tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59495287623363995132024-03-13T04:43:38.203+00:00The Random Thoughts of ChippyChippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.comBlogger873125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-1409653304287002672017-01-01T08:00:00.000+00:002017-01-01T08:00:00.912+00:00Taking A Break...I've decided to take a break from blogging...<br />
<br />
Over the last year blogging has become more of a chore to me. I tried to change this by condensing my two blogs in to one but I still don't feel as excited about blogging as I used to.<br />
<br />
So I decided to start 2017 by having a break.<br />
<br />
I don't know if or when I'll be back but hopefully a break will inspire me and help me return with enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
So til then...<br />
<br />
Happy New Year!Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-9539749569138667982016-12-26T12:00:00.000+00:002016-12-26T12:00:08.572+00:00Random Quote #315<em>Let us go forth with fear and courage and rage to save the world. </em><br />
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Grace Paley <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-46711885403569582572016-12-25T08:00:00.000+00:002016-12-25T08:00:06.041+00:00Merry Christmas Everyone!<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZeyHl1tQeaQ?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-2664790064076268182016-12-19T12:00:00.000+00:002016-12-19T12:00:00.162+00:00Random Quote #314<em>Human minds are more full of mysteries than any written book and more changeable than the cloud shapes in the air. </em><br />
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Louisa May Alcott <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-55159706519751718272016-12-12T12:00:00.000+00:002016-12-12T12:00:06.770+00:00Random Quote #313<em>Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember. </em><br />
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David Mamet <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-44074727473047637162016-12-05T12:00:00.000+00:002016-12-05T12:00:05.826+00:00Random Quote #312<em>Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors.</em><br />
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Carl Sagan <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-19079641947619653732016-12-01T09:00:00.000+00:002016-12-01T09:00:14.898+00:00Til Next Year!So <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2016 has come to an end. All there is left for me to say is...<br />
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<br />
...there are now only<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 72.0pt; line-height: 115%;">335 Days</span></b></div>
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to go until the start of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2017! :PChippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-14181398799901298582016-11-28T12:00:00.000+00:002016-11-28T12:00:27.108+00:00Random Quote #311<em>What a curious power words have.</em><br />
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Tadeusz Borowski<em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-80971202847473375642016-11-21T12:00:00.000+00:002016-11-21T12:00:06.920+00:00Random Quote #310<em>Until we invent telepathy, books are our best choice for understanding the rest of humanity. </em><br />
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Christopher Paolini<em> </em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-1250242424176623202016-11-14T12:00:00.000+00:002016-11-14T12:00:10.195+00:00Random Quote #309<i>When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.</i><br />
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Catherine PulsiferChippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-17319370614714276222016-11-07T12:00:00.000+00:002016-11-07T12:00:11.649+00:00Random Quote #308<em>There are no original ideas. There are only original people. </em><br />
<em><br />
</em><br />
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-30151478159010197292016-11-01T00:00:00.000+00:002016-11-01T00:00:31.759+00:00NaNoWriMo 2016 Has Begun!Please turn over your papers, pick up your pens (or fire up your computers) and begin!<br />
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<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2016 has officially begun... in Australia it began a few hours ago... and in the USA it starts in a few hours.<br />
<br />
But here in the UK it starts NOW! (Of course if you are reading this in a couple of months time, well it's all over and done with - 1st drafts are sat fermenting all over the world!)<br />
<br />
I am not taking part this year as I'm still working on ideas and outlines at the moment - I'm not quite sure where the end of the story is going to be. And I've learnt from past experience that if I don't know where I'm heading with a story, I easily get lost or bogged down.<br />
<br />
But good luck to all of you NaNoWriMoers out there who are taking part.<br />
<br />
May the muses and the plot bunnies be with you. And may your pen never run out of ink or your computer out of power! :)Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-46359773597203051402016-10-31T12:00:00.000+00:002016-10-31T12:00:13.376+00:00Random Quote #307<em>So many things are possible as long as you don't know they are impossible. </em><br />
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Mildred D. Taylor <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-32731214336330991662016-10-30T19:00:00.000+00:002016-10-30T19:00:03.106+00:00Creatively Speaking: Secret ProjectsSo Creatively Speaking has been absent for a few weeks now. And that is because I was making my sister's birthday present and I didn't want her to discover what it was.<br />
<br />
But now I have given her the present I can now tell you what it is.<br />
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I made her two tealight things (I can't really call them holders as they sit over the tealight rather than the tealight sits in it).<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJkIAWrsuNKXcV0sVf16L_U8Eu11o1DUY1tEKREwFoYx_A-MqYyIPcHvSxUXCSNF71UrpRVSF42EjY5SkaGOfGFP68V4inYbex8JXSBqQ6c8_xqj9E5CoFkrLEyEHtLX1XnPDTmKDIqlf/s1600/IMG_0873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJkIAWrsuNKXcV0sVf16L_U8Eu11o1DUY1tEKREwFoYx_A-MqYyIPcHvSxUXCSNF71UrpRVSF42EjY5SkaGOfGFP68V4inYbex8JXSBqQ6c8_xqj9E5CoFkrLEyEHtLX1XnPDTmKDIqlf/s320/IMG_0873.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
This is one of them - as I said I made two, the other one is a lot creepier and darker looking. And when I say tealights, they are battery operated tealights as it is likely you would set this one fire if you used real tealights.<br />
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Anyway the point of this post is to direct you to my inspiration for this project.<br />
<br />
I got this idea from a YouTuber called <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Drachenfang" target="_blank">Drachenfang</a></b>. The pumpkins he makes are a lot bigger and more waterproof as they are designed to go outside. The ones I have made are about the size of a large grapefruit, whereas the form Drachenfang made for his was about the size of a beach ball.<br />
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<br />
The videos take you all the way through the project from beginning to end - <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXo-t37QP6c" target="_blank">here is a link to the first one</a></b>.<br />
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He goes in to a lot of detail, tells you exactly what you will need, gives a lot of advice and is entertaining too.<br />
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Due to the size difference I changed some of the materials slightly and
tweaked some of the steps as my pumpkins didn't need to be quite so
waterproof.<br />
<br />
It's kind of late to make any for this Halloween, but you can always make preparations and start getting organised for Halloween 2017!Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-46834889858894083802016-10-24T12:00:00.000+01:002016-10-24T12:00:16.750+01:00Random Quote #306<em>Fiction is life with the dull bits left out. </em><br />
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Clive James <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-89165751693932536552016-10-17T12:00:00.000+01:002016-10-17T12:00:26.915+01:00Random Quote #305<em>Unlike baked beans, loaves of breads or Fuji apples, books once consumed, do not disappear. </em><br />
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John Sutherland <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-62768579183883597402016-10-10T12:00:00.000+01:002016-10-10T12:00:19.737+01:00Random Quote #304<em>Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down. </em><br />
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Lynn Abbey<em> </em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-1401440467500969942016-10-03T12:00:00.000+01:002016-10-03T12:00:20.371+01:00Random Quote #303<em>Everything I was I carry with me, everything I will be lies waiting on the road ahead. </em><br />
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Ma Jian <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-47370637188496569472016-10-01T09:00:00.000+01:002016-10-01T09:00:01.058+01:00NaNoWriMo CountdownThe clock is ticking... there are now only<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 72.0pt; line-height: 115%;">31 Days</span></b></div>
<br />
<br />
to go until the start of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2016 - are you going to take part?Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-24916548554531943542016-09-26T12:00:00.000+01:002016-09-26T12:00:10.765+01:00Random Quote #302<em>If your writing doesn't keep you up at night, it won't keep anyone else up eithe.</em><br />
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James M. Cain <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-64031896717300110972016-09-25T19:00:00.000+01:002016-09-25T19:00:13.664+01:00Creatively Speaking... Or Should That Be Writing?Don't you just love those moments?<br />
<br />
The ones where you've got several story ideas and suddenly a couple of them crash together to form one super story?<br />
<br />
I love those moments.<br />
<br />
I've been furiously scribbling down notes this week after such a moment happened to me.<br />
<br />
I had one character, a character that I had had a crack at writing a story for but it just didn't seem to sit right.<br />
<br />
And then on the other side of my brain I had a group of characters, or maybe more of a concept. I knew there was a group I wanted to write about but wasn't sure how their story would unfold.<br />
<br />
But then the first character who was lost in their own story crashed in to the other group (in my head it was kind a like when to wrestlers propel themselves off of opposite sides of the ring into each other).<br />
<br />
And lo and behold my character now has a story that suits them more. And I can see what the purpose of the other group of characters will be.<br />
<br />
So know I'm writing down notes and trying to outline the story (hopefully that will be completed before the start of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2016).<br />
<br />
I've already realised that the story and the characters are too big for one book (unless I was willing to write a 1000 pager like some authors do so I've already worked out how to split the story up in to a trilogy.<br />
<br />
When was your last eureka moment when it came to writing?Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-77596039239872140732016-09-19T12:00:00.001+01:002016-09-19T12:00:19.013+01:00Random Quote #301<i>When it rains look for rainbows, when it's dark look for stars.</i><br />
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UnknownChippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-62939448120424864132016-09-12T12:00:00.000+01:002016-09-12T12:00:23.260+01:00Random Quote #300<em>Stories make sense when so much around us is senseless, and perhaps
what makes them most comforting is that while life goes on and pain goes
on, stories do us the favor of ending. </em><br />
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John Hodgman <em><br /></em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-33598542306432987582016-09-05T12:00:00.000+01:002016-09-05T12:00:13.610+01:00Random Quote #299<em>May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house. </em><br />
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George Carlin<em> </em>Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5949528762336399513.post-61386976633114935812016-09-04T18:00:00.000+01:002016-09-04T18:00:13.318+01:00Creatively Speaking... Belated NaNoWriMo CountdownI interrupt your regular scheduled post to bring you a belated NaNoWriMo countdown... it didn't occur until today that I had forgotten about the countdown... oops!<br />
<br />
It might be something to do with the fact I haven't been at work for the last week so all the dates just sort of merged in to one... and even changing the calendar didn't stir any memories.<br />
<br />
But better late than never...<br />
<br />
So on the first of September there would have been<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 72.0pt; line-height: 115%;">61 Days</span></b></div>
<br />
<br />
to go until the start of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> 2016... doesn't sound like long does it? But seen as we are now past the first of the month as of today there are now only<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 72.0pt; line-height: 115%;">58 Days</span></b></div>
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<br />to go. (Two countdowns for the price of one - although I hopefully won't be making a habit of it!) Chippyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11598272265567334451noreply@blogger.com0