I much prefer "research" to research. While seeking out factual knowledge in order to help me more accurately represent a subject in my writing can be interesting, getting myself hyped up over a genre, seeing how other storytellers have handled certain themes, getting a better "feel" for a time period all through reading novels and short stories, watching movies and tv series, listening to songs and audiofic -- that's the fun stuff! And it's almost like doing real work! =D

Not to say "research" isn't helpful, but come one, let's be honest, when you need to buckle down and get some real work done, what's one of the first things you cut down on? (After all your social not-working sites, that is.) That's right. Your "research." Which is why my little movie marathon will have to wait until May. Darn it.

Three guesses what time period I'm focusing on for my submissions to LT3's Rocking Hard anthology?

It has been a looong week, kids, let me tell you... and I spent most of it squatted down in my best Spider-man impersonation. Man do my hips hurt! Anyway --

I made it back to the internet today and discovered my local comic book shop owner has started up a pop culture convention called, appropriately, WVPOP. Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I happened to see the link to registration and, knowing I would forget to do it if I put it off, went ahead and purchased my ticket. By the time the transaction was over, I liked the convention's Facebook page and made it back to my feed, the following message had appeared:

"Miss Alison Bailey is the 1st person to officially purchase a WV Pop Con ticket. She also donated to Hero Initiative and got herself in that drawing x 15 !!!"

I am now going in search of my tiara, seeing as I have been officially confirmed as Queen of the Nerds. Kneel before Zod Alison!

BTW, side story, I do own an actual queenly tiara. I was crowned Spring Court Queen my last year in college. I sometimes pull it out to wear while cleaning.

So, the new Avengers trailer came out this week and alllll my social networking sites lit up with chatter about it. On the one hand, it's nice. I'll have all sorts of people to talk to about the movie come May. On the other hand, it's kind of uncomfortable. A number of people talk about certain elements they're looking forward to in a way that makes me think they have some familiarity with the source material. But then when I try to talk to them about said source material, they look at me like I'm speaking Skrull. Derp, derp, derp.

Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly okay with people enjoying the films without ever touching the comics. (Although I wish they would so we could all fangirl/fanboy about them together. <3) It's just an awkward moment for me when I let my nerdiness show and no nerdiness is shown in return.

Today, I am attempting to polish up a short story for submission to an anthology. (Because after such a strong start in January, I feel the need to finish something and get it out the door before February ends!) Everything's going well with the plot and the characters. I'm tidying up some style issues. There haven't been too many sentences I had no idea where they came from or what they meant. Life is good for this little short story! Except… it has a really crappy title. Although, on the bright side, it's current title is not as crappy as the three or four that preceded it.

Sometimes I have a title before I have a fully formed story to go with it. Usually the title comes once the story gets rolling and by the time my rough draft is complete, the title is so firmly affixed to the story I can't think of ever calling it by any other name. And then there are the handful of times when everything is locked and loaded, ready to go, and there's still the issue of the title. Perhaps it's because of lack of substance to form a title around, but whatever the case, I always find it harder to name short pieces compared to longer ones.

If only fiction were like poetry and, in lieu of a formal title, we could simply address stories by their first line. In this case, the story would be called, "Zach didn’t have to look at his clock to know midnight had finally arrived and with it the new year." Rather than, Coming Home.

Other stories on my current writing to-do list if they were known by their first lines:

Seasons of the Satyr, "Ol’ One Eye, reigning rooster of the A&H Ranch, cast his remaining flat yellow iris toward the gently sloping roofline of the log and plank main house, turning his head to and fro in deep chickeny thought."

Harpy*, "Lady Alphosa Lyndia’s rough, knobby, ringed fingers brushed across the smooth blue velveteen of the jewelry box which sat atop her age-darkened bureau."

Friend Zone Flynn, "How much time is appropriate to spend on a handmade birthday card?"

Codenames: Akimbo and Ransack, "Mikyeh dreams in abstracts."

Song Lyrics*, "'Everybody treatin’ you okay?'"

* = working title