Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Morning Report

Yeah, okay, so I watch a lot of Disney movies. There are worse things, people. Anyway, so today you're launching into my inner gray matter. I cannot be held responsible for whatever comes spewing out.

1. Meeting, listening to, and talking with Scott Westerfeld was awesome. In fact, there are not words to describe the awesomeness. But Heather has photos--and a contest. So go check that out, because she is awesome in ways I am not. (And yes, you'll see me in the pics. I really need new jeans.)

2. I like Miley Cyrus. Don't judge me.

3. I seriously considered posting a recipe today. No lie. That begs the question: What kind of lame blogger am I? And watch out for tomorrow, because I currently have nothing planned.

4. I hope you're excited for next July's blog posts, because I've already got a couple planned. Let's just say they involve the city of Cleveland. (You can never plan too far ahead.)

5. I'm regretting a decision I made a couple weeks ago and wishing there was a way out of it that wouldn't result in hurt feelings. Le sigh.

6. I'm going shopping this weekend. This is huge for me, because "Elana" and "shopping" never go together in the same sentence, unless we're listing Things That Cause Rashes. (And yes, outlining would be on that list too.)

7. I seriously want to kill every character in my WiP. They are not playing nice, and they've forgotten who breathes life into their pathetic existences. You hear that, Gunner?? *evil eye*

8. I've started two items in this post with "I seriously." My editor would tell me to fix the echo. I'm leaving it just because I can.

9. For the love, only eating 1200 calories a day makes me cranky. But I have to somehow squeeze myself into an airplane seat in April, and I'm determined to do it. But dude, if you even smell like bacon, you might die.

10. I survived Halloween, mostly because it rained and rained and rained. I have never been happier for bad weather.

11. I need a futuristic, dystopian name for a girl. I can't think of a single. freaking. thing. Help?

12. On the advice of those smarter than me, I have created a Facebook fanpage for Possession. But I have no idea what I'm doing. Creating pages on FB is like performing heart surgery in the dark, without scalpels or gauze. I wish I were kidding. If you want me to love you forever (which I already do, so this is useless), please like my pathetic page.

And that'll do, donkeys. (Dude, did you know that's spelled with a Y? I spelled it donkies the first time, and just sat there and stared, trying to figure out why blogger underlined it. Wow.)

What's been swirling around in your gray matter that you just have to spew out?

66 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

Sounds like you're having a blah day. You can write about seeing Scott Westerfeld tomorrow. It was awesome to see him. Or a book you love.

Good luck with the 1200 calories. I need to go back to that too. And exercise more. It is hard. But you're doing good. I can already see it in your pictures.

I'm off work for a few days. Hoping to enjoy some time alone in the house for a change and get some writing done. And see a few friends. Gearing up for my office moving.

Theresa Milstein said...

Glad Westerfeld was awesome.

1200 a day - good luck!

I'm sorry your characters aren't playing nice.

How about Ryen? It' a variation of Wren? Looks and sounds futuristic to me. Means King.

Hurt feelings are the worst. I try to avoid 'em like the plague. Most people are reasonable.

Miley Cyrus? No comment.

Renae said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has days of having nothing planned to post. I love weeks when I have all of my posts planned and written ahead of time.

This is not one of those weeks!

Good luck with the 1200 calories a day, I'm in the same boat which means I have to stay out of the teachers lounge all of the time.

Candyland said...

I like Miley Cyrus too. We will not cower!!!
And I would read any recipe you'd put on here.
And I think you're fabulous.
I don't smell like bacon.

Christine Fonseca said...

Dude...am I the only one who likes swirling around in your gray matter...this post sounds like mst of our daily chats :D

Anonymous said...

Oh my word, this is so funny. Love what's swirling around in your gray matter.

I have a endless, blank pool of gray, so I can't even snag a thought to write down. So, you're doing pretty good being able to verbalize what you've got goin' on.

LOL.

Hope you have a great day, Elana.

Anne Gallagher said...

How about Ola for a futuristic dystopian girl name?

And hey, 1200 calories isn't so bad if they are the RIGHT 1200 calories. (Yeah, like bacon, if you cut all the fat off it and bake it in the oven instead of frying it.)

Scott said...

First - #9 - LMAO!

Second - in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, the character of Lulu is always going on crazy diets. Her last diet was the one diet: she could eat one carrot, one apple, one donut. Okay, the donut thing didn't work out because she at one of every variety. I love Lulu. Oh, and the carrot donut meant it was a vegetable.

Third - 1200 calories? Are you nuts? Sorry, but that's not enough calories in a day. Still, the best line ever from a movie: The Devil Wears Prada "I'm one stomach flu away from a size zero".

S

Tracy Loewer said...

Dang. You guys sure have some cool book stuff going on in Utah. Makes me want to move there. Almost.

And a dystopian girl's name. Hmmm. How about Saeryn (rhymes with Erin)? That's all I've got.

Michelle McLean said...

LOL! #9 is killing me :D and I'm right there with you, so yeah, literally killing me.

A dystopian girl's name? ... How about Bacon ;-) Hey, they probably don't have it in their world and maybe names that celebrate popular things from before whatever disaster turned their world upside down are "in" :D

Magan said...

I'm always up for Magan as a dystopian girl's name... True story: My mom is foreign and spells things how they sound (oh yeah, you should see her emails),so she thought that was just how "Magan" was spelled.

I also wouldn't mind if you posted a recipe tomm... something easy that I can make and possibly with pineapple.

Anonymous said...

Hey Elana! (Look! I spelled it right! *triple checking to make sure*)
I watch a lot of Disney, too. Movies, shows on Disney Channel (some of those are actually not too bad...though I forgot how much they overact), and Nickelodeon. I have two toddlers. If I'm watching any TV at all, it's something with them. Otherwise, I'm writing.

1200 calories a day? Oy vey. Um...good luck?

Nicole Zoltack said...

Hubby and I bought a bunch of Disney movies to give the boys for Christmas. lol, gotta grow up with the classics! :)

And I feel your pain re: dieting. I can't cut my calories too severely (cuz of nursing) and even with exercising, the scale isn't budging. :(

Anonymous said...

First - I won't even comment on the whole 1200 calories a day thing. (The hazelnut cream I just put in my coffee was more than 1200 calories.)

Second - It's easy to see your blogs are well thought out and planned because they are all so great!

Third - I don't smell like bacon, so I'm safe there. But I did have a ceasar salad last night, so I'll stay away just the same.

Fourth - Dystopian girl's name? Sorry, all I'm coming up with are bacon related names. Porketta? Baconette? Gawd, I'm seriously no help.

Anonymous said...

I could actually become addicted to visiting author signings/events...but, that means I'll have to move cities because we don't get enough in Cincy. Not that I know of.
I love your lists. And for some reason, I feel like I can help on every point. But, you may not want my help because the dystopian, futuristic name that popped in my head was Jane. Good, right? What about Sorrel? Okay, I'll stop trying.

B.E. Sanderson said...

1200 cal a day is evil. Good luck and success getting down to the size you want. =o)

I liked your page, and no, it's not pathetic.

Spewage: I'm just happy I made my NaNo words before I got hit with whatever chest-coldy thing slapped me around last night. I seriously need sleep. Or another ten cups of coffee.

Christi Goddard said...

I have a long list of names I use for my stuff. Here's some I haven't used yet, if you like:

Tula, Kazmi, Kari, Xoma, Herma, Edica, Wenne, Aryl, Xatti, Brue, Luya, Kallai, Penre, Luri, Sari, or Orta.

Unknown said...

I thought the plural of donkeys was asses ... who knew?

Futuristic dystopian girl names:

Chaos Gem*
Charla Freedom
Ursula Unrest
Karma Gonewrong
Amanda Upheaval
Becca ISHOULDHAVEGROWNUPINOHIO1978

* Only if she is a struggling stripper with a heart of gold

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss elana! yikes! you sure got lots of swirling going on in your head. it got me dizzy! i like disney movies too! i know you couldnt want to hurt anyones feelings on purpose cause youre just too nice. sometimes stuff like that ends up ok and we get learning something from it. for me i thought donkeys was spelled donkees. ha ha. i hope you do good on your diet. my sisters always dieting. ack! for me i just eat whatever i want and dont get fat. mostly i live on peanut butter cups! :)i hope you have a nice rest of today.
...hugs from lenny

Melody said...

I like Miley too! (And have decided I shall like her forever NO MATTER WHAT!)

Hmmm, female dystopian names. For some reason, the eight notes of an octave are coming to mind: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do...

*raises eyebrows* Apparently, NaNo is already taking my sanity... :/ :)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Oh, Elana, you always make me smile! And no, I don't smell like bacon, so we can still be friends, K? K! As for your futuristic girl name, I am kind of partial to Dashner - it could be the new Jennifer, don't ya think?! Ha ha ha! :-)

Elena Solodow said...

Gladly, I do not smell like bacon. I have officially liked your Facebook page.

dolorah said...

shhhh, I like Miley too.

And my grey matter turned to mush. I have to hurry off to work though; I'll check out your FB page later.

......dhole

Paul Greci said...

I read your blog not quite daily, but at least three or four times a week. And I've gotta say, I've never been disappointed. Today was no exception :-)

Futuristic girl's name: Iyla?

My grey matter??? I woke up at three a.m.--I think I'm mostly operating from the brain-stem right now, which brings me to another futuristic name: Medulla??

TheCreativeMrsK said...

I love love love your blog, if that makes you feel any better.
1) I feel you with the airplane thing!!! I'm a Registered Dietitian (by day) who loves food wayyyyy too much.
2) (By Night...) I started NaNo and I'm terrified. I don't think I'll make it through, but at the same time I'm entirely excited. I started from complete scratch and I'm mind-bendingly surprised by what is coming out. No plans, just typing!
3) I am seriously asking everyone I know if they can extend the day for me. Maybe I haven't asked the right people... God? Pretty-please? :-D

Liza said...

I like Miley Cirus. I hate shopping. It would be hard to give up bacon. I have a new FB fanpage also (LCS Prints) and I too am clueless. I bet mine is more pathetic then yours. I'll "like" you if you'll "like" me! (JK, I'll like you anyway.)

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a report!

Girl name for dystopian: Eos

*swishes cape and bounds into the night*

Jill Kemerer said...

Did I hear bacon?? Mmm...

I hear you on the shopping. I'm a horrific shopper. I keep a cold can of "emergency Coke" in my purse to get me through!

Off to check out your new FB page!!

Olivia Carter said...

Wow- thanks a lot of your plate! Good luck & it was a blast seeing you at the Westerfeld thing! (I may have even blog fan mentioned meeting you on my blog too! hehe!)

Colene Murphy said...

I like Miley too!

For my dystopian, coming up with names for main characters was fun. I just took words for things and took out or changed a letter somewhere till I found something that sounded awesome. Worked really well.

I hate FB fanpage set ups! Good luck with all that...

Matthew MacNish said...

OMG. I seriously have to run off to check and see if I've ever posted a recipe *clinches every muscle in body with dread*

...

and for number 11? Caith? I don't know, it sounds pretty bad to me, nowhere near as cool as Jag Barque, but it's all that popped into my head.

Roxy said...

It takes a strong woman to stick to a 1,200 calorie limit during a rainy Halloween weekend. Way to go, Elana! You are awesome. Food must be on my brain because the word donkies makes me think of Twinkies and Ding Dongs . . .

Tina Lynn said...

Oh, man, I need a brain transplant. I left to like your fanpage and GOT SUCKED INTO FACEBOOK FOR LIKE EVER! *sigh* I'm supposed to be composing my NaNo masterpiece and I fell into the blackholetimesuck of Facebook. *sob, sob* Don't worry. I don't blame you. *trudges away to awaiting WIP*

Marsha Sigman said...

First of all, diets suck.

I DO smell like bacon! No, I will not come over.

And name the character Suri, like Tom-Kat's kid. Because in a futuristic, dystopian society...I believe she would rule.lol

ali cross said...

PEOPLE! This is Elana in person. I swear, THIS POST is exactly like what being in a conversation with E is like.

You have to practically wear Depends because you just might wet yourself.

Love ya, E!

Rachel Harris said...

He he, I subscribe to your blog but realized I don't think I've ever come here to comment. SORRY! Okay, totally agree on the Miley Cyrus thing. I love teeny bopper things that are happy and don't involve killing and fighting--they have their place, don't get me wrong, but I enjoy happy drivel sometimes. And at least she likes her dad--have you seen some of those teen shows with the back talk, grrr.
1200 calories? My problem with those diets is I can never think of meal plans and enough things I like... SO blog post idea when you are out of ideas, can you list your food ideas for those writer moms like me who's butts are expanding on the chair?
I "liked" your page on FB and wrote there, and I'll say it again-- You are a blessing to the writing community!

February Grace said...

What's floating around in my gray matter today is hoping people can support each other's creative endeavors and be kind even if they take a different road to get there-in other words: 'don't hate me because I'm a Wrimo'... I know it needs editing when it's done. All first drafts do whether you write them in a month or a decade.

For the dystopian name, I'd suggest Sentry. Don't know why, it just came to me and dang maybe I should use that one myself. Good luck finding the one that fits your character!

~bru

Karen Lange said...

Um, I've actually gotten some good recipes from some writer friends' blogs. Note that I disregarded the ones with asparagus.

Oh and don't stop by in the next hour or two. I had a few bacon bits on my baked potato for lunch. If you call first I can light a candle...

Shannon Messenger said...

Aw. I love the random Elana ramblings. (Also--1200 calories a day???? Wowza, that's um...limiting)

Oh, on the name thing, have you tried googling it? I was having the hardest time finding a name for a character and then I decided he was kind of fiery, so I googled "names that mean fire" and I found a super long list which had the perfect name on it. What would we do without google?

Bast said...

1200 calories ... yeah, totally not fun. The trick is though ... you can't have food in the house. That's what I've learned from my own experiences. If there's food, I'll eat. If there's not food, I don't really think about it much. So you are absolutely not allowed to have bacon anywhere near your person at any time (until the 1200 calorie thing is over ... or unless you only want to have bacon and be done for the day).

PS - I like Miley Cyrus too.

Emy Shin said...

Only eating 1200 calories a day? That's really difficult. Good luck!

Also, I feel the pain about creating dystopian names for your characters. I'm currently using placeholder names until the "perfect" ones hit.

Write Chick said...

Haha. Great Post.

Okay--out of the closet--I am totally a Disney-whore too. I watch Suite Life on Deck and laugh and my favorite Jo Bro is Nick. Seriously. I'm pathetic.

I've never been able to do the 1200calorie thing either. IT SUCKS. However, I found an awesome *free* website called Fit Tracker that figures how many calories you CAN eat and tracks your food. You just type in the name of the food and it adds up the calories for you. I found out I could eat a WHOLE LOT more calories than 1200 and still lose weight. So. Worth it. Check it out.

As far as dystopian names, I had a student in my class a couple of years ago named Allora. I thought it would be a good book character name. You can have it.
Wait. Maybe you should name her Callora--you know, as a euphemism for your dietary suckishness you're currently in the middle of.

kathrynjankowski said...

My home boys won the World Series!!!

Life is sweet. ;-)

Little Ms J said...

I like posts where we get to see the REAL you. That's right, I said it.

Tana said...

The fact that you are planning next July's post this far in advance makes me feel like a huge slacker. I'll be gone most of next summer and I really thought about just going dark for those weeks. I suppose I could go all auto on my followers but I'd feel pretty bad not leaving a comment on their blogs for almost an entire season.

BTW, I too like Miley even though my 9y/o has turned on her.

Remember to vote today!!!

Misha Gerrick said...

My sympathies on the diet.

After the wheels on mine fell off, I have returned to it yesterday. And anything that smells like bread, sugar (yes, I can. I am that twisted) and/or chocolate, I want to attack the person with the nerve to consume it in front of me.

Terrible terrible habit to kick, sugar.

:-)

Best of luck!

Jonathon Arntson said...

1. Nice.

2. So judging you, like a fly on the wall.

3. I like recipes. It's the making of the food I have the problem with.

4. (lila?) (rock'n'roll hall of fame?) (erie?)

5. Fine, whatever, you don't have to be my BFF anymore. :(

6. Shopping causes rashes? That's a problem.

7. Then they are doing their job.

8. It totally works.

9. If it makes you feel any better, I also have an unhealthy relationship with food. While reading this post, I ate two chicken salad sandwiches, in bed. Once I was finished with the sandwiches I realized I had not brought a fork with me for the leftover bits, so I used my napkin and pushed the stuff into my mouth and then realized my only napkin was now covered in chicken salad goo. So I liked my fingers. Um, this is grossing me out just typing it, but I cannot change the past. Now I am eating a king size Reese's stick.

10. I am sad that you disdain Halloween. I thought you'd be all over the darkness and candiness of it all.

11. Harper? Yeah, no...

12. Uh.....................................





are you calling us donkeys......?

sweet.

Lydia Kang said...

I like your list. It's real and it's you and reminds me that even great authors are just human!

Dystopian name? I'll give you one I liked but couldn't find a character for:

Neera.

Kelly H-Y said...

This post made me laugh out loud ... thanks for the afternoon chuckle!

Krispy said...

Wish I could help you with the name, but I'm always stuck for names. Good luck!

Maybe you should kill a character. You know, as a warning to the others. :P Mine never play nice.

Marieke said...

Heh, I totally started singing The Morning Report when I read that title! *dances*

(Also, kill characters. It's fun :P)

Eric said...

LOL, how can we NOT judge you for Miley Cyrus? I mean c'mon, that's just BEGGING to be judged!

Just kidding Elana :)

Liesl Shurtliff said...

I ate 40 fun size snickers in three days last week. But I guess that's not something a girl on a 1200 calorie diet wants to hear.

Lisa_Gibson said...

You rock Elana! I couldn't make it on 1,200 calories and especially during NaNo. :) Who am I kidding, even not doing NaNo. See if they make a smencil in bacon scent. It might help, just saying.
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover

Joanne said...

I don't really know Miley's music, but I've seen a couple fairly recent interviews with her, and always find them entertaining. She's interesting to listen to. Hm, would Miley work for the name you're looking for?

Julie Musil said...

OMG, you are so funny. I promise to leave my bacon perfume at home if I ever meet you in person. As for your Facebook page, I'm off to like it!

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Okay, I'm not all that fond of Miley Cyrus.

But I think Selena Gomez is just the cutest thing ever! Almost everything she says makes me laugh, and I seriously want her hair.

Anonymous said...

loving the echo .. because you can.. you are such a rebel!
bacon... na not the bacon ...

Amie Kaufman said...

1200 calories a day? I would eat the first thing I saw that stood still long enough. I'd be sorry later, but not worry enough to, you know... not repeat that behaviour the next day. I applaud your willpower.

Sarah Wylie said...

Disney movies are. awesome. Even the new ones (think: Camp Rock, Camp Rock 2, High School Musical, HSM 2 *cough* They make a lot of sequels, don't they?) Pixar movies? Even better!

Miley is all over my iPod. I'm not proud.

I'm not a fan of Halloween either. I mean, I like the candy (I am human after all) but I'm such a Grinch about the rest. Can we bring out the Christmas decorations yet?

Sarah Wylie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TerryLynnJohnson said...

I'd be cranky too if I only ate 1200 calories a day! Wow. But the most pressing question - blogger has spell check? I did not know!

Ishta Mercurio said...

I'm hearing you on so many points.

Give us your recipes!

And I feel similarly about shopping. Likewise, makeup. And so here we are in the middle of my mom's visit from overseas, in which she has stated that she really wants to hang out and go shopping and play with makeup. Le sigh. I love my mom, so I will tolerate the shopping and makeup. But I will try to get them over with as soon as possible.

And I will send you some links to cool name websites that will help you.

And 1200 calories a day sucks. Is exercise really so bad? If you did a walk every day, maybe you could add a couple hundred calories a day. I'm just trying to think helpfully. I won't mention the "b"-word for a while, I promise.

And I am not on Facebook, but I will like your page anyway. :-)

*hugs*

NaNo away! ('m just using my name as my ID - Ishta. It's less confusing that way.)

Jennifer Shirk said...

1200 calories a day? FOR REAL??? That makes me cranky just thinking about it. :)

Donea Lee said...

This post was hilarious!! The comments, too. I'm still laughing. :) And I was totally going to comment via list 1-12, but someone beat me to it and I don't want to copy cat, so here they come 12 to 1:

12 - FB's my next stop
11 - Ayla Saige...I was thinking "sad, dystopian" and the name is good for what "ails" you and Saige(sage) is green which would be nice to see in a dystopian society and well, yeah...
10 - I got some great scary pics from a neighbor's creative Halloween decorations this year. It was fun!
9 - Calories/schmalories. Go on-line and buy a FAA approved seat-belt extender and then go bake yourself a batch of brownies and eat them all!! (j/k...sort of)
8 - Seriously?
7 - give them all a good time-out
6 - I try to exclusively on-line shop. They deliver stuff to your door and everything!! :)
5 - Regrets, I've had a few... (that's from a song, right?)
4 - I'll be lucky if I'm blogging at all by next July. You're awesome!
3 - Dangit! I was going to post a recipe tomorrow...
2 - I'm a closet Miley fan, too. Although - her older stuff was better. (And Kesha fan here, too, btw!)
1 - Sounds like you had a great time!! *jealous*

Disney movies ROCK! Just bought another copy of Beauty and the Beast - my fave!

Claire Dawn said...

My brain is fried, so my post today is all sorts of random too :)

I also love Disney. The last WIP I started was about a girl who loved Disney, but I quit it. I was overwriting it, but I want to get back to it. Some day. I have such a long concept line up right now.

As for names:

Raena
Kalina
Portin
Maliam

I just made them up. lol. Sorry. Like I said, my brain is fried.

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