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Fictional Worlds - July 2009

New Project: A Cutter's Journey

July 31st 2009 09:26
Really Long Link

That's the website for my newest project, A Cutter's Journey. I'll be starting that on Monday. It's going to be my personal story of cutting as well as several inspiring quotes collected by a number of cutters. It's also going to include statistics to do with cutting, facts about cutting, suicide and depression, and the back will have a long list of links.

More information is on the website linked to above. Check it out.
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Book Review: Newes From The Dead

July 31st 2009 08:43
I won this book from YA Book Central last year, and only just finished reading it. (It disappeared for some time. Finally found it again and read it in about a week-only reading on the subway.)

This is a really good book. It's classified as YA but I can't really tell the difference.

Newes from the Dead is loosely based off of a true story. The story of a woman named Anne Green, a maid in the 17th century. She was seduced by her master's grandson (he's 17) by his lies that he would have her raised and made lady of the house. She was impregnated, had a stillbirth, and was charged for infanticide and hung. Her body was given to doctors at the time to dissect in order to study humanity.

But Anne came back to life. This book is Anne's story, told from her perspective, of how she came into this situation of being hung, and then when she wakes up near the end of how she is treated. It alternates between her point of view and that of a man named Robert, who is one of the medical students.

Newes From The Dead is the name of pamphlets that were written at the time, accounts of Anne's story; and now it is the name of a great book.

The book is very historically accurate, geographically accurate, and just a good book overall. The characterization is strong, the plot is great and moves along at just the right pace, and the style of writing is very fitting for the time. The book is well worth the money-although I didn't pay any-and comes in a very nice hardcover edition.

Anne's voice is very strong and her story truly heartbreaking. Her survival is a miracle of the time. Mary Hooper, the woman who wrote Newes From The Dead, is, from what I've learned in brief spurts of research, a well-established YA author in England. I'm sure her other books are good too, although I've never read them.

This book spans across audiences and generations; it can be enjoyed by anyone. In fact, I intend to recommend it to my grandmother later on today.

You can buy it here:

Amazon.com Newes From The Dead

And find information on its author here:

Mary Hooper Online

I've decided to read at least 5 books this summer. So far I've read two and am working on a third. I have one book that I read a chapter of each night before bed, and Newes From The Dead was my 'travel' book, as it takes me an hour of transit to get downtown. I'm going to be picking out a new travel book. I will be reviewing them all here, except for the Series of Unfortunate Events book that I read-though I will do a cumulative post on the series eventually.

The next book I review will probably be C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters, which I am in the process of reading-and finding quite interesting.

Have a good day everyone. Thanks for reading. If you've read Newes From the Dead, or you buy it based on this review, let me know and let me know how you like it.
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Playing Around

July 30th 2009 05:45
I've decided to play around with the theme of this blog a little bit, which is the colour scheme for those of you who don't know. I'll be trying out a new one every day until I find something that fits for both me and my readers-even if that means going back to the original.

Why? Because I felt like shaking things up a bit. The entire time I've had it, this blog's layout has remained the same. And I felt like it was time for a change.

What do you guys think of this colour scheme? Let me know, either by commenting here or by emailing me at diannalgunn@gmail.com
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Best Of...

July 30th 2009 05:34
So. My two-year anniversary of blogging is coming up. (Agust 13th) I've decided that on the date itself I will be doing a special post, thanking those who have inspired me since I came here, talking about why I blog etc. etc. It will also have links to some of my best posts since January.

I'm going to do four posts, total, in relation to this. Each one will contain 10 of my favourite posts from a certain time period since I've been here


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Hi Everyone

July 29th 2009 16:01
Note: I've decided to do one last Dear Diary. This way it will be somewhat more wrapped up and not just end; I'll be tying down a couple loose threads and making it feel more like an ending.

I had a good night last night; went out and partied with friends on the beach. Saw some people screwed up on drugs-they're always funny-and some beautiful water. Got to watch the sun set, this time, on the beach


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Dear Daddy

July 28th 2009 02:03
Dear Daddy,

Happy birthday; you should be 38 today, but you never even lived to be 35. I know I don't write to you as often as I used to, and I'm sorry. But I made a special effort today. Me and Nan are doing a couple things to honour your memory. You will always be my favourite man-nobody can ever replace you in my heart


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5 Things I Like About Fantasy

July 27th 2009 12:15
This is the second exercise in the 31 Days To Buld A Better Blog series that I'm doing. The second exercise is to write a list post-so here goes.

Fantasy is the genre I write in, and have always written in. Here are five of the reasons why


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Dear Diary 26

July 26th 2009 23:48
Dear Diary,

Evelyn rides at the front with us. We talk, but there is sometimes little to say; she does not speak of her past, before she was captured. Her family lay forgotten in some secret part of her heart, and she does not let them out from there. They are no longer a part of her life. I can see her sadness, and I know she is scarred forever by what has been done to her, but she holds her head high and rides forward as though none of it has happened


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Scheduling A Break

July 26th 2009 10:04
Hello everyone.

I know you guys have all been faithfully reading-and from the leap in numbers, I feel safe in saying that you have also been enjoying my Dear Diary posts. The month draws to a close and I am getting tired. For the last two weeks I've really been struggling with my BiPolar. I don't know for sure what set it off-though I have my suspicions-but I've been rapid cycling for two weeks


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Dear Diary 25

July 26th 2009 02:40
Dear Diary,

I will continue my story now, for these events are to be remembered-and while my Elvish memory is strong, I want them to be remembered by people other than myself. And so I keep them written; someday I hope to put this diary in the library at Elorian. New and old


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Dear Readers

July 25th 2009 21:48
Hi everyone. I've really seen my blog traffic spike over the last month; higher than it's ever been consistently before. I want to say thank you to everyone who is reading-you guys are great.

I was up all night last night at a party (it happens, at times, in the summer) and I'm still kind of tired; I may or may not get one of my Dear Diary posts done tonight. If not, I'll just catch myself back up. No worries


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Dear Diary 24

July 24th 2009 20:34
Dear Diary,

Last night the bandits were indeed fool enough to come. In fact, they tried to raid my group's storage wagon; big mistake. Three of us followed them back to their lair, which was an old abandoned farmhouse. It rather surprised me, that we had not stumbled upon it on our way out here; but it was just off the path we had traveled


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Dear Diary 23

July 23rd 2009 17:55
Dear Diary,

We made it into the village shortly before nightfall. It was a long ride, but I've endured much longer; the ride from Elorian to here being the longest. Our supplies are running somewhat low-the priestesses that were among the group last night managed to burn much of our supply away. The village people have welcomed us gratefully, praying that we will be able to solve their bandit problem. Because of the bandits, they have nothing to really give us. It has all been stolen. But should we catch them, we can take our pick of whatever they haven't used or sold


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I just found this amazing website:

Really Long Link
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My 'Elevator Pitch'

July 23rd 2009 00:52
So, because I'm procrastinating doing the actual worldbuilding for Jihad work that I should be doing, or the editing-that-person's-novel work that I should be doing, I decided to do the first exercise in 31 Days To A Better Blog.

Well


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I decided to do the 31 Days To Build A Better Blog exercises, available in both workbook format and free emails. As I'm broke, I signed up for the emails, and have them all sitting very prettily in my Gmail Inbox.

I probably won't be up for doing one of these every single day for the next 31. Instead, I'm going to make a pact with myself to do 2 (or more) every week until I've completed all 31. Why? Because I still want to do the exercises, just not at that pace


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Dear Diary 22

July 22nd 2009 20:57
Dear Diary,

I did not get the sleep that I wanted last night. It wasn't quite light yet, but near dawn, when the Fidolians attacked. There were maybe three or four hundred of them. I cannot believe the number of soldiers they have thrown at us; they should be running out. They must have allies that we do not know of, that they have been hiding away from us for quite some time


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Dear Diary 21

July 21st 2009 17:33
Dear Diary,

Today we rose before the sun and ate our breakfast early. We packed up our tents and our bags and put them in our storage wagons-my group has two. I talked briefly with the other generals, who told us to travel along the Appollinian border towards Drakor territory, stopping to help if help was needed anywhere


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Dear Diary 20

July 20th 2009 21:14
Dear Diary,

I woke up at the usual time of morning today, as much as I hate it. I ate my breakfast and then went to speak to the council of generals that the King has decided should be used for this war. I told them of the news, of the letter. I spent hours arguing with them, practically begging them to let us go to the Drakor's aid


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Dear Diary 19

July 19th 2009 19:06
Dear Diary,

The fighting goes on around me, but I do not join in. For these are my days of rest; and I am grateful for them. I spent most of my day reading. Every once in a while I would hear a particularly nasty scream from the battlefield and look up, wishing there was more I could do. But I have fought long and hard for my people, and I am injured. In this condition I cannot fight, it is a sure way to die-my arm is too weak to swing around the sword


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Dear Diary 18

July 18th 2009 20:37
Dear Diary,

It felt so amazing to wake up at a time of my choosing this day. I went to the nearest food tent and got served an early lunch of meat and potato stew with a chunk of cheese and some bread on the side; the staples of army food. Not many people were in the tent and I managed to avoid conversations as I'd hoped I would be able to


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Dear Diary 17

July 18th 2009 10:32
Dear Diary,

I woke up this morning still stiff from the fight yesterday, and had to continue fighting because otherwise they'll break through the first line of defense in the camp. We're barely holding on to that first line; though we are much better trained for the most part than the Fidolians, their sheer numbers are exhausting us and some of us are bound to die


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Progress On Jihad

July 18th 2009 05:22
A few days ago I completed the last of my important character bios for this month. Meaning I have my 3 pages of info for all the Gods, my page on each religious order (excluding an ancient one I'm going to start working on soon and the Fidolian cult thingie), and my 3 pages on each major character.

I also started in on the timelines. Tomorrow I'm going to get back fully into the swing of things; here are my July goals left


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Dear Diary 16

July 18th 2009 01:47
Dear Diary,

This bloodshed is sickening; they just keep attacking and attacking... and dying. I've seen men on my own side die, but it is like the Fidolians are running into slaughter. Both sides have suffered heavy losses, but soon Fidolius will not have an army left. And then the Demon, sick and twisted as he is, will start sending the children to fight


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The Perfect Moment

July 17th 2009 07:41
It was a moment of love all around. We sat by the fire in a circle; there was singing, there was drumming, and two amazing guitarists. Late at night on the beach, enjoying the stars and the moon and the water; everything about the moment was amazing.

As we sat there, they began to sing...

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Dear Diary 15

July 16th 2009 20:26
Dear Diary,

I'm exhausted. The day was long and hot; summer is definitely setting in. It will be a brutal summer. The fighting is so tiring, such sweaty work. My eyes are drooping but I have things I need to say; things I must get out of my mind, thoughts I must let loose into the world


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Dear Diary 14

July 16th 2009 08:07
Dear Diary,

I've had another long day of fighting. But I fight for my sister. She's far enough away now that they won't catch her, but I fight because I still fear. I fight for the men, women and children of Appollinia who won't stand a chance if the army gets past us. I fight for my friends, my family, and my men. I fight for many reasons, and I will not abandon the fight, but I grow so tired of it


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A Couple Days Off

July 16th 2009 01:17
I had a strange night. A very strange night. And a stranger morning.

All I have to say is that *I* am in no condition to write. I will be back in operation when I wake up tomorrow, at which point I will be writing 2 posts a day 'til I catch up.
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Dear Diary 13

July 13th 2009 16:31
Dear Diary,

Today a very strange thing happened... We were not fighting all day; my group was allowed to fall back for a few hours. And I must say that these hours were quite probably some of the strangest I have ever encountered. Here is what happened


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AugNoWriMo

July 12th 2009 19:32
Yes folks, it's time for me to go crazy again.

Those of you who have been with me for the last year or more (almost 2 years for a couple of you, which is how long I've been blogging) will probably remember (or maybe not) that last year I decided to jump into this crazy endeavour


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Dear Diary 12

July 12th 2009 18:36
Dear Diary,

I'm tired today; we fought long and hard yesterday, well into the night. It was quite a force to be reckoned with that hit our borders. Many men fighting for both sides died, none that I knew personally but all of them brave warriors. Shalorin and the girl are both safe, and though I have a couple bruises, I've come out all right. Elvish armour is a miracle in that way; if it weren't for the strength of this stuff, I might have actually died today


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Dear Diary 11

July 11th 2009 17:15
Dear Diary,

Today our scouts returned from just inside Fidolian territory; the next wave is coming, nearly a thousand men. They will arrive sometime tomorrow, and the camp is preparing itself. I can feel the tension in the air as people sharpen their swords and check their bows. I can feel everyone's expectant glares at the border


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Dear Diary 10

July 10th 2009 20:13
Dear Diary,

Today I am tired. I cannot place why, but I am exhausted; I slept well last night, again without dreams-that tea works wonders. Those monks are amazing-they grow the herbs themselves. It's like being back at home, where I had any type of tea I wanted. My sister grows those same herbs. It's interesting how much the Seer of the Monastery reminds me of my sister


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Dear Diary 9

July 9th 2009 17:51
Dear Diary,

We spent most of the day moving our camp. From where we are now we can hear the fighting but we can't always see it. It still makes me feel a lot better just knowing that we have other men on our side around us. We can sleep a little more easily than we could have on the other side of the border-we have allies here, all around us, who will fight with us, set off alarms, fight for us. Out there we were utterly alone


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How I Got Into Poetry

July 9th 2009 03:08
Those of you who read my blog regularly and have been for some time now (I actually think that might be most of my 10 or so readers) will know that poetry is one of my greatest passions. For me it flows easily and quickly; I don't have first drafts and second drafts of poems. I have one draft, and you either see that draft or you never see the poem at all.

The first writing I ever got really into was short story writing. Since I've started writing novels, I've found it much harder to write short stories now, as when I try, they end up growing into novels. It's somewhat frustrating but I get through it


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Developing Your Voice

July 8th 2009 23:20
I often see writers on various forums asking the same questions. Usually they're questions about things like chapter length, pacing, character building-all those important things. One of the most frequent questions asked isn't specifically about your story though-it's about developing your voice.

Writers ask 'How does one develop their voice


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Dear Diary 8

July 8th 2009 19:39
Dear Diary,

I spent most of my night tossing and turning; though I was tired there was little sleep to be found, but what little of it there was did not bear dreams. That is enough of a relief that I do not mind the exhaustion. I rode to the Monastery and got myself several varieties of tea-stuff to make me focus, stuff to make me sleep without dreams, stuff that just tastes good-and some herbs, various potions, anything I thought I might need


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Dear Diary 7

July 8th 2009 05:33
Dear Diary,

I had the nightmares again last night. This blood will never wash off of my hands; these memories will be a stain on my soul until the day I die. War scars all men, even those who do not die, who are never really wounded. None of us will forget these days, these harsh times. In which we must kill, in which we must fight


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Dear Diary 6

July 7th 2009 18:21
Dear Diary,
Last night we fought our way through to the border; because they were sleeping we did not fight near as hard as we would have by day. Only half the men woke in time to fight us, and many of them simply fell back as the others died. We were going back to our border. And they are tired, they have fought as long and as hard as we have.

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Dear Diary 5

July 6th 2009 19:50
Dear Diary,

We spent our day traveling into the forest; the border is only half a day away. We have only stopped for two hours and then we must resume our travel with lanterns. It is too risky to rest here; this is where the enemy's forces are thickest


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Dear Diary 4

July 6th 2009 14:29
Dear Diary,

Finally my messengers have returned. Shalorin and I conversed deeply about the state of the war, of the kingdoms themselves. Both grow weaker. But both still maintain the fight, though it seems to be much less at the border now; both sides are taking a little break to recover


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Dear Diary 3

July 3rd 2009 20:00
Dear Diary,
I am quite bored of staying here. I hope they do not tell us to press further; my men are not ready to strike Fidolius at the heart. I want to go back to the border, where we can safely sleep and eat and not be afraid that a large force will come down swinging swords for our necks. Shalorin and the other messengers have not returned; I am beginning to worry for it has been near four days now-they should arrive tonight.

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Working Towards Your Goals

July 3rd 2009 12:51
As writers we must set goals. Without knowing where we want to go, how are we supposed to get there? Especially considering that writing can be such a vicious industry-when we're going for professional publication, we have to be twice as willing to do the work as when we're writing for friends or family.

But once we've written our goals, how do we push ourselves to achieve them


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Dear Diary 2

July 2nd 2009 12:43
Dear Diary,

They did not come to our camp by night; they came with the morning, but not too large a group-at most a hundred men. The hardest part of fighting them off was waking up enough to do it but we all managed. Fidolian soldiers have no strength or skill compared to that of the Elves; but it is not their fault nor that of their teachers. It is simply because we have so much longer to learn


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Dear Diary 1

July 1st 2009 15:12
Dear Diary,
Though they hail me a great warrior I grow sick of this fight; we all hav our beliefs, why can't we just accept it? Fidolius and Appollinia can never fully be one. Not after the scars that tore the countries apart centuries ago. And we Elves would never submit to a human ruler, nor to be made to worship Fidolian Gods.

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Writing Goals

July 1st 2009 11:10
Setting and working towards writing goals is essential if you want to really do something with your writing. I learned this a long time ago-almost six years in fact. My goal was 'I will write a 50, 000 word novel' and my mission was a success.

Now, I will admit. I've tried to apply this over and over and over again with varied amounts of success. Nanowrimo is the one goal I have consistently achieved (excluding my second year of course) and I am very proud of it


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