The Food Challenge Plan

While I'm still new to youtube and the main focus of my channel is similar to this blog (fiction and fitness) at times I want to also focus on food. I have fun with eating different foods and enjoy a good splurge every now and then.

First, I will admit that I don't really consider any meals or days to be "cheats". Or foods for that matter. However, might end up using the term at times since it might not be my method but I know other people do use them and search for them, so the goal is in part to get traffic and be able to communicate with people who read the blogs or watch the videos.

While it seems a bit un-fitness or fiction related, I do have an idea in order to combine everything together and still keep the channel/blog/platform focused. Take it as my spin on the food challenge, if you will.


The Plan:

Every food challenge I will also do something writing related to post here on the blog.

Option one is to write a story using elements of the particular challenge. That means I will write a flash fiction piece or scene that include something from what I was eating. For example, the 3x3 king size Reese's challenge is for getting 9 followers. The writing plan is a flash fiction story that uses PB, sticks, fastbreak and something from the king size cups with the pieces on the inside and not as the actual food in the story. I'm thinking of a character whose name/ranking is PB9 but haven't quite decided yet.

Option two is for some of the number based challenges, more like the 10k calorie challenge, where the goal would be to write that many words in the same day or a separate day. I would probably put the item in my portfolio on writing.com and post a link in the blog post for those that are interested, though have to decide on the access limitations since the whole "free online equates to published" aspect.

That is the plan and hoping it helps get me more active in posting on here too.  Plus want to have fun videos for youtube though will also have some on writing topics as well. Hopefully I can even get over 20 followers on the channel some day. To see the videos, don't forget to check out and subscribe: my youtube channel.

Upcoming challenges and their stories are:
3x3 king size Reese's
Dozen Dunkin Donuts
Burger King Dollar Menu


Then a break for my 13 week cut, which hopefully will go well and I can do some fun food challenges over summer. Plus, more writing. In fact, I should do that. And study, I definitely need to study.

NaNoWriMo 2016

Another year and another novel. Or well, similar world of a previous attempt but still different novel. I am revisiting the world from the epic year of 2012. Then I managed to get 160,000 words in the month on a novel that ended up just under 180,000 for the first draft. The novel will be split into two when I finally get to the rewrite as it's too long without much worldbuilding or description. In order to develop some of the plot for the series and the world, I've decided this year to do a novel following a different character.

The series that I've written thus far focuses on Aeon. He is a young mage student who struggles in his studies because of a past attack that affected his memory. There are many things he doesn't remember or know, including his own full identity.

Yes, it's a little done before with the secret prince/princess but that's where the story went. And what brings in the new novel is that he has someone who protects him. That person went through intensive training and has to be fully dedicated to the point of putting his own life on the line if necessary.

That character is Xan and now he's getting his own novel.

While most of the time I don't care for when a novel comes out afterwards that actually goes before book 1 in the series but mine aren't published. So, we are going to find out what it takes to become Aeon's protector.


Hoping to get at least 100,000 words with the first 50k done within the first week. I will update on here for sure, along with a few other topics. End of the year, 2016 blog posting come back. Woot. Plus, it's almost midnight and I can't wait to write.


Are you writing for NaNoWriMo?
What is your novel about?

Random Writings

Lately I've had a couple random bits of writing occur and figured it would make for an interesting blog post. I will do a fitness/health post in the near future though, so look forward to a green bean recipe or two. ;-)


But first, random writings!

What do I mean? Well, most of the time, even though I'm not an outliner, when I have a story idea I've thought it through. I watch the story and get to know the character in my head before I do much writing at all. This goes for both short stories and novels. Also is why I don't quite consider myself a true "pantser" because I don't quite discover the story as it goes along on the page most of the time.

And I guess that is what this is really about, attempting to discovery write.

With one story that I have finished in the last month, it all started with a title. I came up with a title that included Fire. From there I wrote a couple paragraphs, then the final sentence, added space between the start and finish, then went from there. Each day that I added bits, for a good portion of the writing, I didn't know where I was going even though I knew the last line.

Another story that got sent out this week has a similar conception. The story started with a prompt about "Mercury" as a name. I wasn't sure what to do at first so this time I started with the first line of the story, about the character being called Mercury. Each time I added a little more to the story (it took a couple weeks at least), I didn't know where I was headed, but now I have the story done and though it's odd, I kinda like it. I've sent it out already. Got an awesomely quick rejection from one place and that made me send it to another place. I'm all about keep trying and submitting and smiling at rejections (yay!). Oh, also since I had one vote on my "rejections" poll and a few people on facebook like my comment (mostly writers, not just family, lol), I am going to have a little place off to the right that shows the number of items I have out and the number of rejections I've received. And back to the story writing topic...

In some ways it's kind of fun to sit down each day with a goal of adding words to a story but not knowing where that will take things. Not having it planned out. Granted by the end, before I get there, I have something in my head, but it's still fun to discover so much along the way.

And in line with the random write, in a group on Sparkpeople.com we have someone who posts prompts and others will write little snippets based on the prompt in the forum. Since it's forum then it has to be short, more micro fiction style. I don't often post on those cause getting novelist to write short story is hard enough, getting me to write micro fiction is even worse (I try though). Well, today is a different story. I wrote an unplanned snippet from the prompt "In the distance..." And since it's posted on the forum there and thus "published" I figured why not share it here as well.

Untitled story by Me

In the distance existed hope.

Beyond the fence of trees, the forest overgrowth that stretched for unknown miles, lay endless possibilities. A real chance to start anew. No history dragging down in the depths of emotional seas. No pain, rejection or loss of concepts once held close to heart. Only the endless possibilities with the potential for a brighter future displayed out beyond the choking vines of the city.
Behind remained regret.

Mistakes made and promises shattered on the cold concrete simmered in the background along with broken memories of a distant childhood. Heart wrenched, shredded in cold indifference held no strength to stay in the cold place once called home. Crushed dreams and empty bedroom provided little reason to stay.

In the distance lay fear.

The unknown truth remained with no guarantee of brighter shores or better times. Hidden behind the serene tree-line existed a world unexplored with potential for both excitement and disaster. Surviving thus far didn't guarantee a future. Leaving held no promise of safety, kinship or comfort.
Behind existed a known trouble.

Comfort came in knowing despite all odds, survival continued in the cold alleys of the city. Having a past indicated ways to continue to a future, more possibilities with the risks already known. Even the empty arms of the friends that remained there had some warmth.

Standing on the brink of change, the past a beckoning hum of pain and regret at his back while the haunting danger of beautiful unknown lay ahead, he took a step forward.

Novel for NaNoWriMo

So, I picked out which novel I was going to write for National Novel Writing Month like... a month ago. I just forgot to post the result on here, oops.

Out of the 3 novels I spent October prepping, I am going to work on:

Aeon/Xan - This is one of those, character doesn't know they are royalty types. Aeon is a mage student who has never had a stable home, doesn't know his parents or even his real name. One year he met Xan and after a fight asked him to protect him but had no idea how much of an impact he made on Xan, who later becomes his warder. Something also affects his memory (need to decide what) so he no longer remembers Xan and may never pass the mage test because it requires memorizing spells. Both him and Xan have wild magic, which is deemed inferior. I started writing this in first person in a notebook, but it was horrible. Recently I wrote a part of the story from Xan's POV and it has deepened the story. (fantasy) series

Yep. Fantasy novel.

Correction: Young Adult Fantasy novel.   eeek!

My track record for nanowrimo is: 
Romance/Erotica: 50k NaNo 2008, 99k+ NaNo 2011
Fantasy: 65k (50k in 15days, march 2010), 51k in 13 days NaNo 2010
Young Adult: 14k NaNo 2007 (took 2 years for first draft to end at 23k, rarely writing on it), 17k (march 2011), 25k+ NaNo 2011

Yeah, for fantasy I'm fine, for book with romance in it in some way, fine, but that pesky young adult part causes trepidation. Can I write a young adult novel in one month? I'm not sure. Then again, maybe this is the year and the book I'll do it, I'll finally write over 50k of a young adult book in one month! I hope.

That and I'm trying to tell myself it's just a fantasy novel even though the characters decided to go YA on me. Yep, just a fantasy novel.



Who is ready for NaNoWriMo?
Anyone else with trepidation?

Novels to Prep for NaNo

I narrowed the list down even more. These are the top three, the ones I will prep during October and hopefully pick one from by November.

Octave's Story - This is a science fiction one that i guess in a little way reminds me of the Matrix in that there is a system to fight against. But none of the "one" nonsense. Groups are chosen to take part in displayed rebellions, and each group has an Other (non-human) but they don't know till after training who the other is on their ship. Octave is an other, and he ends up in the rebellion because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He never intended to rebel but when faced with that or death (and the death of a child) he chose to fight. (sci-fi) stand-alone

Aeon/Xan - This is one of those, character doesn't know they are royalty types. Aeon is a mage student who has never had a stable home, doesn't know his parents or even his real name. One year he met Xan and after a fight asked him to protect him but had no idea how much of an impact he made on Xan, who later becomes his warder. Something also affects his memory (need to decide what) so he no longer remembers Xan and may never pass the mage test because it requires memorizing spells. Both him and Xan have wild magic, which is deemed inferior. I started writing this in first person in a notebook, but it was horrible. Recently I wrote a part of the story from Xan's POV and it has deepened the story. (fantasy) series

Snow White - Male version of Snow White, to a degree. The women are the ones who usually take over the crown because they have magic in the family line. However, Snow is the only child the king and queen had. His powers haven't been discovered yet. Even though his servant still believes in him, he knows many doubt his ability to reign as the realm starts to decay. He leaves the castle in order to travel the land and find a way to be of use. (fantasy) stand-alone

NaNoWriMo 2012 Ideas

Okay, I was going to do a post on whether or not I should take part in National Novel Writing Month this year but looks like I've already made that decision. So, next is which novel to write. I need to narrow down my ideas to 1-3 of them for the October Prep Challenge I take part in on Writing.com. Last year, I worked on three during the prep and used one of them during NaNoWriMo and wrote another that I hadn't prepared at all.

This year I have a list of 10 ideas to pick from and they are almost all fantasy stories. I must say, I'm surprised I have so many stand-alone ideas on this list. Though that may change. The YA I worked on last year was a stand-alone. I haven't even finished the first draft yet and it has a sequel planned now.

1. Wood Fae MC story. - However, I prepped this novel last year for the challenge, so I probably won't do it. But it's an option as I still need to write the novel at some point. And I need to finish worldbuilding it. (fantasy) stand-alone

2. Octave's Story - This is a science fiction one that i guess in a little way reminds me of the Matrix in that there is a system to fight against. But none of the "one" nonsense. Groups are chosen to take part in displayed rebellions, and each group has an Other (non-human) but they don't know till after training who the other is on their ship. Octave is an other, and he ends up in the rebellion because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He never intended to rebel but when faced with that or death (and the death of a child) he chose to fight. (sci-fi) stand-alone

3. Red - A tale based in part on red riding hood, though the one under the hood is a boy. The part about going to grannies house however is just the start. The wolf is actually a man who uses the grandma to get Red to join him on a plan to change the realm he lives in (not the same one Red was raised in however). He had been looking for an adult but Red's father is no longer alive and he never had the abilities. The riding hood was passed down to Red from his grandfather. (fantasy) stand-alone

4. Djinn - Magic type character, not sure if he relates enough to qualify as a djinn but working on the details. He is under threat constantly, always on the run because as long as he'd on his own he's viewed as a danger to society. Only those that are claimed by Masters are left alone.  His bf is a djinn too and has a Master. He gets tricked into getting a Master too and hates it. But his Master offers him something, a challenge and the prize is his freedom. (fantasy) stand-alone

5. Aeon/Xan - This is one of those, character doesn't know they are royalty types. Aeon is a mage student who has never had a stable home, doesn't know his parents or even his real name. One year he met Xan and after a fight asked him to protect him but had no idea how much of an impact he made on Xan, who later becomes his warder. Something also affects his memory (need to decide what) so he no longer remembers Xan and may never pass the mage test because it requires memorizing spells. Both him and Xan have wild magic, which is deemed inferior. I started writing this in first person in a notebook, but it was horrible. Recently I wrote a part of the story from Xan's POV and it has deepened the story. (fantasy) series

6. Rebellion - has similarities to #2 as came up in the same month. Though this one could be sci-fi or fantasy. MC goes to a city that is under the control of a larger organization and struggling to survive. He helps encourage them to rebel, joining in the fight. But he fails to tell the one he gets close to that he's actually a slave. That his own home was far worse than what they experience and he was sold by his brother. He doesn't even have a real name, just one some tribe gave to him on his journeys. (fantasy or sci-fi) stand-alone

7. Blood Prophesy - This one I'm always hesitant with because they do in some ways have similarities to vampires. Not human, can feed on humans but also on each other. They feed on the energy of humans though it's not as satisfying as actually eating them. Most live on a different realm, however, and have been blocked from invading the human world but the lines are weak and a war is brewing. Female MC (only one this year on list) is one of them, and she is seeking the Prophet, who she was instructed to kill because that would stop the war because the prophet could be used by someone else to break the barrier entirely. But she doesn't know it's a lie. (fantasy/paranormal/ish) series

8. Snow White - Male version of Snow White, to a degree. The women are the ones who usually take over the crown because they have magic in the family line. However, Snow is the only child the king and queen had. His powers haven't been discovered yet. Even though his servant still believes in him, he knows many doubt his ability to reign as the realm starts to decay. He leaves the castle in order to travel the land and find a way to be of use. (fantasy) stand-alone

9. Witch story - MC is a male witch, but his parents struggle to accept that he's gay. He joins the military to get his father's approval and is away fighting in a war when disaster strikes the world. Both him and his boyfriend are in the war when it happens but the war gets forgotten due to bigger problems. They end up having to leave to try and head home, fighting through natural disasters and strange attacks. It's a struggle to survive and he must find the source of the disasters. (fantasy) stand-alone

10. Another magic slave type - This one is based a little off the anime, Black Butler, in that it helped inspire the idea but the premise isn't similar. MC is a magic weilder, almost an adult and managing on his own. He is strong and capable, not worried about getting an owner because he's deemed a lesser since has no formal training. However, he saves a younger boy (mid teens) who had been taken to be sold in slavery, not knowing he was a rich kid. When the boy goes to thank him, the bond is made and he becomes owned by the boy. He struggles in the new world that he is forced into and must protect his Master who has made many enemies. (fantasy) stand-alone


Any thoughts?
Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?
What are you writing?