Kalayna Price

My dog has a curious habit If he sees me looking at him, he will wag just the tip of his tail, just once or twice. *thump.....thump* If I then talk to him, the whole tail wags. *thump, thump* If I stand and start walking over to him, the tail really gets going. *Thump, Thump, Thump* I reach out, *THUMP, THUMP, THUMP* my hand reaches his head, *THUMP.....* and the tail stops. Now, this happens on a regular basis, not just once in a while. So, is petting a let down? Or is it that the anticipation is exciting and once the petting starts he calms down to happily indulge in it? I'm not sure, but I know when I'm reading a book, it is the anticipation that really strings me along and adds tension. This works in lots of writing elements, whether it's action and danger, or relationships. Holding out really keeps the pages turning (and the readers tail thumping.) Once we reach that fight/love scene/ whatever has been building, that anticipation should be reaching the boiling point, b...

*Note, this turned out rather long* Yesterday, (in a very ranty blur) I briefly mentioned that I worked on a storyline for a game my brother is designing. I want to expand on that topic. Since early high school, my brother has wanted to be a game programmer, and since I've always written, I basically promised to write storylines for him eons ago. Well, now he is finishing his degree in programing, and he and three other engineers are designing a turn based RPG for their thesis (or something.) He told me about the project weeks ago and asked me to think up a story for it. We don't see each other that often these days, but we managed to steal a little bit of time to discuss things like battle mechanics and class types, (which can affect the story) but really that was all we had time to talk about. I tried to work out a story from scratch knowing only a little of the mechanics they would be using, but everywhere I turned I hit stumbling blocks. This isn't a big budgeted Final...

Insomnia, that is. If you've ever said "I'll sleep when I'm dead" or "I could get so much more done it I didn't have to sleep"...you're kidding yourself. Sure, it sounds great to have 22 hours in a day instead of 16 or so, but let me tell you, having 16 usable hours is much better than 22 hazy hours. What is this all about? I've had insomnia since just before Christmas. Over the past month or so, I've celebrated the handful of days were I've managed to get 4 to 6 hours of sleep. I really need 8 to function, and I'm partial to 9...but in the past weeks I've averaged 2 a night, and that has typically been interrupted. Laying in the dark, staring at the walls gets very old, very fast. Many times I get back up after a few hours of waiting on sleep, and I try to work or read, but just because I can't sleep doesn't mean I'm not tired--that deep ache behind the eyes tired. I feel like I'm walking dead in a thick haze ...