Starlight Blogger Award

It’s time for another award post! These are always so much fun because you get to answer questions and it’s a very laid-back type of post. But this one is special because of the meaning of the award. Nominators are encouraged to think of “the bloggers who truly touch your soul with their work, the ones that are the light for you.” So it is a privilege to be nominated because it means your work is inspiring to someone. And isn’t that the whole reason we creative types create? We want our work to help and inspire others, so this award says, “Yes you are doing what you set out to do!”

Who was kind enough to nominate me for the award? Nandini from Pages That Rustle. Not only is Nandini a great blogger (who happens to have similar tastes in music and share my love of LOTR GIFs and Myers Briggs Personalities), but she is also a great friend. So show her some love and check out her blog. You’ll be glad you did!

Now on to the award post! (Oh, and I have an announcement at the end so stick around. Or you could always skip to the bottom…. If you want to be a cheater 😛 )

The design for the STARLIGHT Bloggers Award has been created from YesterdayAfter is a Copyright image you cannot alter or change it in any way just pass it to others that deserve this award. Copyright 2015 © YesterdayAfter.com — Design by Carolina Russo

 Questions:

1) If you describe or picture your inner soul, how would you describe it?

This is kind of a difficult question. I haven’t spent much time thinking about what my soul looks like. I guess I will do so now. Hmm… I picture my soul looking like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings. It emanates a glowing white light and desperately wants to serve a higher purpose for the good of others. But if you look really closely, you’ll realize my soul is actually just a little kid with a huge imagination playing dress up. 😛

2) What are you working on right now?

I working on the second draft of my story, The Hashna Stone, which is a YA fantasy novel. If you’ve been around my blog, you probably have heard something about it. Just maybe (it’s not like I’m excited about it or anything). For those of you who haven’t heard about it, I’ll sum it up like this. It’s about an orphan boy who finds a treasure that he thinks will change his life, and it does but not in the way he expects.

3) What is your creative dream project?

My dream project is the book I mentioned in the previous question. I’ve always loved reading, and I think in the back of my mind somewhere I’ve always wanted to write a book but it seemed like such an impossible thing to do so I didn’t admit it to myself for a long time. But here I am working on my dream project!

Nandini’s questions for me:

1. What is the one skill you wish you were good at?

Drawing. I think it’s so cool that some people are talented enough to write stores and draw, and it would be pretty awesome if I had that special super power that allowed me to create comic books. While I haven’t read a lot of Manga (besides that one phase in my teens were I read almost nothing but Manga), I’ve always liked the style of drawing. So yeah, I want the super power of drawing Japanese comic books. 😛

2. If you could get a pain-free tattoo of your choice, what would it say/look like?

I’ve never thought about getting a tattoo before, so I’ll admit I had to Google some images to get an idea. 😀 I’d get one like this though. It’s so dreamy and whimsical.

3. What seemingly unrealistic goal have you never give up on (if any)?

I know I keep going back to this, but writing a book is definitely a goal I’d never give up on. Actually writing the thing doesn’t seem quite so unrealistic now that I’ve finished the first draft, but getting it published or self publishing it (and having more than just a few friends and family members read it) still seems like a far-off dream. But it’s one I’ll never give up on. I’ll never stop writing, even if no one reads my stories. I won’t be the crazy cat lady, but the crazy writer lady with stacks of manuscripts to keep me company. 😉

Here are the rules for all of you I’m about to nominate.

1. Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.

2. Answer Caroline’s three original questions as well as the three new questions your nominator has given to you.

3. Choose your 6 favorite bloggers and notify them of their nomination! In your nominees, think of “the light emanating from the stars,” the bloggers who truly touch your soul with their work, the ones that are the light for you – a true Starlight Blogger.

4. Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog. Also, never alter the logo, and never change the three original questions.

And the nominees!

1. Jazzy Belle

2. Joy Pixley

3. clcouch123

4. Jes2G

5. Kaleiyah Prose

6. Simply Megan Joy

The three questions I’d like you to answer are:

1. What activities or places inspire you?

 2. If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would you go?

3. Has a book/movie ever moved you so deeply that you carry a piece of it with you? (You had an epiphany while reading/watching or the theme seemed to encapsulate your life.)

Now on to the announcement!

Since I’ve started working on my book, I haven’t given you guys many stories. I used to post a few short story/flash fiction every now and then, but after writing my 1,000 or 2,000 for the day the last thing I wanted to do was write another story even if it was just a short one. My brain wouldn’t think of anything but my WIP anyway, so when the few times I did try to write a flash fiction piece, my mind would wander to Dalan and the Hashna Stone.

Now that I’m not pounding the words out for the first draft, I should be able to write some other forms of fiction (that’s the theory anyway).

And to light the fire under my b…er uh…feet, I will be joining a 13 week flash fiction challenge hosted by Thain in Vain. They’ll be posting a prompt every week for the next 13 weeks and I’ll write a story in 500 words or less based on the prompt. I may not get all 13 weeks in, but I thought it would be a fun way to get back into short fiction.

The challenge is open to anyone, so you can join too. Don’t worry if you can’t do all the weeks. The purpose is to have fun and practice those writing skills. It’s also a great way to find other blogs. I’d love to see you there!

You can read the details here.

Flash Fiction Challenge

It starts next week so my next post will be a flash fiction piece. I’m looking forward to 13 weeks of fun!