counted up to Chapter 29, then went back to 26, then jumped to 32. She was confused, I was confused, the story was confused, but I fixed it, and am now inserting a needed chapter that was never there before...Thanks, Syl, for giving me like, five things to do for the last 25 pages of this manuscript. lol  I'm super excited! It's October! Which means, as soon as I'm done with this book, I'm going to get ready for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), and figure out more of the story that I'm writing next month. (Nano is a challenge to write 50,000 words in November). Let's do this!

  I finally go to visit the range with one of my friends, and it was awesome! We both had a good time, and I managed to demolish the bullseye on my target...which I haven't managed to do in months. (I got the white circle at least 40 times!!) I was rather pleased with that. Shooting is always much  more fun with a friend. Or two. Or as many as have free time. :D I don't know if I get better at archery by just practicing, or when I go with friends...I shall have to test this theory. See you all next week! ^_^ (My friend is the one who took these awesome pics!!)

  Me, prepping a session of DnD: Oh man, what if I don't have enough for tonight? What if my players go off in one of the directions I don't have notes for? Ooh, what if, for this faerie party, I took up my aunt's suggestion and did this and this and this? Me,  in game,  making things up as I go: Roll perception. <Player rolls pretty high.> Cool, so nothing happens on your watch, other than you see this little creature approach your camp, to see what's going on. Player proceeds to try and befriend said creature,  this little tan and purple cat with bony ridges and a dinosaur like aesthetic. (Is it a dino-cat? Yes, it's a dino-cat. I decided that they exist in my feywilde. Thank you Pinterest!!) Me, having rolled for the cat, and rolled a natural 1: ....yeah, ok cool. Umm, this cat will die for you now. And now you have to name it. They did eventually make it to the faerie party, but man, I love it when things go sideways in the best way! ^_^