Find my Alec!

Okay, I need help. I have not the foggiest idea where to find pictures of guys online so I can look through them and try to spot one that looks like Alec. (DH was somewhat relieved to learn this.) And frankly, I'm a little afraid to try random domains like "goodlookingguys.com"...as I'm sure you understand.

SO if anyone has any suggestions of sites to try, or if you want to try to send me pics of guys you think fit the bill, that would be great!

You can see the avatar approximation in the post below for a starting point. I'm looking for someone:

-mid to late 20's or very early 30's (not too boyish looking)
-blue eyed
-well built/muscular/physically fit
-reddish brown hair (think chestnut), long if possible
-about 6' tall

Bonus points if the guy is Scottish and/or wearing a kilt. *g*

::UPDATE:: 11:05 pm

Bleh. I meant to write tonight. But I really feel like I need to "meet" Alec. So I spent yet another night trolling the information superhighway looking for him. (Wait, that sounds not-quite-right...)

Anyway, some minor progress. I found the pic at the top of the page.

Also ran across Martin Henderson. Not exactly what I was picturing, but the closest so far...



::EDIT:: Since apparently I get a LOT of blog hits off this pic, I want to attribute it (and any other MH pics I might have around here) to the following website: www.martinhenderson.org. I couldn't figure out a way to post the pic AND link it to their site without stealing their bandwidth, so I had to copy-save-upload it here. I believe the original was taken by photographer Bradley Patrick.)

At any rate, MH does have longish brown hair and blue eyes, and a good-natured smile. It was the first pic I looked at all night (and I have been looking all night) that "clicked." So I'll keep my eyes open but at least I have a starting point.

And now I am 750 words in the hole for June. Ah, well. I'll make it up with a 1500 word night tomorrow.

Oidche mhath.

Fun with Avatars

I'm still trying to get a handle on exactly what Alec looks like. So I've been playing with online "avatar" creation sites...



Yahoo! Avatars was fun, but they didn't have any good guys' clothing (read: kilts). This face is close, though.



In the meantime, I came up with cool ones for Elspeth and me (even though I already have a good idea what we look like...)

Yeah, we have the same face, but only 'cause there were so few options. I really do ride a motor scooter, btw. *g*

Bleh. It's midnight. How did that happen? I don't consider this "wasting time" because I really am trying to nail Alec's appearance down. I think that will help me write him better. But so much for tonight. Tomorrow starts my goal pursuit. 50K (total) by June 30th!

On second thought...

I crunched the numbers after I posted last night, and 25K in a month is a bit much. For me at least, with a full-time (50-55 hours) day job and a 15-month-old I like to spend time with. Oh, and a husband, too. *w*

So I'm scaling it back a bit. Not too much, actually. I'm going for about 20K instead. Twice my old monthly goals. Officially I want to be at 50K+ total word count by the end of June. 4 weeks and 3 days from now. That's 650 words or so a night. Doable.

Everybody hurts

...well, I do at least. 'Swhat I get for doing yardwork in the sun from noon-5 pm, wearing a halter top that exposes my entire lily-white back to UV rays for the first time this year. Oh, and without sunscreen (I forgot).

Yeah, "lobster" does not begin to describe me.

See, I normally don't burn. I tan. And when I do burn, it becomes a tan in a day or two. But a 5-hour stretch during peak exposure without sunscreen will cook anybody.

And did I mention it hu-urts?

Okay, enough whining.

I had a busy weekend. Visitors off and on all 3 days, and the aforementioned yardwork Sunday (that's when I got the sunburn) and Monday. We saw POTC3: At World's End Sunday night. Good movie. Interesting (and not contrived or cliche) ending. The scene after the credits made it better for me...and those of you familiar with my plot will know why. *s* There were a couple scenes with great emotional impact that I may tap before the memory fades.

Last night my back hurt so much I couldn't do anything but watch Eragon "On Demand" with DH while trying not to wince every time I moved. It was also good, but it was basically Star Wars with dragons and a few LOTR elements. I know, I know..."Hero's Journey" and all that. And amazing for a teenager to have written. I was told to watch the movie before reading the book, though, or I wouldn't enjoy the movie as much. So the book is now in my (ginormous) TBR pile.

Tonight, I had high hopes, but the combined physical exhaustion from working hard all weekend and recovering from this sunburn, mental exhaustion from training two students/summer interns all day, and having to catch up on all the e-mail and online stuff I put off for the weekend tonight conspired to make it 10:30 and I haven't written a word and I just don't think I have it in me. *sigh*

BUT.

A new month is coming up. I haven't set any goals for myself lately. I think this is a good time to start. Susan has inspired me. I've proven I can do 10K in a month, so to really push myself I'm going to mimic her goal of 25K. I want to be over halfway done with this thing by the end of June. Cross your fingers for me...

Playing catch-up

Yet another scene up on the Forum. And now I am playing catch-up on commenting on all the others' posts in 3 different subjects...April X's, May X's, and Twitterpated snips. I counted them when I sat down tonight and there were about 21 different snips I needed to read and comment on, fairly evenly spread over the 3 groups. Looks like I'll get the Twitterpated ones done tonight, and then - as it is very late already - I guess I need to go to bed.

I consider myself as having made progress, though. Being on the Forum again is getting me "back in the groove" and excited about writing. But before I went there tonight, I also spent quite a bit of time responding to an e-mail from my crit partner (yo, Kimb'!) who made some very good points about my plot in the ubersynopsis. So I was brainstorming and bouncing those ideas off her, and I think I came up with some workable ideas, or the beginnings of some. I can go from there, and the book will be richer and better for it. For all that I don't have any new words on the page to show for it. Those days are coming...

May X

May X is up now. I rewrote Elspeth's first fight scene, the one with the drunk Campbells. Made it choppier. Faster. Some of the new stuff is good; it will probably get worked back into the WIP scene. I had meant to rewrite it even slower, but time ran out and I think there's a good contrast between the versions as they are. What comes in and/or goes out of the WIP will depend on people's responses to the X.

And now, to bed. Long weekend coming up, which means yardwork and writing. As soon as I finish commenting on the other X's, I'll get back into writing hardcore. (No, not that kind of hardcore! ...perverts... ;-)

Haiku

This site generated a haiku for the blog:

write quite a bit by
traveling back through now if
i really should

Heh. Not far off.

For giggles, I ran it again (several times) and most of what it came up with afterwards was random drivel. I liked these:

ya now so don't
forget she's a physicist
like myself and to

of kilts and clans will
distract her from the heartache
of her recent post

that compress the space
time and thus commences a bit
by traveling back

hers anyway geez
it's 1 am and i've
been riding a 50cc

(Thanks to Susan for the link.)

April X

I did get the April X done and posted last night, but I forgot to blog about it. A couple of favorable comments so far, and I've gotten to thinking that I can do the same X for another "transition" scene: when Alec learns of Elspeth's "death." So I may be inspired to write that scene soon as well.

I also need to go and comment on everyone else's X's and then start on the one for May. But not tonight. Tonight is the season finale of Heroes (and I am a little more obsessed with that show than is probably healthy) and also the final of Dancing With The Stars. I want Apolo to win. But DWTS is getting the DVR in favor of Heroes. Tomorrow is the NCIS finale, but that will probably go on the DVR too. After this week, though, my "TV nights" will open up for the summer and hopefully that will help my writing time.

They say it's your birthday...

...It's my birthday too, yeah!

Well, another year has come and gone, and now I'm on the 30 side of 25. *g* It was a pretty good day. Beautiful weather. I got some yard work done, we went to a wedding (actually, the reception), now it's late and I'm not going to get a chance to write. But it's my birthday so I think I deserve a day off.

Plans for tomorrow: finish the April X that I didn't get to do yesterday.

Back in the Saddle

For real, this time!

I'm kicking off my fresh start by catching up on the Compuserve forum. I missed the April and May exercises, and I knew April's at least would help me get a new scene started. So tonight I read the prompt and wrote the "transition" scene of Alec returning to Glenstrae and learning that Elspeth sacrificed herself to Campbell in order to secure his (Alec's) release. He goes from giddy to be home and excited to announce their handfasting to worried, afraid, even angry - at her, for going against her promise to forget him and get away safe, and at Campbell, for obvious reasons. Even at himself.

So, I got the scene down, about 585 new words. Now I'm winding down (only one can of writing juice - aka caffienated soda - with dinner tonight) so I'll save and go to bed. Tomorrow I'll post the X and try to crit a few of the others. Then tomorrow night I'll take a look at May's.